First of all, thanks to all who have replied to my questions. You have really helped me. Now for my next question. As I stated before, we are going to Italy in November (Myself and my 17 and 11 year old grandaughters) and thought about just driving to whereever we wanted to go without making reservations, just finding someplace to stay. What do you think about that idea? Again THANKS
Posted by
Portlandia
3313 posts
Others may have more specific advice about traveling in November.
It's definitely a tradeoff. On the one hand, the freedom to be spontaneous is a joy. If you chance upon a place you like, go to the Tourist Information office and ask about rooms. Stay as long as you like!
On the other hand, not having a room waiting for you can be stressful. And I would imagine that in November TI office hours are shorter and some hotels (and especially agriturismos) may be closed.
With a lot of research and access to the Internet once there, I think you could compromise. Have a list of accomodations in places you may go. Know before you leave if they'll be open.
Once you're there and have an idea where you'll want to be, use your list to contact the hotels by e-mail or use venere.com.
Posted by
Los Angeles, CA, USA
1449 posts
I did that last fall. Its doable, but when I go next I'll do things a bit differently. Travel time is precious for most people. If you have the luxury of several weeks and plan to stay a couple of days in each place you find this may be less of a concern, but I found we spend more time than I wanted looking for places to stay. If you show up in town and then start knocking on doors it may take 2, 3, or 4 tries before you find something. Not such a big deal, in that we always found something. But it could easily take 1-2 hours to do this. And it may be raining when you're there.
I'll still be happy to travel w/o reservations except for the 1st and last nites, but next time I'll let my fingers do the walking. If you have guide books that recommend hotels, the clerks at many hotels will be happy to phone ahead to ones you pick and make reservations for you. In fact, at 2 places we stayed they even offered to do this. And you get a native speaker to do the talking for you
Posted by
Scottsdale, AZ, USA
1127 posts
Do some research on places you are thinking about visiting. As mentioned in the above post, have some names & numbers to contact before you hit the road. Reserve for the first and last night of your trip. You want to make sure you have a place to rest your head when you step off the plane.
You will spend some time looking for a place to stay if you don't make reservations but you will not be tied to a schedule.
Posted by
Munster, IN, USA
6 posts
We have found that when traveling overseas with children it's best to have reservations. We found that with flight delays, etc. it was good to have a place to go to right away as kids get tired. We also found we wasted too much time looking for a place to stay when we didn't have adavance rservations.