Interrail 22 days - From Paris to the best trip of our lifes

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Olá Hugo!

From where do you want to fly to Paris? Ryanair? I am asking since it might be better to look for another airport closer to Switzerland if you dont want to visit Paris anyway.

Your route looks good any you wont need many reservations; only to travel to/from Poland you will need reservations.

Amsterdam - Bruxelles: [u]https://rail.cc/blog/train-amsterdam-brussels/[/u]

In Switzerland you could think of travelling with the Brünig Railway from Bern via Interlaken to Luzern and then via Voralpenexpress to St Gallen before going to Munich. If you need help with the schedules just ask.
If you have a bit of extra time and money, maybe think of going to Rigi: [u]https://rail.cc/blog/lucerne-and-mount-rigi/[/u]

There would be some other nice railways in Switzerland but they dont really fit in your route...

If you travel Munich - Ljubljana during the day you can see many mountains as well. :)
Maybe think of skipping Rijeka in favour of Lake Bled.

Also, Budapest - Bratislava and Prague - Berlin is quite nice during parts of the journey where you travel along the Danube and Elbe rivers.

Regarding accomodation have a look here: [u]https://rail.cc/en/where-to-sleep[/u]
You can also use the booking links to Hostelworld etc you find here on the site - please always use these links before booking to support railcc, thank you. ;)

Night trains...would make sense from Vienna to Krakow and/or Krakow - Prague but thats about it.

You dont need a GoPro IMO but you should at least have a camera on your phone to be able to get some souvenir pics and videos.

We are counting on your help as well:
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)

Hugofonseca
Traveller
22 comments

Hallo Flow!
Thanks for your fast reply and for being part of this amazing project railcc.

We thought of flying to Paris because it's cheap(22/30 €). Do you know other cheap flights that we can use? We're not thinking to visit Paris, just because we want, mostly, to visit unknown and interesting cities/countrys.

Amsterdam - Bruxelles: [u]https://rail.cc/blog/train-amsterdam-brussels/[/u] What is this?It's included in the interrail pass?

About your tips for Switzerland: they seem very nice, may you explain better some of them? Are they cheap?

Lake bled? It looks beautiful... Do you think it worth it? over rijeka?
We would like to lay down, and dive in a beach/river sometimes... Where can we go? what do you suggest for relax and appease? Have we any summer cities with good beaches on our itinerary?

We have seen some videos in Youtube and they use gopro, but it's a bit expensive... do you really think it's not necessary?

And... night or scenic trains? Do you recommend any? Besides Vienna?

Other important question: Overall cost more or less of our journey? We're a bit afraid of that...

Much obliged,
Hugo :D

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Well...I just saw that Ryanair would fly to Dole as well which would be much closer to Switzerland.

Did you read the Amsterdam - Bruxelles blog? Everything should be explained there if you are travelling with Interrail. :)

The Golden Pass route is free with Interrail; as is the route across the Bernina pass.

I think Lake Bled would be a better option than Rijeka since the city itself is only a harbour without any nice beaches...you would have to go to one of the Islands or to Istria if you are looking for beaches...but this would take time and you cant go to the islands by train obviously.
Anyway, you could also relax one day or so at one of the Austria lakes: Millstätter See or Faaker See would be directly en route to Slovenia.

Personally I have never used a Gopro or similar until very recently and now also use it for documenation purposes. I prefer to take pictures with a proper camera though.

As written before, your route wont allow you to use many other night trains; you can have a look at the list here: [u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-night-train[/u]

Overall costs: [u]https://rail.cc/en/overall-costs[/u]

Hugofonseca
Traveller
22 comments

Hi, again, Flow
Sorry for being a bit annoying, it's just that we want to know and be prepared for everything.

I tried your suggestion, but there's no flights to Dole on 16, 17 July. Is there any other option for us to arrive closer switzerland?

Allow me to congratulate you for your superb article about Amsterdam- Brussels!

We didn't know about rijeka, but thanks for the information... hmm, we would like to stay in a croatian beach, but it's almost impossible isn't it? We will look over to your idea about those lakes!

Other question: Do you advise us going to nightclubs? In which countrys?

Is there any site that you could share with us related to the culture and leisure information of each country/city?

