Inter-railing in Europe?

garrfc

Want to go inter-railing for about 2-3 weeks , any suggestions on destinations/things to do/places to stay away from etc.?
Thinking of going France-Switzerland-Northern Italy-Slovenia and finishing in Croatia/Eastern Europe. Maybe Germany aswell.
A few of us in our late teens/early twenties going with an interest in going out/adventure sports/THEME PARKS and even a bit of sightseeing! We know a bit of German and French, enough to get by.
Any tips welcome

Badgermonkey

The rail travellers bible

http://www.seat61.com/

Amirani

I've been inter-railing twice and I've been to all the places you've mentioned with the exception of Switzerland.

I'd avoid France/Northern Italy if it means you can go to Germany instead. The likes of Berlin, Hamburg and Munich are great cities to have fun in and offer a much better social scene than the likes of Nice, Lyon and Milan.

Slovenia is simply a spectacular country, it seems so untouched and natural and it's a must see. I'd recommend visiting Lake Bled, an alpine lake not far from Ljubljana that offers breathtaking views and a big lake to swim in. There's camping and cheap hostels available and plenty of adventure sports in and around the area.

In terms of Croatia, I'd favour the coastal cities such as Split and Dubrovnik over the more dreary Zagreb. There's a great night life as well as lots of water activities during the day. Incredibly cheap too.

I'd definitely recommend the likes of Prague and Budapest too. Prague can be full of stag and hen parties but it's still a great place to have fun. Budapest is such a chilled out place and nothing beats a day at the baths. Something you just have to do.

The likes of Krakow and Bratislava are okay too but I'd definitely be trying to get some of the other places in ahead of them.

emememem

hey went interrailing last year, did budapest, krakow, prague etc... we're thinking of doing the same route as you this year only in reverse, start down in croatia and eventually make our way up to belgium where we'll finish it all off with pukkelpop. defo recommend going to a music festival if you're into that scene. Pukkelpop was a highlight for us last year. had a great line up, cheaper than irish festival and we werent covered in muck!! we're hoping to maybe even squeeze in sziget as well.

also if you could try go for 3 weeks do it! we only went for 2 last year and it really put pressure on us to be doing something productive everyday, 3 weeks would be more relaxing, much more time for nursing hangovers!!

i know its not on your planned route but krakow is an amazing place, thought it was so much better than prague, friendly people, extremely interesting, good nightlife, safer. if you're route does change, try your best to get to krakow!

memco

Me and my friends are doing the same route. We're thinking Greece and Croatia, then making our way to Pukkelpop (went last year and loved it)and then doing Prague, Berlin etc. How long are you going for? I was island hopping in Greece last year, its so cheap its ridiculous! Not quite sure how much money to bring.. or how long to go for. We're hoping 4 weeks and a few might stay on longer to try make it to Oktoberfest.. Any feedback would be great!

WilcoOut

best trip of my life last summer, 6weeks interrailin across europe!

i would highly recommend munich, vienna and Lake Bled in Slovenia

get yer ass to croatia aswell, hit Split and get out to Hvar island, all must sees!

enjoy it

E.E.T

Went interrailing last summer for 6weeks.
Was on here for lots of advise..and as usual ye were all great! So I'm back to pay it forward!

Our trip:
amsterdam-berlin-krakow-vienna-lake bled-venice-verona-zagreb-split-hvar-dubrovnik-mostar-belgrade-sofia-burgas.

Loved all these places for different reasons: If I had to pick any of these places to go back to tomorrow probably Lake Bled and Hvar!

Kaneda_

Due to work commitments or lack of funds most of my mates wouldnt be able to go Interrailling.Ive always wanted to go and now i have the money and time ive no one to travel with!

Anyone here ever go it alone? Im strongly thinking about it:)

InchicoreDude

Due to work commitments or lack of funds most of my mates wouldnt be able to go Interrailling.Ive always wanted to go and now i have the money and time ive no one to travel with!

Anyone here ever go it alone? Im strongly thinking about it

Was gonna post exactly the same. When you thinking of going? Part of me thinks going alone would be one hell of an adventure. But then I'm not sure, maybe it would be boring...

Kaneda_

InchicoreDude wrote: »

Was gonna post exactly the same. When you thinking of going? Part of me thinks going alone would be one hell of an adventure. But then I'm not sure, maybe it would be boring...

