Left an important detail out of my own post--we are flying out of Linate airport in Milan and are looking for accomodations convenient to the airport bus. Thanks!

I booked ahead of time. I was told by a friend who spent virtually whole day looking for accomodations in Rome to at least book in the major cities because of her lost time there searching for a hotel. (of course there was an event in town when this happened to her, but..)

I have never understood the appeal of traveling to Europe without hotel reservations. the webiste www.italyhotel.com is so good and so reliable (I have used it at least a dozen times, including for cancellations - - perhaps the most crucial test) - - I can't see why not to use it. And www.karenbrown.com is ALWAYS a great source of recommendations.

For info on public transportation to Linate airport, you might want to consult the website www.sea-aeroportimilano.it/eng/Linate/collegamenti.htm for the two main options.

Best wishes,

Rex

Even in the off-season, I too would not want to spend one moment of my vacation either searching or finding a hotel. Arriving jet-lagged, and with luggage in hand, and waiting in a line in the tourist information office, is not how I want to spend my first day. Although November is less-crazed than other seasons, it is by no means devoid of tourists, and some of the most-recommended places will not have rooms available. On the other hand, if you're both very flexible with time, money, and hotel needs, adventurous, and enjoy the pluses and minuses of "winging it" then I wish you good look and a good trip.

The whole question of booking in advance is dependant on how planned your trip is. Most posters on this forum argue that you should book to save yourself valuable time during your holiday. I'm guessing these are people with short holidays breaks who can't affort to be too unplanned.

Speaking for myself we just returned two days ago from 6 weeks in Greece, Italy and Malta. Apart from 3 nights in Venice, 3 nights in Santorini and 10 days in Malta (my partner wanted to stay in the same room he had had before) everything else we arranged when we arrived in a town - and that included Rome, Florence, Athens etc. Even in Venice and Santorini we stayed on longer in different hotels we found while there.

We prefer to be completely flexible about how long we stay in a town depending on how much we like it. Hence we booked another night in Santorini, and another night in Venice (and in both cases in hotels we thought were better value). Booking as you go also means that you know what you are paying for. No unfortunate surprises when you arrive to find your room looks over a busy main road, or has cockroaches under the bed.

While it can sometimes be a bit time consuming finding a hotel, we never were left in the lurch, and in most cases we found something quite quickly. And the search can be quite fun sometimes. Certainly most of the hotels in the guide books will be booked out the busy season, but they represent a fraction of what is available. In Santorini, Athens, Venice and Rome we stayed some of the time in tour book recommended hotels (two of these without reservation) and I wouldn't rate any of them as the best hotels we stayed at - In fact we thought the Hotel Byron in Athens was dreadful....

So if you are short on time and have a set itinarary - sure book ahead, but if you want flexibility and the opportunity to 'try before you buy' book you bags into the luggage storage at the train station and go on a walking tour of the town. Make sure you ask to see the rooms of any hotels you check out.

Bear in mind I am saying this based on a October-November trip. I think the same plan would be risky in the July-August period.

Caitlin
email snoops@one.net.au