Venice and no reservations

Are you travelling off season, or when it is busy?

Sorry for not putting a date in. We will be in Venice on May 9 and 10th.

Thanks....Kathy

We're off tomorrow to London and our penultimate stop in a few weeks is Venice before heading home from Rome (we'll be there about the same time as you). I (and that's only me) cannot imagine arriving in Venice without a room booked to avoid knocking on doors (can you do that from a boat?...) and wasting even 1 hour of my Ventime looking for a place to rest my head. There's places I'd do it, Venice is not one of them. You've a lot more hutzpah than me, Kathy, good luck. If I see a family of three sleeping on a bench I'll stop and ask if it's you.......

Your question: Do you think we can get hotels in Venice without reservations on May 9th and 10th?This is not a good idea, showing up without a reservation in Venice on a Friday and Saturday in May and looking for a triple. Rick on Venice hotels: "Reserve a room as soon as you know when you'll be in Venice. Hotels in Venice are usually booked up on...Fridays and Saturdays year-round" (Italy, chapter on sleeping in Venice). And triples are harder to find than doubles. You know your dates, so why not book in advance?

I don't understand why you wouldn't book if you know the exact dates you will be in Venice. Triple rooms are harder to find then doubles. You can always find a place but it may not be the price or the quality you wish to spend.

Venere.com is an excellent source.

Kathy.. We were in Italy last May for the Whole month. We were in Venice From May1-9. We are photographers and we found it very crowded. The Cinque Terre was even more crowded. It is definitely high season in Italy in May.We stayed at the Hotel Campiello which we dearly loved, but it is not cheap. Besides being crowded, Venice is very expensive.The Campiello is located right off the boat docks, but on a tiny quiet calle or street. Lovely breakfast. It will last you all day.It probably is full, but they do have triples and quads, and even apartments for 4 or 5.

Venice in May can be very crowded. Complicating matters are all the cruises that are now sailing out of Venice. All those folks tend to soak up a lot of available rooms. As others have said if your dates are set then start looking and book when you find something. You may find that you'll have trouble even now.

It probably doesn't need saying, but if you do show up without reservations go to the tourist information office in the train station. They do hotel bookings. Also, runners from hotels with vacancies are often there.

I one time showed up in Venice without a reservation (didn't believe in them at the time but do now), not knowing it was the opening night of the Biennale. I found a room through a runner at the TI but a few hours later they posted a sign at the TI saying "Venice is full".

I doubt you'll be shut out, but, as others have said, if you know the dates you'll be there, why not reserve now. In addition to Venere and Tripadvisor, the Venice Tourist Office has good listings online. That's how we found the budget Hotel Santa Lucia last year for early May and we were quite pleased.

Kathy, bad idea. As one who has traveled extensively both with and without reservations I can tell you that you are courting disaster...like the time we showed up in Aix en Provence in late September only to be told "Sold Out" and that was at the TI. In October, we met people who ended up in Maestrie (on the mainland near Venice) because they couldn't get reservations....unless I'm traveling Nov - April, I make reservations at all "hot spots"...and Venice, CT, Florence and Lake Como are definitely hot spots.

Thank all of you for the wise information. You know how I will be spending my Sunday. Off to work on Venice.