Philippe-from-France
Traveller
2 comments
Posted 14 years ago
Hey everybody,
I have some questions about my trip.It would be very nice if you could help me because I'm kind of lost :|
I'm planing to go this summer (from the first july) with 4 friends with a 22 days interrail pass in:
starting from Helsinky,
-Narvik (midnight sun)
-Stockholm
-Berlin (not staying long)
-Cracovia
-Budapest
Than go back to france where I live (Paris).
Is my trip reasonable?What trains do I have to reserve in particular ? Do you know or have any piece of advice for those countries? Are there a lot of people doing this trip? What do you think about this trip :?:
Thank you for your anwser ! See you 8)
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Hi!
There is no direct train connection between Finland and Sweden/Norway, so you have the following two options:
- Go north in Finland to Oulu and then onwards: [u]https://rail.cc/en/ferry-stockholm-turku-helsinki/f1233[/u] From Lulea you can go by direct train to Narvik then
- Get a ferry to Stockholm and then up north either by direct night train or with Inlandsbanan: [u]https://rail.cc/en/ferry-stockholm-turku-helsinki/f1233[/u]
I would recommend to go via Inlandsbanan, if you make a stop at the northern part of the line (at Jokkmokk instead) you already have midnight sun there. Narvik isnt particularly interesting (except for train ethusiasts like me...) so if you go there I would recommend to move on to the Lofoten by bus: [u]https://rail.cc/en/bodoe-narvik-hurtigruten-lofoten-bus/f1285[/u] For that I would calculate at least two days so if you decide not to go to the Lofoten skip Narvik completely since it has no rail connection to the rest of the Norwegian railway network so you would have to move back the line down to Lulea or go to Bodo in Norway by bus and then down to Trondheim.
Stockholm - Berlin: [u]https://rail.cc/en/berlin-night-express-sweden-berlin/f1186[/u] Stockholm - Malmö either with X2 which has compulsory reservation for 7€ or with one of the few slower IC trains which dont need reservation
Berlin - Krakow: [u]https://rail.cc/en/berlin-krakow-gdansk-night-train/f1407[/u]
Krakow - Budapest: [u]https://rail.cc/en/krakow-budapest-night-train/f3305[/u]
Budapest - Paris: [u]https://rail.cc/en/budapest-paris-train/f3669[/u] Since InterRail isnt valid in your home country, I wouldnt recommend to take the nightrain from Munich since you would have to pay quite a lot extra for a ticket from the last stop in Germany to Paris. Have a look for cheap fares for a fixed date at the SNCF website - since you know your starting date and thus the date when you return you can buy this ticket quite cheap in advance.
Reservations:
In Finland you dont need reservations but for longer distances it may be nice to get one, especially when travelling as a larger group at peak times.
In Sweden you will need a reservation for night trains and X2 trains (you probably wont need X2 trains)...on the Inlandsbanan a 50 SEK reservation is recommend, we (3 guys) had them this summer but in fact it was a waste of money since there was enough free space in the train.
For the rest of the countries have a look at the links I've posted, as well as here: [u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-train-reservation[/u]
I would calculate 4 days for Finland, 5 days for Sweden, 3 for Norway (Lofoten), 2 for Berlin, 2 for Krakow and 2 for Budapest, that makes a total of 18 days leaving you the other 4 days for travelling the longer distances (Finland - Sweden, Stockholm - Berlin, Budapest - France).
As you a five persons, it may be sensible to arrange accomodation and reservations some days in advance so that you wont get stuck without accomodation or a place on a train. Dont be scared, just keep that in mind for certain parts of the trip, ie when taking the Malmö - Berlin sleeper train. It makes sense to fix some legs of the trip in advance to be sure you will move on and dont have to spend more time than you want at a certain place.
You will meet lots of other travellers in Berlin, Krakow and Budapest, in the northern countries at least till Stockholm, further in the north it varies - we have been alone on parts of the Inlandsbanan this summer but there were lots of travellers on the night trains to Oslo and ÖStersund for example.
If you need any other tips, just let us know. :) And if you like the work we're doing here at the website and forum, please buy your official InterRail ticket via [ux]https://rail.shop/interrail[/ux] - thank you. :)
Flo 8)
Philippe-from-France
Traveller
2 comments
I just wanted to thank you for your very interesting answer!
It's very useful! :D
Me and my friends will buy the ticket for sure to help you :) .
And will have some questions soon, would you please answer me than?
Thank you again :os
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Hi!
Thanks, great to hear. Of course, if you have other questions, dont hesitate to ask! :)
Flo 8)