"'Winging it" in Ireland?
 

Hi, everyone. Would love your input on this subject.

My husband and I are taking our first trip to Ireland in May (from the US). We'll be in-country for 9 full days plus the day of arrival, but that will be a short day.

In our past trips to Scotland and England, we have been wanderers. Driving as far as we want, stopping at everything interesting, lingering in an area if we find it delightful, moving on more quickly if not...you get the idea. We have never booked our stays in advance, and have had very little trouble finding accommodations at B&Bs, small hotels, etc.

I am being told that this is not the case in Ireland. That there is so much tourism and so few rooms available that it would be very difficult to find decent lodging without booking ahead.

What do you think? Do I have to book ahead, or is it generally OK (in the shoulder season of mid-May) to take a chance on finding places?

We'll probably be mostly in the southern parts of Ireland - the peninsulas are particularly appealing from my research. We are "slow" travelers who like the small museums, lesser known attractions, and simply driving/walking around the countryside at least as much as the big tourist places, so we're working hard to not bite off more than we can chew and to allow ourselves some flexibility in where we have to be each night.

Would love to hear your opinions (and/or recommendations!).

Thanks!

My husband and I have done it in Ireland, but not at any of the tourist meccas.

Thanks!

We did it over 20 years ago but it was hit or miss. I book ahead now because we like to base ourselves in an area for four days at least and do day trips. We picked three bases for our upcoming trip. We used VRBO so have a kitchen and laundry so we can pack light. That first trip was fun but we did B&Bs, guesthouses and hotels. May can very busy because many like going then. We are going the first two weeks.

>>I am being told that this is not the case in Ireland.<<

That is also not the case in many parts of England/Scotland.

When in May? That does make a big difference because there is an Irish Bank Holiday weekend May 4 - 6th (plus UK Bank holidays May 6 and 27 which would affect tourism in Ireland at least a little). Assuming you are not traveling over the Bank Holiday, in popular areas, all of your weekend accommodations should be nailed down, and pretty far in advance. Outside the holiday periods, you can 'get by' winging it, but you might not stay in your first or second (or third) choice.

And to clarify: >>I am being told that this is not the case in Ireland.<<

>>That is also not the case in many parts of England/Scotland.<<

I don't know how long ago you visited the UK - but just take Skye for example. 8 or 10 years ago finding accommodations on the fly was barely an issue . . . but now it is hard to find availability when booking 5 or 6 months in advance . . . nearly year round.

Skye is what I would consider a tourist mecca. On our trip to Scotland and northern England in June 2014, we booked all our accomodations in May. I just checked with booking.com to see the dates of past reservations. This was for York, Durham, Glasgow, Oban, and Edinburgh. A big city like Edinburgh will have lots of accomodations, and it's unlikely that you wouldn't find something suitable, even if it is a tourist mecca. The problem exists mostly in rural areas which are also tourist meccas.

In Oban, our B&B had made an error and overbooked. They advised us less than a month before our trip, but even then they had an alternative room that they offered us.

I would always pre-book my accommodations in major cities like Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dublin etc. You don't want to arrive in a city centre not knowing where one is staying.

And places like York -- they have so many special events scattered throughout the year - If one arrives sans a booking you may end up in a down market B&B on one of the roads leading out of town.

Even in just the last 5 years the volume of foreign visitors has really gone up. Places I used to feel very comfortable free wheeling . . . that could be risky now.

Well, actually I did prebook, but just one month ahead. I couldn't possible ever book six months ahead, because I never decide on a trip that far ahead.