hezza180
Traveller
3 comments
Posted 15 years ago
Hello,
On the 1st of July 2011, myself and 2 other mates are planning on travelling around Europe before heading off to uni and full time work, and so we heard of the inter-rail pass :D
Two of us are 18 and the other is 19, so we want an action packed travelling holiday. We all have many different ideas of what we want to do, including sports, sightseeing, getting a taste of different cultures, enjoying the occasional drink and getting a tan on a picturesque beach!
We have a general plan of our traveling trying to use the 22 day pass to the full! Starting by crossing the channel then visiting Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin and Poland. We want to visit parts of the east but want to have enough time to see Greece, Italy and Spain and finish the journey coming back through France.
We wonder if anybody has any reccomendations of places to visit for anybody with our general interests?
How much money the trip costs overall, did anybody find any hidden costs?
Finally does anybody have any reccomended travel routes that you would highly reccomend?
Thanks 8)
Flo
Traveller
10725 comments
Hi!
:arr: For general information on planning, please read here: [u]https://rail.cc/en/first-interrail-tour/f3303[/u]
I would say 22 days is too short for everything you want to do. At first, have a look for cheap tickets on the Eurostar to Paris. Then, start your InterRail ticket when you leave Paris for Amsterdam. [b]Dont[/b] go by Thalys, it is way to expensive! [u]https://rail.cc/en/train/paris-to-amsterdam[/u]
Maybe think of a stop in between...I can recomend Brugge and Antwerpen...Rotterdam is supposedly nice for partying as well. :)
Amsterdam - Berlin - Poland...no big deal. Then, Greece. I cant really recommend going there during your trip:
- it's way of route, Warszawa - Thessaloniki ~36 hours, and then you are only at the border, still way to go to Athens
- railway services are sparse and it is likely to get worse due to the current economic and political situation
So think twice.. ;) Instead, I would recommend going Poland - Budapest - Venice (Belgrad and Ljubljana are nice too, but again, 22 days might be a little short)
Italy - Spain :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/milan-barcelona-night-train/f1168[/u]
In Spain stay at Barcelona - I think you wouldnt want to miss it ;) On the way back to France think about that: [u]https://rail.cc/blog/little-yellow-train-video/[/u]
Just some thoughts as it is getting late...if you need more details about whatsoever, let me know, no problem. ;)
Flo 8)
hezza180
Traveller
3 comments
Thankyou very much for your reccomendations and help it seeems to be bringing the travel plans together quite nicley!
I wonder if you could answer some further questions, to carry on my progress :)
I have chosen my route as follows:
Harwich --> Hook of Holland (I have found this route to be a better alternative than heading to paris, as im from East Anglia and is an easy and cheaper alternative than the Eurostar)
Rotterdam, Holland --> Amsterdam, Holland
Amsterdam, Holland --> Berlin, Germany
Berlin, Germany --> Warsaw, Poland
Warsaw, Poland --> Budapest, Hungary
Budapest, Hungary --> Ljubljana, Slovenia
Ljubljana, Slovenia --> Dubrovnik, Croatia
At this point in the trip i was wondering if there is any way of getting to the East cost of Italy, for example Dubrovnik, Croatia --> Bari, Italy?
Is there a ferry route that heads to Italy from Croatia, or an alternative and how much it may cost?
Bari, Italy --> Valencia, Spain (fly by plane costing around £40 PP)
Valencia, Spain --> Barcelona, Spain
Barcelona, Spain --> Perpignan, France
Perpignan, France --> Paris, France
Paris, France --> England
Can you give me any reccomendationds to add to my route or any places that i may have to apapt or remove?
do you think this route is managable in 22 days or will it take a months pass?
thanks :D
sirmatthew
Traveller
1 comments
If I were you, I would skip Rotterdam. I live in the Netherlands and I have been there a lot of times, but it isn't an interesting city.
I dont know how late your boat arrives in Hoek van Holland, but I would go to Rotterdam (you must come there if you want to go to Amsterdam), take a pic of the skyline and Erasmusbridge and leave than. A city like The Hague or Delft are much more interesting. Delft is a typical Dutch city and The Hague is the centre of the Dutch government and the centre of international justice, with many sights near each other. You definitely must visit the Binnenhof, Mauritshuis and Gevangenpoort. Het Vredespaleis, (Peace palace) Paleis Noordeinde (one of the palaces of the Dutch queen) and the shopping 'Passage' are also worth seeing.
Travel disctance between this cities are very short, e.g.
Hoek van Holland - Rotterdam 30 mins
Rotterdam - Delft 12 mins
Delft - The Hague 12 mins
The Hague - Amsterdam 52 mins
If you want more info about the Netherlands, ask me ;)
Also think of visiting Krakow instead of Warsaw.
Krakow is much more beautiful than Warsaw. From Krakow, you could do a day trip to Auschwitz, very impressive.
And Budapest - Ljubljana is possible, though going from Ljubljana to Dubrovnik is quite a long trip (first you have to go to Zagreb, than a train to Split (beautiful city) and then a bus (approx. 5 hours) to Dubrovnik.
There is two times a week a direct nighttrain from Budapest to Split, I would recommend that. Split is more interesting than Ljubljana, though it are both nice cities.
If I were you I would skip Spain;
This could be better:
England - Hoek van Holland - (Delft) - The Hague - Amsterdam - Berlin - Krakow - Budapest - Sarajevo - Dubrovnik - Split - Ljubljana/Venice - Paris - England
I would add Sarajevo because I never heard anyone who didnt recommend it.
pguerrero
Traveller
15 comments
mate trust me, you don't want to miss Hamburg in Germany. Hamburg is the second biggest city in Germany and way more beautiful than berlin. don't get me wrong, berlin is really cool too and a historic city. But Hamburg is worth a visit if you want to travel from amsterdam - berlin as it is right in between those two cities.
give it a thought!