Interrail Itineraries #1: As many countries as possible please!

In my last post, I said that I would make an itinerary for people who buy an Interrail or Eurail pass. This is just an example, and, in fact, I would rather you think of your own itinerary, as it is much more fun that way, bust I wanted to give you some inspiration. Please make sure you have a seat reservation if it says required on the Rail Planner App. Also make sure you have your route confirmed on the app, NOT Google Maps (timetables are often incorrect) before buying a pass. Bring your passport (and visa if applicable) as well as travel insurance (World Nomads is Interrail's official insurance partner). This itinerary is accurate as of Monday 5th April 2021 at 21:00 BST, and it is recommended for use after July 2021 because of Covid-19. I recommend either a 1 or 2-month pass for this, but plan how long to spend at each place on your trip before deciding which pass to order. Remember you can only spend 90 days within an 180 day period in the Schengen Area if you live outside of it.

If you are wondering where to go to sleep, check my Where to Spend the Night Whilst Interrailing guide.

I know it's a teenie bit late, but I thought I should tell you that, when you're booking your pass, you can choose between 1st or 2nd class (obviously 1st class is more expensive). This means reservations cost roughly the same (depending on provider prices) no matter what class you reserve. In my opinion, you should buy a second-class ticket, but it's entirely up to you.

First off, you would have to get to the starting point, London's St Pancras International. With an Interrail pass, try and get the train to London, as this is included for free. If you have a Eurail pass, you will have to get the plane to London. To get from the airport to the station, go onto Google Maps and set the directions from the airport to St Pancras International. If you use the Tube to get to St Pancras, you will have to pay a small fare for a mobile ticket, so set up your Contactless card on the TfL Oyster and Contactless app: Apple | Android. Then, scan your phone on the yellow pads next to the barriers. If you can't access this, you may be able to find a ticket machine at the station. When you get to King's Cross & St Pancras International Underground Station - I don't know why they recently changed the Tube station name to make it so long - scan your card again to confirm the payment. Try and do some sightseeing in London if you can!

From here, we will get a Eurostar train to Amsterdam. These must be pre-booked using the Rail Planner App (see link #1) and cost an additional fee. Usually, there is a long gap between trains, so check before leaving. This train should take just over 4 hours to get to Amsterdam-Centraal, where we will get off. Spend a few nights in Amsterdam (not too many, you don't want your pass to expire), and see what deals you can get in the city with your pass in the app or on the website.

Next up, we are going to Frankfurt on the German ICE trains. Reservation for this particular route is not required. High-speed Trains into Frankfurt from Amsterdam usually take just over 4 hours. I recommend only spending a night in Frankfurt, before catching another ICE train to the German capital of Berlin. As you did Amsterdam, spend a few nights there, and see what deals you can get with your pass in Germany. Remember that your pass includes use of the S-Bahn, but not the U-Bahn.

Now, it's time to go to Czechia. Get a Eurocity (EC) train towards Decin from Berlin Central. It may vary depending on when you travel, but usually, when the train gets to Decin, it changes its destination to Praha and carries on. Just to be on the safe side, check this on maps when you get to Decin. Carry on all the way to Praha hl.n. from Decin. Trains from Berlin-Prague do not require reservation. Spend a few days experiencing the wonderful city of Prague (watch a few of the videos from youtube.com/honestguide to see what to do, as well as checking the benefits you can get in Czechia with your pass).

Now, time to go to Austria, in particular Vienna. Get a Railjet (RJ) train from Czechia and follow it to Wien Hauptbahnhof station. This should take just over 4 hours, and reservation is required. Somewhere I recommend in Vienna is the Hundertwasserhaus, a beautiful but unconventional building that uses many colours and is coated in plants. Your pass includes use of the Austrian S-Bahn, but not U-Bahn, similar to Germany.

When you're ready to leave Vienna, go to Wien Hauptbahnhof and get a REX 8 (Regional Express 8) train. Stay on all the way to the terminal, Bratislava Hlavna Stanica. This train does not require reservations, as it only takes just over an hour between the two capitals. Spend some time in Bratislava, capital of Slovakia, before going to our next city.

The next city is... Budapest! You can get a direct train from Bratislava Hlavna Stanica to Budapest Nyugati with EuroCity (sometimes InterCity). It takes between 2-2.5 hours and you need to reserve a seat for €4 extra. Use the official Trip Planner App to schedule this, as for some reason the train is not on Google Maps. Spend some time in the capital of Hungary and then carry on with the trip when you're ready!