Thats the thing.......i dont have a set date but if i was to go id say sometime around june.It seems like a great idea and ive wanted to go with the past year but always have a reason to put it of- save up more cash,wait for a friends who wants to go , some kind of occasion coming up...i think theres always going to be a reason to put it off.Better of just buying the ticket, booking a flight and doing it.

InchicoreDude

Thats the thing.......i dont have a set date but if i was to go id say sometime around june.It seems like a great idea and ive wanted to go with the past year but always have a reason to put it of- save up more cash,wait for a friends who wants to go , some kind of occasion coming up...i think theres always going to be a reason to put it off.Better of just buying the ticket, booking a flight and doing it.

I'm actually thinking end of May / June myself. But I dont have a whole lot of time, only around 3 weeks; Would that be enough for interrailing I wonder?

garrfc

Thanks for all the help here lads, much appreciated!

Michael..

Hey guys !!

Some great information in this thread, much appreciated.

I'm thinking about going around Europe next Summer so I would love a bit more advice and some tips...

I have a couple of quick questions;

Where's the best place to buy an Interrail pass ? I was looking at the Usit website which looks pretty good - 422euro 2nd class for a month. Is 1st class worth it ? Is there a cheaper option ?

Would a month be long enough or should I be looking to go for six weeks ?

I know this is entirely dependent on what I get up to, but what is the minimum amount of money I would need per week ?

Cheers !!

LiamMc

The €422 seems to be the correct price for a Student/<26 for a month.
Another site (maybe private business also).
http://www.interrailnet.com/interrail-passes/interrail-global-pass

Second class is fine all over Europe. Occasionally people upgrade on specific routes because of the cheapcost and experience or peace of mind.

The type of ticket is up to you, it wouldn't be advised to travel by rail for every day of the month. Perhaps make of list of the destinations and attractions you wish to see and then try and match a Rail Pass to that. Whether it be one country, specific number of days over a two week.one month period.

In the more expensive economies I would budget for €100 a day, including activities.
A tourist can plan to bring this price down by staying in the same place for a while. Affording of extra night free stays or booking good options of accommodation in the budget class. Or eating well in budget options.

Many inter-railers travel in Central Europe as their money goes further.

Michael..

Cheers !!

Thanks for the prompt response..

munchkin_utd

other folks also travel on the overnight sleeper trains as much as possible as then you arent "wasting" your time travelling during the day and you wake up in a new city the next morning.

Another advantage is that if you depart on a night train leaving after 7pm (and arriving after 4am the next morning), then on travel passes with a quota of a certain number of days it counts as travel on the arrival day.

So say I am in Amsterdam today.
I could get the night train to Berlin tonight at 19.01, arriving at half 4 in the morning, get brekkie, see the city and at 6.45pm after 14hours in the city, hop on a train to Prague getting in before midnight.
All on 1 travel pass "day"!

Heres a handy map of the night trains and their costs.
http://www.euraide.de/base/p/Overnight_Trains_Map/

Michael..

munchkin_utd wrote: »

other folks also travel on the overnight sleeper trains as much as possible as then you arent "wasting" your time travelling during the day and you wake up in a new city the next morning.

Another advantage is that if you depart on a night train leaving after 7pm (and arriving after 4am the next morning), then on travel passes with a quota of a certain number of days it counts as travel on the arrival day.

So say I am in Amsterdam today.
I could get the night train to Berlin tonight at 19.01, arriving at half 4 in the morning, get brekkie, see the city and at 6.45pm after 14hours in the city, hop on a train to Prague getting in before midnight.
All on 1 travel pass "day"!

Heres a handy map of the night trains and their costs.
http://www.euraide.de/base/p/Overnight_Trains_Map/

Cheers...Going to book it in January. I just have to convince a couple of buddies now

Fuzzy_Dunlop

Also been twice. Places I would advise to go to in particular are Berlin, Munich, Prague, Lake Bled, Hvar (Croatia), and Budapest (ideally during Sziget festival).


I wouldn't bother with France, Switzerland etc for this sort of trip due to the higher costs. If you're only really interested in more eastern countries (Montengro is also good for example). Then you can get away without buying an interrail pass because the trains and buses aren't that expensive really.

Oh also for people heading around June/ July. The Rock Werchter festival in Belgium is a good starting point.