We are traveling by rental car October 5th thru 8th thru Verona, Bergamo, Bellagio areas.

I would like to try not to make hotel reservations for these four nites so we can be more flexible in our itinerary.

We do have reservations for the first four nites in Venice and our last nite in Milan, so it is not all spontaneous.

Do you think we will have issues finding a hotel at this time?

We are not so concerned about getting into the perfect hotel, but i have had situations where nothing in the city was open.

Thoughts?

we are travelling some of the same dates..( 8th-12th) and i am finding lodging, but also am not so anxious to decide yet where to stay every night.

i will, however, book it before we go as i am finding a wide variety of rates for the same lodgings depending on the sites i use.

i am finding bergamo the hardest to find a place in my preferred price range.

During June, 2004 my wife, daughter (22) and I stayed at the youth hostel in Bergamo. It was very nice and modern but you will need a car to get there. The old city part of Bergamo is very charming. I doubt you will have any trouble finding a room at this time of year. We returned yesterday from the region north of Torino and found no trouble finding a room at all during the week moving around. The tourist information offices in towns throughout Italy are especially helpful. We liked Verona also.
Enjoy.

2Michals,

I think you will be OK in Bergamo - there are plenty of hotels there & I wouldn't imagine that they will be particularly busy at that time of year.

Bellagio, on the other hand, might present a problem as you will be there out of season & some of the hotels may well be closed. I think if I were you I would make some enquiries before you leave - even if only to see which hotels will be open during your stay. You would then have an idea how necessary reservations would be.

Jim

Thanks everyone. Sounds like we will be fine without reservations in Bergamo.

As far as Bellagio goes, I will do a little surfing on Venere.com to see how many hotels are available,as that would indicate how many are open in the area.

Jim, where did you stay?

2Michals,

We stayed at the Excelsior San Marco in Bergamo & the Metropole in Bellagio. Here is a link to my trip report if you are interested;
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34598121

You might also find the following site useful - it is the local tourist office site & contains details of all the hotels in Bellagio as well as links to their individual websites;

http://www.bellagiohotel.it/inglese/italiano.html

Hope this helps,

Jim

Jim, as it turns out I have read your trip report at least three times, each time gleaning different tidbits of information. I hope to post a trip report as well so others can gain insight.

I did look on venere.com and only one hotel popped up as available in Bellagio, so I e-mailed Metropole to see if they might have a room anyway.

October 5-8 is not "out of season" for Bellagio. Hotels will begin closing after October 15th, and the hotels all "cooperate" to the extent that one of the major lakeside hotels stays open until the Grand Hotel Serbelloni (5*) closes. Once the Serbelloni closes, the season is done, although the Residence La Limonera (apartment accommodations) stays open all year.