Italy without reservations

I have traveled a lot in my 70 years (76 countries) and done tours by bus, private car on our own, rail packages, just hopping on the train, river and ocean cruises and more.

With the internet, you can be a bit more spontaneous. In the old days, all we had we're guidebooks. I still use Rick Steves guides as an aide, but enjoy preplanning our travels.

Preplanning advantages are that you research the places that you want to go and know what you want to see. Example, I am going to York, UK. What do I want to see there? Unless you know what there is to see how do you know how long you will stay there. Also, how do you get to York and then on to the next place? Buying rail tickets at the last minute is far more expensive than purchasing them in advance. Also, sometimes hotels and train are fully booked, especially if there is a big event or convention in the city you are visiting.

I had a couple of instances in Europe (we lived in Germany for four years). Drove to Venice for a long weekend and discovered the entire city was fully booked. There was a festival where thousands of people come to the city to see gondolas race each out in medieval gear. We had to stay in another city some distance away and take the train into Venice. It was a bummer.

Also, I remember driving around on one self drive and arriving at a hotel we had selected to find the hotel had been gutted and was being renovated. That guide book was only a year old, but missed that information.

As for winging it, there is a small advantage in being able to change your plans, but if you did your research in advance, what would be the likelihood that you would change your plans.

Also, Florence is wonderful. Be aware that the Doumo is closed one day a week, so find out what day so you don't show up on that day when it is closed. Also, don't miss David in the Accademia Museum. However, unless you pre-book, you many not get in that day or may have to wait in line for a couple of hours.

I like more security than that but I think it can be done. A few thoughts;

-only do it if you are flexible on accommodations. If you have high standards, or specific needs better to ensure you can manage by booking early. If all you need is a safe, clean bed then go for it.

-If your budget is very tight you might get better deals booking ahead. If the only hotel left is $50 over your normal can you handle that one night, or would that leave you sleeping on the street? Make sure there’s room for possible extra costs.

-look to see if there are major events in your destinations. A big feast day or festival or soccer tournament can fill hotels. Avoid those towns on those days.

-get familiar with various booking sights. I suggest booking.com and Airbnb as well as things like travelocity. Booking.com seems to list smaller hotels that other sights miss. The more sights you use the more likely to find something.
Airbnb is good for last minute, but really only logical if you are planning on staying at least 2-3 nights in that apartment.

-what about activities in the cities you visit? Some museums or sights require you to book ahead, often by a week or several weeks. If you don’t know when you will be in Rome, for example, you can’t book a visit to the Borghese. If there’s anything like that you really care about, it’s something to consider. I think several of the Florence museums do this, too.

-book your last night ahead. You already know what city you will be in, because you are flying out of its airport. So why waste time your last day finding a hotel?

I regularly travel as you are proposing to do, but over the last few years my hotel bookings have moved up from about 24-48 hours ahead to 48-96 hours ahead. I've been fortunate that I've usually (not always!) been able to add on a day or multiple days during a stay if I wanted to. The price often changes, though, and it's important to compare the rate offered at the desk to what you can find on the hotel's website and your preferred booking platform; I use booking.com.

I completely agree with the warnings of the previous posters, so I definitely support the idea of using research to reduce uncertainty. I, personally, find it easier to calculate the number of nights I will need in smaller cities with more modest numbers of sights and no large museums. I am totally at sea when it comes to how much time I'll want to spend in major museums (art or historical), so if every second stop on a trip is a place like Rome or Florence, I end up with the entire trip in flux.

No, Marty, you're not crazy. Well, maybe just a little bit... :)

This is a fascinating concept, especially to a chronic planner like myself. What you're proposing is what I've yearned to do but have decided I need more experience than the 3 trips I've taken that have pretty much been mapped out, although I do leave room for spontaneity. 'Course, by the time I get more experience I'll be 70 and say no way do I want to do that! A conundrum.

This is 'fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants' travel, as simple as saying to yourself, where do I want to go today? I am not fully schooled on all the travel sites & machinations available, but for someone that really knows their way around the online steals & deals, has unlimited 24/7 access to those sites and does plenty of advance research--sure, it can be done. But how efficiently?

I'd try it in off-season or shoulder season, probably first part of May as well. I wouldn't try it June through September. Too busy, too limited choices in logistics & lodging, more of a chance you end up paying through the nose for a real craphole hotel. I'm talking about spontaneous, efficient, value-driven travel. acraven seems to have accomplished this on more than one occasion.

