On Thu, 13 Mar 2008, Mike Lane wrote:
>> Try it! Book yer own life!
>>
> I can understand this way and the peace of mind it gives, but it just
> wouldn't suit our normal type of trip.
I fully appreciate the idea of being able to choose how many days to
stay in a particular place in near real time or have a flexible
itinerary. I used to travel that way when I was younger (in UK, Benelux,
Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Scandinavia), travelling by train and
benefitting of the fact a local tourist office would be available at
arrival, not far from the station, open and dealing with on-the-spot
booking for the same evening. We were almost invariably satisfied
with the accomodation they supplied (only case of disappointment
Stockholm). The only risk was arriving too late the tourist office could
be closed. In a couple of cases (Linz, Nuernberg) an hotel near the
station did it. In another case (Windermere) the office was closed but
had a nice list of accomodations with phone numbers in the window. Only
in Salisbury (our train hit a cow and was delayed) the office was closed
and we ended up in a sort-of-ambiguous place.
> The idea of having a rigid schedule like this that one must stick to
> whatever happens, simply appals me.
Well, if one wants a rigid schedule one can take an organized tour. They
are not necessarily bad if they are well organized, and lately I've been
almost invariable travelling with TCI organized tours. Getting older one
appreciates comfort ...
Also when we did a trip on our own to the tip of Denmark, we preferred
to book in advance (mainly because we were warned it would have been
high season), and in that case we managed very nicely by e-mail.
> Much as we enjoy the uncertainty of our normal trips, up to now I have
> always been a little disappointed by our experiences in Italy compared
> to other countries and I feel we could arrange this better. Perhaps we
> need a separate trip there by train and bus which we could organize
> more thoroughly.
I guess that depends on which part of Italy. Train and bus should give
sufficient flexibility at least in the North or Centre-North. Definitely
you cannot trust to find a tourist office near the station, or open when
you get there (anyhow, just as further info, minor places can have their
own office, usually called "Pro Loco" ... people there can be quite more
helpful [being local voluntaries] than staff of a big office, but the
opening hours can be limited). Also knowing the local language helps.
Once we got to Siena (the station is quite far from the centre) and just
asked a taxi driver about a decent hotel in the centre. In Capo di Ponte
(Camonica valley, prehistoric rock engravings, small village) we just
entered a trattoria and found a room there. Another time we were
planning a mountain hut trek on the "via dei Monti Lariani" but in
september we found that the first 4 huts were closed, and at about 6 pm
we were up on a pass and decided to go down to the nearest village, to
find that the two hotels there were closed, so we entered in a bar and
hitched a lift to a place further down (which had bus connection).
I've seen ads on TV for services available to cell phone users which
will locate hotels (or other things) near the place where you are. I'm
not sure whether some satellite navigator database provide such sort of
information. Maybe these can be useful to you, if you "insist" in
travelling by car.
Only beware if you stop in dark night near Frittole :-)
--
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