Doing an overview of our trip, do you think we should substitute/switch any cities/country?
Do not worry to reformulate something, if it's goood, it will be welcome.

Overall costs: Your calculator points to 1000 € all. Do you think it's little?

Any other help from other admins or members will be very welcome too.

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Well, I really cant look up flights for you... ;)

If you want to stay at a Croatian beach you could think of going to Krk which is quite close to Rijeka and accessible by bus.
Regarding night clubs I would recommend asking locally at the place you are staying - hostel staff etc usually have good advice on where to go out. :)

Looking at your trip it looks quite good already and for the first trip I think you will see enough. You could however also look at some smaller places such as Plzen or Budejovice, Kutna Hora, Telc, Cesky Krumlov in Czech Republic; a stopover in Dresden, visiting Delft, Rotterdam, Den Haag or Utrecht in the Netherlands...Gent, Brugge or Antwerpen in Belgium...

1000€ for 22 days roughly equals 50€ per day (plus ticket) which seems reasonable enough. :)

Hugofonseca
Traveller
22 comments

Hallo flow! :D
I really thank you for your help! We're definitely going to buy our interrail ticket through your site!

We found a really good option, fly to basel for cheap.

About croatian beaches: What do you think about the idea of give up on Poland so then we can save time (instead we go from vienna directly to prague), and go down the croatian coast? Which cities would you recommend?

We will analize your tips, specially plzen, european capital of culture..

It's 1000 for the all trip (including plane tickets and interrail pass), it's still possible?

Other gigantic doubt: In low cost flights, you can't take a rucksack with you? Do we need to pay more 20 € to put our rucksack in the basement?

And...regarding our trip do you think it's better buy 22 continuous days pass? or 10 in 22?

Thanks a lot! ;)

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

If you want you can of course spend more time in Croatia and dont go to Poland, its all up to you. :)

In Croatia there are not many railway lines though, the only one down to the southern coast is from Zagreb to Split (which is a nice city).

1000 for all the trip? Should be possible still, but you will have to look more after your money. So it will be more like ~30€ per day so you should look for cheap accomodation. Have a look on sites such as Hostelworld (link on the right) and look for prices in the cities you want to visit to get an impression how much you have to pay in each city. You can then save money by cooking in the hostel kitchen and/or getting supermarket food instead of going to restaurants etc...

Personally, I would try to make the trip with the 10in22 - good way to save money while still being able to see many, if not all cities.

Hugofonseca
Traveller
22 comments

Hey!
Yes, it's true, but there's some differences, one way is more cultural, the other is for relax more...
Which one would you choose, taking in account everything i told you?
Any other tips that comes to your mind, please tell us

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

You have to choose your route by yourself. ;)

Hugofonseca
Traveller
22 comments

Hallo flow!
So, we bought the plane ticket to Basel before yesterday. To finish this topic, i want to share the final route we planned. ...
What is your opinion? It's donable? What trains should we catch? How many days per city?
Best regards!

Hugofonseca
Traveller
22 comments

Ahh the order is:
-Basel;
-Bern;
-Munich;
-Faaker see;
-Lake bled;
-Liubliana;
-Budapest;
-Bratislava;
-Vienna;
-Krakow;
-Auschiwtz;
-Prague;
-Dresden;
-Berlin;
-Hamburg;
-Amsterdam;
-Haia;
-Brussels;

Which pass should we buy? 10in22 or 22 continous?

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

OK...well I think that the route is definitely doable, of course. You would have to get the 22 continuous ticket, since I count much more than ten trips...

I would plan with two days in Budapest, Vienna, Prague, Berlin and Amsterdam; one day in Bern, Bled, Ljubljana, Zagreb, Bratislava, Auschwitz, Dresden, Den Haag. This would total 18 days which would leave you with four days for the remaining cities München, Faaker See, Krakow, Hamburg and Brussels...so you see the route is quite packed. :)

Trains: [u]https://rail.cc/en/search-interrail-route[/u]

Hugofonseca
Traveller
22 comments

Hey man! :D

Only 2 months to go, and we're having some difficulties in which you might help us...