But here's the rub. I love to plan, so to do a non-reserved trip like this, do I advance plan from, say, Florence as the place where Marty will start his trip, and advance-analyze multiple scenarios from there, like spokes on a wheel? To Siena or to Venice or to Montepulciano or to Bologna? Plan A, B, C or D. Endless possibilities, but I guess that defeats the purpose of true spontaneity, doesn't it?

For you veteran forumites, if you were doing this, what are the main sites you'd be accessing, besides the obvious Trenitalia and DB Bahn train ones?

Jay - if I were doing this I’d look at the train sights you suggested.

For hotels/apartments, booking.com or Airbnb.

Google maps for local maps - is this hotel close to where I want to be? Also for walking or local public transit info. It would tell you that the cathedral is a 25 minute walk, or walk a block and bus #2 comes in 5 minutes. Also you can follow your progress in real time - watch where the bus you are on is, so then you know when to get off. That’s always a concern for me - knowing when the bus is at the correct stop.
If I didn’t have cellular data I’d download offline maps for this. It works the same for walking.

For what to see, a guidebook is best so I’d have one. I’d buy it on my kindle if I didn’t know I was going somewhere so didn’t bring the appropriate book. But I’d often check the official sight of a museum etc to confirm hours, special exhibits and the like. Also search for online lists of things to do in X. Avoiding all the ad-filled lists for tours and finding one that just says what’s there. Then I can see if I’m interested.

Wikipedia for basic history - search “St Whoever’s church in Whoville” and there will be an entry telling you about when it was built, any historical significance, art, etc.

Restaurants I like to rely on luck and my nose. But a google search for “restaurants in X” can be helpful. I try to look for the blog of a local foodie or a local publication not TripAdvisor. Often this means going through pages of ads and junk, or refining my search. Yelp.com is fine if I’m in a neighborhood and starving - I can see what’s nearby and go to one that looks interesting. It’s not likely to reveal hidden gems but it often leads you to somewhere good.

There are a lot of folks who would not think about traveling without every night pinned down and will think it is ridicules to consider other wise. We have done it for years -- always reserve nights for the first stop and the night before departure. After that it is primarily a guidebook in association with the local TI but now rely more on the hotel apps. Never had a problem or slept in the train station. A couple of times have hit unexpected festivals so just moved on to the next town. But that is rare. You can do it just have confidences. We are the masters of under planning as that provides us with the opportunity to do what we want to do when we want to do it.

It’s entirely doable as long as you are willing to pay the extra price. I’m referring especially to train tickets which offer major discounts if purchased in advance. Hotels don’t generally offer discounts if booked in advance, you pay the rate for that period. However some may booked for your dates, but not all.

I’ve actually done what you plan to do even in recent years, however I always have a car. And with a car, I prefer to wing it. Once you have a car rental booked, there is no difference in pricing based on when you travel. With trains, you would need to buy full fare on the spot.

And this is exactly what I’m going to suggest to you: a car trip.

First of all, since Florence has limited and expensive flights, I suggest you start your trip from Venice, which is the 3rd largest intercontinental airport. Venice is also one city where you need advance hotel reservations, because it gets booked solid, especially in spring and summer.

After you spend your 3 nights in Venice, pick up a car at Piazzale Roma, and wing it from there. I’ve never had trouble finding hotels on the spot anywhere else but Venice. Of course you’ll need a computer device to access internet and book for the same day. I presume you don’t plan to knock at every hotel door. That would be a waste of time.

Be aware that most ancient towns have traffic restrictions in the historical center, therefore with a car, it is advisable to stay outside the ancient city walls of every town. That is never a problem for me, because I know the car friendly hotels in Florence and Rome, which are near (albeit outside) the restricted zones. All other smaller towns are not even an issue because those restricted zones are small. In any case, if you plan a car trip, it is a good idea to focus on areas outside the Florence and Rome. Or better yet, make Rome your last destination (your departure airport), return the car upon arrival to the city, then stay the last few nights without a car.

I don't have time for pre-trip restaurant research, and I can't predict what part of town I'll be in at lunch or dinner time on most days, so I'd have to do an awful lot of research for very modest payback in any case. Advance hotel research is valuable only if you plan to book at the time you are researching, because it all comes down to which places have a room available when you need one.

