There's something to be said for spontaneity, of course, but our preference is to spend all of our holiday time enjoying the trip and that means not spending time doing what we could have done from home, i.e., researching and booking accommodations. I recently read that there's a trend for travellers to stay in small towns and do day trips into the cities instead of the other way around. Finding suitable accommodations in small towns is easier with advance planning, especially if your preference is for getting around by train, as is ours.

Regards, Linda