chazda1991
Traveller
2 comments
Posted 14 years ago
What's the point of the interrail global pass - it seems to be a needless expense...?
Hi,
I'm sure (hopeful!) that this question has been asked before but I'm really confused with the Global Interrail pass.
What's the point of interrail global passes when you still have to pay to use trains that cross borders? I've been on some websites and it seems to suggest that all international trains are either not covered by the global pass or must at least be supplements ... It doesn't seem worth buying one ?
I'm planning on going:
Amsterdam-Berlin
Berlin-Prague
Prague-Bratislava (perhaps Krakow)
Bratislava-Budapest
Budapest-Ljubliana
Ljubliana-Zagreb (and then to the Croatian coast)
Almost all of the international train journeys appear to be not covered by the interrail pass so is it better to just buy the tickets individually? I just don't get the point of the global pass!
Hopefully I'm just confusing myself... I thought I had everything planned out!
Thanks for any information,
Charlie
Head
Traveller
101 comments
Hi,
Don't worry, you can easily cross almost every border without paying extra. You only need to choose route and train carefully.
For instance, Amsterdam - Berlin: you can go by night train paying a small supplement or you can go by plenty of free day trains (some of them going overnight).
Berlin - Prague is anyway free.
Prague - Bratislava - you can go first to Vienna by free night train and than cross the border to Bratislava in an hour on a free local train as well. (I believe this route is also the most convinient anyway)
and so on.
And concerning individual tickets - if you're under 26, they will anyway be more expensive than your pass, even with some supplements. If you are older, you can probably find advance tickets that will cost approximately the same as the pass, but it isn't worth the trouble of long shopping for them on numerous websites, espesially if you're not an expert in it. And you'll be binded to particular trains instead of enjoying the freedom of the pass. And day trips to nearby towns will cost you extra (with a pass, you can often make them free).
chazda1991
Traveller
2 comments
Ohhh I see that's really cleared that up! Thank you!
Peter
Traveller
9333 comments
Hi ...
Like Head already said: there are a lot free trains, especially on your journey.
Of course you might find sometimes special discounted tickets, but then your will have to buy them 2-3 months in advance and you are fixed on a date and time and train - no more flexible.
Just some links to add what Head already mentioned:
[b]Amsterdam-Berlin[/b]: FREE - [u]https://rail.cc/en/amsterdam-berlin-train/f2346[/u]
[b]Berlin-Prague[/b]: FREE - [u]https://rail.cc/en/berlin-prague-train/f3361[/u]
[b]Prague-Vienna[/b]: FREE (night train on a seat) - [u]https://rail.cc/en/prague-vienna-night-train/f1677[/u]
[b]Bratislava-Budapest[/b]: FREE - [u]https://rail.cc/en/bratislava-budapest-train/f3973[/u]
[b]Budapest-Ljubliana[/b]:
use the direct day train. The night train isn't worth as you will arrive at 0210h in the middle of the night in Ljubljana:
Budapest-Deli pu Dep: 1411 | IC train | supplement: 2,50 EUR
Ljubljana Arr: 2305
[b]Ljubliana-Zagreb[/b]: free day train - 2 hours of travel time.
[b]TOTAL supplements:[/b] EUR 2,50
Peter :)