Woo-hoo, what a great name to choose.
When I'm winging it I book my flight and my first and last night's accommodations, near the airport. I consider if I want to stay in one place and go out from there on day trips, or if I want to move around a bit. I look into deals like rail passes, which can simplify moving around, if that's what you want. Then, plan generally, trying to understand as much as you can about the regions you're most interested in, including the history, culture and current politics. I'd read several guidebooks and ask about sites/sights not to miss (fodors.com will come through with great specifics, including this forum and the Europe one--you've got some of the best advice anywhere on this website.)
I sometimes write a "cheat sheet" of "not to miss things," to remind me while I'm traveling, and review it before before I move on. I also write down the name of a country's president or head of state. It's nice (and respectful) to know this sort of stuff when talking to locals, and in some cases easy to forget if you don't write down.
The more planning you do, the better you can wing it when you're there, because, ironically, organization leads to spontaneity.
If you're traveling in the summer it will be more crowded and a bit less easy to find last minute accommodations in some places, though hostels usually come through. My fave month in Europe is May, when everything's up and running, crowds are not a problem, and scarlet poppies are waving carpets in fields and roadsides in southern Europe.
You go girl!
Lea

WooHoo – I don’t know how long you plan to travel and in which month and what sort of a budget. I have done both, winging it or on a schedule. I think when you are winging it in the interest of time you want to do the research while still at home and decide on cities/towns and hotels and make reservations. Planning takes time and you don’t want to waste time during your trip. This way you are all set for the duration of your trip. Almost all hotels have a one day cancellation policy (worst I saw was a week) and more lenient when you are just moving the days around. You can adjust the days and go to other places if you decided on an alternate place and if you find a hotel there. I have been surprised more than once with not finding a room in short notice. In month of May when I wanted to stay in Prague couple of days longer all the places in the center including where I was staying were booked solid and I finally managed to stay longer by transferring to two different rooms. Or in September I had to bypass a white village in Spain since I spent two days making calls three times a day and looking for a place and did not find a single room even when I went to the highest price hotel available, and etc.

Looks like Woohooo has un registered her screen name already..wonder what that was all about??

Lea Lane, I know you write for Fodors, but I thought it was against the rules to advertise on the forums. If you are allowed to sell books on your posts, why shouldn't someone else--say, an innkeeper--try to hawk their goods? It seems to me that this is the road down a long and slippery path...

Dear Mermaid, I don't have anything to do with the ads. This is Fodors forum, and they offer it as a great service to travelers. All major websites have ads, and Fodors advertises their books throughout the site, of course. That's why they can offer the site free to us. Hosts are given logos when they host a forum. You don't have to bother with it, although I think the cover is pretty!
Because my book is just out, and is different from and more personal than any they have done before, Fodors is justly proud of it, and is showing it throughout the website. I have nothing at all to do with that.
I would hope that you can be happy that there is a book out to help soloists! We are part of a growing trend, and Fodor's is savvy enough to offer the book, and this thread.
I think fodors.com is the best of all the travel websites. Bear with them if they advertise their books. All the advice and connection you get from the site is free, and a book logo isn't such an awful thing to deal with.

WooHoo, I have done both. I think you can always find a place to stay so that's not a huge problem. The issue is whether or not you can stay in exactly that pensione or hotel that you have your heart set on. If you have some specific requirements, book them before you leave home. Otherwise, winging it lets you stay as long as you like or leave a place if you find you no longer want to be there. You can always call ahead a couple of days and make your reservations.

Of course, all of this depends on time of year, as well. Peak tourist seasons are a lot harder when it comes to getting a room in a very popular place.

I spent two weeks in Croatia without a single reservation. It worked fine and I had a great time.

I am glad to see the offending logos are gone. I am sure your book is helpful to travellers but that isn't what my concern was about. It was more that Fodors has made rules and they were being flagrantly disregarded. No advertising was to be done by posters. Those of us who find these boards useful have respected Fodors' wishes in that regard. So I say, what's good for the goose is good for the gander.

