SophuZ
Traveller
3 comments
Posted 13 years ago
Hey there :D ,
me and a small group of friends are thinking about doing an interrail on the 9th, but we have never done one before...
maybe you can help us :D
We are leaving on the 9th of this month from Porto (Portugal) to Eindhoven (Netherlands).
In Eindhoven we want to buy a ticket (with our own money) to Amsterdam, staying there two nights.
On the 11th we want to start using our interrail ticket to go to Cologne/Köln (Germany), but we don't know what trains to catch to avoid the supplements :(
After spending two days in Cologne, we want to go to Strasbourg (France) (13th of April) and spent a day there, but there we have the same problem, we don't know what trains we should catch...
We are thinking in spending one day in Strasbourg and then, going to Lausanne (Switzerland) (14th of April). There (after 7 pm) we would like to catch a night train to Barcelona.
We want to spend two days in Barcelona, and then going to Madrid, where we would like to spend another two days.
To conclude, we would like to go to Salamanca and spend two days there, finishing our adventure on the 21st of April.
Our biggest problem is that we don't really know what trains we should catch to avoid the supplements :( ...
Can you please help us?
Thanks,
Luís
Sorry for my English
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Hi Luis!
- What tickets do you have to go to Eindhoven/Amsterdam?
- What kind of InterRail pass do you intend to buy?
For connections use the travel planner as described here: :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/search-interrail-route[/u]
Amsterdam - Köln: Go with the direct ICE services, no reservation required
Köln - Strasbourg: Go with IC/EC/ICE to Karlsuhe or Offenburg and the use S-Bahn services to Strasbourg. Do not go with TGV as those require a supplement for international travel.
Strasbourg - Lausanne: Go with TER to Basel, then with IC/IR/ICN to Lausanne, no reservations required
Lausanne - Barcelona: Expensive night train: :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/zurich-bern-geneva-barcelona-night-train/f1099[/u] Daytime travel is also rather expensive, I would recommend to go Geneve - Lyon, then with TGV to Perpignan (6€ reservation!) and continue to Barcelona via Portbou
Barcelona - Madrid: Go by fast AVE services, attention, 10€ reservation required!
Madrid - Salamanca: There are MD services roughly every two hours, 4€ reservation required!
Salamanca - Porto: Remember that there is only the Sud Express running on this route, leaving Salamanca early in the morning at about 0400: :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/night-train/irun-lisbon-th-313/73[/u]
If you need more detailed help on any part of the route just let us know. :)
And remember that you can support our work here at the forum when purchasing your InterRail pass at [ux]https://rail.shop/interrail[/ux] - thank you!
Flo 8)
SophuZ
Traveller
3 comments
Hi ! Thank very much for helping us, it will be very useful.
We still didn't have bought a ticket from Eindhoven to Amesterdam, but we were thinking on buying one when we reach there.
-Do you know how much does a ticket like that costs?
-We are going to buy the interrail flexi pass 5/10, do you think is enough?
-How do we book the trains?
-In addition, it is necessary to book the hostels?
-Can we use the interrail pass on our own country (Portugal)?
In conclusion, we would like to contribute to this site which has helped us a lot. How much time does the interrail pass takes to arrive to our home?
Thank you again :D
Luís
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Hi Luis!
- Eindhoven - Amsterdam is 17,20€ per person in 2nd class.
- No, 5in10 wont be enough... Have a look:
Köln - Amsterdam: 1st travel day
Amsterdam - Strasbourg: 2nd
Strasbourg - Lausanne: 3rd
Lausanne - Barcelona: 4th
Barcelona - Madrid: 5th
Madrid - Salamanca and Salamanca - Portuguese border: no travel days left...
Do you already have tickets to go to Eindhoven? If not, think about going with the 10in22 for your whole trip. If that doesnt work, think about using regular tickets for the parts in Spain, have a look what will be cheapest for you.
- You can make reservations directly at railway stations. I would recommend to make the reservation for Lausanne - Barcelona in Cologne at the station. There you probably can also make reservations for the rest of the trip in Spain (BCN - Madrid - Salamanca). If that doesnot work, make the reservations for the Spanish part in Barcelona.
Also have a look at this topic: :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-train-reservation[/u]
- If you are more than 2 people I'd recommend to book hostels beforehand. Have a look at [ux]https://rail.shop/hostelworld[/ux] :)
- No, you cannot use InterRail in your own country. But you will get discounted tickets for travelling to/from the border, as long as you have a valid InterRail pass.
- Standard shipping is within a maximum of 7 days, usually it takes 5 days. Express delivery is within 2, maximum 3 days but is 15€ extra... :|
Flo 8)
SophuZ
Traveller
3 comments
Hi again xD
So, me and my friends changed the itinerary, because we can't buy the other pass due to the lack of time (we have school) and money.
Now I think that this is realistic xD:
Amesterdam-Koln -> 1st
Koln-Strasbourg -> 2nd
Strasbourg - Lausanne ->3rd
Lausanne - Barcelona ->4th
Barcelona - Salamanca ->5th
In the border we will have someone that will take us home :)
I was wondering, what are the advantages of going to geneve instead of going to lausanne? I didn't understood that very well :os
Another question, and I know this is silly, but how exactly do we book a train trip? Do we go there and: Hi I would like to book the train...
Sorry, but I'm new at this :os
Thanks for your tremendous help,
Luís
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Hi Luis!
Yes, this is possible. How have you planned to go to Amsterdam?
Where do you have to go from Salamanca to get home?
I was only talking about Geneve if you choose to travel to Barcelona during the day. If you want to go overnight, you can use the night train Lausanne - Barcelona: [u]https://rail.cc/en/zurich-bern-geneva-barcelona-night-train/f1099[/u] Pay attention, it is quite expensive and does not run daily!
If you want to go during the day, go Lausanne - Geneve - Lyon - Perpignan - Portbou - Barcelona. Between Lyon and Perpignan you will have to use a TGV for which you need a reservation - make this in advance, if possible already in Germany.
If you need to make reservations, go to a counter at a station show your InterRail pass and ask for a reservation for the train you want. It helps if you write departure and arrival station, date time and if possible train number on a sheet of paper - then nothing should go wrong. :)
Flo 8)
fogodinho
Traveller
4 comments
hi :D
I have one question.
From amsterdamm to Lausanne they don't have to pay, do they?
Thanks,
godi :)
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Hi,
it depends on the route and trains they choose. But if they go as planned: Amsterdam - Köln with ICE; Köln - Strasbourg via Mannheim - Karlsruhe - Offenburg - Kehl without using a TGV; Strasbourg - Mulhouse - Basel - Lausanne without using a TGV then they dont have to pay for reservations. :)
Flo 8)
fogodinho
Traveller
4 comments
I want to make a similar trip and I don't find the ICE in the route planner...
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Maybe there are construction works going on on the date you were looking - that can sometimes happen on that route. However, normally there are several daily ICE linking Amsterdam with Köln, leaving at 0704, 0804, 1034, 1234, 1634, 1834.
fogodinho
Traveller
4 comments
What does MD (Spain: Madrid - Salamanca) stands for?
thanks,
Godi
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
MD (Media Distancia) is a train category for longer distance regional trains. Compulsory reservation, 4€.