Family of 4 (2 teens) spending 3 weeks in Italy in late June through July. We will be starting out in northern Italy (driving from Munich) and are still working out a lot of our itinerary. My question for now, is that we would like the flexiblity of not be committed to be at a certain hotel on a certain day. Do you feel it is necessary to book all accomodations in advance? I know this is the peak travel time and from what I have read, I am afraid if we don't reserve places soon then we will be sleeping in our car! We are hoping for a variety of accomodations (B&B's, monasteries, small hotels, etc.) What is the likelihood of finding accomodations at the last minute?
Posted by
Bay Area
3551 posts
No question, reserve in advance you will be very happy you did. Espec with family of 4! tThere is nothing worse than looking for lodging for hrs only to be turned down due to no vacancy. I have been in Italy many summers w/ reservations and have seen couples turned away around 3- 7pm with no hope of a hotel/B&B room for the night. Not me that is no vacation. Planning a routing in advance is not that restrictive as you think.
Remember Italy is not like USA where you have chain hotel one after another , do not chance it!
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17245 posts
With a family of four you are way better off with short-stay apartments. Hotels with quad rooms are not all that easy to find, and taking two double rooms gets expensive. A big advantage of apartments is tha you are not dependent on restaurants for your meals. You can cook in or get take out (from a deli) and eat at home. You can find apartments for two or three night stays if you do your research, but you need to book in advance. We were there with our two daughters last June/July and I am really really glad we booked well in advance. I cannot imagine just showing up and trying to find something at the last minute, especially in the popular and desirable places. Since you will have a car I will recommend this place near Siena with lovely swimming pools, a big hit with teens. They have one-bedroom suite that accommodates a family of four very comfortably and is not expensive.
il Mulino di Quercegrossa
Posted by
Dundas, Minnesota, USA
103 posts
reserve ahead, especially if you're trying to find places where 4 people can stay in one room those are scarce in the best of time. an apartment is a good option too. If you're booking two rooms, you'll probably find them at the last minute, but they might not be where you want to stay or at the price point you're shooting for.
Posted by
OP
Jericho, vt, us
3 posts
Thanks to all for your feedback. That is just what I needed to know and I will start looking for apartments mostly. I looked through some websites such as Homeaway.com but most of them will rent by the week only. Any recommendations of sites for apartment rentals for one or two nights would be very much appreciated. And again, thank you for the recommendations already posted.
Posted by
Spokane, WA, USA
18 posts
Lisa, Try booking.com, venere.com, or cross-pollinate.com for apt. ideas.... Ciao! Brandon
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
We've had good luck for apartments through vrbo.com
Posted by
OP
Jericho, vt, us
3 posts
Thanks again for the suggestions!
Posted by
Edmond, Oklahoma, USA
13 posts
I'll tell you what we did, and we got this tip from this very forum. We were in Europe the first 3 weeks of July in 2009 with our teenage son. We only had reservations for the first and last night. After that, we used www.laterooms.com We visited London, Holland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy and would make a reservation a day or two before we needed it. Best find was a 2 bedroom apartment in Edinburgh right in the middle of the Royal Mile above a pub for just over $100/night. If the website is still the same, you can only reserve a place 2 or 3 days in advance. It was a little scary not knowing about your hotel more in advance, but it worked great every time.