Another point that I'd like to bring up is that I rely on information from Fodors on its travel boards to be without bias or interest other than promoting better travel. If I see blatant advertising on the forum, regardless of who or why it's there, it makes me question the sincerity and motives of the person offering the advice. I am sure you would not want to have suspicion cast on your posts because you were selling books.

Grasshopper, I can only guess who WooHoo was, but we'll never know, because the name has already been deleted. A prank poster, I should think.

Mermaid: Lea Lane has repeatedly disclosed that she has written Solo Traveler for Fodor's. Use your own judgement, but it's clear that having access to an experienced travel writer far outweighs a hypothetical long and slippery path to unbridled stealth advertising on the forums.

Peter Kay
Fodors.com

I can't worry about whether or not WooHoo is a real poster or not. It's a reasonable question and perhaps there are potential solo travelers out there lurking who are helped by this thread.

Point taken, Peter. I never thought Lea was using any kind of subterfuge. And I do know that Fodors is in the business of selling books. It would be foolish of Fodors NOT to advertise on their website. However, advertising within travel posts, to me, compromises the integrity of the forums. Fodors obviously agrees with me, since I see the advertising has been removed from Lea's post. I applaud the wisdom of this decision.

BTW, I have several of Fodors guidebooks on many subjects. I also push Fodors to all my friends and family who travel because I think they do an excellent job. We are not ungrateful to Fodors for the opportunity it gives us to talk about travel, nor do we begrudge advertising by Fodors! But not within the posts.

I have always noticed when someone who has a restaurant or travel business, and posts here to tout said business, Fodors deletes them.
Where is the difference in a regular poster "hosting" a forum and selling/advertising her/his book, and that poster who decides to take advantage of the free space and adverises theirs?

It's a Fodors Guide. Does that make a difference?

I'm still here and thanks to all who helped me out! As for Scarlet and Mermaid, I'll have you know that I am no 'prank poster'.
As for Ms. Lane's book...I bought a copy from Amazon the day after I posted my first message. The very first day I heard of Fodor's, I registered, and found EXACTLY what I was looking for thanks to Ms. Lane. If she isn't able to promote her book, I'll do it for her. BUY her new book: SOLO TRAVELER...it's a must read for all single get up and go people!

I think I figured it out. For some reason the posts on this thread don't show when you click on your name. And since WooHoo has only posted on this thread, it looks like she has not posts.

So WooHoo, will you tell us about your plans? Where will you go? When? How long?

For some reason all the other posters names come up when you click on them.
I never called anyone a Prank Poster, btw- just that I was wondering. Which I am no longer doing, since I have a good idea what is going on here..yawn, my tendencies to play Sherlock tire me out sometimes LOL
Knowing someone like Grasshopper has traveled and often alone, would make me more interested in what she has to say than someone who un registers a screen name after each posting..

And on other threads, if you click on the names, some have only posted on these threads once, so a name will come up if they post, anywhere.
Unless they un- register that name , and use the name they usually post under.

I'm sorry, I wasn't clear. It's only this board that doesn't come up on a search. If you click on my name, the posts I've made here don't come up. WooHoo only posted on this board. Click on Lea's name. Only the posts she has made on other boards come up. Her posts here don't show up.

I would hate to see WooHoo get maligned just because her name looks like someone others may disagree with.

I see what you mean.
There is a poster who uses the words WooHoo and that is definitely NOT who I think this person is.

Oh wise Grasshopper...thank you for your kind words. This post was getting a little out of hand...hence the only reason I stuck up for Lea and the advertising of her book. I could actually care less where the advice and help comes from, I just didn't appreciate the negativity.
ANYWAY...The countries I would like to visit are Ireland,England, Holland, France, Spain, Italy, and Greece. Woo-HOO! I'm not leaving until the spring of next year so I have lots of time to plan and save. I am basically going to stay until my money runs out. I plan on budgeting as much as possible with the occasional splurge! YaY! I'll be on this forum for awhile checking things out and posting so thank you for making me feel welcome!

Be careful about showing up at remote places like Zermatt, Switzerland without reservations. When I was there skiing, I could have sold my room for $500 per night if there had been any other place to stay. People who showed up there were just out of luck with no way to immediately get back out of there. I've often wondered what happened to them!