I concentrate my pre-trip planning on creating a list of cities/towns I'd like to see and cryptic notes about the local sights. There's enough to remember why I'm going there and to determine the minimum number of nights I'll need (or whether the town might be just a day-trip). For indoor sights I'm pretty good about checking the websites for days and hours of operation, which are especially critical for small towns where arriving the wrong day could be disastrous. For major cities I may not bother with a full set of notes, but instead add a few marginal notes to my (on-paper) guidebook. My list of destinations is always larger than I have time for, and by the time I'm into the trip (and spending more than the minimum expected time in many places), it's always clear that the list is way too large. But the information may be useful on a future trip. It's more efficient for me to research a country or region just one time, then just check for updated information if I end up going there a year or more later.

Ideally I would investigate transportation links at the same time I create the target-destination list, because when you are headed to small towns (as I often do), the transportation can be a deal-breaker. In reality, this step usually doesn't happen until I'm on the trip, so I discover fairly late in the game that a rather highly desired destination would take more time than I'm willing to spend in transit. So it gets axed and I refer to my notes to find a substitute--which is why I consciously start out with a too-long list of destinations.

In the end, sometimes entire countries get cut, but I just file my notes away for future use.

Shortly before I arrive in a big city (where I'll surely be spending at least 4 full days, possibly 10 or more) I create a chart with a block for each day I'll be there (per my original plan, which may get extended). For each day I note scheduling anomalies--places that are closed, open later, close early, have extended hours, or are free (but usually have entry fees). This helps me avoid missing sights and make use of extra time in the evening. When I can get my hands on a suitable map (which often doesn't happen until I arrive in town), I mark the sights I want to see so I can group them logically. For large cities, I use a mapping app (CityMaps2GoPro, but I think there may be better options) to flag my sightseeing targets. Those big-city maps are helpful when I select hotels while on the road as well as making tentative sightseeing plans each evening (or at breakfast the next morning). In smaller cities, I usually just try for a hotel reasonably convenient to the train or bus station and the historic district, and sightseeing targets may be close enough together that the order of visit doesn't matter too much.

I'm not very tolerant of bad weather when I'm planning outdoor activities, and I have sleep issues that usually mean I don't get an early start, so I'll never be the type of traveler who pre-plans the times of individual sight visits beyond what is absolutely necessary to avoid long ticket lines.

My husband and I have been to Europe/Italy 5 times so far. On our 17 day backpacking honeymoon in 1990, we had the first and last nights' reserved. We used the Eurorail pass and the trains. We would plan to arrive in a city/town early in the day to find lodging usually through our Rick Steves guidebook or through the TI. We did the same when we took my parents backpacking in 1994.

In 2000, we rented a car and stayed in Umbria for 2 weeks, but used RS suggestions to reserve in advance our travel to/from Germany. For our trips in 2016 and 2018, the web allowed for so much more flexibility. We planned in advance our stays of 5-7 days, but for the other nights we would search 1-2 nights ahead for accommodations in the area/town we planned to head to next. Our first search is on this forum, then Booking.com and Trip Advisor.

All this is to say, with a computer, you can plan as much, or as little as you choose to. So, yes, you can have a flexible itinerary. We do it, and so can you. The key is flexibility.

“-look to see if there are major events in your destinations. A big feast day or festival or soccer tournament can fill hotels. Avoid those towns on those days.”

That’s one of the reasons I purposely book ahead. I want to stay in a town when they’re having festivals!

You could always just plan to do day trips from a couple locations, so you have the flexibility you want.

OK, just for my own curiosity (and hopefully the education of the forumites), I'm asking the folks who have done the non-reserved, spontaneous-style trip--acraven, Roberto, Frank, and any others: have any of you ever had--in Italy or elsewhere--a situation where you've had the 'oh s**t moment', where something logistically has fallen through, whether it be a missed connection, inadvertently cancelled hotel, or just plain Murphy's law, that you're stuck somewhere and are trying to figure out what to do to avoid being stranded? And Plans B, C and D don't sound too good either?

Even for planners like myself, there are always snafus, but mine seem to be of the garden variety--wrong way on the Metro, an unscheduled train change at the Swiss/Italo border on the way to Milan, where we couldn't visually see the other train. We asked someone--fortunately they spoke English & directed us downstairs and down a corridor, where we made the train in the nick of time. We would have never found it without asking.

