travelallover

We just booked our air to Germany for May. I'm wondering if we are better off having reservations for hotels or having more flexibility. We are a family of mom, dad (50's), 2 sons and DIL (mid 20's) and GS (13 months). How hard is it going to be to find 3 rooms in Kiel, Rothenburg and Fussen? Thanks for your ideas.

nycgirl1

I think it really depends on your comfort level and risk tolerance, in a way. Personally, I like having mine all booked ahead of time. When I'm tired and ready to get to my hotel, I don't want to be turned away and told to find somewhere else. The security of knowing I have a place to stay and not having that hang over me each day is worth a little bit of inflexibility in plans.

That being said, if you have a solid list of 3-4 places that you're researched ahead of time - it may be worth it to just take your chances and check them out once you arrive. If you're not sure how long you'll be in each destination and playing it by ear is important to you, then go for it.

I don't imagine those towns will be totally booked up in May - there are no big conventions going on that I've read of during research for my own trip around that time.

HCart

The worse case scenario is that the GS is cranky, everyone else is tired and now stressed because they can't find 3 rooms and it's eating into your time to explore and enjoy. It could happen to even the most easy-going of families and could be avoided by booking ahead. You would lose some flexibility but it would be worth the peace of mind in my book.

nytraveler

Well- I'm risk averse when it comes to hotels - I want very specific things - so I do everything in advance.

How flexible are you willing to be? Location? Shared baths? And keep in mind that you will need 3 rooms (may be hard to get in the smaller hotels in the area).

I would do all the research now to find out some options of where you would like to stay. Then contact one or two to see what availability they have for your dates. If they're already starting to fill up I wouldn;t risk going without resies. If they have tons of room you might want to risk it.

In any case, reserve a hotel for at least the first night in advance.

ira

Hi T,

Rothenburg and Fuessen are two main tourist sites, and you want 3 rooms.

Will spending 1/2 day looking for a place to stay with an upset and cranky baby, 2 f\grumpy sons, a frazzled DIL and a grouchy wife who finally agree to take a place that costs more than you had budgeted for and provides much less than you had expected spoil your day?

If not, wing it.

travelallover

Thank for all the replies. We now have reservations for all but 2 nights, still working on them. OS broke his leg snowmobiling and is on crutches until about a week before we're scheduled to leave. We can postpone until August but the air is about 2.5 times as expensive. We're going to play it by ear until about 2 weeks before we leave.

Pegontheroad

Left to my own devices, I'd prefer to just wing it, but then I only need a single room. When I travel with my sister/travel buddy, she usually researches widely and gets recommendations from Trip Advisor. We've certainly had good luck with that style of traveling, but it doesn't allow for falling in love with one of the towns and wanting an extra day or so.

I don't believe I'd risk winging it if I needed three rooms.

ira

ttt