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Juliapita
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Posted 5 years ago

Hi everyone! I\'m new here. I won a discoverEU interrail (global pass) and I\'m going to travel this late summer. Since this is my first time interrailing, I\'d like to receive some advice on my route idea and train reservations. I have 7 days of travel in 15 days.
The itinerary could be Taranto (southern italy, starting point) -Amsterdam-Rennes-Nice-Zurich-Milan (end point).
Does it seem like a good choice?
In addition, I read a lot about Interrailing but I still have some questions:
The outbound and inbound journeys are the 1st and 7th day of travel, or are they additional?
With the reservation, if I miss a train, do I lose my money or can I catch the next?
I am travelling in a busy time (late summer), do you think I can avoid reserving the trains with OPTIONAL reservation, or will they most likely be full?
Do you recommend catching a night train for a long journey? (is the price worth the sleep you may or not get?)

Any knowledge matters, thanks in advance!

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Quenzon
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replied 5 years ago

Hi Juliapita,

"The outbound and inbound journeys are the 1st and 7th day of travel, or are they additional?"

No, they are not additional. You can use two travel days, one for outbound and one for inbound travel.

"With the reservation, if I miss a train, do I lose my money or can I catch the next?"

That depends. If you have a chain of reservations (reservations for train A and B), and train A is delayed, you could probably claim compensation for reservation B. However, I\'ve never tried this and I\'m not sure of the exact legal situation. Obviously, this only applies if you missed a train through no fault of your own. Just plan reasonable travel chains and you\'ll be fine.

"I am travelling in a busy time (late summer), do you think I can avoid reserving the trains with OPTIONAL reservation, or will they most likely be full?"

On reservation-optional trains, you will not be denied travel if the train is full, but you may not get a seat and have to stand. You should buy reservations if having a seat is important for you.

"Do you recommend catching a night train for a long journey? (is the price worth the sleep you may or not get?)"

Whether or not you sleep well on night trains differs a lot from person to person, I usually sleep very well. You should definitely book at least a couchette, I do NOT recommend sleeping in a normal seat. Night trains are most appropriate where you have really long journeys of 8 hours or more. You can bring earplugs and an eye-mask (one like this: https://5.imimg.com/data5/DV/OE/MY-5308319/eye-mask-for-sleeping-500x500.jpg) and maybe a small pillow to help you sleep, I find that it helps me sleep on trains a lot.

Have a nice trip!

Quenzon