I will say that for the most part, in my experience Europeans are helpful when called upon, and that quality warms my heart & is one reason that keeps me coming back, the fact that things will eventually turn out OK.

I've had snafus of the sort anyone can have, even if they've pre-planned everything, such as two canceled Channel Island ferries. The first one didn't cost me any extra money because I didn't have a room reservation at the planned destination I stood to lose. This was about 30 years ago, and I planned to find a hotel on arrival. A planner would have paid for two hotel rooms that night. I'd argue that hotel-booking errors are just as likely--maybe more likely--if you book way ahead.

On the other hand, long in the past (way pre-Internet) I twice got off a train in Bologna, planning to spend one or more nights there, and found there were no rooms in my price range. These days I would at least identify that problem a day or more in advance, because I do not wait till I arrive to figure out where I'm staying. These were my biggest problems related to lack of early planning.

The major negatives of my technique are, from my perspective:

• On average, I pay a bit more for less value, hotel-wise.
• On average, my hotels are not quite as well-located as they would be if I booked way ahead.
• I don't usually have access to the "charming" places. Flexibility is far more important to me.
• A few times I've intentionally under-booked a big-city hotel, figuring I'll adjust after I've been there a few days. I think I've only been unable to get the additional days I wanted on one or two occasions (after a total of almost 2-1/2 years in Europe). I consider that a small price to pay for flexibility.
  
• I can't usually snag Advance fares for express trains. My travel legs are mostly quite short, so I'm often fine using regional trains, or they may be the only option. Occasionally I'll choose a somewhat slower bus for a non-distant destination. People on blitz trips would find this unacceptable.
• I definitely spend time during my trip doing hotel and transportation planning that others do at home. Since I'm not willing to give up my time on this Forum, I don't get to read much during my trips. I do miss that, but the bigger issue is that I'm sometimes up late working on hotels and transportation, and I have sleep issues at the best of times.

I have totally winged a 10 country European trip in the 1990s, by train. All I had was a Euroail Flexipass Pass, and Rick’s Europe through the backdoor. I knew, more or less, what I wanted to see (several locations in tha book) and did so for the most part. But no reservations whatsoever. I found hotels when I got to the station at the TI office. I’ve done similarly in Spain more recently but still in the 1990s. The only thing I had prebooked was a few days rental car with pick up in Granada and drop off in Seville less than a week later, but no reservations for anything else before getting to Granada, or, while I had a car, between Granada and Seville (from where I flew back to Italy). In the 1980s, when I lived in Italy I only winged everywhere, whether I was traveling by train or by car. Never prebooked anything except for Carnival in Venice, when it’s impossible to find accommodations on the spot. But at the time there’s were no Frecciarossa and no discounts for prepurchase.

I don’t remember snafus or “holy s..t!” moments then. But in those days there’s was no internet so often I had to call several hotels (or show up in person) before finding one with an available room. I remember once in the Meran area I knocked at many hotels and found no vacancy, till I decided to drive back toward Bolzano and found one along the way. So the draw back then was having to waste a lot of time making calls before finding a hotel. I even winged Paris on Easter week. Just showed up at the TI office at the Gare de Lyon. It took the lady several calls before finding me a hotel in my budget range. That is no longer a problem with internet hotel search engines at your fingertips.

Nowadays my wife and I decide on the spur of the monument to go to a place. Last July we decided, , the morning after landing at Fiumicino, that maybe we should go somewhere for a few days first, before going home to Tuscany. We decided on the Argentario Peninsula and Giglio island, so we reserved the hotel online that very same day while we stopped for lunch near Fregene, just north of Fiumicino. Few years back we did the same for the Dolomites, for the lakes, etc. no problem.

The only reservations I want to be sure to have is the first night after I land. everything else I can wing. And with a car is easier. First of all there is no difference in price, unlike when you travel with Frecciarossa trains where you can save a bunch if you prebook. Also with a car I can be more flexible on the location of the hotel and you save a lot of money if you stay out of the city center of any city or out of the city altogether, which is my preference. But when I visit a big city, without a car, and need to stay in the city center, then I make advance reservations. And generally big cities, in the city centers, are the only ones that may be fully booked, such as Venice anytime, Rome near Easter or between the holidays of 4/25 and May1, etc.

