Paris - Metz - Austria - Budapest - Prague - Berlin ...

Peter
Traveller
9333 comments

Hi
The 750 GBP excluding the InterRail pass should definitely be enough for a 15 days of travel.
You can start and end with your InterRail pass wherever you want. It don't has to be in your country of residence.

Concerning the [b]UK to France[/b] read here:
[u]https://rail.cc/en/london-paris-eurostar-train/f1805[/u]
[u]https://rail.cc/en/ferry-london-paris-england-france/f1222[/u]

[b]Netherlands to the UK[/b] read here:
[u]https://rail.cc/en/ferry-netherlands-england/f1659[/u]
[u]https://rail.cc/en/amsterdam-london-train/f3990[/u]

If you want to avoid the supplement for a TGV in France, [b]Paris-Metz[/b] is possible without it. For example:
Paris Est dep: 1435 | Regional Express train - free of supplements
Epernay arr: 1549

Epernay dep: 1619 | Regional Express train - free of supplements
Metz Ville arr: 1808

From [b]Metz to Austria[/b] you have several options.
By regional (free of supplements) trains either via Saarbrücken and Mannheim or Strasbourg and Karlsruhe to Munich and then to Austria.
In Germany you can use the supplement free IC and ICE trains, only avoid the TGV trains in France if you want to save money.
If you want to use a night train think about using this connection:
Metz dep: 1309 - [u]https://rail.cc/en/brussels-luxembourg-strasbourg-basel-zurich-train/f2915[/u]
Zurich arr 2124
Then by night train to Salzburg, Vienna or directly to Budapest: [u]https://rail.cc/en/zurich-budapest-night-train/f1901[/u]

[b]Austria to Budapest[/b] is easy to do by the supplement free Railjet trains: [u]https://rail.cc/en/vienna-budapest-train-railje/f1999[/u]

[b]Budapest-Prague[/b]: [u]https://rail.cc/en/budapest-prague-night-train/f1469[/u]

[b]Prague-Berlin[/b]: [u]https://rail.cc/en/prague-berlin-train/f3360[/u]

[b]Berlin-Amsterdam[/b]: [u]https://rail.cc/en/berlin-amsterdam-train/f2407[/u]

Peter :)

casiotone
Traveller
10 comments

Hi, thanks a lot for your help. After discussing the journey more with my friends we have decided on the route:

Paris, Metz,Bern, Salzburg, Budapest, Prague, Berlin and then Amsterdam
(we are going to start the interail after paris and take the ferry back from Amsterdam to the UK so we use minimal travel time).

After reading many posts on this forum about how Lake Bled is supposed to worth a visit and all that Croatia has to offer, we were thinking of maybe extending our trip.

Instead of going straight to Budapest from Salzburg, we were thinking of travelling from Salzburg to Ljubljana(I heard it's the closest station to bled) then possibly a quick stop in Croatia on the way to Budapest.
------------------------
I was wondering: if this was possible using supplement free trains, roughly how many days more the Slovenia/Croatia detour would take and if the entire interail journey is still possible using only the 10 days travel within 22 days pass?

I know it's ambitious, but we want to get the most out of this trip and don't plan to stay in most places for too long.


Thanks :)

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Hi!

For Lake Bled, there is Bled Jezero on the Villach - Ljubljana line, all trains stop there. For further information on how to get to the Lake then are here: [u]https://rail.cc/en/lake-bled-ljubljana-train/f4005[/u]

As for supplements etc...

- Paris - Metz: There are few services where you dont need reservations, all include several changes of trains. I would recommend to go by TGV, get your reservations as described here: [u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-train-reservation/tgv-sncf/42[/u] I had no trouble with reservations like this last summer. And travelling with the TGV at 320 km/h is a nice experience for InterRailers as well. ;)

- Metz - Salzburg: Easy doable without reservations. Just take a free TER train to Saarbrücken, from there you have quite good connections via Mannheim/Heidelberg. You can even travel parts by TGV since you dont need reservations for TGV for domestic journeys in Germany.

- Salzburg - Budapest: Free with two hourly Railjet: [u]https://rail.cc/en/vienna-budapest-train-railje/f1999[/u] They usually run from Salzburg via Vienna directly two Budapest, have a look at the schedule planner for detailed timings.

- Budapest - Praha: Free connections every two hours via Bratislava (of course there are more connections each day but these trains are the fastest and most convenient way)

- Praha - Berlin: Free connections every two hours via Dresden

- Berlin - Amsterdam: [u]https://rail.cc/en/berlin-amsterdam-train/f2407[/u]

Since everything else is possible without reservations I would again recommend going Paris - Metz by TGV.. ;) Travel days needed: 6, that would leave 5 days (since Salzburg - Budapest is void) for the detour via Lake Bled.

