Paris Travel Answers

When I was 19 and traveling with friends, winging it was fine, because we really didn't care where we stayed. Now married in our 50's, winging doesn't wprk any more, because momma has expectations... And when momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy ;-) Bill

What do you feel comfortable doing? As a traveler in my 50's, like the previous poster, my wife likes to know that we have a room booked for the night. On high speed trains you probably should book early, but it was our recent experience in Europe that local trains we could just show up and take the next train. If you have more or less a set schedule then you might want to get more reservations so you aren't surprised by the end of the day. If your schedule is more flexible then obviously you shouldn't. Take stock of your travel style and plan accordingly.

By booking ahead you can save a lot of money, but it reduces your flexibility. You have to decide what's more important to you. I would definitely book the first night in each city, just to avoid arriving and then trying to find a (suitable or affordable) place to stay. I always book ahead, simply because I don't want to spend valuable holiday time by looking for a hotel room. As for trains, there are specials which need to be booked in advance, but then they are only valid on this particular train - again this takes away some flexibility in your travel. If you plan to take the Eurostart from London to Paris, book early to get a good price.

In September you should be able to wing it, but you will get better deals if you book early. Many hotels/hostels allow you to cancel or to move a few days before or after. Also, the better hostels tend to get reserved and you are left with those that are less desirable. Like no hot water or threadbare linen or worse. Usually most major cities have a handful of hostels that are clearly superior to the others. I think it is worthwhile pre-booking as these are the places 1.) you want to stay, 2.) the travel crowd is usually better. JMHO, Karl

We've only winged it once and that was purely by accident. It was very expensive. We book ahead because it's much cheaper and you don't have to waste time looking for a place to stay. For example, we're going to Europe in September too and we were booked months ago. I've spent the rest of the time looking at places to visit and things to do, not worrying about where to stay. If you want the flexibility, go ahead. In Sept. you will probably be okay. I could handle it but my husband absolutely could not. He wants to know exactly where he's staying each night. If he's happy, I'm happy. ;^) Hm, Bill, it works both ways. LOL

I am sure it does...but far be it from me to mess with an "old" but very well-known saying ;-) Bill

London and Paris I would definitely book accommodation, both cities are packed with tourists in holiday time and, as the others have said, they have you at a disadvantage if you arrive in the evening and a place is almost fully booked. When I backpacked many years ago I foolishly took a heavy rucksack and ended up having to use a taxi several times when hostels were full which was an expense I could have done without. And on one memorable occasion it was bucketing down with rain, I had to find an elusive hostel, then when full had to go back to the station and go to another town.

london paris amsterdam and berlin if it'll be second half of month, and october would be better, imho no need to book in advance, better get last minute bargains anyway check for event/exhibition in town in the days you want to go, in that case it may be already late to book today.

the local take is that in september the normality of life comes back after the August vacation break here, and activities starts again in force. trains unless is a long distance like a TGV dont need to book ahead, and on the TGV there is always the choice of the next one. hostels no experience with but that crowd is mostly gone so you wont have any problems. I do mine next month and dont book at all, just go with the flow, it has been wonderful. hope it helps your planning

Many long distance and most international trains in Europe are 'compulsory reservation' so by booking in advance you get cheap fares and can guarantee a trip from A to B at a certain time on a certain date. That doesn't apply for domestic travel in Holland and Germany where seat reservation is not compulsory, but by waiting until the last minute you will pay the highest possible fare and possibly have to stand rather than be seated for several hours. Sure, on some routes you can take advantage of slower local trains but by so doing you may have have to take two or three trains and have some long waits. That option is not available eg between London and Paris unless you cross the English channel by Ferry and also not between Paris and Amsterdam. Also, it's quite right that some towns and cities can be very busy and hotels booked out. People somehow don't take into account things like huge conventions, royal, papal or presidential visits, big European or International soccer games that flood cities with visitors and leave the last minute arrival standing wet and forlorn with no hope of getting a room within 20 miles! I would always look ahead and at least secure a room for the first night as others have said.

i made something like this last summer. i suggest 3 days paris, 3 london, 2 amsterdam and 2 berlin, exluded the the days of transports! for the hotels book the lowest price, because the good quality start from 2 stars. for example here http://www.hotels.4bbh.com

Good point about conventions and sporting events. That happened to us when planning a Sept. Paris/Amsterdam trip 2 years ago; many Amsterdam hotels were booked up way in advance and any open rooms were going for premium rates because of a big convention. Flipping the order of the trip solved the problem. And yes, the best hostels will be booked in advance as well so if you want the cream of them, I'd reserve before you go.

You should certainly look at booking the hostels. My daughter did a 6-week backpacking trip through Europe last year from mid-September onwards and found that it was a very popular travel time for people backpacking and hosteling as the weather was still good and the summer rush was over. Hostels close to the train stations were full and she sometimes had to find places to stay that were less convenient than she had hoped (and she pre-booked most accomodation a few weeks before she left, and this is what she found when she was booking). Trains, no problems just getting on and going, so that part of the trip was okay. The only pre-booking she did there was for a sleeper berth on the overnight train from Munich to Florence.

in Munich to find something from 9/22nd till 10/7th it will be very hard, oktoberfest is on.

For our Paris trip, we booked hotel F1 (http://www.hotelformule1.com), and traveled with a private service paris disneyland shuttle (paris-disneyland-shuttle.com...). the driver guided us to visit paris.

I have the feeling that the OP isn't all that interested in Disneyland or a private driver? IMHO, much better things to do in Paris, and better ways to see it.

F1's Hotels are not close to town, not easy to reach them by pediastran (public transport) and... for same price (or less) B&B hotels [ www.hotel-bb.com ] are much better.

Personally I would book ahead. I'd rather spend my time enjoying the sights than looking for a place to stay. We just went London>Amsterdam>Berlin. When we were in Amsterdam staying at the Hotel Nadia we met two women going Hotel to Hotel looking unsuccessfully for a place to stay. You will get a much better price if you can book ahead and price compare and read reviews. In Berlin we stayed at the Circus Hotel.They also have a hostel and apts. London we were in a private apt. I highly recommend Hotel Nadia in Amsterdam, right near the Ann Frank Museum and the Hotel Circus in Berlin. Both were under 100euros and had excellent customer service!

wow thank you! im going to look into those places now!!!! great tip! I agree with all of you about pre-booking, thanks again for all your helpful advise :)