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Traveling to Europe late May thru late June
Hello,
A friend and I plan on traveling europe for a month between May and June (arriving the weekend of May 22nd...). We plan to start in Paris, and then work our way to Munich, and some of the major cities in Italy (venice, florence, rome). We'll be leaving late June. We were planning on finding accommodations when we get there, to allow more flexibility. We looked into reserving the first couple of nights in Paris, and the first hotel we tried is already booked up for that weekend! (late May). It being only early April now... we're starting to wonder if it's necessary to book way in advance these days? Does anyone have any experience and advice? Searching through the archives, it seems like most people do not have a problem traveling without reservations, even during the summer. I'm just wondering whether we should be concerned, and if hotels are filling up more quickly nowadays. I guess the fact that the hotel we wanted is already booked up this far in advance was a bit disheartening. Another thought I had was... perhaps it's easier to book last minute because people cancel their reservations? Thanks! |
Traveling to Europe late May thru late June
"80k" schreef in bericht m... Hello, A friend and I plan on traveling europe for a month between May and June (arriving the weekend of May 22nd...). We plan to start in Paris, and then work our way to Munich, and some of the major cities in Italy (venice, florence, rome). We'll be leaving late June. We were planning on finding accommodations when we get there, to allow more flexibility. We looked into reserving the first couple of nights in Paris, and the first hotel we tried is already booked up for that weekend! (late May). It being only early April now... we're starting to wonder if it's necessary to book way in advance these days? Does anyone have any experience and advice? Searching through the archives, it seems like most people do not have a problem traveling without reservations, even during the summer. I'm just wondering whether we should be concerned, and if hotels are filling up more quickly nowadays. I guess the fact that the hotel we wanted is already booked up this far in advance was a bit disheartening. Another thought I had was... perhaps it's easier to book last minute because people cancel their reservations? With a few exceptions (major conferences, holiday long weekends in several countries, etc.) you will always find a place to sleep. But ofcourse the hotel of your choice may be full and and you will need to look around and spend some time to find a nice hotel that has vacancies. So my advice is to book ahead if you know when you will be where. If not, don't worry you will find something. Last year in May we spent 10 days in Italy and Switzerland, moving from place to place almost every day, and only once (in Bologna, major conference taking place there) did we spend a few hours finding a hotel with a vacant room. Sjoerd |
Traveling to Europe late May thru late June
80k wrote: Hello, A friend and I plan on traveling europe for a month between May and June (arriving the weekend of May 22nd...). We plan to start in Paris, and then work our way to Munich, and some of the major cities in Italy (venice, florence, rome). We'll be leaving late June. We were planning on finding accommodations when we get there, to allow more flexibility. We looked into reserving the first couple of nights in Paris, and the first hotel we tried is already booked up for that weekend! (late May). It being only early April now... we're starting to wonder if it's necessary to book way in advance these days? Does anyone have any experience and advice? Searching through the archives, it seems like most people do not have a problem traveling without reservations, even during the summer. I'm just wondering whether we should be concerned, and if hotels are filling up more quickly nowadays. I guess the fact that the hotel we wanted is already booked up this far in advance was a bit disheartening. Another thought I had was... perhaps it's easier to book last minute because people cancel their reservations? Thanks! 80k, Where did you get your hotel name? If it was from any of the popular budget guidebooks then thousands of others were also trying to get a room at the same place. There are about 1,500 hotels in and around Paris so keep looking. Do a google for Paris hotels. Late May is not a busy travel season in Europe so I would stay flexible, except reserve for your first couple of nights as you plan. On the weekend after your arrival however, 30 May happens to be Pentecost (Whit Sunday) and the day after is a holiday in France, Germany, Holland, and other countries. May 31 is also Memorial Day in the USA. It might be a good idea to find a room by mid afternoon that weekend. John Bermont -- ------------------------------------------------------ * * * Mastering Independent Budget Travel * * * http://www.enjoy-europe.com/ ------------------------------------------------------ |
Traveling to Europe late May thru late June
"80k" wrote in message m... We were planning on finding accommodations when we get there, to allow more flexibility. We looked into reserving the first couple of nights in Paris, and the first hotel we tried is already booked up for that weekend! (late May). It being only early April now... we're starting to wonder if it's necessary to book way in advance these days? Does anyone have any experience and advice? Searching through the archives, it seems like most people do not have a problem traveling without reservations, even during the summer. I'm just wondering whether we should be concerned, and if hotels are filling up more quickly nowadays. I guess the fact that the hotel we wanted is already booked up this far in advance was a bit disheartening. May and June should be easy for accommodations, however, it might be a good idea to call ahead a couple of days in advance; in this way you can keep the flexibility you want and still know that you have a room waiting for you when you arrive in the next town. Some places are booked up way ahead of time, though these are usually the places that appear in several guidebooks and are both charming and relatively cheap, but do not have a large number of rooms. I'm talking about two or three star accommodation here. If you're looking at the high-end there are usually lots of rooms available. When I've been stuck because every hotel I've phoned was fully booked, I've gone to internet cafes during my trip to search for alternatives that weren't listed in guidebooks, as I've never been fond of going from hotel to hotel with baggage. Lana |
