Railer1205
Traveller
2 comments
Posted 9 years ago
Hi!
I’m finishing uni later this month, and want to spend the summer months travelling through Europe before the ‘world of work’ begins in September! I haven’t inter-railed before. I’ll be travelling alone, and am from London. I realistically could fit in 10-11 weeks of travelling in total. I don’t mind paying for high speed connections, and would like to be organised when it comes to booking trains/seat reservations in advance. Here is the route that I have come up with:
London -> Brussels (2 nights) -> Brugge (1) -> Antwerp (1) -> Amsterdam (3) -> Hamburg (1) -> Copenhagen (3) -> Berlin (via Hamburg) (3)-> Gdansk (2) -> Warsaw (2) -> Bialystock (for Bialowieza NP) (2) -> Krakow (via Warsaw) (2) -> Oswiecim (for Auschwitz) (0) -> Bratislava (night train) (2) -> Budapest (3) -> Zagreb (3) -> Sarajevo (3) -> Mostar (1) -> Dubrovnik (via bus) (3) -> Split (via bus) (3) -> Plitvice (for Plitvice NP) (3) -> Ljubijana (via Zagreb) (3) -> Bohinjska (for Triglav NP) (2) -> Bled (1) -> Wien (3) -> Widischgarsten (for Kalkpalpen NP) (2) -> Salzburg (2) -> Berchtesgaden (for Berchtesgaden NP) (2) -> Zell am See (for Hohe Tauern NP and Krimml) (3) -> Innsbruk (2) -> Munich (3) -> Zwiesel (for Bavaria Forest NP) (2) -> Prague (3) -> Bad Schandu (for Saxon Switzerland NP) (2) -> Dresden (1) -> Heidelberg (2) -> London (fly from Frankfurt or get the Eurostar via Brussels).
I hope you wouldn’t mind answering some questions(!):
1. Is this route even vaguely feasible in 10-11 weeks? I know there are a lot of places on there, but I am quite keen to see as many places as possible given my previous lack of travelling experience. I want to visit numerous National Parks to break the trip up and make it more relaxed with a few days of walking and admiring the landscapes.
2. In Austria and Germany, there are inevitably some parts which sort of double back – I think I’ve kept them to a minimum, but if you have any suggestions then please say!
3. Is the Zagreb -> Sarajevo line actually running? I’ve read conflicting things online, some of which say that both the day and night trains aren’t particularly safe? I know it would be a whole day travelling, but as it’s a scenic route I don’t think I’d mind too much.
4. Are there any places that I’ve included that you wouldn’t recommend/ any obvious places you think I’ve missed out along the vague route?
5. Is the night train from Amsterdam -> Copenhagen no longer running? I’m not too fussed about visiting Hamburg, but I can’t see a faster/easier way of reaching Copenhagen. Again, there’s no direct route to Berlin from Copenhagen either is there?
6. Are there any night train or more efficient connections that I’ve overlooked?
7. When booking seat reservations for the trip – is it possible to do so before I leave? I like to have things planned out in advance if possible – so do I just have to go on the different train company websites individually, or is there one where I can book most of them?
Thank you so much in advance for having a look at my route. Any other general tips (like particular trains or sides to sit on!) would be massively appreciated. At the moment planning this trip is pretty overwhelming, but I’m determined to have a summer that I won’t forget. As soon as I’ve got the money, I’ll be sure to buy my tickets via your partner link!
Thanks!
Matt :D
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Hi Matt!
This is a rather ambitious route but looks really interesting! I like your approach of also including a few destinations off the regular Barcelona - Paris - Amsterdam - Berlin - Prague - Budapest scheme. :)
Are you feeling prepared such a long period of time alone? You will certainly meet other travellers along the way and I wont discourage you in any way. ;)
ad 1) Should work out just fine. Since you have planned with 2/3 night overnight stays mostly you should have enough spare time to cope with unexpected delays or problems.
I would think about adding maybe a short trip to Sweden (Malmö/Lund) from Copenhagen; you could also make it a round trip by travelling Copenhagen - Malmö - Helsingborg - ferry to Helsingor (included in Interrail) - Copenhagen.
Also, you could skip one of the NP in Austria/Germany and go to Slovakia (High Tatra NP and/or Slovensky raj NP) instead.
