Should I reserve hotel accomodation ahead of time or just find a hotel when I arrive in various towns.?

Question

I'll be travelling by car around Germany in February/March for three weeks.
Flexibility is the advantage of not booking ahead but is it likely to be more expensive than booking ahead.
I would probably use booking.com if booking ahead.

Answer 1

Why don't you just research where you might generally go in advance and prepare a list of hotels that might be on your route? You must have some idea where you are going to start and finish, and an idea about your general direction - eg "must see" places?
Doing this will give you the flexibility of not booking ahead with the peace of mind of knowing where to look for accommodation if you decide to stop over somewhere.
If you get a chance to do the Eisenach-Gotha -Erfurt-Weimar -Leipzig-Dresden route, then don't miss out.

Answer 2

It's hard to say. Feb/March is not a peak tourist time, so you could maybe find a hotel when you arrive in each town.
But, I think I would much prefer to book ahead, so I don't waste time driving around town looking for a hotel. You can research lots of hotels on the internet. Most have their own webpage.

When I went to Germany last year (May). I pre-booked all my hotels on the internet, directly with the hotels. That way we knew exactly where to go. We travelled by train though, so didn't have to worry about parking. Our trip went perfectly according to plan (regarding train schedules, hotels and things to see).

If booking ahead, I would suggest you see which is cheaper (directly with the hotel...or with a booking agency).
Also, do some research on each town you plan to visit. Most have an official website, which will give you ideas, maps etc. Just type in the town or city name in a search engine.

And get a good travel book (Lonely Planet is excellent).
Hope you have fun! You will love it there.

Answer 3

I beg to contradict the advice given by another reply, saying you will have no problem because Feb/March is not tourist season. In many German cities, accomodation bottlenecks are not caused by tourists, they are caused by trade fairs! These will be at different times of year in different cities: hotels will be full and/or they may charge higher prices.

I agree with the advice given by another reply about using the tourist information offices wherever you go. They are always helpful to find what suits your requirements, e.g. something central, something cheap, somewhere where you can easily park your car, or whatever it is that you need. They normally charge no fee for their service and will probably also supply you with a town plan and other useful info. However, that won't help much if they are closed when you arrive, e.g. evening or Sunday. Large city tourist information offices are open longer.

Personally, I always book in advance for accomodation in Germany, because it is easier to find what suits me best (price or location). Invariably, for the times & places I am going, I know the tourist information will not be open.

I never use web sites like booking.com (or any of the numerous similar sites) because they do not list all hotels - in particular, they do not list the lower priced hotels or Gasthofs which I prefer to use. Each town will have its own web site with tourist information, and I use those - find the site for the town you want via google. These often also list private bed & breakfast accomodation, although I wouldn't go for one of those if only staying one or two nights.

Answer 4

In Berlin at least it is not necessary to book in advance. What you do is go to the tourist information office (there are three) and they will find you a hotel in the district you prefer and in the price range you can afford. They give you a computer print-out and give you directions as to how to find the location. The service is free. I am sure that you will find this service replicated all over Germany. There are also the tourist information websites so you can go to an Internet cafe, look up your destination and book before you set out or even while you are on your way.

Answer 5

Owen K gave you the good advice about the tourist information offices. Every larger town has one, often located in the train stations.
He was also right about the fair situation.
Fairs are planned long ahead though, and if you type in google "Messekalender (town) 2007" like I just did for (Frankfurt/Main):
http://www.messefrankfurt.com/corporate/de/messen_messeninfrankfurt.html
you will obtain all the planned events and you can see, when it will be full and which town to avoid (or the very near towns to it).

So I wish you a good time with a lot of fun here in Germany.

Answer 6

We always wait to get a room when needed.Something that you really like might take all day instead of a couple of hours. We make our own schedule and it really works for us.We've done 48 states like this but Alaska will get two months and of course Hawaii will probably be a tour.We had 30 days,my husband was in the service,in Europe and we started in Germany,what a trip!!If you have 3 weeks you will need at least 3 days in Heidelberg,it's beautiful and cross the border into Luxembourg for the day.I envy you, your trip will be wonderful.

Answer 7

It depends to which area you go. In big cities it should not be a problem to get a room. But if you go to Heidelberg, Rothenburg and other favorite places, watch out for expensive rooms. Try reserve over the internet and go to www.hrs.de. This is a good site with good and normally low to moderate priced hotels.
If you come to Germany don't miss the town of Fulda. 100 km north of Frankfurt. A beautiful city with very old churches and a towncastle. Its worth to visit!!

Answer 8

traveled germany many times. honestly, in feb/march, you don't need any reservations at all, because no public holidays.
only if you have a place you really want to stay at, you should book ahead. otherwise, be flexible and have lots of fun.

Answer 9

In some countries it's better to book ahead and some hotels charge you cheaper than walk-in. anyways try this booking site, the best prices i've found on it. www.hrs.com
good luck

Answer 10

In some countries it's better to book ahead