Traveling to Europe late May thru late June
"80k" wrote
| I guess the fact that the hotel we wanted is already booked | up this far in advance was a bit disheartening. Perhaps they have a big wedding or conference on that weekend? Owain |
Traveling to Europe late May thru late June
John Bermont wrote:
80k, Where did you get your hotel name? If it was from any of the popular budget guidebooks then thousands of others were also trying to get a room at the same place. There are about 1,500 hotels in and around Paris so keep looking. Do a google for Paris hotels. It was a recommendation from a friend who has visited Paris several times. I actually did not find this particular hotel in the tourbooks I had (Lonely Planet, Rick Steves), which is what made the situation even more surprising. Late May is not a busy travel season in Europe so I would stay flexible, except reserve for your first couple of nights as you plan. On the weekend after your arrival however, 30 May happens to be Pentecost (Whit Sunday) and the day after is a holiday in France, Germany, Holland, and other countries. May 31 is also Memorial Day in the USA. It might be a good idea to find a room by mid afternoon that weekend. Thanks for the heads up. We will keep those days in mind for sure, and try to make sure we have a place reserved at least a couple days in advance! |
Traveling to Europe late May thru late June
szozu wrote:
May and June should be easy for accommodations, however, it might be a good idea to call ahead a couple of days in advance; in this way you can keep the flexibility you want and still know that you have a room waiting for you when you arrive in the next town. Some places are booked up way ahead of time, though these are usually the places that appear in several guidebooks and are both charming and relatively cheap, but do not have a large number of rooms. I'm talking about two or three star accommodation here. If you're looking at the high-end there are usually lots of rooms available. When I've been stuck because every hotel I've phoned was fully booked, I've gone to internet cafes during my trip to search for alternatives that weren't listed in guidebooks, as I've never been fond of going from hotel to hotel with baggage. Lana Thanks for the advice. Yea we are, unfortunately, also looking for cheaper hotels (around 2 stars). I guess at the worst case scenario, we can stay at a higher-end hotel for a night or two. I think the best thing for us to do is to make sure we have a large list of hotels to call for every place we go to. Other than tourbooks, what do you think is the best way to search for hotels? Any particular websites? Thanks again! |
Traveling to Europe late May thru late June
"80k" wrote in message ink.net... Other than tourbooks, what do you think is the best way to search for hotels? Any particular websites? I would avoid the "find a hotel" websites for France. Every time I have used one the hotel has not been expecting me when I arrive. Fortunately they have always had room. Now I e-mail or phone direct, or book through the hotel's own website. I find a very good way of finding hotels in France is the French yellow pages online. Often give a better map (than say, Ibis or the other Accor chains). Tony |
Traveling to Europe late May thru late June
A friend and I plan on traveling europe for a month between May and
June (arriving the weekend of May 22nd...). We plan to start in Paris, and then work our way to Munich, and some of the major cities in Italy (venice, florence, rome). We'll be leaving late June. We were planning on finding accommodations when we get there, to allow more flexibility. We looked into reserving the first couple of nights in Paris, and the first hotel we tried is already booked up for that weekend! (late May). It being only early April now... we're starting to wonder if it's necessary to book way in advance these days? Does anyone have any experience and advice? Searching through the archives, it seems like most people do not have a problem traveling without reservations, even during the summer. I'm just wondering whether we should be concerned, and if hotels are filling up more quickly nowadays. I guess the fact that the hotel we wanted is already booked up this far in advance was a bit disheartening. Another thought I had was... perhaps it's easier to book last minute because people cancel their reservations? We have only twice been stuck without accoms. Once was some Festival in Romanshorn, another time was the August Festival in Orbetello. Both nights we spent on a park bench. So do your research and find out whats on. |
Traveling to Europe late May thru late June
"80k" wrote in message ink.net... we are, unfortunately, also looking for cheaper hotels (around 2 stars). I guess at the worst case scenario, we can stay at a higher-end hotel for a night or two. I think the best thing for us to do is to make sure we have a large list of hotels to call for every place we go to. Other than tourbooks, what do you think is the best way to search for hotels? Any particular websites? If you go to Google and then type in something like "2 star hotels Paris" or "budget hotels Paris" you should get a lot of websites coming up. The good sites will include photos. You can sometimes get more hits if you translate this into the language of the country you're going to. For good, up-to-date travel information, searching the www.lonelyplanet.com site under Thorn Tree will get you input from other budget travellers on all sorts of subjects. Lana |
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