Booking Hostels

[Scott]

Hey guys I am pretty new here and am trying to plan a trip to Europe/Dubai next summer with 3 or 4 other friends. Dubai is all covered as we know people there so accomadations are fine. Europe however is still up in the air. As for my question I am still uncertain about how long I want to stay in the cities and because of this I am uncertain how long to book hostels for. I was wondering if I was going in July to places like France, Italy and Czech Republic if finding vacancy would be really hard because if it isn't then we wouldn't have to reserve any hostels and then could more easily choose exactly how long we spend in each city. Thanks for the help guys it is much appreciated.

[pinion]

How long you want to stay in a city will totally be up to you. Some people are fine just staying a night or 2. Others....like me would rather stay 4-5 nights. I think you get a better feel for a city if you get to check it out longer. Of course...some cities turn out to suck and you want nothing more then to get out.

You're better off to book shorter periods of time and if you like the place enquire about staying longer when you've made up your mind. Its usually easier to add additonal nights then to cancel booked ones.

One thing you'll have to keep in mind about travelling in July is that it is the peak season. I doubt you'll have too much trouble finding a place to rest your pack, but the more populare places will probably book up fast. You may want to book ahead 3-4 days. You'll be fine though, don't worry about it. You'll amaze yourself what you can come up with when you're in a bind!!

And if you end up sleeping in a park its all part of the expierence right? Plus it'll make a great story when you get home!!

[skidrage]

Like the previous post said, the popular places will book up faster, but you will always find a reasonably priced place to stay if you show up with no reservations. If you are taking the train, there will be information booths that can book cheap rooms (hostel or pensions) or there will be runners at the station for pensions, cheap hotels, and private rooms. If you do decide to go with the later, make sure you see pictures of the place and where it is located. I once took a runner on their offer and ended up in a cheap hotel quite a ways away from the downtown in Krakow, but taxi's were very cheap so it did not end up being too much of a problem.

Where are you looking to go in each country? Three to four nights is good for a major city, but if there is a good day trip near by, you should add another day. Also, if you go to any city besides Rome in Italy, you will need to book probably a week earlier to get into hostels as hostels are not as common there.

[Scott]

Ok, that's good advice. As for which cities we will be visiting we were thinking about Paris, Nice, Rome, Prague and then we are uncertain about what other cities would be appealing. We obviously still have a lot of planning to do but if anyone has some suggestions for which cities to see in those countries or in England let me know.

[denialmathews]

Popular places the book faster, but you can always find a place to stay at reasonable prices, if you do not scheduled to arrive. If you take the train, the kiosks can be reserved will be low-cost housing or pension, cheap hotels and private rooms points to the rider.