Hi All
Perhaps its because I am nearing the end of a month long job of trying to schedule a European trip that includes airlines, hotels, restaurants, trains, three Italian cities, and various museums and transfers for eight people culminating in a Wedding in Venice -- all in a period of 7 days ---- that my mind is wandering a little.
My question is this: Have any of you simply packed light- flown to...say.. London and from there (or nearby) boarded the first Ryanair flight to somewhare on the continent, spent a couple of days there, boarded a train going somewhere else for a couple of days etc. No reservations -- check into a hotel (2 star or less) eat at "interesting looking places", and see the sights with absolutely no pre-planning?
I did something similar to that by myself several years ago. Started out in Sicily and went all the way to Copenhagen and back. Took about 3 months. Admittedly I was somewhat younger then (and single).
Question: Is this type of thing still possible. Is Europe more dangerous now than it was 25 years ago? Can one even travel without a structured itinary now? As I said, this is probably the result of the last two months of scheduling. I would appreciate any thoughts on this. Reality of pure Fantasy?
Shrink

Dear Shrink--

I don't know if it is possible or fantasy, but it sounds great to me! We went to Ireland like that years ago, stopping where we felt like it in B&B's. One night we heard great music coming from a pub, stopped there and asked about lodging which we found easily.
I think the fewer people you are traveling with, the easier it would be. Saint David and I have done it several times without incident. On the other hand, your current trip sounds like great fun. Hope you have a wonderful time. Are you the bride?

I do that occasionally - you can ready St-Cirq's Totally Unplanned Trip report on www.slowtrav.com to see how one such adventure turned out - all in all a positive experience, but one miserable hotel, which is the price you pay.

I have met many people in Europe who are sort of ad-hoc travellers. They "feel" like going to a place, and the next day they are on a train heading to some random place in Eastern Europe. One of my friends decided to go to Bratislava from Prague last year. He bought a train ticket a couple of days ahead. I encouraged him to at least reserve a room over the internet, so he wouldn't be stuck in a hotel too far from the city center. It worked out great - the same day he was leaving Prague & arriving in Bratislava, he went on an internet site, reserved a room, and had a great place waiting for him. I think that in peak seasons, it would be wise to see if there are rooms near where you want to go. I, being a single woman, do not care to show up to a train station and look for people selling rooms in their private homes. I like the security of having a decent place reserved. That said, many college aged students wing it in hostels all the time. I guess ending up in a $10 a night bed is better than nothing, even when you are older. I know all too well the time put into arranging a 5 week trip overseas. Do it every year. This summer, I am waiting longer to organize it. I feel like I already know my way around, and can figure things out as I go along. Anyway, whatever method you choose, have a great time...!

But wouldn't last-minute plane tickets be horrendously expensive?

And train tickets are probably more expensive too unless these are for well-traveled routes.

Hi Again
Im not the Bride, I'm the Father of the Bride who somehow got elected to put this thing together. I guess I remember the really good times I had on that 3 month unplanned, unsstructured sojourn through Europe. It's ironic that the best part of that trip as far as I was concerned was being set off the train at 2 in the morning at the 'end of the line'. Train stopped, everyone off, lights off, train station dark and empty, and the temperature about 10 degrees. Had gone to sleep on the train and had no idea what town (or country for that matter) I was in. Found a small hotel and next morning woke up in the most beautiful place I have ever seen -- Chur, Switzerland. I stayed in that little town a couple of days. Talk about serendipity! I went back there a couple of years ago. Sadly - it had changed somewhat -- still beautiful country though. I don't think that I am still that spontaneous. I'm just wondering if any of you ever just go "country hopping".

Shrink,

I don't know if I could ever do that, as I'm a compulsive overplanner and I get so much joy in the preparation. Reading your story made my heart skip a beat, though...I may have to plan a spontaneous trip like that.

Last minute flights on budget carriers are sometimes expensive, but not always, particularly if the particular destination doesn't matter too much.

I've done that. I have family in Germany which makes it even easier as I can just fly there and use their home as a base. Easier done with just 1 or 2 people than a group.

I did that when I was younger, slimmer, poorer and Europe was cheaper.

I used to do it when I lived in Europe, it is so much easy to just take the train at the spur of the moment and go to a different country.
However, now that I live here in the US,i cant afford to just hop in a plane and go..I plan my trips in advance..

Sure plenty of people do it all the time! Can't imagine it is much different than your own past adventures. Go on over to The Thorn Tree BB on Lonely Planet's website or read any of the budget or backpacker style guidebooks like Let's Go, Rough Guides, etc.

No it is not more dangerous. Yes you can travel without a structured itinerary. It's a matter of your own comfort level wanting the security of reservations, etc. than any actual need for pre-planning. ALL (and I repeat all) that you need for a trip to Europe is a plane ticket, your passport, and money. Period!

I didn't get much of a chance to travel like this when I was younger, but it sounds great. Now, I'm not as likely to be quite as do a trip like this, and reality at home wouldn't allow a 3 month trip these days. Ah well.

We are going to go fairly unplanned this fall, but only for a few weeks. We've bought the tickets, and we'll book the first couple of nights in Budapest, our arrival city. Then we're heading out, with no accommodations scheduled. But - we still have a pretty good idea some places we'd like to try to make it to, to some degree. Some of rural Hungary and then into Romania. We may not make it to all of the places that sounded interesting and we may stay longer or shorter, depending on impressions at the time. So, it's a compromise, I guess. I kind of like knowing what I'm looking at AND enjoy having some freedom!

I did this about 30 years ago with my ex-husband...just bought one way tickets from SF to Thailand...and spent 3 years and just travelled around the world. Now I'm an over planner! Go figure!

Suze, it is to be a free spirit if Moneys is not a problem..But when you have a modest budget , than is a different story.

Like the old French saying:

Sans L'Argent on ne fait pas de Musique...

oops. it should have been It is easy...

But those websites and guidebooks I mentioned offer suggestions for traveling on the CHEAP and how to do it without an itinerary or reservations. People staying in youth hostel dorms, traveling on train passes, etc. are free spirits and yes often on very limited budgets.

I guess I am not a free spirit anymore..
but now I like to be comfortable, the Youth Hostels day are over..

Well, we've done a couple of brief (about a week) last minute trips - have been to London, Paris and Prague (separately) with only 3/4 days notice.

We bought supercheap last minute tickets through the corporate travel office - but did make hotel reservations the night before we left. All three trips worked beautifully - and none had more than about 20 minutes planning - but then they were all places we had been to before - and that type of city break doesn't really require a whole lot of planning.

I wouldn't hesitate to do the same for a lengthy road trip if (sigh) we had the time.

Spontaneous &/or cheap travel without itinerary or hotel reservations does not sound appealing to me either these days! My comment was only to answer the original poster... yes it is possible and lots of people still do it. Whether you'd WANT to travel that style, with all that is involved, now that's a different question ;-)