While stationed in Germany in the early 80s, we used to take a weekend away without reservations for lodging. We always found pensions or B&Bs on the fly depending on where we decided to stop for the day. We plan on driving around Tuscany, Provence, and the channel islands and southern Ireland or England next spring. Will our lodging experiences have changed since the old days?
Posted by
Coquitlam
238 posts
Things have change, both for the better and worse. The areas are discovered and busier.
You will be able to travel without reservations, but may find it challenging to,find accommodation that meets your needs.
We used to travel without reservations, but now try and book in advance. Try and stay multiple nights in each area and day trip. For Tuscany I would recommend a car. You can explore more areas.
Enjoy your trip.
Posted by
Reading, PA, USA
1637 posts
Same advice, I used to travel in the 80s and 90s without reservations. Today, because of the internet, not a chance. Two years ago when I was planning a trip to Italy I was just checking out places I might have wanted to stay at and found that 5 months in advance many of them were already booked solid.
Posted by
San Franciso Bay Area, USA
1043 posts
Agree, it is not that easy to travel and reserve on the fly. Went to Italy in June and thought I had plenty of time to make reservations. Four months in advance found that most of the RS recommendations were already booked and my choices were more expensive options. In fairness, I was booking for 6 people. We found flats to rent in the most popular places. Last year in October went to Spain with just my husband and again, many of the more reasonably priced and highly rated places were booked.
Have a great trip,
Sandy