The plan is to arrive in Basel, switzerland on July 17 (9h30 a.m) and catch a train to Munich during the same day, where we will spend the first night. Then:
-Munique: 1 day.
-Lake bled: 1 day.
-Liubliana: 1 day.
-Zagreb: 1 day.
-Budapest: 2 days.
-Bratislav: 1 day.
-Vienna: 2 days.
-Krakow + Auschwitz: 1 day and half or 2 days.
-Prague: 2 days.
-Berlin: 2 days.
-Amsterdam: 2 days.
-Brussels: 2 days, and we catch a plane on August 7 (17h20 p.m) back to Lisbon.


We did the account and still remains one day/one day and a half. In overall, do you agree with our division by destinations?

Our difficulties have to do with the trains we have to catch, especially long distances... May you lead us to the right path? ahaha

And... in which travels you advise us to use a night train instead of a hostel? (this way we can save money)

Thanks for everything! Peace

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

The route looks good. :)
Save the remaining days for now to use in case something does not work out as planned or if you want to extend your stay in some city.

You can travel overnight from Munich to Bled; if you want to sleep longer you can travel all the way to Zagreb and then travel Zagreb - Ljubljana - Bled.
If you do this you could continue to Budapest - Bratislava - Vienna - night train to Krakow or travel Vienna - Bratislava - Budapest - night train to Krakow
Krakow - Prague is your last option for a night train.

Train schedules: [u]https://rail.cc/en/search-interrail-route[/u] and [ux]http://plan.rail.cc/[/ux]

More detailed info on particular train schedules as soon as you got your tickets through our link: [u]https://rail.cc/en/plus[/u] ;)

Hugofonseca
Traveller
22 comments

Thanks for the fast answer.

So, how many options for the night we have?
1) Munich to bled or munich to zagreb and then go back;
2) Vienna night train to krakow;
3) Krakow to prague;
And what about a night train from Berlin to Amsterdam? Is it not an option?

We're going to buy our ticket through this website in a few weeks.

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

[u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-night-train[/u] ;)

Budapest - Krakow works too.
Berlin - Amsterdam is not an option IMO, but you can look at getting on the Prague - Berlin - Oberhausen train; on some days there also may be some overnight Intercity trains towards Cologne area where you can change to an ICE - but this is not very comfortable.

Hugofonseca
Traveller
22 comments

What about this? [u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-night-train/amsterdam-munich-cnl419/11[/u]

The trip from berlin to amsterdam is really long (around 9 h), so we lose almost a day in it... shit, i really would like to have a night train! Are there any option that we can pay and you know of?

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

The Berlin - Amsterdam day IC take under 6h30, not 9h.

As I said before, have a look at the Prague - Oberhausen night train; I can look at other options as soon as you are PLUS member. :)

Hugofonseca
Traveller
22 comments

The trip is being better traced thanks to you and your wisdom.

Other question that i remembered is prague to berlin?

Hugofonseca
Traveller
22 comments

Right flow, we are going to be plus member, but we'll only buy the interrail pass in a few weeks as i said before, you have my word. But, I understand, this gives you a lot of work to find...

Still, thanks for all, you're great man!

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Dude, dont worry. Your trip is going to be fine...we had a few bad experiences here of people asking for help and in the end not buying the ticket here. That is not going to work for us, we have to pay bills etc too. ;)
Anyway I am always glad to help as you can see from most of my posts. So, have a look at the Prague - Berlin - Oberhausen night train for one option to get overnight to Amsterdam or wait until you buy your ticket and I will have a look what other options there could be.
Prague - Berlin is no option overnight as the trip is just about 4h.

Hugofonseca
Traveller
22 comments

Hey mate! Just one more question: excluding night trains which require reservation, all the connections are included in the interrail pass right?
In overall we're planning to spend more or less 1100/1200 €... is it enough?

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Yeah of course, all trains are included. If you want, show me an updated version of your route and I can have a closer look.

1200€, so about 50€ per day seems totally reasonable for me. :)

Wouter
Traveller
102 comments

Concerning the Intercity Berlin:
Download here the Timetable (Dutch):
https://www.nsinternational.nl/web/file?uuid=21d88ba0-47ad-4585-865b-321a21f1c5e6&owner=7d330053-ac4f-429e-afa9-794af3767b5b
Since it is in Dutch:
2nd timetable, Almost all notes apply to you, 7 NOT.

