Hotel Reservations - Yes or No

Make reservations at least for the May 1 weekend. That is Labor Day Weekend in Europe. Big holiday weekend. Many Italians will want to go to the same places you want to go to.

You can get a room, the question is how much time will it take? Given its early in the season, you'll probably get in on your first one or two tries. So if you're not planning on moving too much it shouldn't be a problem. On the other hand if you're moving every day or two, think about how much of your vacation is going to be spent just in transportation or looking for a place to stay.

A good comment regarding May Day, in general though, you can get good room availability during that time and I would prefer a mix of booked ahead vs not. My preference would be to consider where you will be, if that might create issues, and then at least lay out a rough itinerary. If I were to plan Northern Italy...First make a list of probable stops. Follow that with research (Rick Steves, Lonely Planet, Frommers, Web, etc.) and make a list of maybe 4-5 possibilities for each stop. Then look for issues: Venice can be troublesome any time of year, as can Rome, consider maybe booking those ahead, especially if one is your arrival or departure city (you will know if you will be there and when). If you want a special Agritourismo in Tuscany...book that ahead, they tend to book by the week and well ahead of time, not a walk up type accomodation. Other than that, you can either show up or maybe call ahead the day before or day of, using your list of options researched ahead of time. As for wasting your time looking for a room...my experience has been that I can usually show up, hit one or two places I can easily find and have a room in less time than most can wander around searching for the place they booked six months ago. I never recall wasting time looking for a room, and if my sightseeing schedule is so tight that it would be considered a waste...I planned waaay to much in one day.

Hi Peter,
I also feel that if I wait until I arrive, some of the best budget options will already be booked and I might have to spend more money than I'd planned. Seems like late April/early May could be busy...

I've been a enthusiast of traveling without reservations but have found Italy to be a little tougher without some strategies First of all, I generally rent a car, which gives me a lot mor flexibility. Traveling by train, I'd be more aggressive about trying to reserve by phone.

I use tourist information offices. They have people I can speak to in English who can make phone calls in Italian. Fewer TIs are making hotel bookings though in Northern Italy, sending you instead to booking services who charge a fee.

Late April-early May is still the shoulder season, but I'd work harder to reserve for weekends and holidays.