Traveling without lodging reservations?

Old Apr 23rd, 2006, 04:29 PM
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Traveling without lodging reservations?

I will be traveling in southern and central Sweden by car, alone, for about five days in late August-early September. I have a rough itinerary, but nothing fixed. Is it reasonable to travel without booking lodging ahead of time? Will I be likely to find vacancies at that time of year? (I will be in rural areas, villages, small towns, no big cities.)From my experience traveling in England, it sometimes is very hard to locate the pre-booked hotel, especially if you are driving alone, but also it is miserable to be on the road at night with no where to stay. (Note I am a woman and a senior citizen.)
Also, I read in Fodor's Sweden travel book that there are discounted lodging vouchers available for hotels, guesthouses, etc. in Sweden, but I cannot find out information about them on line.
Your help is appreciated. Tack!
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Old Apr 23rd, 2006, 07:50 PM
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My experience looking for budget accommodation in Sweden in major cities is that the best bargains were snapped up already by the time I started looking, several months in advance, for July. If you are willing to spend more, I suspect there won't be a problem.

Were you thinking of this site?
http://www.destination-stockholm.com/

(Actually, that doesn't look to be it, but I'll mention it anyways.)
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Old Apr 24th, 2006, 12:33 AM
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Late August is autumn in Sweden: the peak holiday season ends around mid August. The problem in Scandinavia is that accommodation is not very plentiful. There aren't rows of B&Bs like you find in holiday areas of England or Ireland, and small hotels aren't as plentiful as in France or Italy. I've been to Sweden without booking accommodation in advance, and not had any problems, but I've usually used tourist offices who are very good at finding accommodation. I'd suggest you should make sure that towns you're visiting have a tourist office which will be open when you arrive - they may close early in the evening and may be closed completely on Sundays. Don't leave finding a hotel till the evening.
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Old Apr 24th, 2006, 07:24 PM
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Thank you for the help and the advice. It sounds as though I will need to pre-book as much as possible. Does anyone have advice on finding on-line information for hotels/inns/b&b's in the more rural parts of Sweden and the smaller towns and villages? I did find a good site for Skåne.
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Old Apr 25th, 2006, 12:59 AM
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I did this many years ago without making reservations. The key is to stop driving in late afternoon, say by 5 PM, and start looking for a B&B, pension, or small hotel. If places are full already ask the owner if they know of a place that might have a vacancy. You can do a google search for 'B&B sweden' and get plenty of information on different places before you go. Another reason to stop early is that Swedes eat dinner early. You'll need to find a restaurant also.

Do you plan to visit Boda, Kosta, and Orrefors? The "seconds" shops at these glass factories have great bargains on crystal. You can also tour the Orrefors factory and see them blow the glass.

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