How we find rooms out of season

Out of season the problem is not finding a room. It is finding one that is open, heated, and run by someone who will answer the phone. Here is what has worked for us over the last two years, from Crete in May to Andalusia in January.

We book the first two nights before we leave, always. Arriving in the dark in a town where half the guesthouses are shuttered for the winter is not an adventure, it is a long walk with a bag. After that we book one or two days ahead, from wherever we are, usually in the evening over a glass of something.

The booking sites are good for seeing what exists and roughly what it costs. They are less good at telling you that a place is closed until March, or that “sea view” means a corner of grey between two buildings. So once we have a short list, we look for the place’s own telephone number and call or send a message. About half the time the price is lower if you book directly, and it is never higher. In Paleochora the owner offered a discount for four nights before we had asked. In Córdoba the woman who answered asked whether we wanted the room with the good heater, which no website would have told us existed.

Out of season it is also perfectly normal to walk in and ask. The bar on the square knows who has rooms. In Kobarid the woman at the bakery counter rented us the apartment upstairs.

Some things we ask every time, in the local language if we can manage it: is there heating, and is it on; is breakfast included; is there a lift, or how many stairs; and how far is it to the station, in minutes on foot, not by car.

And one rule we keep breaking: do not pay for the whole week in advance. The second town is always nicer than you expected, or the first one turns cold, and the room you have paid for does not move with you.

— Marta