Salzburg - Lake Bled: A night train isnt really worth it (dep 0134, arr 0517), and you would miss out the spectacular Tauernbahn between Schwarzach-St. Veit and Spittal-Millstättersee in Austria. Instead, I would recommend the direct EC train: Salzburg dep 1012 - Lesce Bled arr 1350

Lake Bled - where? Humm, I would say if you go to Croatia you should go somewhere to a nice beach, especially if you dont have much time to see the country. Zagreb isnt that nice, especially compared to Ljubljana, so if you want to visit a city, better go to Ljubljana.
For beaches, go to Rijeka in the north (closer to Lake Bled) and then maybe to the island of Krk or down south to Split. From Split you would even have a direct night train to Budapest in the summer which would be quite handy.

I could suggest a trip like this, x meaning a travel day for your InterRail pass:

1 Paris - Metz x
2 Metz
3 Metz - Saarbrücken - Mannheim/Heidelberg - München - Salzburg x
4 Salzburg
5 Salzburg - Villach - Lake Bled x
6 Lake Bled
7 Lake Bled
8 Lake Bled - Ljubljana - Zagreb - Split; schedule: Lesce Bled dep 0729 - Zagreb arr 1035 dep 1215 - Split arr 1835 The line down to Split is also very nice and worth seing x
9 Split
10 Split - night train to Budapest: [u]https://rail.cc/en/split-budapest-night-train/f4047[/u] x
11 Budapest x
12 Budapest
13 Budapest
14 Budapest - Praha x
15 Praha
16 Praha
17 Praha - Berlin x
18 Berlin
19 Berlin
20 Berlin - Amsterdam x
21 Amsterdam
22 Amsterdam - Hook van Holland for the ferry x

If you need one more extra travel day because you want to include another place you can use the Split - Zagreb night train and change there for a connection to Budapest. The night train to Zagreb leaves after 1900 so you can make use of the [u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-night-train[/u]

I hope this helped you guys a little, if you need further tips, just ask. :)


Flo 8)

casiotone
Traveller
10 comments

Thanks!! Sorry I haven't been on computer in a while.

Yeah well we've decided on that route (although maybe go somewhere in North of Croatia, instead of Split, as it's so far away??)

We've found hostles in every city, mainly around €20 a night -Bern and Paris is expensive though ||

I was wondering on how much roughly i'll need considering we're going for 23 days and planning to go out to clubs/bars a lot? I was thinking maybe £20 a day? Is that a little ambitious? I was thinking that it would be relatively cheap in places like Salzburg, Bled, Metz etc. and it would only start to cost a bit in Berlin/Prague/Dam ?

It would also be good if you could tell me a place in North Croatia with nice beaches, close to station as we can only spend 1/2 day(s) there? I was thinking maybe Pula or Rijeka, looking at the IR map.. ?

Oh and 1 more thing. I'm having a lot of trouble trying to book the TGV from Paris-Metz. How do I go about doing this? Any help would be much appreicated
thanks :)

Peter
Traveller
9333 comments

Hi.

In the north of Croatia I recommend you [b]Rijeka[/b]. Get a bus on the [b]island of Krk[/b] (not expensive: ~ EUR 5) ... there you will find camp sites or you can rent apartments.

[b]TGV in France[/b]: you have to book it at a railway station or try it this way: [u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-train-reservation/tgv-sncf/42[/u]

Calculation per day...
Food and accommodation are the parts where you will spent most of the money on it. Take a small camping stove with you and buy noddles and tomatoes at the supermarket. Much cheaper than to eat in fast-food restaurants or something else.
Often the hostels offer as well a kitchen free to use.

PER DAY:
- accommodation: EUR 20
- food: EUR 5
- party, alcohol, extras: EUR 10-20 (buy your beer in supermarkets)
TOTAL per day: ~ EUR 40

EUR 40 X Days 23 = ~ EUR 700

Peter :)

casiotone
Traveller
10 comments

Thank you :) we have now a definite plan of our journey
Paris/1 night
Metz/2 nights
Bern/1 night
Salzburg/2 nights
Bled/1 night
Ljubljana/1 night
Budapest/3 nights
Vienna/2 nights
Prague/2 nights
Berlin/4 nights
Amsterdam/ 4 nights

We have planned our trip so we spend Wednesdays/Fridays/Saturdays in cities so we can experience the nightlife in each city as well as cutural activities in the day..

I was wondering if it would be a good idea to add in Copenhagen, after Berlin, as we are planning to get the ferry straight back to London anyway? I really want to visit Denmark but the journey seems quite long and I'm worried the trip will become too expensive.

I was also wondering how to go about booking the trains? We are planning on getting the TGV from Paris-metz and I'm sure some of our other trains will have to be reserved?

thanks,

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Hi!

- If you want to, add Kobenhavn. There is even one daily direct train from Berlin. But in my opinion there's not soo much to do there, so one night might be enough (if you then directly proceed to Amsterdam think about the direct night train: [u]https://rail.cc/en/copenhagen-amsterdam-night-train/f3010[/u]). Or think about Hamburg, half way between Berlin and Kobenhavn.
- Book the Paris - Metz TGV when you are in Paris. You can do so at every large station.
- As long as you are not travelling overnight you wont need any extra reservation for the rest of the trip.


