Interrail 2013

starlit

Hi, this is something of interest to me if I was to ever do something like this in the future. I don't know where to start as never organised a holiday myself and never solo either. Its likely to be solo unless I get a friend(s) on board! Still a mad idea...just is it worth having as a life experience which i've little of!?

I am just wondering what be a good route to take to visit the european cities be sight seeing I be more interested in not majorly into sun holidays though wouldn't mind the beach.

In no particular order, Oslo, Berlin, Prague, Athens, Venice, Rome, Pisa, Vienna, Barcelona are the main cities I am thinking of. The number of days I am not sure yet 15-22 days or a month. Would it be possible to visit/interrail/ferry/fly between these cities in such a short space of time? The Autumn time was when I was thinking of going if I decide to go ahead with it.

I had thought about Bordeaux, Lyon, Alps, Krakow, Bruges, Amsterdam and lots of other cities too. I've been to Paris, didn't have a great experience did enjoy the sights but don't know if i'd want to go back there.

Any suggestions or recommendations really appreciate it thanks.

Thanks in advance!

andyd12

doovdela wrote: »

Hi, this is something of interest to me if I was to ever do something like this in the future. I don't know where to start as never organised a holiday myself and never solo either. Its likely to be solo unless I get a friend(s) on board! Still a mad idea...just is it worth having as a life experience which i've little of!?

I am just wondering what be a good route to take to visit the european cities be sight seeing I be more interested in not majorly into sun holidays though wouldn't mind the beach.

In no particular order, Oslo, Berlin, Prague, Athens, Venice, Rome, Pisa, Vienna, Barcelona are the main cities I am thinking of. The number of days I am not sure yet 15-22 days or a month. Would it be possible to visit/interrail/ferry/fly between these cities in such a short space of time? The Autumn time was when I was thinking of going if I decide to go ahead with it.

I had thought about Bordeaux, Lyon, Alps, Krakow, Bruges, Amsterdam and lots of other cities too. I've been to Paris, didn't have a great experience did enjoy the sights but don't know if i'd want to go back there.

Any suggestions or recommendations really appreciate it thanks.

Thanks in advance!

Pretty wide open question their!
Honestly you will never get to Oslo, Athens and Barcelona within 22days with the Interailing pass, you are looking to travel too far in too short of time, you wouldnt enjoy it like that!

Most places in Europe are going to have good weather, but beaches are few really just look at the map .
Your best bet is to do some more research and look at other ppls routes on here and the net. You cant see every city and sight so just be realistic about time and money needed.
Personally I choose Mid-East Europe as its relatively cheap and countries are quite small so you can visit lots of different countries and not have to spend half your time on a train etc!

Best of luck anyway:)

andyd12

ruby100 wrote: »

Hi, seriously good info on this!! Giving me loads of ideas! we're going end of july, only have 16days!! id really like to do a few days in croatia..split maybe to get a bita beach time! where would be best?
im thinking at the moment of this route...
Berlin-Prague- Vienna- Lake Bled- Zagreb-Split
Really want to do krakow too but just dont think we could fit it in time wise.. any suggestions?!

That route seems pretty good, Krakow would be tough to squeeze in in that time, Prague to Krakow is abit of a long haul.
Is it 16days from flight in to flight out?

andyd12

VinylJunkie wrote: »

Went last year for 3 weeks on my own, had the time of my life. Munich > Lake Bled > Ljublana > Pula >Zagreb > Belgrade > Budapest > Bratislava > Prague > Berlin.

Lake Bled is a must for anyone!

Now thats a savage route imo:cool:

robbieog

Does any one have any advice about getting from Vienna to Pag island. It seems bus is the only option as the trains take way to long. Perhaps renting a car is the other option but I cant find any companies who are realistic with their prices. According to google maps its only a 6hr drive.

cson

robbieog wrote: »

Does any one have any advice about getting from Vienna to Pag island. It seems bus is the only option as the trains take way to long. Perhaps renting a car is the other option but I cant find any companies who are realistic with their prices. According to google maps its only a 6hr drive.

