Ellen

I usually plan our family vacation months and months in advance and by this time of the year, I have everything worked out and reserved, etc. This year, I thought there would be no family vacation, but turns out I'm wrong. But we can only go Aug 4 - 18. Some ideas we've had include Scotland, Berlin/Prague, Scandinavia, maybe Holland/Belgium. (other suggestions welcome) I'd appreciate advice from anyone experienced in those parts of the globe -- can I expect to find vacancies (in hotels and/or cottages) at this late date? Which of these destinations do you think is likely to have the most availability at this point in time? THANKS

Cheryl Z.

<BR>Ellen, about l5 years ago, we made our first trip to Europe (Germany, Swtizerland, Italy) in the month of August, with just three weeks notice, and planning before our departure. We decided to go one night after having dinner, over a glass(s!) of wine at our favorite local Italian restaurant after talking with the owners, friends of ours who were leaving the next day for their annual month long trip to Italy. They'd been trying to talk us into coming over for years. My husband, an Italian New Yorker, said why not?? We decided to "just do it", came home and started calling airlines. Even with reserving at the last minute like this, we got cheap fares, about $550. on Delta and using AX it turned out they had a triple mileage thing going. That was the clincher for my husband! We had to buy the tickets right away, and spent the next three weeks planning. This was waaaaay before the internet. We'd never been to Europe before, were hesitant about driving so we got Eurorail passes. Had a wonderful time, and before we were even home, were already planning another trip. Didn't make advance hotel reservations either. Decided to wing it. never had any problems. August is a busy month for European vacationers but it can be done. and no, it's not too late for you. Of course, all our trips since then, except for one last summer, have been done with planning in advance etc., and we now rent a car regularly. My husband just loves to drive like the Europeans do (and I just hang on!) Last summer, after coming home from a long-planned trip to Switzerland, we decided to go to Denmark for a special event, and also make our first visit to Norway. This trip had about a week to plan, air fare was costly but not as much as what we had anticipated. <BR>Pick your countries and just go for it. I'd recommend renting a car - cheaper for a family I think. And I do strongly recommend trying to get hotel reservations in advance - having no plans has worked for us but if kids are involved, I'd suggest at least the first few days should be reserved in advance. If cost is an issue, you will find Spain and Portugal among the least expensive countries to go to, while Norway is among the most(if not the most) expensive. Hope this helps, and will look forward to reading about your experiences on this forum.

Sheila

It's certainly not too late for Scotland. You may find some things are full...it is the favourite month for people from the south of Europe to holiday; but there are pleanty of alternatives. <BR> <BR>I took 9 days in Spain in August las year at 3 days notice with no more planning than having boked the car; but that might be a bit dodgy with children. Go for it! <BR>

Jen

I, too, planned a trip to Europe for August of 1996, and had only about four or five weeks to plan it. My husband and I didn't and never do worry about reservations, and we've never had problems finding places. However, we choose budget hotels (and there are many of these all over Europe, with vacancies even in peak season) and we don't have kids. If you prefer high end hotels you should probably attempt to make reservations. Or, as someone suggested, make reservations for the first few nights, and then make them as you go while you are over there. <BR> <BR>I have never been to Scandinavia, but recently I watched Rick Steves' Scandinavia episode of "Travels in Europe" and I believe he said that summer is actually low season for Scandinavia (I guess people go in winter to ski...?), and is cheaper and less crowded than at other times of the year. I could be wrong about this, but I'm pretty sure that's what he said. It might be worth looking into. Anywhere you can avoid crowds and high season rates in the middle of summer is worth investigating! <BR> <BR>I haven't been to Berlin or Prague, either, but by all accounts Prague is wonderful and still relatively cheap. <BR> <BR>BTW, on that particular trip we took in August we went to Switzerland, Austria, Italy and Yugoslavia. Okay, so Yugoslavia is no longer an option, and we only went to visit family (now residing in bomb shelters, more or less...), but as for the others: Italy was EXTREMELY busy and far too hot; Austria and Switzerland were great as far as the temperature went, and not nearly as crowded. I've always thought a Switzerland/Austria/Prague trip would be fantastic. <BR> <BR>I hope this helps. And, IMHO, you definitely have more than enough time to plan your trip. Have fun!

Seamus

By all means, you have plenty of time to plan. August is usually vacation month in Europe, and in some places (e.g., Paris) you'll find the charming little mom-and-pop shops closed, but shold have no problems overall. Berlin/Prague would be a good trip. Prague is great, but no longer as cheap as it used to be, especially hotels. If you are don't require high end accommodation and can be content with tourist class hotels, check out the Hotel Ibis - it's a chain that offers consistent quality in basic accommodations and good customer service (still a novel idea in much of Europe!) <BR>Avoid Italy in August! Especially stay away from Venice, which at that time of year becomes the world's most densley populated open sewer. <BR>

stephanie

When my husband and I went to Europe (Germany, Switz., Venice) for a brief trip (11 days), and had no hotel reservations anywhere. We took the Eurail to a different town each day, stayed in a different hotel each night and always found a room - mostly stayed in small towns. We DID spend a great deal of time walking around a few towns - lugging our luggage - looking for a hotel with vacancies, but always found something. I wouldn't try it that way with kids, or after dark - we ended up in the train station in Innsbruck, Austria at midnight (a scary place at that hour!), couldn't find a hotel near the station - didn't want to wander too far away from it not being able to see where we were going or if there was even a hotel in the direction we were walking. Ended up back on the train for a 4 hour ride to another town while we slept on the train, turned around there and headed back to Innsbruck for the next day - ughh! It all added up to an experience we'll never forget or be able to do again - at least not with young kids! <BR> <BR>So, our experience was that it's possible to go Europe without hotel reservations. Having a car would make it easier to find a place last minute I'd think.

Mary Ann

Ellen: I do not think it is to late, but start planning like crazy. To rent a car in Europe, it is much less expensive to rent it before you leave for Europe. Secondly, forget the tourist boards before you leave, they take to long to respond. Get a good book, Rick Steves or Fodors for where you decide to go. Get on the Internet for the cities you plan to visit. Countryside locations are easier to wing it without reservations but major cities may be more difficult. With e-mail and web sites, it is much easier to communicate than it was just a couple years ago.

dan

I would try to book a hotel in Prague fairly soon if you can. It can take quite a bit of checking sometimes to find a vacancy.

Vincent

Of all the destinations you mentioned, I don't think you'll have a hard time finding a vacancy in Scandinavia, Scotland, Berlin or Belgium. But be careful about Prague and Amsterdam : they are among the top 5 of the most popular European cities and, yes, they do require a reservation to avoid some problems that could spoil you memories of this European trip. But, on the whole, it's a good idea to choose Northern European destinations : they'll definitely be quieter than Spain, Italy, the South of France.