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RythBoeh
Traveller
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Posted 11 years ago

'Ey all!
This year's price on x-mass airplane tickets led us to the conclusion that we must use an other way to have a break. Interrail. More fun, more unpredictable and a hell of alot more complicated :D
So, starting point from Athens, we plan on getting to Rome by sea and get on a train (or many trains?) to the Netherlands! Now, as a total newbie I have absolutely no idea how to plan this, and here is where I need some of your time to help us out! We were planning on buying the interrail global pass ticket 5 travel days in 10 days, but since I don't really know much about this, is there any other way of getting to the Netherlands easier? or....faster? or something!
What I'd like to know is: what is the easiest way to do this trip? what will we need for it? how can we plan what train to take, from where, and at what time so we can get to the Netherlands as fast as possible? How do we return to Greece (same ticket?)
Any other information along with the above questions will be evenly and greatly appreciated!
For the record, we plan on departing somewhere between 1-3 of Jan
oh, and please excuse my english x)
Thanks in advance,
Pete

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Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

replied 11 years ago

Hej Pete!

You might think about a 5in10 IR ticket ([u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-global-pass[/u]) . Then you could travel to Amsterdam as follows (x are travel days of your IR pass; you have to make use of the 1900 rule as well):

1) Athens - Patras and overnight ferry to Ancona
2x) Ancona - Bologna and night train to Munich
3x) Munich - Frankfurt - Cologne - Amsterdam
4) Amsterdam
5) Amsterdam
6) Amsterdam
7) Amsterdam and night train to Zürich
8x) Zürich - Bernina Railway ([u]https://rail.cc/blog/zurich-milano-albula-bernina/[/u])- Milano and night train to Bari
9x) Bari - Patras overnight ferry
10) Patras - Athens

Still one travel day left for a day trip around Amsterdam.

Remember that you need an additional ticket for travel in your home country; reservations are necessary for the ferries and night trains.
[u]https://rail.cc/en/first-time-interrail[/u]


Flo 8)

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RythBoeh
Traveller
2 comments

replied 11 years ago

flow you're savin' our plans bro, thank you so much! I'll have a look further on the matter and have you occupied with some final questions ;) as for now, is there anything else I MUST know for such a trip?

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Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

replied 11 years ago

Great! To support the free information and the forum on railcc, please be fair and buy your official Interrail pass via our railcc partner link: [ux]https://rail.shop/interrail[/ux]
Thank you! :)
If you message us with your order ID (AA....) after the purchase you will get upgraded to Premium membership for more support and detailed answers. Thank you.

The trip is rather straightforward, however I would get the night train reservations in time (also possible online, explained for instance here: [u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-night-train/rome-munich-cnl-484/34[/u]

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RythBoeh
Traveller
2 comments

replied 11 years ago

flow, a couple of more questions till we decide! first of, where can we book night trains and for that specific trip what night trains do we book?
on number 9 from bari to patras with ferry, you ve put an x. how are we using the pass when travelling with a ferry?
on number 8, can you go into a bit more detail? whats this railway, anything i shoukd know about it?

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Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

replied 11 years ago

You will need the following night trains:
[ux]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-night-train/rome-florence-bologna-munich/city-night-line-484-lupus/34[/u]
[u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-night-train/amsterdam-zurich-cnl40419/16[/u]
You can book these online at [ux]https://rail.shop/bahn[/ux] as explained here: [u]https://rail.cc/en/night-train/germany/de[/u] (note that you will have to book Amsterdam - Basel Bad Bf for the last train, as it is explained there (departure or arrival station have to be in Germany)).

[u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-night-train/milan-lecce-icn-755/256[/u]
You can also book this train online: At [ux]https://rail.shop/acprail/reservation[/ux] (togehter with the InterRail ticket) or: [u]https://rail.cc/en/italy-train-supplement-online-booking/f2949[/u]

ad 8) This is one of the most spectacular railways across the Alps, just have a look at the link to the blog I posted above. If you are interested in the scenery this is probably the best way to go.
Anyway, the direct route across the Gotthard is also quite scenic as well and much faster - both options are possible, up to you how you want to go. :)

ad 9) Contact <!-- e -->[u]mailto:helpdesk@attica-group.com[/u]<!-- e --> for reservatios on the ferry Bari - Patras.