Too book or not to book B&B's ahead of time? (Ireland)
 

My wife and I are traveling to Europe in mid-May for the first time. We will probably focus on the SW side (she's doing all the research). We lovestaying in B&B's from past trips to Europe, so the question is - should we try and reserve them prior to our trip or go ahead and plan on luck finding them while traveling? In past trips to Germany, etc, we never had any problems finding great B&B's to stay in, even at the last moment. Can the same be said for B&B's in Ireland, or should we just go ahead and plan our trip and reserve a B&B? Thanks for any suggestions.

Let me pick a spot right on the middle of the fence on this one. In May, you shouldn't have a problem finding a place to stay. I have a tendency to do a little of both. If I'm going to an area where I don't know how much time I'll spend, I don't book. But there are some special places that I like to stay that I alsways book in advance. I don't want to miss out. I would certainly book your first and last night and then sort of decide from there.

To me, the charm of the country is it's people and I've made some friends there so I try to go back and visit them if Ican.

Bill

In mid-May, you'll be OK without advance reservations. By then, most B&Bs will be open for the season, but the heavy tourist traffic won't yet have begun, so you'll find vacancies.

Of course, if you have your hearts set on some place in particular, you should reserve. And, you should make advance arrangements if you're planning to visit Dublin.

I always book my first and last night. The B&B's near the airport tend to book up. Also, I want to know where I'm staying when I arrive and not have to worry about it.
The rest of the time, I don't bothre, and have never had a problem. It is part of the charm of Ireland, and then you aren't locked into a strict plan.
Oh, once we had a problem in Cork. We knocked on the door of a B&B adn it was fully booked. An Irish gentleman, peeked his head around the corner and told the owner that he'd be happy to give 'the ladies' his room and he'd sleep on the couch. WE couldn't believe it. WE ended up going out for dinner and drinks with the gentleman and had a ball. It's one of our fondest memeories. So DO wing it and enjoy.

Our trip was in April - so we had no problem.

What struck me was how easy it was to find a B&B. It didn't seem to matter how large or small the road was (and they all seemed small) there invariably would be a sign pointing to Bridget/Kathleen/Nora's B&B. This allowed us to wander and book when we felt the need.