apollo-1977
Traveller
2 comments
Posted 14 years ago
Hi there,
Hope you can help me please! This is my first time interrailing and I am hoping to go from Nice to Istanbul in 3 weeks... Not sure if I've picked a crazy route but I'm trying to squeeze in the cities I've always wanted to visit.
Firstly do you think this is a practical route, and secondly could someone please give me advice on how long each journey will take. I am flying from Dublin to Nice then the plan is as follows:
Nice - Milan - Venice - Vienna - Budapest and then I'm thinking of flying to Istanbul...
Instead of flying from Budapest to Istanbul, do you think I should squeeze in another city by train (Bucharest maybe) and then continue by train to Istanbul?
Also, I'm travelling on my own as my mates can't get the time off work/don't have spare cash at the moment. Is interrailing something you have to do with another person/group of friends?
Last two questions. Is my route realistic and how much money do you reckon I'd need for a 3 week trip???
Any advice will be really appreciated!
Thank you very much :D
Peter
Traveller
9337 comments
Hi.
A nice route you want to travel.
And it is no problem to travel alone: you will meet a lot other travellers during your trip. Always stay in hostels - it is easy to meet someone - maybe even travel then some days together. :)
Concerning the money, just calculate it this way:
PER DAY:
accommodation: EUR 20
food: EUR 6
beer: EUR 4
extras: EUR 5
TOTAL per day: EUR 35
20 travel days X EUR 30 = EUR 600
Of course it might be different - depends on yourself. Just test it for your own at home and see what you need on food per day and so on ... :)
[b]CALCULATOR[/b]: [u]https://rail.cc/en/overall-costs[/u]
To your route - the following times and trains are only examples. Of course there are much more connections available:
[b]Timetables[/b]: [u]https://rail.cc/en/search-interrail-route[/u]
[b]Nice-Milan[/b]:
Nice Ville Dep: 0753 | free Regional train
Ventimiglia Arr: 0842
Ventimiglia Dep: 0858 | IC train - reservation possible (EUR 3) but not necessary
Milano Centrale Arr: 1255
[b]Milan-Venice[/b]:
Milano Centrale Dep: 0905 | IC train - reservation possible (EUR 3) but not necessary
Venezia Santa Lucia Arr: 1140
[b]Venice-Vienna[/b]: [u]https://rail.cc/en/venice-vienna-night-train/f3672[/u]
[b]Vienna-Budapest[/b]: [u]https://rail.cc/en/vienna-budapest-train-railje/f1999[/u]
[b]Budapest-Brasov-Bran (Castle Dracula)-Bucharest[/b]:
[u]https://rail.cc/en/budapest-bucharest-night-train/f1605[/u]
[u]https://rail.cc/en/brasov-bran-castle-dracula-train/f4317[/u]
[b]Bucharest-Sofia[/b]: [u]https://rail.cc/en/moscow-bucharest-sofia-night-train/f3417[/u]
[b]Sofia-Istanbul[/b]: [u]https://rail.cc/en/belgrade-sofia-istanbul-train/f3054[/u]
[b]Or the direct way, Bucharest-Istanbul[/b]: [u]https://rail.cc/en/bucharest-istanbul-night-train/f1639[/u]
I hope this will help you planing your trip. And if you like our work here at the forum . please support us and buy your official InterRail pass at [ux]https://rail.shop/interrail[/ux]
Thank you.
Peter :)
apollo-1977
Traveller
2 comments
Hi Peter,
Thanks for getting back to me, I really appreciate it. Just a couple of really basic questions...
Will one interrail pass cover all the cities I want to go to? How much does it cost (I'm in my mid-thirties)? Is there a difference in price depending on where/how you pruchase your ticket?
Should I book the trains in advance or can I just turn up at the station and book when I get there. What would you recommend?
As I'm travelling by myself, can I reserve a sleeping cabin on my own for the night trains? Should I do this in advance & how do you do it?
I'd like to be fairly comfortable travelling... my student days are long gone :D ... Is there a big difference between 1st class travel?
I know these questions are probably fairly straighforward but I really appreciate you taking the time to get back me.
Many thanks :D
Peter
Traveller
9337 comments
Hi.
The InterRail Global Pass will cover all these cities. Just have a look at this link for the countries which are included (top right corner):
[u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail[/u]
About reservations read here. Most reservations are only available at stations. Some might be possible to buy at some travel agencies, but they will have a high extra fee on it - as travel agencies don't really earn money with reservations. So I definitely recommend to buy it a stations. You can for example buy reservations in Paris as well for trains in Germany, Austria, ....
[u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-train-reservation[/u]
If traveling in the summer months June, July, August, buy the reservations some days in advance if possible, I always buy them when arriving a a city, then I know when to leave or if I have to change my plans as all night trains are full - then you will always find a day train.
And yes, you can book single cabins in night trains, just check the links I gave you in the topic before.
Of course it is more expensive.
1st class travel is really nice. you have more space, better service and usually get a reservation without a problem.
If you want to spent the money, do it.
Peter :)
apollo-1977
Traveller
2 comments
Thanks Peter. You've been a really great help :D