I have to laugh .... I sold everything and moved to Italia .... with my dog. Never visited, didn't know anyone and didn't speak the language. Rented my first apartment on the internet. Orvieto was home base for 18 months and I was completely spontaneous except for a summer trip to Lake Como (where everything is booked so I reserved in advance: 3 days). In the Veneto I stayed in Mira and just drove to the Venice parking lot. Beautiful old villas that were built as "country homes" for the wealthy Venetians to escape the city.

I am assuming you are renting a car and not trying to see Italia from a bus or train if you are being spontaneous? You will find wifi in almost every village..... so you can always do a little research from the comfort of your seat in a bar or cafe. Just remember to always order something. While the big sites of Rome, Florence, and Venice are on top of everyone's list, I found that the smaller towns and villages offered breathtaking sites. And because I was by myself with a dog, I talked to people in every trattoria or cafe, asking if there was something in their village/city that I should see or experience. Which led to some of the most incredible experiences. Michaelangelo painted frescoes in private homes. There are Roman ruins that are not overrun as is Pompeii. Vulci is in the Maremma and backs onto two ranches - one with horses and the other with long horn cattle. Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli is spectacular up on a hilltop built by an emperor that didn't want surprise visits. Also in Tivoli is Villa D'Este -- not the copycat hotel on Lake Como. Hundreds of fountains spread out in its gardens and the Palazzo itself is spectacular. If you are in the area of Rome, I highly suggest you take a side trip to Tivoli.

Monte Argentario is on the Mediterranean and also close to Rome (as well as being close enough to Orvieto for a lunch trip). It's two villages look like miniature versions of Cinque Terre but without the hordes of tourists. You can buy fresh seafood on the docks of San Stefano, some which look like they are from a different planet. The Adriatic side has a lot to offer -- if you have time, check out Rimini and Sirolo. There is a a small beach in Sirolo with a couple of restaurants. Arturo's is my favorite and has 4 rooms above it that are always booked a year in advance. You can choose a table on the sand with the water lapping about 50 ft. away and views to the next private cove. The only way to get there is climbing down from a small parking area. Not an American in sight.

So, I highly recommend being adventurous and spontaneous. If the weather gets bad and there is sunshine an hour away, its nice to be able to just jump in the car and go!!! You may want to get a phone -- a cheap model that you can load with a specific amount of Euros and get more added if you need to at any tobacco shop. My US I-Phone did not accept the European SIM card. Not sure if Androids are more flexible. But you'll want to be able to make calls to lodging options to see if they have a room so you can at least punt at the last minute.

Wish I was going with you! I'm hoping to return permanently to Italia in the next few months. What a beautiful place! And what wonderful people!!!

I like to travel in the way that you mention, and did so with no problem the last couple autumns in Italy and France, mostly in smaller towns, and often (but not exclusively) driving a rental car for maximum flexibility. You do have "the flexibility to go where you want to go, when you want to go," but in terms of admission to any particular museum, hotel, restaurant, seat on the train, etc., where reservations are available/encouraged/required, it's more realistic to frame it as "the flexibility to choose what you prefer from what's available when you're ready to decide." That's not a negative; it's just a reminder that even money can't make everything go perfectly your way.

The month of the year makes a big difference. But it's not in the OP, and the first-time poster has not been back yet. You could find yourself paying the highest price for a room, instead of getting a bargain from a desperate seller. I have found that dealing directly with some hotels can produce a better experience than getting a slight discount from an internet agent.

Tim, the OP said "May".

Hi, everybody,
Thanks for all the feedback. I've been reading and re-reading everyone's opinions. I didn't just post and run away.

I know if I'm going in May like I said, I better make some decisions soon.

It's the 21st century, there's more people traveling than ever before; there's no more off-season for S.Europe. If you really want to travel through Europe on a untethered, completely relaxed, full-flexible schedule...then you can rule-out all the popular destinations and settle for the outlaying, work-a-day towns that support those hot-spot areas.

China, Russia and India all have growing middle and upper-class who are traveling to all the known hot-spots. Just this increase in travelers yearly alone, pushes those popular destinations past their bursting point, look at what's happening to places like Venice and Amsterdam. There's more airlines and more routes at cheaper prices that are bringing more people to these destinations, than ever before. The internet has allowed a much higher level of transparency and visibility for purchase options, smartphones help facilitate a lot of fully-flexible trips BUT, your head will be in your device a lot more than, head-up enjoying the country you're visiting.