We're renting a car to travel from Zadar to Zagreb via Pag and Plitvice Lakes and its only ~€300 for everything (I calc'd estimated fuel/tolls etc) which split between the 4 of us isn't that bad. I think it worked out at ~€40 each if we were to bus it the same route plus we wouldn't get to see Plitvice Lakes. For an extra €35 each its not too bad to have the comfort of travelling when you want etc. We got the car off Argus Car Hire if you want to try searching there.

starlit

Thanks andy. So skip oslo and athens maybe skip barcelona. How about dubrovnik croatia?

andyd12

robbieog wrote: »

Does any one have any advice about getting from Vienna to Pag island. It seems bus is the only option as the trains take way to long. Perhaps renting a car is the other option but I cant find any companies who are realistic with their prices. According to google maps its only a 6hr drive.

Train from Vienna to Zagreb, then a bus from Zagreb to Pag via Zadar. Think that is the best way without driving

work2013

I was wondering can you get clothes cheaper in any of these east european countries mentioned ? Which would be the best for shopping ?

MikeyGorse

Bit of a silly question,but did anyone just use a normal gearbag when interrailing? Instead of a big bagpack/rucksack!

Gael23

Considering doing this next year possibly. Two cities I would like to fit in are Rome and Barcelona, after that fairly flexible. Would that be possible in the one trip?

munchkin_utd

work2013 wrote: »

I was wondering can you get clothes cheaper in any of these east european countries mentioned ? Which would be the best for shopping ?

i found branded goods to be more expensive in eastern countries, at least genuine products!

With countries with lower incomes things can work 2 ways,
companies will lower their price point to make it affordable
OR
the lack of affluent customers means a low demand so a higher price, or at least a lack of discounting.

Unfortunately, Ive only ever seen the latter in eastern europe and to be honest Ireland was the same before the celtic tiger (and was actually terrible value during the celtic tiger too as nobody knew the value of money).

Ratac

I'm inter railing at the end of July to the start of August beginning in Stockholm > Copenhagen > Berlin > Amsterdam. Can anybody tell me if an Inter Rail global pass will cover me for all of this or will I have to buy other tickets?

andyd12

Ratac wrote: »

I'm inter railing at the end of July to the start of August beginning in Stockholm > Copenhagen > Berlin > Amsterdam. Can anybody tell me if an Inter Rail global pass will cover me for all of this or will I have to buy other tickets?

No, you should be covered with the pass for all those trips!

Jamie2k9

Have being following this for a few weeks, thinking about going intrerailing next month or August but can't decide on a route. My friends won't go as they going Ibiza. Whats stopping me is that I will be on my own, anyone else done it alone?

VinylJunkie

I done it alone last year, was an amazing experience. You are forced out of your comfort zone an will find yourself talking to everyone that you meet along the way. It was so good I plan on doing more solo travel in the future.

My tip for Interrailing is stay away from the big capital cities, head east, way more interesting, fun and the scenery is :O

Lake Bled & Ljubljana in Slovenia are a must!

Will be a far more interesting trip than Ibiza!

Jamie2k9

VinylJunkie wrote: »

I done it alone last year, was an amazing experience. You are forced out of your comfort zone an will find yourself talking to everyone that you meet along the way. It was so good I plan on doing more solo travel in the future.

My tip for Interrailing is stay away from the big capital cities, head east, way more interesting, fun and the scenery is :O

Lake Bled & Ljubljana in Slovenia are a must!

Will be a far more interesting trip than Ibiza!

I like my comfort, think will leave it this year and consider it next summer.

VinylJunkie

By comfort I mean you don't exactly just start talking to random people on trains and buses at home. When you are travelling alone it just comes natural.

munchkin_utd

I cannot understand how not having a few friends with you would put you off heading for a bit of a spin.

As was said, you'll not be lonely. For example, If you go on one of the more youth oriented tours in a city, or even one of those pub crawl tours in larger places, you'll fall in with a heap of folks.
When doing something like hiking for a day in the alps or such likes, its actually no harm to be on your own. You can go at your own pace and you are your own boss.
And to be honest, that can also go for cities as you are also at a whim of whether your mates are in good form or tired or whatnot as to what you do anyhow - and what suits them may not suit you.

I never did the Eurorail all as one block but I've done loads of long weekends about central europe on my own and never had a problem with it.

