Before I begin please note: I am 47 days away from leaving for Spain and the pre-trip jitters have started BIG TIME! I'm very, very excited, yes, but also very nervous and because of that I'm probably going to be asking some very stupid questions in the upcoming few weeks. (And laughing at myself like crazy when I get get back for asking them!) I beg all for a little patience and I promise I will try to keep my craziness in check. Well, as much as possible. Deal?

*Deep breath* Okay.

I've heard differing views on this, so I thought I would take this here and see what the prevailing opinion might be. I have made hotel reservations for most of my trip and received email confirmations, which I will be bringing with me on the trip. I made these reservations roughly 6 months ago or less because these were places I really wanted to stay at and wanted to make certain I could secure a reservation at. (The trip will be mid-Sept to early Oct, so not exactly high season, from what I gather.)

Now I am wondering if I need to re-confirm and have heard many arguments for and against. Those who say I should cite that reservations can get lost - even when confirmed - especially when made so far in advance, and it's best to re-confirm about a month before arriving in case other arrangements need to be made. Also, since some of the places are small and family owned, it might be appreciated that I am letting them know that I am still arriving and staying the nights originally booked.

Those who are against this state the hotel may take exception to a re-confirmation as it may appear that I do not trust their record keeping. They made the reservation, it is a "done deal", and checking up on them may be taken as an insult. I should simply bring the emails I have and let it be at that.

Still others state there are ways to re-confirm without making it appear that way. Emailing the hotel and asking about laundry services while there, or parking facilities, or directions might be one way for them to state they do not have a reservation for me. (But seems a bothersome way to go about this to me.)

I'm willing to spend the time re-confirming reservations, as I realize it has been a while and, simply put, things can get lost anywhere in the world.

So what would be the prevailing opinion here? Re-confirm? Just bring the emails I have and go with the flow? I understand I probably wouldn't necessarily do this in the US, but then, I could always pick up the phone with a 3 hour time differece, max, and no language barrier, so it is a bit different in some regards.

Any suggestions are welcome!!

Chele60,
How ironic,my wife and I are leaving for Andalucia in 47 days also. To quell your jitters,and like you said "you have the time",by all means re-confirm. Hope you enjoy your trip!

I do it all the time and that is for any country I am visiting. I will even confirm my reservations with hotels/hostels if I book them throught a travel website.

I will be leaving for Spain in seven more weeks and will reconfirm my reservations with my hostels that I staying with in the first week September. I think small family run hostels/hostels do not mind much if you send them an email letting them know you are still coming. No one has complained to me and I been doing it for years.

Reconfirmed and do not worry. If there are going to be any problems get them resolve before you leave on your trip. Reconfirmed is one way to reduce a problem that you might have on your trip.

Bill

Thank you both so much for the responses! It looks like re-confirm it is!

Hey! It looks like there will be several of us going to Spain in Sept/Oct! It will be interesting to see how everyone's trip went when they get back!

Again, thank you!

For what it's worth, I'll add my voice to those saying it's okay to reconfirm. I've always reconfirmed by reservations in Spain and the various hotels and hostales have never seemed upset or taken aback by this.

Buen viaje!

I always re-confirm when travelling in Spain or abroad. I'm sure hotels appreciate it, actually it's a way for them to re-confirm that you are actually going!!

Another vote for reconfirming ....

WOW!! I leave in 47 days, too! (Actually 45 from today, since your initial post was on the first!!)I plan to confirm all reservations about three weeks in advance of departure. I'm going to Salamanca and Madrid. Y tu?

-Victoria

I'll just tell you what I do:
1. Make advance reservations by e-mail or phone
2. Call ahead once I am in Spain to re-confirm or to make any changes - we arrived in Vigo (Pontevedra) a day early and the Hotel America was only too happy to accomodate us. The same thing happened with Bilbao with the same result from the Hotel Conde Duque.

If you plan to arrive late you should definitely re-confirm. That shouldn't be necessary if you arrive before 18:00 and have a reservation number or a confirming e-mail.

You should definitely reconfirm if you arrive after 18H00 local time, or if you intend to arrive earlier than the usual check-in time.

In general, it certainly does not do any harm to send a confirming e-mail, thanking them for their previous confirmation, citing the booking number and telling them you look forward to staying in their superb establishment. It is probably not required, but if done in a friendly way it will just reassure both sides.

Enjoy your trip to Spain!