pre book or just turn up

[geordie]

Yeah got the route planned, planned quite detailed up to the Alps thats when the winging will begin as not sure how long or far I'm going to be able to travel per day, plus if I have a sore arse I can have a day off.

Berchesgarten , then Auschwitz, zagan and onto colditz again no stopping places planned until I get there

 

[NeilDD]

Geordie,
At Colditz there is a Youth Hostel in what was the guards quarters.
About 35Euro for a bed for the night. If you want the whole room to yourself then you can pay a bit extra.

If you get a personal guide for the tour round the castle its great.

Have a great trip

 

[Fireflyer]

Only time I ever book is on last night on way back. I try to book about 100mile from ferry/tunnel terminal so that I can have last relaxing night somewhere nice to end trip and then have nice leisurely bimble after breakfast following day with no pressure to make sailing time and this also gives me plenty of time once back on our shores to amble on home.

Most riders have plenty of stories about amazing places they've come across because of not pre-booking or having rigid route plans so no worries just go enjoy the experience.

 

[Fireflyer]

Also if you pre booked you find your self riding through shit weather just to get to the place to stay. Check weather each morning and route accordingly. I've had loose direction of italy planned on one trip before only to see it was going to be wet for several days so simply cut across south of France to Spain instead. (Only advantage the Euro's ever had!)

 

[The Grey One]

Also if you pre booked you find your self riding through shit weather just to get to the place to stay. Check weather each morning and route accordingly. I've had loose direction of italy planned on one trip before only to see it was going to be wet for several days so simply cut across south of France to Spain instead. (Only advantage the Euro's ever had!)

Living in Euroland I can tell you the Euro is a very good thing. Just pause to think who benefits from different currencies, bankers and other parasites making money out of "exchange" charges and rates. I often ride through 3 countries in a day from here and the same notes/coins work everywhere so I pay no commissions or charges. Yes there were initial price hikes in many countries when they started using Euros but then there were in the UK when we introduced the decimal currency so that was not a problem specific to the Euro

oh, and most weather forecasts are not accurate for any more than a day or so and even then weather can be very localised. You could well end up jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire!

John

 

[Rasher]

Winging going well, had first night booked as had to get across France.

Good progress on day 2 got me further than planned and first hotel had rooms. Same again on day 3, choice of rooms at first hotel..

Prices seem good, no more or maybe less than internet.

 

[geordie]

What you paying room wise?
I leave this Saturday . excited now despite only just realising my sat nav does not include Poland or chech republib

Glad I bought those maps

 

[Wapping]

Hotel prices: I suggest you assume not much under EUR 35 a night and not much over 100.

That is a 65 euro spread, halve it = 32.50 which added to thirty five, gives EUR 67.50 as a very basic rule of thumb. That's about £58.

A lot will depend on whether you add the cost of an evening meal and / or breakfast. Some city hotels may well charge for parking, which you can assume will be about EUR 8, which is over 10% of the overnight cost at a stroke.

Can you pay less? Of course. Can you pay more? Yes, of course you can. A basic bed and breakfast in a private house or an F1 style hotel will be at the lower end, the George Cinque an awful lot more.

PS Well done for having maps

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

Hotel prices: I suggest you assume not much under EUR 35 a night and not much over 100.

That is a 65 euro spread, halve it = 32.50 which added to thirty five, gives EUR 67.50 as a very basic rule of thumb. That's about £58.

A lot will depend on whether you add the cost of an evening meal and / or breakfast. Some city hotels may well charge for parking, which you can assume will be about EUR 8, which is over 10% of the overnight cost at a stroke.

Can you pay less? Of course. Can you pay more? Yes, of course you can. A basic bed and breakfast in a private house or an F1 style hotel will be at the lower end, the George Cinque an awful lot more.

PS Well done for having maps

We're here at present and have paid 35-40e per night incl breakfast for mainly single rooms in family run hotels in France, Italy & Germany

 

[Wapping]

Good value

So I wasn't too far out at EUR 35 for a family run place, at the lower end of my rule of thumb scale. Add in a meal and you swing back to the middle again.

Cheaper than an Ibis.....

All going well, JB? Have just put the finishing touches to the Wander to Annecy. It was a little bit tricky to find seven single rooms in some hotels, it being the height of the holiday season. Most difficult were hotels in the middle of France for the return leg, catching as they do bods travelling north and south, east and west.

 

[Adamj79]

Have a good trip mate

Four of us just back from a cracking week around France & Spain Pyrenees regions. If you need any maps or kit in a hurry before you go I assume you're not far from here so just give me a shout.

 

[mikey5]

booking.com

hi just got back from Spain trip myself
all i do is use booking.com on my phone,,i book following nights accommodation from the bar wifi the night before an got some great deals
enjoy your trip

 

[Deleted account Cooperman]

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.

Trip Advisor and Booking.com will guide you depending upon your requirements.

This year we changed our route so we could stay in one B&B in Tirano. This fit the definition of hidden gem

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

Good value

So I wasn't too far out at EUR 35 for a family run place, at the lower end of my rule of thumb scale. Add in a meal and you swing back to the middle again.

Cheaper than an Ibis.....

All going well, JB? Have just put the finishing touches to the Wander to Annecy. It was a little bit tricky to find seven single rooms in some hotels, it being the height of the holiday season. Most difficult were hotels in the middle of France for the return leg, catching as they do bods travelling north and south, east and west.

All well, now in Schwarzwald - hot though

We navigated annecy on the way down & it has grown since I was last there & very busy in peak season

Germany I find is much better value compared to France

 

[geordie]

Maps were intended as a back up plus they are great to see the big picture .
Glad got them, just orders a regional one for Poland and same for Czech just hope they turn up in time.

Around £40 for a hotel is very reasonable as il be camping part of the way as well .

Excitement level .........8/10 roll on Saturday

 

[geordie]

Well ones more sleep and I'm off
Some packing to do tonight then last minute panic parking in morning and I'm away ,
Just turn up ......
Cheers to all that have chimed in

 

[Rasher]

Just got back from my trip, Hotels were easy to find, every time we decided to look we got a good deal at the first one we enquired at.

"Zimmer Frei" signs were everywhere along our route in the Alps, I will do the same next time and book first and last hotels on way out / in and ad-hoc much of the rest.

 

[Deleted account Cooperman]

Just made a €30 saving on a one night stay on the Booking.com price by going direct

 

[geordie]

Managed just over 4000 miles on my trip, pre booked hotels I stopped in , booking.com the night before I got there and had no problems
Campsites I just turned up when seen one I liked the look of, apart from one "wrong turn" site near castellane all of them where spot on.
If I ever get my laptop back I will try and get some sort of ride report up

 

[Rasher]

Just made a €30 saving on a one night stay on the Booking.com price by going direct

I always check, just booked a long weekend in France, trip advisor gave me the "cheapest" price as booking.com, I checked on the Hotels own website and they had a "last minute" special, £123 instead of £162 - worth 2 minutes checking, only thing is there is a no cancelation policy with the deal.

On other occasions I have even phoned smaller private Hotels who will not match the internet price, odd when you think they will have to pay a commision, but others have been glad to match or beat the internet price.