You could also rearrange the route a bit and include the Prague/Dresden/Bad Schandau bit after Berlin and before going to Poland (night train Prague - Warsaw; then Bialystok - Gdansk and night train to Krakow)
2) You could fit in Vienna a bit differently: Krakow - Oswiecim - night train to Budapest (would allow you to sleep longer) - Bratislava (this would be backtracking but the line is partly scenic and on the nigh train you would sleep anyway) - Vienna - Zagreb
Then, you could travel from Bled directly to Windischgarsten - Salzburg - Zell am See - Innsbruck; from Innsbruck take the Mittenwaldbahn via Garmisch-Partenkirchen to Munich
3) Yes, the day train is running normally. There is no night train. I have not heard any safety issues, also, the line is not particularly scenic. The Sarajevo - Mostar trip is really nice though.
4) I have already made some suggestions above; there are many more nice places to discover but your plan is quite full already... ;)
5) All night trains to Copenhagen (from Amsterdam, Basel and Prague) have been withdrawn.
There is one daily direct ICE train between Copenhagen and Berlin. Otherwise change in Hamburg, maybe the Berlin Night Express from Malmö to Berlin would also fit in your schedule? [u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-night-train/malmoe-berlin-en-301/57[/u]
6) Nothing to add here, I've already written quite a bit above ;)
7) You wont need many reservations anyway; I can have a look on where to get them when the route is more or less finalised. :)
Thanks for supporting in advance...what kind of tickets do you want to buy? I think that a combination of 3x10in22 might be the best solution?
Flo 8)
Railer1205
Traveller
2 comments
Hi Flo!
Thank you so much for getting back to, and so quickly! I'm revising for finals at the moment, so unfortunately not finding a huge amount of time to plan this trip! So apologies for the slow response.
I think I am prepared for the time away yes, although I'd soon find out! ;) I'm hoping friends of mine will link up with me at various points for a couple of days too.
All of your suggestions sound great, thanks so much. I've incorporated them all into the route, and have removed Berchtesgaden NP so I can include the High Tratas NP in Slovakia - it looks wonderful.
The only queries I have about the updated route are:
1. Whether there is a faster way between Vienna and Zagreb? When I quickly searched it to incorporate your suggestion, it looks like it is a 10 hour ride? Just wondering though!
2. How long the Gdansk to Krakow night train is? As it looks as though it takes around 6 hours during the day?
Regarding the tickets - on current plans I'd be away for about 77 days (which is as much as I am able to fit in!). As such I was thinking of just buying two 1-month tickets, and then a 15-day? Just to give me the possibility of freedom if any travel mucks up or I wanted to stay an extra night somewhere. Really not sure on this though - any suggestions welcome!
For completeness, below is 'v2' of my route, which just incorporates your suggestions:
London -> Brussels (2 nights) -> Brugge (1) -> Antwerp (1) -> Amsterdam (3) -> Hamburg (1) -> Copenhagen (3) -> Malmö (1) -> Helsingborg (1) -> Helsingoer (1) -> Berlin (3) -> Dresden (1) -> Bad Schandu (2) -> Prague (3) -> Warsaw (2) -> Bialystock (2) -> Gdansk (2) -> Krakow (2) -> Oswiecim -> Budapest (3) -> Poprad-Tatry (2) -> Bratislava (2) -> Vienna (3) -> Zagreb (3) -> Sarajevo (3) -> Mostar (1) -> Dubronvik (3) -> Split (3) -> Plitvice (3) -> Ljubijana (3) -> Bohinjska (2) -> Bled (1) -> Windischgarsten (2) -> Salzburg (2) -> Zell am See (3) -> Innsbruk (2) -> Munich (3) -> Heidelberg (2) -> London
Thanks so much once again 8)
Matt
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
No worries, finish the finals and then continue with planning your trip. ;)
1) I'd recommend the direct Eurocity train: Wien Hauptbahnhof dep 1555 - 2243 arr Zagreb gl kol
2) The timings are bit odd but this would be the night train: Gdansk Gl dep 2353 - 1050 arr Krakow Gl
Of course, since the day trains are quite fast you could also spend an extra night in Gdansk and leave early for Krakow.
If you want to go with 2 full month passes plus another pass, think about the 10in22 instead of the 15 day continuous which will be cheaper but cover almost the same for you. This probably is the cheapest if you want to be able to travel on all days.
Railer1205
Traveller
2 comments
Hi again Flo,
Thanks for getting back to me - it all sounds great!
I'm hoping to have the money to purchase the tickets within the next week - so I'll get back in touch when I've done so if I have any further questions.
Many thanks for your help so far though! 8)
Matt