VinylJunkie

Excatly, you are your own boss. Loads of things happened that would have never happened if my mates were there.

ardmacha

My tip for Interrailing is stay away from the big capital cities, head east, way more interesting, fun and the scenery is :O

I always think it makes sense to go to places that don't have regular cheap flights from Ireland, these can easily be visited again. So Dresden, Kosice, Zagreb etc rather than Berlin, Prague or Vienna.

Lake Bled & Ljubljana in Slovenia are a must!

+1
If on the Interrail also go on the Bohinj railway, e.g. from Bled towards Trieste, it is one of the most scenic in Europe.

VinylJunkie

ardmacha wrote: »

+1
If on the Interrail also go on the Bohinj railway, e.g. from Bled towards Trieste, it is one of the most scenic in Europe.

Would have loved to do that, instead I went to Pula from Ljubljana. Pula is also quite nice, Tom Jones played in the Colosseum while I was there HA.

cson

Flights, hostels, car for Croatia all booked, ready to rock and roll. Next hurdle... what to bring? I'm guessing it'll be roasting around Europe end of June/start of July so a raid on Penneys for shorts and tees should see us through the 16 days? Pair of jeans if we're going to a club maybe. Anyone have any pointers?

Mr.Prodston

Maybe bring one pair of Explorer shorts, as in something with zips and hidden pockets to just make your valuables more secure. I had one or two in Southeast Asia and I was delighted I brought them, just makes you more relaxed over not losing things. Even if it will cost 10 or 15 euro more for a pair, always handy to have.

D_s

Just thought I'd jump in on this thread to ask what sort of packing should I be doing? Would love some advice from seasoned experts.

Going with a big group (9 of us) on 6th year end of school trip, itinerary as follows:

July 2nd: Fly to Krakow
4th: Arrive Prague
5th: Arrive Munich
7th: Arrive Frankfurt
8th: Arrive Amsterdam
10th: Arrive Paris
11th: Arrive Barcelona
12th: Arrive Madrid
14th: Arrive Lisbon
15th: Arrive Faro/Albufeira

15th - 22nd: 10 Person Villa rented in Albufeira, fly back to Dublin on 22nd

Everything is booked and finalised, hostels, flights etc. And yes it is fast-paced but that's the point, we're going all out for 12/13 days and then can DIE in the villa in Albufeira for a week and not do anything.

Recommendations in any of these places?

Also, BIG Question (!), we plan on booking/making reservations for all of the trains we can in advance once we arrive in Krakow: Is this the best thing to do to avoid stress/missing out on trains because they're full?

Mr.Prodston

D_s wrote: »

Just thought I'd jump in on this thread to ask what sort of packing should I be doing? Would love some advice from seasoned experts.

Going with a big group (9 of us) on 6th year end of school trip, itinerary as follows:

July 2nd: Fly to Krakow
4th: Arrive Prague
5th: Arrive Munich
7th: Arrive Frankfurt
8th: Arrive Amsterdam
10th: Arrive Paris
11th: Arrive Barcelona
12th: Arrive Madrid
14th: Arrive Lisbon
15th: Arrive Faro/Albufeira

15th - 22nd: 10 Person Villa rented in Albufeira, fly back to Dublin on 22nd

Everything is booked and finalised, hostels, flights etc. And yes it is fast-paced but that's the point, we're going all out for 12/13 days and then can DIE in the villa in Albufeira for a week and not do anything.

Recommendations in any of these places?

Also, BIG Question (!), we plan on booking/making reservations for all of the trains we can in advance once we arrive in Krakow: Is this the best thing to do to avoid stress/missing out on trains because they're full?

Holy crap :eek: that's far too much travelling in such a short period of time realistically. You won't see hardly any of the places. Each place really should have 2 days minimum. I guess it's a bit late if everything's booked but ye will be wrecked after 4/5 days of that. Also you could easily spend 3/4 days in Barcelona alone.

Are you flying inbetween places? You realise that you'll spend most of your trip bored stiff on a train if you're not. What I would suggest is booking your train a day or two before alright, normally on the day you arrive where you're going, but seeing as ye'r spending 24 hours or less in most places :pac: then yeah it would be wise to book in advance.

I don't mean to sound condescending as I've tried to do something like that, not as ambitious as that and struggled with the pace. It's a holiday too and shouldn't involve stress making transfers almost every day.

