Hello fine travelers,
We are headed to Italy mid to late November and I am wondering if we could keep our itinerary flexible or not?
We have booked our first night when we land in Rome and the next 3 nights in Assisi. Then we head to Venice likely for 3-4 days and then Siena.
I am thinking I should book Venice at least the first 2 nights since we will be there on a weekend; does that seem accurate? What about Siena, which we visit after Venice? Should I book ahead?
Thanks for your tips.
If you're itinerary is that firm, what is the advantage to not booking ahead? Spend your time looking at places now while you're at home, rather than wasting precious time looking for a place to stay when you get there. The internet makes this too easy.
Booking all your accommodations ahead locks you in. Paradoxically, it also gives you more freedom.
Because having your accommodations nailed down frees you up to actually enjoy your time, rather than spending hours (sometimes many hours) searching and deciding on where to sleep.
I've done it both ways - winging it completely, or having every place locked in - and I've come to the conclusion that for me at least, it's foolish to find places to sleep as you go along. I'm much happier having it dialed in, knowing I can spend my time doing what I went there to do (which was not to search for hotels). You're certainly not going to do any better while you're in the road and loaded with other tasks like eating...
One additional advantage of booking your hotels now is that you can make your train reservations now and save 30 to 50%. Those cheap fares go away very quickly.
Very helpful perspectives, thank you.
I would definitely recommend booking ahead in Venice and Siena. In Venice I would also recommend booking a place as close to the water taxi/ferry stops. I saw more than one unhappy traveler dragging their suitcases up and over bridges and through the maze of alleys trying to find their hotel. I didn't think of this myself, but by accident, I did book a place right on the water. It was so convenient!
Siena is a walled city, so trundling through with your suitcases trying to find a place to stay would be a major drag. You would have to park way outside the city and walk in, wandering around until you found a place to stay. I was hesitant to book ahead too, but I was so happy that we did. We were able to just find out hotel, drop the bags, and go out for prosecco and sight seeing.
Pretty much no one just shows up in cities these days without a reservation. Everyone has a smartphone, so rooms are booked at least the night before. That leaves you (the last-minute person) with the lower-value options--costlier, awkwardly located, smaller rooms, less charming.
I especially would not take that risk in Venice.