The next city is Zagreb! Hopefully, from July of this year - you can get direct Intercity trains from Budapest Kelenfold to Zagreb Glavni Kol. with no reservation. If not, go onto Trip Planner to see what to do. Once you're in Zagreb, experience the wonderful country of Croatia.

Next we are going to Ljubljana, capital of Slovenia. There are direct International and EuroCity trains, but during August, they run less often so you have to reserve EuroNight trains. Check Trip Planner (Google Maps doesn't show direct trains for some reason) before leaving. Spend some time in the beautiful country of Slovenia (it was ranked the most beautiful European country) before preparing to leave again.

Next, we are going to Milan, the biggest city in Italy. Directions vary so make sure you check (and reserve if applicable) before leaving. Spend some time in Milan, before preparing to leave again.

We need to get a ferry to Barcelona next. Get a Frecciarossa train down to Rome, and then a regional train to Civitavecchia. Both of these require reservation. Then, board your ferry (can be booked at booking.grimaldi-lines.com/?c=GRI&l=en&l1=ITCVV-ESBCN&d1=05132021 - discount available by selecting any accomodation, then Eurail or Interrail and your pass number under partners). This will take you to Barcelona. I recommend booking a cabin; you definitely will need some sleep. Spend some time in Barcelona.

That's the end of this itinerary! The next one will be shorter and start from Barcelona, so you can carry on if you still have time left on the pass.

Where to stay whilst Interrailing

 In my last article, I spoke about Interrail and Eurail passes. I said I was going to make an itinerary for people to buy one to use. I've already written that, and it should be out later today. But first, I feel I need to give some ideas of where to stay whilst Interrailing.

1) Hostels

Hostels are great places to stay on a budget. Interrail made a list of recommended hostels, which, along with thousands more across the world, can be booked from their official partner, Hostelworld.com. You can choose to have your own private room or sleep in shared rooms with other travellers. On top of this https://benefitsportal.eurail.com/?categories=a2840ccc-9b23-4c5d-a940-0e6e446d5d48 has lots of accommodations, including hostels, that you can get discounted with your pass.

2) Luxury Hotels/Holiday Resorts

From one end of the spectrum to another: Luxury Hotels and Holiday Resorts. I know, these do cost a lot, and I mean a lot, of money, but they are good for relaxing in after a long week of travelling across Europe. A good app I've found is Marriott. You don't get a discount with your pass, but they have hotels in every country your pass is valid in except Liechtenstein and Luxembourg. With their app, Marriott Bonvoy, you can book luxury hotels with almost no notice in seconds! These include their classic hotels, as well as some other more luxury brand.  Sometimes, they're not even too expensive! For example, a Ljubljana Four Points by Sheraton hotel, in their "select" group of hotels, can cost less than £60 per night! Pretty good for a luxury brand with an indoor pool. Just search "Marriott Bonvoy" in your app store to download their app.

3) Holiday Inn

You probably know that Holiday Inn is a chain of relatively cheap 2, 3 or 4 star hotels, similar to a Premier Inn or Travelodge in the UK. However, Holiday Inn have hotels in many more countries. To book go to https://www.holidayinn.com.

Eurail and Interrail

 I know, I haven't posted for ages. I've been trying to research my next Rail Expansion, but quickly found that unlike Norfolk, there unfortunately isn't a reliable railway map on Wikipedia for most other counties. However, today I am going to talk about something that could save you hundreds on flight and train tickets.

Interrail, known as Eurail outside of Europe, is a train ticket that gives you free or discounted use of the following partners and more within a certain period of time:

This all amounts to 33 countries of (almost) free travel with the ticket. You have to pay for the ticket, which can be quite expensive, and some services are only discounted to prevent overcrowding, so you need to pay extra for a seat reservation. As well as this, most subway/metro networks, such as the U-Bahn and London Underground, are not included. However, some suburban metros, such as the S-Bahn and London Overground, are included.

As well as this, unlimited travel means the prices are quite high. It costs £159 (€185) for just a four day ticket. However, you can get long-term tickets for cheaper, such as 3 months for £582 (€677). If you live in Europe, you can book at https://www.interrail.eu/en/interrail-passes/global-pass. If you live outside of Europe, book at https://www.eurail.com/en/eurail-passes/global-pass. They cost the same prices, you just need to book on a different website outside of Europe. To change to a different language or currency, use the bar at the top of the page.

Your pass also includes some exclusive promotions, such as discounted ferry travel and free gifts. To redeem these, visit https://benefitsportal.eurail.com/?.

My next article will be an Interrail travel itinerary (wow, that word's difficult to spell), so look out for that in the next few days if you're not convinced about buying a pass yet!