Have fun planning! 8)

Hugofonseca
Traveller
22 comments

If you don't mind you may look closer, especially into that question of the possible nigh trains (and that one about berlin to amsterdam that you told you would see as soon as i became plus member) eheh

So the trip will be something like this... What do you think? Is possible, is good, etc?

Responding to the your last post, 1200€ is for all, i mean- 1200 (a bit more or less)=600/700 (for the trip itself)+ 378 (Interrail pass)+ 150 (plane tickets); Is it still possible? How would you split the money by days? (having in count hostels+museums+stuff to eat+maybe nighlife).

Other question: About plus membership, still i can't access Plus section... If you could look into it

Hugofonseca
Traveller
22 comments

Mate Wouter

Thanks for your help, but it's a bit difficult to understand the material you sent :s

Best regards

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Well, the route looks good.
Basel - Munich: No reservation necessary; possible overnight connection:
Basel SBB 2013 - 2315 Frankfurt/Main Hbf
Frankfurt/Main Hbf 0005 - 0602 München Hbf

Munich - Ljubljana/Zagreb: Night train: [u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-night-train/munich-zagreb-en-499/151[/u]

Ljubljana/Zagreb - Budapest: No reservation necessary, possible night train connection from Ljubljana on certain days, reservation recommended: [u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-night-train/koper-budapest-rg1604-g1247/279[/u]

To include on extra night trip on your way to Berlin you could travel: Budapest - night train to Prague - night train to Krakow - night train to Vienna - train to Bratislava - night train to Berlin.

Berlin - Amsterdam overnight:
Berlin Hbf 2016 - 2158 Hamburg Hbf
Hamburg Hbf 2246 - 0702 Frankfurt/Main Hbf
Frankfurt/Main Hbf 0727 - 1127 Amsterdam Centraal

OK, 700€ is about 30€ per day which is not much - try to include as many night trains as possible to save on accomodation costs and have a look at [ux]https://rail.shop/hostelworld[/ux] for cheap hostels.
Have a look at hostels with kitchen so you could make yourself some cheap but delicious pasta ;)

Your account has been upgraded to PLUS, there is no dedicated PLUS area in the forum .

Wouter
Traveller
102 comments

Hmm, It isn't hat difficult, concluding that there is an 2 hour connection between Berlin and Amsterdam using the normal IC.

When you are especially looking for overnight trains you may look at:

Berlin Hbf 19.51/20.21 RE
Frankfurt(Oder) 21.03/21.27

Frankfurt(Oder) 22.15 EuroNight
[u]https://rail.cc/en/night-train/warsaw-cologne-en-446/90[/u]
Oberhausen 07.19

Oberhausen 09.34 ICE
[u]https://rail.cc/en/train/cologne-to-amsterdam[/u]
Amsterdam 11.27

Hugofonseca
Traveller
22 comments

Hallo flo!

You're the boss, i can see you really know what you're talking about... I would like to have so much european culture as you ahah

Me and my partner, which bought the interrail ticket through your website too (i asked him), will look close to all the relevant information you gave us. A big thank you!!

Well, to conclude, do you have any tips or important ideas about the Interrail in general that you want to share with us?

Hugofonseca
Traveller
22 comments

Oh, and i want to thank you Wouter too for the help!

Greetings

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Thanks mate. ;)
You're welcome - and I hope you can understand that I only look into special connections such as the above overnight connections for people who buy their tickets through our site.

So...well, since you are going to travel overnight a lot (and in regular seats to save money, right?), you should think about taking some comfy clothes with you that you wear when travelling overnight. Also think about earplugs and an eyemask and maybe a little inflatable pillow (but a sweather/shirt will do too). Maybe get a pouch that you can wear underneath your clothes to keep ticket, money, passport etc safe, especially overnight on the train. What I have done several times is to lay out my matress somewhere on the train, but beware as not all conductors are ok with that ;)
Ask the staff at hostels for special tipps for local (cheap) food etc.

