My husband and I are planning a trip to Italy for our 30th next May. We would like to do Venice and then go to Cinque Terre, Florence and then to Rome. Is it possible to get hotels as as we go. We are kind of attracted to the idea of just kind of going as we want without a really set place to be every night because of having a hotel booked. Is it risky to get places as we go?

Yes, it is, unless you're fine with wasting lots of vacation hours searching for a decent place to stay.

Don't care where you stay, just so long as you have a bed? No problem. Do you like nice places? If so, why waste time looking for places instead of enjoying the towns and the countryside? I realize the idea of "not being pinned down" sounds great, but usually that merely means you haven't planned enough to know which places would appeal to you the most, and you'll end up missing much of what you'd probably enjoy.

If money doesn't matter, you could overlap hotel reservations & accept the cancellation charges if you decide to linger longer in another place.

Julie

I would calculate the risks, if you are asking.

Some questions I would ask myself: how many days will I be in Italy? If it is quite a bit of time, say a month or so, and I want to visit 4 popular places, I might take the risk. Well, no, I wouldn't take the risk, but you might. You would then have time to spend some hours searching out accomodation.

Next question: do I have plenty of money if I can't find a nice place at a cost that is reasonable to me? If so, and I can splurge all I want, I still wouldn't take the risk, but you might.

So, I'll stop pretending it's me and concentrate on you: do you like to get the most for your money? If so, maybe it's better not to take this risk. Most of the best buys will be long gone.

Are your transportation options completely open? Will you have a car that you can hop in if you decide to move on? Or will you be relying on public transportation? I would not want to be taking a train to a town where I didn't have a room, but you might.

If you do go without hotel reservations, I suggest taking a long and complete list of available hotels, their contact information, prices, etc. That way, if you feel like heading out, you can call and see if something is available.

I think it's a bad idea. I just helped two women with about a month's notice plan a trip to Italy, and their hotel choices were severely limited. They had a budget, so that made it even harder.

If time, money and comfort matter, I would say that it's too risky. It is your 30th anniversary...

Oh, and other than Florence, I don't get the "wandering Tuscany" thing. Are you going to wander through Tuscany?