Booking hotels

Use booking.com and trip advisor to search hotels and b&b's, using their map feature to determine the location of the particular lodging, see photos, and note if there are features you desire, like parking.

But, I always go directly with the B&B to book. I find that you develop a bond with the owner. And I enjoy entering the lodging and having the proprietor say Welcome to Rovinj, Carla !

The third party booking sites take a cut from the establishment and I truly believe that the B&B's appreciate guests booking on their own website or through their email contact.

I thought this prior thread covered everything?
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy-reviews/about-making-reservations

I do what's most convenient for me, which means not filling out an online request form (and waiting for an answer) or booking a hotel through the phone. If I can book easily through a hotel's website and the price is best (or the same as a third party site), then I book online using the hotel site. More likely though, I use booking.com and have no problems with it. The site makes is easy to compare hotels, read reviews, and get an instant confirmation - so I am a fan. I've communicated with B & B and apartment owners right through the site (using their secure messaging function) and everything worked well.

I agree with Agnes. Particularly with hotels, which are often easier to book than small B&Bs. I use TripAdvisor, hotels.com and/or booking.com to look at hotels reviews and prices, then book either directly with the hotel or with one of the booking sites, whichever is cheapest and has the better cancellation policy.

We never book anything through third party providers for one simple reason. We much prefer to deal directly with a person (or people) at the hotel. We've never had a problem doing things this way. If a problem does arise it's much easier to deal directly with the hotel than a third party site..

We use booking.com to research hotels and book ahead (cancellable) if we really like a place but we're not exactly sure if our dates. But once we have set dates, we often book directly through the hotel. We have found that booking directly typically gives you a better rate and often a better room. But booking.com makes it very easy to research places read reviews.

Thank you! I don't know this site well enough to know how to find old messages. I knew I'd asked before but couldn't find the info.

Erectoch,
You just need to be signed in and click on your name (blue hyperlink) and you'll see the threads/ topics you've participated in. Give it a try.

I, too, reserve like Agnes. I've had no issues with Booking.com and only reserved direct if it is convenient, which it often is not.

I, too, reserve like Agnes does. I've had no issues with Booking.com and I only reserved directly if it was convenient, which it often is not.

Whenever possible I always choose the small Mom & Pop places that might not show up on booking sites like booking.com So don't overlook potentially great places just because they don't subscribe to the major booking website.

This has been difficult, but probably due to my own doing. I will be on a tour that begins in Rome and ends in Venice. I arrive in Rome 3 days prior to the tour and stay 3 days after. I'd like to leave Venice and stay in Padova, but I'm not sure what trains go where or what....this is all so confusing. Planning ahead of time is important to me...or am I being too eager and should wait until March to book when I know where I'll be staying with the tour? That way I would have a starting and ending point and can plan better. UGH. I've been searching hotels ALL day and I now have a headache.

I almost always make use of the recommendations in Rick Steves travel books then book either on booking.com (have had terrific luck with this site) or directly on the hotel's website- whichever has the best price, making sure there is no penalty for cancellation. Before booking, however, I check ratings on various sites such as tripadvisor, booking.com, etc.

I've booked all of our hotels in Europe through booking.com and can highly recommend it. If you don't want to book directly through a hotel's own website, this site is very easy to use; no more difficult than reserving hotels in the U.S.

You can sort hotels by price, by ratings and by location, such as those close to Termini (Rome's main train station). Or you can wait to see what the hotel for the tour will be and see if they can extend your stay.

Getting to Padova from Venice isn't difficult. Trains from Venezia San Lucia (Venice's main train station) to Padova take as little as 1/2 an hour, depending on which one you choose. Explore your options on:

http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en

You do not need to purchase tickets in advance but the website will give you schedules/prices to look at.

What airport are you flying out of?

If you have tour dates now, there's no reason to wait. And yes the options are many, but research pays off. I read lots of reviews, decide what factors are the most important to me, and use google maps to see locations (and Google Streetview to see the surrounding area). If you are very flexible, then you won't need to spend as much time. As you read reviews, you have to read with the eye to finding the people who have your same frame of reference - because not everyone does. Different things matter to different people.

Once you get to booking.com or tripadvisor, you can filter selections - I always use wifi and price as beginnings, and then look at distance from city center and (depending upon the trip) maybe included breakfast or air conditioning. Not everyone cares about those things, but I do.

I also compare booking through a third party with booking direct. For recent hotel selections for an upcoming trip, booking direct wasn't an option for one place and for another the links didn't work all the way through. So third party it was. But if price is the same and it's workable, I will book direct as first choice. Sometimes they will add a free breakfast when you book direct that isn't included third party. Also sometimes there are fees added at the end on third party that don't show up at a first glance.

So don't get frustrated. Remember there are usually lots of good options (as opposed to only one right answer) - it's just a matter of narrowing it down to what feels right to you. But it does take some time.