pre book or just turn up

[Steptoe]

Against the flow of this thread but I pre book everything.

I understand the 'adventure' of finding that hidden gem, but the reality is the end of a long day with all your riding gear is not the best time to start looking at accommodation alternatives, either as a couple or a group.

It may be funny to reminisce about the shit holes you have stayed in but I plan to avoid this.

Look at it the total opposite of your negaitve view.

The wonderful thing not pre-booking is you can stop where and when you want to.
As opposed to pre booking where you set yourself a target for the day. If you get a puncture you're likely to be running late and arrive more stressed than someone who isn't running to an agenda, same goes for the game changer of sudden bad weather all day long.

Plus you're not immune from arriving in a shitehole just because you're pre-booked.
As opposed to not booking and being able to check where you stay before booking. Don't like the look of it, move on to the next one.
After all, you're in europe with a hotel on every corner on every street in every town, not a third world kharzi.

I've rarely pre-booked and never stayed in a shitehole anywhere in the world.

 

[Giles]

Rosy and I are off to Corsica in a couple of weeks .... About ten days I guess, and we haven't (and won't) booked anything.
That gives us the complete freedom to stay somewhere an extra night, move on, ferry across to Tuscany, Hell, we could even hot foot it to Rimini for moto Gp if we fancy it
The worlds our lobster ...

 

[Simon W]

I use both techniques, depending on the size of the group: small groups or solo, just wing it; more than five bikes, pre-book.

If just relaxing and bimbling and properly enjoying touring, laid-back winging it is great for stopping wherever takes your fancy but I've found my daily mileages are always relatively low when doing this.

As well as making sure everybody in a big group gets a bed, booking helps if there is a lot of ground to cover. I sometimes have to do big days, just to get to places (500+ miles) so on those trips I pre-book to remove the option of chickening out early/to allow pushing on: if you have to allow time for finding somewhere to stay, you tend to start looking around 5:30-6pm. If it's booked, you can ride until 7:30-8pm (though I realise I may be in a masochistic minority in this respect).

One thing I always do now, even when winging it, is book a hotel for the last night - usually somewhere like Laon or St Quentin. This limits the final day's ride to get back to Calais and ensures that, even before I set off, I can give my wife a pretty accurate estimate of what time I'll get home. That seems to increase domestic harmony.

 

[Steptoe]

I use both techniques, depending on the size of the group: small groups or solo, just wing it; more than five bikes, pre-book.

As well as making sure everybody in a big group gets a bed, booking helps if there is a lot of ground to cover. I sometimes have to do big days, just to get to places (500+ miles) so on those trips I pre-book to remove the option of chickening out early/to allow pushing on: if you have to allow time for finding somewhere to stay, you tend to start looking around 5:30-6pm. If it's booked, you can ride until 7:30-8pm (though I realise I may be in a masochistic minority in this respect).

.

I've done a few ukgser "dashes", with up to 12 people, two days to to morroco ridng through france and spain. Day one 600ish miles, and day two 850ish miles. No pre-booking and never had a problem getting in anywhere, including spain over easter.

Is that a big enough group and mileage to qualify

 

[Deleted account Cooperman]

Look at it the total opposite of your negaitve view.

The wonderful thing not pre-booking is you can stop where and when you want to.
As opposed to pre booking where you set yourself a target for the day. If you get a puncture you're likely to be running late and arrive more stressed than someone who isn't running to an agenda, same goes for the game changer of sudden bad weather all day long.

Plus you're not immune from arriving in a shitehole just because you're pre-booked.
As opposed to not booking and being able to check where you stay before booking. Don't like the look of it, move on to the next one.
After all, you're in europe with a hotel on every corner on every street in every town, not a third world kharzi.

I've rarely pre-booked and never stayed in a shitehole anywhere in the world.

It's not a negative view - it's just my view.

I plan where I'm going to stay which means I have always stayed in a place that met with my expectation of what I am paying (Mrs C would not stay in places I am happy to stay solo).

Also I don't plan my trips around having punctures. Shit can happen and so you deal with it when it does - not allow time for it to happen every leg of your trip.

 

[Rasher]

Shit can happen and so you deal with it when it does - not allow time for it to happen every leg of your trip.

I guess your not on a 1200GS

 

[Ex-Call Centre Chimp]

Pre-book, pre-book, pre-book!!!!!!!!

Anything else is quite simply madness. You lot want your heads looking at.

Weirdos.

 

[Steptoe]

It's not a negative view - it's just my view.

.

But you pointed out all your (unsubstantiated ) negative opinions on travelling without booking....

Also I don't plan my trips around having punctures. Shit can happen and so you deal with it when it does - not allow time for it to happen every leg of your trip.

I don't plan around having punctures. I just set off and see where i end up at the end of the day.

Yes, shit happens. But even getting this in the tyre in morocco didn't stop us from riding to the hotel in spain (tyre stayed inflated)

Notice the tyre is still fully inflated...

 

[Sgt Bilco]

I remember that bad boy

On my 1st organised (well almost) tosser trip across the States, I took 12 people and we didn't book anywhere for 30 nights. it was bit hairy at times but it all added to the fun and gave me the option of changing routes etc on the fly...

 

[The Grey One]

What a pointless thread! If it suits you to pre book then do that, if it suits you to wing it then do that instead. Why do people want to persuade others that theirs is the only way? Opinions are fine, of course, but further than that we go down the road of intolerance, there is far to much of that in the world as it is.

John

 

[Deleted account Cooperman]

But you pointed out all your (unsubstantiated ) negative opinions on travelling without booking....

What are you saying - I have to prove my experiences to have a view

If I can do I become relevant

 

[Deleted account Cooperman]

Brucie Bonus time

Having made direct contact with the hotel for my stop in Rovinj, Croatia, I arrived to find I have been upgraded to an apartment - for the price of my single room booking

It can pay to talk