Flo 8)

casiotone
Traveller
10 comments

Thank you :)

We've booked hostels etc. now. I was just wondering if its possible to go from amsterdam to split ? We could then get a flight from there to london. I have no idea if it can be done or how expensive it would be. I really wanted to go to there though :/

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Hi,

you can of course do that, the question is how much money/time you want to invest. The best connection probably is as follows:

Amsterdam 2031 - 0716 München :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/amsterdam-munich-night-train/f3745[/u]
München 0827 - 1710 Zagreb
Zagreb 2255 - 0715 Split :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/night-train/zagreb-split-b821/129[/u]


Flo 8)

casiotone
Traveller
10 comments

Thanks :)
Another thing, will we be able to use a 10 in 22 pass? bearing in mind our journey is:

Paris/Metz/Bern/Salzburg/Bled/Ljubljana/Budapest/Vienna/Prague/Berlin/Amsterdam/Copenhagen

but we were going to start the pass from Metz when we leave for Bern.
so although we leave for paris on 14th July, we won't need the pass until the 17th when we leave for bern.

If we started the pass on the 17th, when is the final date possible we could stay in amsterdam until?

We were going to get a nightrain from Amsterdam-Copenhagen on our last day on the pass as we are getting a flight from Copenhagen

Sorry if this doesn't make any sense lol oh and was also wondering if the TGV from paris-metz will be very expensive without the IR pass?

thanks

Peter
Traveller
9333 comments

Hi.

Paris-Metz without InterrRail is starting from EUR 25 per person. Booking via [ux]https://rail.shop/sncf[/ux]

Your InterRail ticket starts the 17th July at 00:01h in the morning and will end the 7th of August at 23:59h at night. So you will have to use the night train starting in Amsterdam on the 6th of August, arriving the 7th in Copenhagen.

Peter :)

casiotone
Traveller
10 comments

Hi thanks :) we have now purchased our interail passes !!

I was wondering how long it would take to get from Bern to Salzburg and if this is even achievable ? I can't seem to find anything on the interail 'route planner'


thanks

Hetman
Traveller
364 comments

from 6:30 with one change in Zurich

Peter
Traveller
9333 comments

You are searching for a travel date after the 12th of June. Read the schedule topic. Change of timetables on the 12th. :)

casiotone
Traveller
10 comments

Thanks! We have now bought out interail passes and are starting to plan what we will actually do in the places we're going.

One thing i was wondering, i've heard from a few travellers that the bone church in kutna hora, czech republic is worth a visit and was wondering if it's possible to get there from prague (for a half-day-trip kinda thing) without booking reservations etc

Also Lake Balaton, which i've mixed reviews about. Since we aren't going to any beaches I thought it would be a good compromise? And again, is it possible to get there and back from berlin in a day on standard trains?

Also any advice on good excursions/day trip places near Budapest/Berlin/Prague would be much appreciated


thanks :)

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Hej,

Direct trains to Kutna Hora leaving Praha hln at 0602 and at the same time every two hours, plus 1502, 1702, 1902 and several connecting services. No reservation required, travel time with direct trains 0h575 :)

Lake Balaton is close to Budapest, not Berlin! ;)
Direct trains from Budapest Deli at 0711 and at the same time every two hours. No reservation required, travel time to Siofok 1h47, to Fonyod 2h27

Budapest: You could go to Gödöllö to visit Sisi castle (with regional trains from Keleti station, not with HEV trains); Esztergom the old capital is just about more than one hour away right at the Danube; Szentendre is also quite nice but only reachable with HEV trains where IR is not valid

Berlin: If you are looking for beach/lake, go to Wannsee just outside the city centre; Potsdam with the Sanssouci castle is nice as well; for a trip to a resort at the Baltic Sea you'd have to get up quite early but is is surely possible (> Usedom)

Praha: No idea... :|


Flo 8)

casiotone
Traveller
10 comments

thanks! only 11 days left now..

one thing, i was using the journey planner for the Metz-Bern journey

The only route seems to be
Metz-Strasborg-BaselSNCF-BaselSBB-Bern

We don't mind changing trains etc. but the first 2 trains are listed as 'RE' i can't find much information on what this means, does it require reservation/ surcharge?

also it says that the IC train from Basel SBB-Bern requires a reservation but I thought that the EC/IC trains were free and didn't need reservation?

sorry about all these questions
josh,

Peter
Traveller
9333 comments

Hi Josh.
Nearly all trains are free on this route for Interrail travellers, except the TGVs.
RE = Regional Express trains = local trains = free
IC trains in Switzerland: free
Which connection at what time you are talking about?
Peter :)

casiotone
Traveller
10 comments

Just got back from the trip. was the best thing i've ever done and i'm definitely going again soon!
Thanks a lot for all the help. In the end we ended up staying in places longer than we meant to, got different trains, went to different places, which I guess interail is all about.

josh

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Hej Josh,

that's nice to hear! :) Hope you'll recommend us to other InterRailers as well. ;)


Flo 8)