If you're visiting Italy for the first time, a bit of planning goes a long way. If you're a frequent traveler and familiar with how the trains/buses operate and have visited some of the destinations prior, you'll likely have an easier time. Keep in mind, Expedia is a 3rd party site, hotels will overbook (not uncommon) and those guests who book directly through their site, will have priority over 3rd party bookies. Cash is also king.

It's the romantic fantasy of saying, "Honey, I'm getting a little bored with Bologna. Why don't we move on to Milan for a few days?" And, armed with Expedia and a guidebook, figure out where to stay and what to see, perhaps 2 days in advance instead of 4 months in advance like I have been doing with my European trips. And just kind of travel around spontaneously like that.

One time, we flew out to Los Angeles, rented a car, and took a week driving north to San Francisco, with no plan at all. We'd get up in the morning, decide where we wanted to stay that night, get out the IPad and use Expedia to reserve a hotel for that night, and then wander up the road, stopping whenever and wherever we wanted. So I have this idea I'd like to do that in Europe.

I've been to Europe maybe half a dozen times. Most of the time, we rent a hotel room in a city like Rome or Paris and use it as a base for 10 days. We've rented a car and driven around Southern France, but we were staying with friends, and not moving from hotel to hotel.

I get the idea that spontaneous travel in Italy in May might be a little problematic. So, here I am, realizing that even an "unplanned" trip has to be planned. Spontaneity has to be planned.

I see a lot of people posting their trip plans, two days here, two days there, 6 different places in two weeks... I respect that, but that's the last thing I want to do. I'm willing to do it, but I'm not willing to plan it out like that. I'm getting to the age where I'd rather wander through a trip at my leisure than "go-go-go/hurry up we have to make the train."

So, I think this time, we'll do our usual planned trip and while we're there, whip out the Ipad and pretend we're doing a spontaneous trip and see how it would go, and if it's feasible, do it next time. Because in the end, the spontaneous travel is the kind of lifestyle I'd like that have.

I get the idea that spontaneous travel in Italy in May might be a
little problematic. So, here I am, realizing that even an "unplanned"
trip has to be planned. Spontaneity has to be planned.

So, I think this time, we'll do our usual planned trip and while we're
there, whip out the Ipad and pretend we're doing a spontaneous trip
and see how it would go, and if it's feasible, do it next time.
Because in the end, the spontaneous travel is the kind of lifestyle
I'd like to have.

You and me both, buddy.

And that feeling even comes home to roost more when you've made yourself a base of sorts--as we did last year for a week at an apartment overlooking Campo de' Fiori in Rome--windows open on a springlike March morning, basking in the sun while drinking our coffee and deciding what to do for the day. Mind you, in Roma you're always going to find something to do, and we had listings of possibilities on our iPad, and were armed with our laminated Streetwise city map & weekly bus/Metro passes. Nothing scary or risky about that, and we really grooved on that intracity version of spontaneity--it made Rome simply magical.

But then out of the blue I asked my wife, what...if we were leaving here today, we were packing up right now, and had to decide where to go from here, without reservations of any kind? Could we do it? We didn't do it, Marty, but just for the heck of it I was about to start checking booking.com and Trenitalia, a dry run like you're proposing to do.

In early March, frankly I don't think it would've been much of a problem except you're paying daily (not discount) rates for the train, and maybe not the best hotel deals, and those factors are pretty much a given with true spontaneous travel anyway. Add to that the fact that Roma Termini station is such a hub, we could've gone anywhere--the possibilities of destinations would be endless.

May, however, is right on the cusp of the dynamic when sheer volume of tourists could put a damper on your options. I would think early May is better than late. I'm not daring you to do it, except for my own amusement! :)

Go for it!

It will work best if you are not the sort of travelers who decide to go to a town just because you've read about a charming lodging you just have to stay at. I'm all for cheap, clean, and equipped with a private bath. It has been 25 years since I've had a dirty hotel room in Europe, but unless you're willing to plunk down a lot of euros, it's best to be mentally prepared for what I call "college-dorm décor".

The train-fare issue will be pretty minor in Italy if you are traveling between modest-sized cities or places not too far apart. Either there will be no expensive Freccia service available or the fixed-price regional trains will not be all that much slower than the Frecce.

Of course it's possible. But for me it would in no way be worth it.

Without hotel reservations you very well may find some places totally booked and if not then you will either find what's available is the most expensive or the crappiest. You need a lot of money or very low standards to travel this way. To get really nice places at a reasonably low price you need to book, sometimes far in advance.