It would be great to get some feedback from your trip - it would help other travellers for sure. ;)

Hugofonseca
Traveller
22 comments

I really understand flo! And i admire the hard work of the people who administrates this website, i really do!

Thanks for the tips, they will be very helpfull. I will share my trip with the forum when i return! I'm even thinking about doing a video compilation of the best moments :D

Cheers man

FranciscoBaptista
Traveller
4 comments

Hey flo! (i'm the second member)

Only two weeks to go, we are puting in motion our travel plan following your advice but we're having some problems regarding Berlin - Amsterdam overnight:
Berlin Hbf 2016 - 2158 Hamburg Hbf
Hamburg Hbf 2246 - 0702 Frankfurt/Main Hbf
Frankfurt/Main Hbf 0727 - 1127 Amsterdam Centraal

Can you explain it better? I don't understand how we can do this route particularly in only one night.

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Hi!

Well...these are three different trains, you have to change in Hamburg and Frankfurt. As I can see it you all have 22 day passes so you dont have to worry about the 1900-hours rule.
However, meanwhile another option became available to travel overnight without extra reservations, because you can now use a dedicated coach on the CNL night train without a reservation:
Berlin Hbf 0028 - 0710 Duisburg Hbf
Duisburg 0726 - 0927 Amsterdam Centraal

Hugofonseca
Traveller
22 comments

Hello flo!

Thanks again for your fast answer! So which would you choose?
This one Berlin Hbf 0028 - 0710 Duisburg Hbf
Duisburg 0726 - 0927 Amsterdam Centraal ?

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Yeah, this is probably the best option considering travel time, extra costs and comfort. :)

FranciscoBaptista
Traveller
4 comments

Hey Flo!

We need help with some night train reservations:


Liubliana-Budapest

Where i can do the reservation? Which one of those options is the best one?

Cheers

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Well, both options are basically the same - where do you need to go in Budapest?

There are several stations in Budapest - Keleti is usually considered to be the central station; have a look here: [u]https://rail.cc/en/budapest/station/c[/u]

The night train reservations are cheapest when made locally at a station - you should also be able to buy them online at [u]https://rail.shop/acprail/reservation[/u] but they only ship them by post and they are more expensive than at a station.

FranciscoBaptista
Traveller
4 comments

So what you're telling me is that is better buying the reservation in a station? But a station where? In Liubliana or Portugal?

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

In Portugal it wont be possible as far as I know, but at stations in central Europe, for instance in Austria, Slovenia, Germany etc it is possible. Apparently your route has changed a bit - how are you travelling now? Basel - Munich - Ljubljana and then to Budapest? Do you still stay at Zagreb?

...I also just checked on rail.shop/acprail/reservation and the reservation is not available there - you have to buy it at a station locally.

Hugofonseca
Traveller
22 comments

But is it still possible to book in munich? one day after the night train?
The plan now is, Basel-Munich(night train)-Zagreb-Ljubliana-Lake Bled-Ljubliana(night train)-Budapest-Bratislava-Vienna-(night train)-Krakow-(night train)Prague-Berlin-(night train)Amsterdam-Brussels;

We thought about all the tips and suggestions you gave us, and this is it! We're just having some difficulties booking our night trains, and our IR starts Friday!

Greetings

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Well, I cant predict how full the night train is going to be. If you want, you could phone up Deutsche Bahn who offers a reservation service by phone - you can then pick up the reservations with a code at a ticket machine at a station in Germany: 0049 1806-996633

Hugofonseca
Traveller
22 comments

Yes, i know, we did it. But when we called the man on the other side asked for credit card information by phone, so we said no... it's ridicilous..
What other options do we have? Buy directly in that station?

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Yes.

FranciscoBaptista
Traveller
4 comments

Dear flo!

Thanks for everything, you're a great guy.

Greetings

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

You're welcome! I hope you are going to enjoy your trip!
If you have any troubles just ask for advice, hopefully we can help you. :)

Hugofonseca
Traveller
22 comments

Hello guys!

The trip went really well!

This was the result in the end:...

Cheers

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Glad to hear that! :)

What about your last train from Madrid to Lisbon? Did you get the ticket in Madrid and what did it cost?

Hugofonseca
Traveller
22 comments

We went to Portugal by plane bro.

Cheers