summer hostel experiences and struggles - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

jessie71685 · 04-20-2006, 10:13 PM

i dont wanna tie myself down to set dates in some of the places im going this summer cuz 1. im not sure if it will work out 2. i have friends in a few cities that i might extend my stop in those cities to see 3. i would always worry i would miss my reservation and be paying a bunch of money i dont have for missed reservations

im thinking more around southern italy and the greek isles...

my trip is pretty much planned through london and france but rome and below is what i worry about

any stories of summer travel that will help me to buckle down and make reservations or help ease my mind that i wont be sleeping on the streets/beaches cuz i didnt reserve a bed...

also throw in some recommendations for places to stay in southern italy and the greek islands if you have any...would help a lot (cant always trust the hostel websites to say if they r really a fun hostel or if they just wanna pull people in)...

thanks guys!!

**omisan** · 04-21-2006, 12:21 AM

You should be alright winging it, although places do get packed in the summers. Trouble spots that always come to mind are Paris (lack of good hostels), Amsterdam (same thing, plus very high demand) and Barcelona (insanely high demand in the summer). The best thing to do, I think, for cities like that are to book at least one or two nights for them in advance. If you make it, great, and hopefully if you decide to stay a while you can keep your room. If you don't make it, you're only losing the 10% deposit on, say, $20-$40. You're buying peace of mind for $2-4/city, which isn't bad in my book!

**Jen05** · 04-21-2006, 10:13 AM

I agree with Omisan. Prebooking will give you peace of mind, and it's the easiest thing to cancel online. I found that weekends often filled up quickly (eg. Dublin, ended up in the most random place because nothing else was available). I prebooked as I was travelling in summer, and the peace of mind was a nice thing to have!

**simply_angelic** · 04-21-2006, 11:01 AM

I never booked, but was always able to luck out with a place to stay that was cool...every time I booked ahead I ended up missing my reservation for one reason or another so I just gave up.