If you are traveling by train, the long distance trips (a few hours or more) can be so much cheaper if booked in advance. Partly because of the savings I'm getting booking most of the train trips in advance, I don't feel bad if I end up not using one of them if I do decide to stay longer or leave sooner.

Also, even if you book in advance, often you can book places with only 1 or 2 two days cancellation so I have occasionally extended or shortened stays. Even occasionally 'wasted' a night by not using it. But still ended up saving money by booking everything in advance.

You will likely spend at least a few hours looking for accommodation. Especially if you wait till you actually get to the town you want to sleep in but even if you are trying to book something a day or two ahead. You will spend time searching for accommodation if you do it months in advance too, but at least in that case you aren't wasting precious vacation time doing so.

Planning what you want to see and where you want to go almost always results in a more rewarding trip. So if you do research in advance you will more likely have a better idea of how long you want to spend in each location. But of course you never know till you get there. That's why I always have a list of 'things I really want to see/do' plus a list of 'second tier things' I might be interested in but wouldn't kill me if I didn't get to them. These usually include several possible day trips. I especially like planning numerous nights in a 'base' and planning on day trips. That way I can be somewhat spontaneous - take or don't take those trips once you are there. This really cuts down on the need to not have reservations.

I'm just tired of overplanning my trips.

I've felt like that a lot in the past few months. I know that If I don't plan in advance, I won't feel more like planning when I'm on the ground. Once I had a trip that began and ended in Rome, with several nights there at each end at a hotel I'd stayed at on a previous trip. This time I hated the hotel. There was a drain problem and bad smells in the room often. The room was not nearly as nice as the one I'd had previously. Before I left, I decided to cancel my stay there and find another place for my last few nights in Rome. It all worked out, I found a very good hotel that I have happily returned to since. But I spent around 3 hours finding and booking that hotel. In between I spent several nights in Sorrento. I had booked a night in Salerno in the middle of that stay to be able to visit Paestum. When I got to Sorrento, I found out that the day I planned to be out of Sorrento was the town's saint day with local festivities and a procession. On the spot I decided to skip Salerno/Paestum. My hotel was booked for that night but they found me a room for the night in a nearby hotel (about the same price, but not nearly as nice) and cancelled my hotel booking in Salerno. This was on a trip in February.

I did get to Salerno and Paestum a couple years later, but on a much more relaxed visit which included time to explore the Amalfi Coast.

My compromise is to find a base for an area I want to see and then I can day trip as the spirit takes me. When I was in Sorrento, I knew I wanted to go to 3 or 4 places and worked out each day either the night before or in the morning over breakfast. I did the same thing on 5 nights in Naples and 5 nights in Salerno. If there are places that strike my fancy on a trip but don't work out, they go on the ever lengthening "next-time" list.

Back in the 1970s, when I was a teenager, every now and then my parents would say something like, "We'll be back in a few weeks. There's food in the freezer." And off they'd go. They would fly to France with no reservations and no plan, rent a car at the airport, and just drive off into the countryside, stopping wherever they felt like stopping. My mother still talks about how great those trips were. They didn't even speak French. They had a lot of funny stories about their misadventures- weird hotel rooms, getting lost, accidentally driving through a public park, accidentally ordering weird food, etc.

Maybe I'm getting the idea of spontaneous travel from their example. It seems like it would be so much easier nowadays with the internet, hotel booking apps, GPS, Google translate, and so forth. I think it just takes a little nerve, which I may or may not have.

We still do and it works well despite some of the nay sayers who can find lots of reasons not to. Go for it.

How about some planning without the commitment? You don't need to commit to a booking for every day of a trip, but do some planning for areas you are interested in. Even short list some hotels so you aren't spending too much incountry time researching. Budget transport at full fare and go for it.

《And generally big cities, in the city centers, are the only ones that may be fully booked, such as Venice anytime, Rome near Easter or between the holidays of 4/25 and May1, etc 》
Not to divert the topic, but what is the significance of this last week in April? I know May 1can mess with a lot of plans, but do people just plan to vacation between the 2 national holidays? Is it just a concern for Rome?

How about some planning without the commitment? You don't need to
commit to a booking for every day of a trip, but do some planning for
areas you are interested in. Even short list some hotels so you aren't
spending too much incountry time researching. Budget transport at full
fare and go for it.

