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betty20
Traveller
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Posted 13 years ago

his summer me and my boyfriend would really like to travel Europe by Interail starting at the beginning of September and spending about 3 weeks travelling. We live in the UK and are interested in purchasing either the £289 22 day continuous rail pass or the 10 days within 22 days pass for £229. We are both students and so would ideally want to spend around about £800 pounds (each) on the trip covering everything including accommodation, food, and activities or up to a maximum of £1000. In terms of accommodation we are intending to use hostels although are willing to camp if strongly suggested. In terms of how we live we are looking to self-cater for ourselves with occasional treats such as eating out occasionally enjoying some of the night life and visiting as many as the sights as we can afford.

The route we are looking at covering follows:
Berlin (4 days) - either fly out to from the UK or add Paris to the journey and use a night train to get to Berlin
Prague (3 days)
Krakow (2-3 days) - one day spent visiting Auchwitz, possibly visiting the Tatra and Wieliczka salt mines
Budapest (1-2) days - Stopover and visit the famous baths
Slovenia (4 days) - one day in Ljubljana, one day visiting Bled, One day visiting Lake Bohinj and Mount Vogel, one day visiting the caves at Postojna
Croatia (4 days) - 2 days dubrovnik, 2days traveling down possibly stopping in Split or taking an over night ferry from Rijeka

We are not sure whether or not the suggested time periods in each place are too long or short to experience the places. We want to experience as much as we can but at the same time enjoy the places. Initally we were looking to include Paris and then Amsterdam before Berlin but thought this may stretch the cost and time? What do you think? Also we were wondering if the route may be better in reverse in terms of weather?

As you may be able to tell this is our first time travelling Europe although we have visited various parts of western Europe before. We are looking for any suggestions and advice that may be appropriate and also any additional or alternative things to see along the way

Thank you

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weaselwithin
Traveller
5 comments

replied 13 years ago

Hi!

Just had a little advice on Poland as we went last summer. It's an amazing place and you're sure to have a brilliant time! Krakow is a great city, really friendly, and to see the main sights it's really compact. We spent one day taking in the sights in Krakow, one day visiting the Jewish Quater which is so quiet now but interesting and just a tram ride away, a day at Auchwitz - it's easy to get the bus there and needless to say it is one of the most moving places I've ever been to, just make sure you see both camps ie. Auswitch-Birkenau, there's a free bus inbetween which takes about 5-10mins. We also went to the salt mines which were AMAZING! We spent the entire day there and the tour is really good. Again we got the bus - we never booked buses just jumped on them in the morning. We also went to Warsaw for 2 days although I'd say one day would be enough. I've met loads of people who don't like Warsaw but we loved it, it's a great city full of life and is great for a day's walking around, as well as visiting the Uprising Museum and the Warsaw ghetto.

Have a fantastic trip!

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Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

replied 13 years ago

Hi,

just some short tips from me...

- Go for the 10in22, it will be enough. Given your destinations I think it is very unlikely that you will need more than 10 travel days
- You can do the trip the other way round as well, but I think it is OK to end in Croatia. Then you could include some time at the beach to relax at the end of your trip.
- You can definitely include Paris in your trip, there is a direct night train to Berlin: :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/paris-berlin-night-train/f3754[/u]
- If you also want to include Amsterdam, you cant travel overnight conveniently. You will have to go Paris - Amsterdam during the day :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/train/paris-to-amsterdam[/u] as well as Amsterdam - Berlin :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/amsterdam-berlin-train/f2346[/u] Going overnight requires a reservation and includes an early arrival in Berlin
- I think the amount of days you've scheduled is quite ok, as well as the number of destinations. As mentioned you could definitely spend at least one day at Paris - maybe skip one day in Berlin instead. I personally would also stay longer in Budapest instead of Prague (2 days minimum in Budapest).


Flo 8)