nhungo93
Traveller
1 comments
Posted 10 years ago
Hello,
I'm planning a 3-week-long Interrail trip covering Berlin - Prague - Vienna - Budapest (- Belgrade - Thessaloniki) - Athens (- Izmir - Ephesus) - Istanbul this summer, from late June to mid July :)
My decision is to purchase an Interrail 10-in-22, combining 3 flights: Helsinki (where I'm living) - Berlin, Athens - Izmir and Istanbul - Helsinki.
Is it too many interesting places to squeeze in 3 weeks? I've done my homework and sketch out an initial plan as below (the days are counted as my pass starts):
Day 0: Flight Helsinki - Berlin
Day 1: Berlin - Prague (I don't plan to explore Berlin... yet, just the most convenient starting point)
Day 4: Prague - Vienna
Vienna - Hallstatt
Day 7: (Hallstatt -) Vienna - Budapest
Day 10/11: Budapest - Belgrade Night Train DEP22xx-ARR06xx
Day 11/12: Belgrade - Thessaloniki Night Train DEP18xx-ARR11xx
Day 12: Thessaloniki - Athens
Day 16: Flight Athens - Izmir (Turkey)
Then Izmir - Selçuk (for Ephesus)
Day 18: Izmir - Bandirma
Ferry Bandirma - Istanbul
Day 23: Flight Istanbul - Helsinki
Apart from those days when my flight tickets are booked, the plan is flexible. According to this sketch, I'll be using 8 travel days (if I visit Hallstatt). Buying point-to-point tickets in advance seems to be slightly cheaper, but the spontaneity it allows me is worth the price, or is it? And for the 2 remaining travel days, how should I use it? :D Maybe a daytrip to Bratislava or for the discounted price to one of the Greek islands? Any recommendation is welcome!!
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Hi!
In my opinion, you could do this trip without IR as well:
Berlin - Prague - Vienna: You can book a through ticket Europa Spezial online at [ux]https://rail.shop/bahn[/ux]
For instance, the ticket for the train leaving Berlin at 0846 would be 49€ on 25 June. With this ticket you have to take the train at 0846 and cross the border to Czech Republic; from there to Vienna you can make unlimited stops within the 15 day period of validity - for example, two or three days in Prague.
Vienna - Hallstatt: Book a Sparschiene ticket online at [u]https://rail.shop/oebb[/ux]
Hallstatt - Vienna - Budapest: Sparschiene as above
Budapest - Belgrade: Belgrade Special for 15€, available at the station in Budapest. Addition reservation costs for couchette or sleeper accomodation: [ux]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-night-train/budapest-novi-sad-belgrade/gy%C3%B6rs-brzi-341/207[/u]
Belgrade - Thessaloniki: 33,80€ bought locally. Buy at Wasteels office at Belgrade station
Thessaloniki - Athens: From 9€ online at [ux]https://rail.shop/ose[/ux]
Make the calculation and you will see what will be cheaper for you. Maybe you could also think about getting a 5in10 InterRail ticket which you would use for one part of your trip and cover the remaining trips with single tickets.
And in case you go with InterRail:
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! :)
Flo 8)
nhungo93
Traveller
1 comments
Hi Flo!
Thanks for the detailed answer :D Totally much more than I expected as I thought the thread might sink to the bottom without any response...
So I tried to calculate to p-t-p tickets and compare to the IR fare:
1st(1) Berlin - Prague [b]39[/b]
2nd(4) Prague - Vienna [b]20-30(?)[/b]
3rd(6) Vienna - Hallstatt [b]19[/b]
4th(7) Hallstatt - Vienna [b]19[/b]
Vienna - Bratislava [b]15,8[/b]
Bratislava - Budapest [b]18[/b]
5th(10) Budapest - Belgrade [b]15 (+8)[/b]
6th(11) Belgrade - Thessaloniki [b]33,8 (+9)[/b]
Thessaloniki - Athens [b]9[/b]
7th(16) Izmir - Selcuk [b]3(?)[/b]
8th(18) Selcuk - Izmir [b]3(?)[/b]
Izmir - Bandirma [b]10(?)[/b](- Istanbul by ferry)
*First numbers are the ordinal number of IR travel days (max 10)
The numbers in brackets are the dates based on calendar (max 22)
That is a total of [b]~205-215+[/b] euros.
I still consider buying the 10-in-22 IR pass because
- The 5-in-10 doesn't cover either Berlin-Prague (39e) or Belgrade-Thessaloniki (33,8e), with the price of 184e/5days=36,8e/day, I don't think this is of good value.
- The fares I looked up are mostly discounted, so I must book in advance to be benefited. IR pass will grant me the spontaneity on any route, or so I believe :D
- Not much, but IR pass is also accepted on S-Bahn
- I'll be using only 8 travel days if I can follow this schedule, which mean I can make use of 2 more free travel day! Suggestion please!
I'll definitely purchase my IR pass on railcc when I'm sure to make a decision :)
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
In my opinion it will be a trade off between flexibility and cost...
You might want to try and include one or two other places; for instance you could travel Prague - Budapest - Vienna - Ljubljana - Belgrade; or include Krakow in between Prague and Vienna/Budapest (night train options available), go to Romania (Brasov, although this would be quite a detour; or Timisoara which would be about mid way between Budapest and Belgrade).