Well, that's it, Maria. What's the point of planning without the commitment? Knowing myself, if I embarked on the spontaneous way of life in Italy for a trip, it's quite possible--probable in fact--that I'd be planning more than if I just had a set itinerary. I'd have a map of Italy, probably with Rome & Florence as hubs, with possible permutation lines outward like spokes on a wheel, knowing that the further away from the hubs, the fewer the options. Geez, what an anal-retentive rabbit hole!

Of course, this is partially tongue-in-cheek because I'm a planner by nature and actually enjoy the figuring-out process, and the more I research, the more I learn about history, logistics, geography, local economics & politics, and it's all fascinating. Like--for our potential next trip--fly into Naples, want to get down to Sicily and do that weird train/ferry across the Strait of Messina. But with flight arrival time & train changes, it can't be done all in one day. OK, where's a nice stop-off for a couple days? Boom--Maratea! Our Roman friends were there last spring and recommended it highly.

I think bottom line is that I'd do it if A) it were off or shoulder season, mid-October through April; B) I had the luxury time-wise of at least 2 weeks, preferably 3 weeks to a month, and C) I really boned up on all the mobile & iPad apps out there--damn young whippersnappers know it all!--but also had an arsenal of guidebooks & hardcopy maps with me.

Oh, Happy New Year to the best forum-ites around! You've helped me immensely in my voyages & I hope I've paid it forward at times.

Hi Marty,

For my trips to Rome, I reserve the airfare far in advance (because of the excellent prices from BA when they run their RT flash deals - very inexpensive.) I also reserve my hotel in Rome - stayed there last year and the year before - it's like I never left :)

I will reserve again this year.

I am a planner, but, I am also a free spirit. A nice balance, and it works for me.

Some of my best memories are those that were happenstance - first trip getting a bit lost and discovering little out of the way places (off the beaten path) and having conversations that turned into friendships and recently experiencing Rome through my friends.

One thing I will always cherish - in 12/2017, coming out of the Pantheon and setting up were professional street musicians. It was close to lunch time, so the crowd of travelers and business people were increasing. I found a seat on the wall adjacent to the Pantheon.

Each guy had a different instrument. When they started to play and sing, it was mesmerizing. The lead singer (who also played keyboard) has an unusual, beautiful, melodic voice. That particular day, they played haunting and soulful tunes. I lost track of time and stayed to listen for almost two hours. (I caught them at Piazza Navona one night and also at Camp de' Fiori.) Sometimes, they play tunes from the Eagles, Pink Floyd, Stones and some other rock 'n roll & George Michael. Nice memories. (I pull up skylinewebcams of Italy and catch them at night. It brings me "right back.")

For this trip in 12/2018, I revisited friends I made the year before. Most of my evenings (and a couple of days) changed - for the better! I made some loose itineraries leaving open a change of mind or whatever.

One day, on my walk to the Trevi, I came upon a "marching band" with its members dressed as Santa, blaring their horns with jazzy renditions of Christmas songs. It was a lot of fun and had many people dancing and smiling - getting into the Christmas Spirit!

I visited Saint Peter's a couple of days at different times. Seeing the day change into dusk while at the Piazza was beautiful. It was magical lit up. Hearing the church bells was both chilling and relaxing. Looking up and staring at the huge tree and pondering last year's interesting "sand art" Nativity was really something.

I went to see my friend to congratulate him on the opening of his new store near St. Peter's. He opened in the Spring, and it's different than his other store (which is a bit closer to the Vatican.) He has additional plans for this store to be completed by this year's end.

An example, I wanted to attend a mini concert at St. Paul's Church - the trio performed only certain dates. Tickets could be bought the day of the evening performance. I thought, "if I go, I go." It would have been nice, but, I really had great times with friends. I also did not make advanced reservations for any sites though - saw a lot of them on my first trip.

And, at a restaurant I frequented, I was treated like a friend of the family with a little extra attention. I had a lot of fun with them as well as talking to some regulars and "strangers."

I favor Rome because of its big city stance; tons to do or not do. You can "get lost but not be lost." Rome is a walking museum -wander into any neighborhood, down any street, or turn any corner and see something of interest or meet someone special...

Orvieto is sweet and quaint with a home-town feel. You can spend a couple of days there and maybe not see it all. I hope to explore this special, medieval city in depth.

But, for now, Rome has me hooked.

Whatever you decide or wherever you choose to go, have fun and "go with it." The adventure awaits...