To book or not to book

To be brutally honest the reason we don't book is because we don't really have a plan :) For us, we like to see where the (off) road takes us. OK we have some routes planned off road, but no idea if they will be 5mph tracks or 50mph gravel, so don't know where we'll be at days end. For us (and accept everyone's different), that's part of the fun. Gone to towns/villages you'd never plan to stay at and had some unexpected laughs.

It's only ever been that time in Nevers we took a while to find anywhere, usually (95%) first hotel we get in.

When we got to Bilbao late afternoon on the ferry for a Portugal trip we did book ahead that night so we could ride until 10:00 and crack the back of the trip there. So we like to be flexible, if I was going with 8 others being flexible May not be possible.

Cheers

Markie
 
The Grey One said:
That's a rather pathetic dig a people who prefer to book ahead. Being "grown up" is about coming to understand yourself and your world. Wanting to wing it is not a sign of maturity unless this desire reflects your own needs. If your idea of adventure is just turning up at a random hotel then so be it but the need to denigrate others who have come to a different conclusion is hardly the sign of having grown up.

And if you, or anyone else, turns up at our place at 6pm (or any time) expecting a discount you will be disappointed. Whenever someone arrives they get the same welcome -a free beer-the same food and the same use of our facilities as anyone else. As far as I am concerned we charge a fair price and one that applies to all. I guess we could offer discounts if we charged more in the first place.

John
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Nail head hit :thumby:
 
As you say this is your first ride alone..I really wouldn't worry if I were you at all.

...If you ride into any larger town within an hour of normal closing hours and find their tourist office,(usual brown background sign)they will speak English,tell you where you can stay in the region and even phone ahead and book it for you.

If you have a GPS all the places to stay will be in there along with 'phone numbers. so you can phone ahead even as you want.

If you check for Campanile Hotels in your GPS they also have an eating house beside each hotel so you'll be able to eat 'on site'

If you check any supermarket which will have a 'Flunch' sign outside there'll be readily available food of a good quality up until about 2100hrs usually.

IMO and when in France it's really not essential to have to book a place...if you have a mishap or find a nice place to take in the view or suchlike then you're riding under pressure to be at that place....might make the trip annoying for you?

There's heaps of places to check in to all over.....

Enjoy your trip.

:D
 
Corp.Clinger! said:
As you say this is your first ride alone..I really wouldn't worry if I were you at all.

...If you ride into any larger town within an hour of normal closing hours and find their tourist office,(usual brown background sign)they will speak English,tell you where you can stay in the region and even phone ahead and book it for you.

If you have a GPS all the places to stay will be in there along with 'phone numbers. so you can phone ahead even as you want.

If you check for Campanile Hotels in your GPS they also have an eating house beside each hotel so you'll be able to eat 'on site'

If you check any supermarket which will have a 'Flunch' sign outside there'll be readily available food of a good quality up until about 2100hrs usually.

IMO and when in France it's really not essential to have to be in a certain place on that day...if you have a mishap or find a nice place to take in the view or suchlike then you're riding under pressure to be at that place....might make the trip annoying for you?

There's heaps of places to check in to all over.

Enjoy your trip.

:D
Click to expand...

Exactly what I have been thinking......:beerjug:
 
Sounds like a great trip.....it'd be a nightmare trying to book for that kind of ride out lol...

As an aside.....IMO it's better to go to the visitors centre and see the bridge from there than to ride over it as it's just another stretch of autoroute when you're actually riding it,if you get what I mean.

Monaco is great to ride through for perving at the local elegant gals and to dander around the port.....If you ride the Corniche route it's even better..

Just say'in like...

Enjoy your trip also

:)

.
 
Travelling in europe without prior booking can hardly be called "winging it". There's a hotel on every corner.

See one you like, book yourself in. Worked 99% of the time in the last 34 years for me. :D
 
The Nutty GSER said:
After winging it in US a few years ago, and being charged several times the internet rates, I'd be inclined to pre book somewhere, but on the morning of the night that I need the room for. Then decide how far to ride that day and know that I have something booked at the end of the day.:thumb
Click to expand...

Blimey Nutty, they must have seen you coming because in the US, you can barter them right down!! I took 12 people across the US in 2010 and never booked one room and we only had a couple of issues in 30 nights. I only book in advance these days because I know the routes we are doing, rooms can be scarce in smaller places for big groups and Timaloy is coming and I don't want to witness him having a mental breakdown in the middle of Idaho:D If I'm travelling on my own or with a small group, I never bother.

Also, using a tablet to book your next room on the same day is a right royal pain in the arse because you will have to find wifi which can be difficult and anyway, you are on a motorbike and supposed to be enjoying the riding. Not knowing where you'll be staying allows you to just meander around the place and change your plans if you need to:thumb2
 
I tend to book ahead nowadays when travelling with a group mainly because if I don't I have a tendency to go on and on and bloody on and then it's dark and the place looks like Dagenham, smells of wee, is inhabited by derelicts and prostitutes and I'm running out of gas despite my mahoosive petrol tank:blagblah:D

Planning accom beforehand enables a serial fuckwit like me to structure my day so I can chill, not do daft miles and not piss off my pillion/riding friends too much with my incessant and 'Squirrel!' like 'What's around the next corner and what's over the next hill?' mentality:D

I can indulge the full complement of fuckwittery when I'm solo and sometimes I do;)

It's your jols and there's no right or wrong way so do whatever you think will enable you to enjoy your precious time away the way you want to and if Plan A doesn't work, change it next time round:thumb2
 
Well I know I'll need somewhere to stay on the 8th of July in Austria as I've just booked a visit to the KTM factory in Mattighofen. :bounce1
 
Davy F said:
Well I know I'll need somewhere to stay on the 8th of July in Austria as I've just booked a visit to the KTM factory in Mattighofen. :bounce1
Click to expand...

You could be at our place in 2.5 hours. Better roads than around the KTM factory too!

John
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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