D_s

Mr.Prodston wrote: »

Holy crap :eek: that's far too much travelling in such a short period of time realistically. You won't see hardly any of the places. Each place really should have 2 days minimum. I guess it's a bit late if everything's booked but ye will be wrecked after 4/5 days of that. Also you could easily spend 3/4 days in Barcelona alone.

Are you flying inbetween places? You realise that you'll spend most of your trip bored stiff on a train if you're not. What I would suggest is booking your train a day or two before alright, normally on the day you arrive where you're going, but seeing as ye'r spending 24 hours or less in most places :pac: then yeah it would be wise to book in advance.

I don't mean to sound condescending as I've tried to do something like that, not as ambitious as that and struggled with the pace. It's a holiday too and shouldn't involve stress making transfers almost every day.

Yeah we fully realize we'll be wrecked, don't worry It's not that much of a sightseeing thing to be honest, most of the buzz will just be because we're travelling with a group of our best mates. We plan on sampling the nightlife of most of the places, rather than the sightseeing to be honest :P

We realise we could spend 4-5 days in many of these places, but that's not the point, it's not that type of holiday. Appreciate your concern though :pac: If we do find it tough, then I guess we'll have learnt the hard way

We'll be just as wrecked as all of the other 6th years heading to Magaluf and Zante! We'll sleep on the trains if we have to, and one or two of those trains are overnighters.

But thanks for your concern, and advice re: booking trains in advance!

starlit

I was thinking that but its a nice timetable all the same you get to see a fair bit and see the main cities and yet relax then for a few days! Its like a two in one holiday!

Father Hernandez

Myself and a group of 5 others are heading to Amsterdam end of July.

Planning to travel Amsterdam > Berlin > Prague > Krakow > Budapest > Lake Bled > Plitvice Lakes > Pag Island and any other around there and fly home from Dubrovnik.
19 days in total were hoping, any suggestions on whether to head to Bratislava and if the islands on Croatia are worth it ??

VinylJunkie

hogey143 wrote: »

Myself and a group of 5 others are heading to Amsterdam end of July.

Planning to travel Amsterdam > Berlin > Prague > Krakow > Budapest > Lake Bled > Plitvice Lakes > Pag Island and any other around there and fly home from Dubrovnik.
19 days in total were hoping, any suggestions on whether to head to Bratislava and if the islands on Croatia are worth it ??

A lot to see in 19 days & a lot of travel. I wouldn't go to Bratislava again, nice city but not a lot to see.

I love Berlin - Prague - Budapest - Krakow & LOVE Bled. Never been to Plitvice but heard it's lovely. Travel in Croatia is tricky, not many train routes.

bazkennedy

Planning to head off interrailing for 10 days in August

Starting in London ==> Amsterdam => Berlin ==> Prague ==> Brussels (1 night to break up the return journey) ==> London

starlit

bazkennedy wrote: »

Planning to head off interrailing for 10 days in August

Starting in London ==> Amsterdam => Berlin ==> Prague ==> Brussels (1 night to break up the return journey) ==> London

They seem like nice cities to see depends what you want from it. I would add bruges instead of brussels but travel from brussels by train back to london.

Amsterdam i dont know unless it bar sights there isnt much to see. Prague is worth going to.

You could do all those cities in 10 days. If not less! If to spend longer in them and rest/travel you need 10 days. You could spend most of it in berlin hear there is lots to do there. How about paris instead of amsterdam loads to see unless you were there already. I say one or two nights in amsterdam. You could cycle the city in a day. Lots to see in london you could be couple of days there.

bazkennedy

doovdela wrote: »

They seem like nice cities to see depends what you want from it. I would add bruges instead of brussels but travel from brussels by train back to london.

Amsterdam i dont know unless it bar sights there isnt much to see. Prague is worth going to.

You could do all those cities in 10 days. If not less! If to spend longer in them and rest/travel you need 10 days. You could spend most of it in berlin hear there is lots to do there. How about paris instead of amsterdam loads to see unless you were there already. I say one or two nights in amsterdam. You could cycle the city in a day. Lots to see in london you could be couple of days there.

cheers for the advice, probably only spending one night and one full day in Amsterdam before taking the night train to berlin. Not sure how much time i can afford to spend in the last city (now a choice between Brussels, Bruge and Colonge) - might only be a night

cson

Here's a checklist I did for the lads, might come in useful for some of you.