Do you book your tours far in advance?

[Christian]

Just wondering if my Slow Europe fellow travellers book day trips in advance! I have done both on different occasions; a Chianti tour which I booked several weeks in advance and a tour to Mont-Saint-Michel from Paris, which I booked the day before. I didn’t notice any difference. I don’t even know if the price would have been different one way or another.

I read somewhere that unlike visits to museums, booking day trips far in advance is useless, because such tours never really sell out and if the do, tour companies simply add minivans or busses as required. The reason why I’m asking this is that from Florence (in May!), we will go to Cinque Terre with Viator. I would like to make sure it’s going to be a nice, sunny day with a blue sky, so obviously, it would be better to book a day or two before.

 

[Bob Whelan]

We usually like to explore on our own and limit the day trip trip tours. In the cities we use public transportation when necessary to move around and see the sites at our leisure. While in Tuscany we usually have a rental car and find we can see so much more by stumbling upon places the tours never go and visiting vineyards and restaurants that are on our list. For your purpose it sounds like advice from Viator would be helpful but I'm guessing they accommodate booking within a couple days of the tour

For places like the Colosseum or Pompeii guides are available the day of the visit.

When we toured the Amalfi Coast we arranged for a driver the day before knowing the weather was going to be great. When we returned last year with our family we arranged about a month in advance using the same guys knowing we could change the date if necessary since we were there for a week. We were also able to arrange for a private boat tour of the coast a couple of days before.

Have fun!

Bob

 

[Christian]

Thank you Bob. We don't drive. It's a shame; I'm sure it must be the best way to explore tuscany!

 

[SuzanneT]

I am in Florence now and it's really colder than normal due to rapid melting of the arctic and the impact that is having on the jet stream. So I think your instinct is a good one to wait and let the weather be your guide. (I've been in Italy in the spring and I've never experienced this kind of cold weather. I'm here for 3 months and who knows what the weather will be like?)

 

[Tony da Roma]

it depends. You are using a site like Viator and they use large tour companies as their providers. In that scenario booking 3 months out vs. 3 days out really does not make much of a difference. However, if you were to book with my company or other similar small, boutique tour companies the story is completely different. If it is a group tour, and we have a slot or two available we will be able to accommodate. If we don't have any spaces available anymore, that's it. You are out of luck. If it is a private tour, we may or may not be able to accommodate. It really depends on the time of the year (how busy it is) and if we can find a guide (or vehicle/driver) who is still free. I always recommend to our clients that if there is something that they are definitely interested in, that they should book at least 2 weeks prior to ensure availability.

 

[artnbarb]

i was just thinking about this myself. We've booked a private day tour of the Ring of Kerry because we'll be there on a specific day and want to see it, rain or shine. For a day trip to Newgrange while we're in Dublin, I'm going to wait. We'll be there 4 days and I'd like to see what the weather forecast is before committing.