jonarni89
Traveller
1 comments
Posted 10 years ago
Hello,
This is a first time at this forum and I have a question about using interrail pass. Is there any site you reccommend to buy from an why?
Can you use regular interrail pass to travel with high speed train or do you need to pay extra fee or is it not valid at all in those trains?
I was thinking of taking train from Manchester to London and from London to Paris. What do you recommend?
Thank you for your help! :)
-Jón Árni
nltrainer
Traveller
1404 comments
START with stating nationality- as most people start from home, the HOMEcountry is NOT free for IR. And IR is only for Europeans.
For just this trip-and nothing else, an IR is a total waste of money-the min. is 5 days of travel. There are ample add-on tickets for eurostar LON-Par coming from the UK. In fact the add-on for IR on EUR** is more as the lowest advance fare.
Of course, it goes even without saying, that this site also sells IR-tix, and many more, and gains a small % of it to keep the site running-so the answer would be obvious. But other as many pass-sellers, they even tell when normnal tix would be a better buy.
Peter
Traveller
9333 comments
Hi.
Like nltrainer already said, we need your whole route to help you.
If you only travel Manchester - London - Paris, don't use Interrail.
Read here about the enormous extra fees to pay for example for the Eurostar London-Paris: [u]https://rail.cc/blog/london-to-paris-by-eurostar-train-bus-or-ferry//[/u]
Here options by ferry or bus: [u]https://rail.cc/en/train/london-to-paris[/u]
If you pre-book your rail tickets early, you will get special offers and travel much cheaper with point to point tickets than with Interrail!
And why to buy your Interrail pass here: I think it is fair to buy your Interrail pass at the place where you ask for information and get help. :)
The Interrail pass is everywhere the same.
Peter :)
jonarni89
Traveller
1 comments
Thank you nltrainer and Peter for your help and quick answers. My nationality is Iceland. I will arrive in Manchester on Friday 23rd og May and heading to barcelona probably on the Sunday 25th og May. With mabye 1 night stop in Paris but it´s not decided yet because I´m still checking out how much train fares are and if it´s cheaper to buy IR ticket or just point to point ticket.
My Trip
23. May - Iceland-Manchester (flight ofcourse :) )
25. May - Manchester-london-Paris (on same day)
26. May - Paris Barcelona.
26. May - 2. June : Stay in barcelona
2. June - Barcelona - Paris
3. or 4. of June - Paris-London-Manchester
I will definetally book my ticket through this site because i´m getting information from you guys. So what do you think is the best option for us? (we are 8 travelling together)
Thank you very much for your help! :)
-Jón Árni
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Hi Jón Árni!
Spontaneously I would think that a 5in10 InterRail pass could fit your needs...however you would then have to pay extra to cross the channel by ferry (Eurostar is too expensive) and we would have to look for a good route from Manchester to Paris, also avoiding the TGV in France so you wont have to pay extra for reservations.
Since you are planning to do this trip by rail I assume you would not mind sitting a bit longer on the train if you can have it cheaper then.
From Paris to Barcelona you might think about taking the night train from Paris to either Latour de Carol or Portbou, then continueing to Barcelona. For the night train you will need reservations and since you are eight people travelling you should get them in advance.
The return journey would be basically the same, you might think about including a trip with the scenic Petit Train Jaune then: [ux]https://rail.cc/blog/little-yellow-train-video/[/u]
You would have to calculate per person with about 35€ each way for the ferry, 6€ (reclining seat) or 20€ (couchette) for each leg on the night train on top of the InterRail ticket.
Alternatively you can try and book regular tickets which could be similar overall price if booked well in advance:
[u]https://rail.cc/en-ticket-offers/train-tickets-for-the-united-kingdom/united-kingdom/30[/u] lists options for online tickets in GB; if you use thetrainline.com you can book one through ticket Manchester - Paris using the Eurostar.
However you might also look up single fares Manchester - London and then book a separate ticket for the Eurostar at [ux]https://rail.shop/omio[/ux]
You could as well use the ferry booking until Dover and then from Calais to Paris at [ux]https://rail.shop/sncf[/ux]
From Paris to Barcelona (using the direct and usually expensive TGV service) or using the night train to Latour de Carol or Portbou, look at [ux]https://rail.shop/sncf[/ux]
The remainder to Barcelona could then be purchased at the station.
Flo 8)