hannah00028
Traveller
3 comments
Posted 14 years ago
Hello,
My boyfriend and I have been looking at different routes for weeks and can't decide what to do or how long trips will take.. we have come up with various routes, but we are currently thinking this one... (which seems the most realistic so far)...
Paris - (with 1 or 2 stops) - Berlin - Prague - Budapest - Vienna - Innsbruck - Milan - Florence - Pisa - Siena - Rome, then ferry to Greece.
We want to get the month rail pass with a possibility of staying a few days extra before returning home from Greece.
Is this possible in one month? What would you recommend?
How many days of travel would this involve?
We have heard good things about Italy, which is why there is a few stops there, but also heard that there can be lots of extra charges on the trains, is this correct?
We would greatly appreciate any help, thanks!
Peter
Traveller
9333 comments
Hi.
Nice route you planed.
If you want, you can add Krakow (Poland) in between Prague - Budapest.
In Italy you can use the free IC trains which are slower than the expensive Eurostar trains (EUR 10).
But often it is recommended to pay for a reservation (EUR 3) for the IC trains as they are sometimes full - but you don't need one as they are free like I said.
You can book Italian trains online in advance if you like.
Check these links:
[u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-in-italy[/u]
[u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-train-reservation[/u]
[u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-train-reservation/italy/it[/u]
Peter :)
hannah00028
Traveller
3 comments
Thanks Peter! We will try to get to Krakov too!
We've booked our ticket to France now, we're getting there! We are going to stay in Paris for a few days, then start the rail ticket when we go to Berlin.
Our rail ticket will run out when we're in Italy, we're planning on staying there for a few days, then get the ferry to Greece, stay a week or 2 in Greece then fly home.
Would you suggest pre-booking the ferry and flight home or wait until we know what we're doing in September? We've been looking at cheap flights home from Greece, Heraklion in particular (but would be happy to finish in any country/region!), but not sure where we will be and if we could just turn up at an airport on the day?
Peter
Traveller
9333 comments
Hi.
For the ferry: it shouldn't be a problem to get a deck place just a day before departure.
Try the website of the ferry company where you can book it online - online booking is only possible without the InterRail discount.
Concerning your flight home: my experience: as earlier you book, as cheaper it is.
Peter :)
hannah00028
Traveller
3 comments
Hi Peter,
Thanks for your help once again! We have booked our month passes now (through your site).
We are looking on the route planner website for booking trains, but we can't seem to book any - just see the times. Do we have to phone up?
We need an overnight train on 31st Jul - 1st Aug from Paris to Berlin, as we have to be in Berlin on 1st. The one that departs at 20:20 and arrives at 08:59 would be perfect (and seems to be the only possible one).
How do we book it with a sleeper cabin? Are we only allowed seats as we have 2nd class youth tickets?
We started our rail pass on 1st Aug (as we didn't realise we had to take an overnight train starting 31st Jul). Will this be a problem and will it cost much extra? Or is there any way we can change the date of our ticket to 31st? And if we can't use our rail passes, would it be worthwhile getting a faster train rather than an IC train?
Sorry lots of questions! We have spent hours trying to plan this!
Thanks,
Hannah
Peter
Traveller
9333 comments
Hi Hannah.
You can book the night train Paris-Berlin online in advance - but depending on where you want to have the ticket send to, it might be now a bit late.
Just read this topic where you will find as well the supplements for couchettes or sleeper cars - you can book the type of cabin you want, it is only a question on how much extra you want to spent:
[u]https://rail.cc/en/paris-berlin-night-train/f3754[/u]
If you won't book in advance, you can get the supplement (=reservation) as well directly in Paris. But trains easily get full in summer.
If you want to change your ticket, you have to resend it and get a new one - and you have to pay 20% of the ticket price for this exchange, as InterRail is a bit special.
So better to use this website: [ux]https://rail.shop/bahn[/ux]
Switch to the English version and book some Europe Special Fare tickets. But do it as fast as possible - the good prices might be already gone. For seats you can get one-way fares per person starting from EUR 19.
I hope this will help planing your trip, Peter :)
hannah00028
Traveller
3 comments
Hi Peter,
We're in Italy at the moment, had a great time so far! We're just looking at ferries to Greece and could do with a bit if help.
We need to get a ferry from Bari on 29th or 30th Aug. We've looked online, but there are so many different companies and not many show the prices. We will still have our interrail pass and would like to go to either kefalonia, Corfu or patras. We would like to spend a bit of time on an island before flying back from Athens.
Is it possible to book or can we just turn up? And does the interrail pass have to be intact for the whole journey?
We would be really grateful if you could give us some advice and maybe a few times that we could consider.
Thanks!
Peter
Traveller
9333 comments
Hi.
Now it is maybe to late to answer - just stayed the weekend in Budapest for the InterRail Event 2010 ...
Just read this topic. Go to the office at the harbour and you always get a place on deck.
[u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-ferry/italy/it[/u]
Peter :)