How important is it to book lodging ahead for three weeks in Spain?

It all depends on the places you visit. Do say please.

Can you tell us where? If big cities, then I would probably book ahead.

Traveling after Covid is so different than before. Lots of tour groups booking hotels now after opening up and everyone still travels in my view until October.

If you mean in a smaller city then you will probably have more luck.

Time of year makes a big difference, as does the location. It also matters if you are the type that demands a lot of a hotel, that it must have certain amenities, level of service, or some aesthetic feature...or if you are just looking for a reasonable place to spend the night.

Last September, we spent 3+ weeks in Spain, and did a mix. Like you, we normally reserve the first and last stops. Then, using Booking.com, I created a short list of places in each of the locations we were interested in. By doing so, I could see availability in each place. Booking.com shows you the places that are full as well as available. As a result, I saw that Donostia-San Sebastian (third stop) was tight, so I booked, which locked in dates for the second stop (Bilbao) so I booked that as well. The rest of the nights remained unbooked until we arrived.

As the trip went, we did change our itinerary. We added Zaragoza as a way to break up a long travel day, had planned on Valencia as a stop, but scrapped it, lengthened a stay in Nerja, since the weather was nice and the wife wanted some beach time, scrapped Toledo in favor of extra nights in Madrid (had been to both before), so yes, we were glad we kept it flexible. We firmed up plans and booked, anywhere from the day before to a week ahead, used Booking.com for most of the reservations, we also had some IHG points that we used their app for added nights in Madrid.

Both Madrid and Barcelona benefit from early booking, San Sebastian looks to always be tight (and costly) during "the season", every place else we had great choices within a lowball budget of ~100 euro a night. This year or next? can't say, that is where seeing availability is a great tool.

I ALWAYS book lodging ahead of time. Why not, it is better to plan your trip, research things to do, places to see and find the best and most affordable lodgings.

As others have said, it depends on when and where you’re going. Some small towns have very limited lodging. Big cities during the main travel season could also be problematic. For late fall (October, November) you should be fine in the larger cities and probably ok in many small cities. The past few years we’ve booked lodging in advance.

Thanks everyone. I’m still working out our itinerary but thinking I’ll mostly book in advance. I think it will remove stress to know where we’re landing in each new place.

Thanks everyone. I’m still working out our itinerary but thinking I’ll mostly book in advance. I think it will remove stress to know where we’re landing in each new place.

Wise choice, IMHO.

Remember that fall is still a popular time to visit Spain, so not really considered low season.

Don’t forget to book your Alhambra tickets ( soon) if Granada is in your itinerary!

Enjoy your time in beautiful Spain!

For October I booked my Barcelona hotel for 2 pre tour nights. City hotels get busy so I would book now.

To me the only reason to book in advance is to assure yourself of the quality, price, and location of the lodging that may be important to you. Of our European sojourns, only Scotland and Ireland--particularly in the hinterlands (but also Edinburg during August with the Fringe and Tatoo) were concerning enough that booking ahead was critical. But since we booked ahead, our day trip to Aboyne was only that since we paid for nights in Inverness -- and Aboyne was so lovely!

We went to Italy at the end of June (pre-covid) with only booking our first nights and last night in Rome. We stayed in Tuscany in a lovely place. Venice: we were right on the canal--at a bit of a cost. Cinque Ter was a day trip from Lucca because places in the five cities were unavailable. And the place in Lucca was acceptable, but not romantic... we still made great memories.

The point being, if you're going to a high traffic tourist area during the high season and you want to be in the thick of things with everyone else, book ahead. If you're willing to let Whimsey be your guide, take a chance! Maybe you'll fall into something lovely that you'd never have considered.

One thing this forum has taught me: we all travel differently. And the one thing about travel: things never quite go as expected or hoped for. And that's where the joy, and the stories we share with friends, come from.