Userpic

railgirl
Traveller
6 comments

Posted 13 years ago

Hi,

I'm looking for some feedback on the travel route I came up with, especially since this is my first time interrailing.

The route I'd like to take with my 10 in 22 pass is:
Helsinki - Rovaniemi - Kiruna - Bodo - Trondheim - Bergen - Oslo - Stockholm - Copenhagen - Berlin - home
Is this a realistic plan?

My main concern is with the Kiruna - Bodo part. Even though these cities are only 250km from each other, there is no good rail connection so I have to take bus or boat. I didn't succeed with finding timetables and prices for this part. Any help would be appreciated.

Also, I really want to go to Bergen, but it seems like I have to take the same train twice (once from Oslo to Bergen, once from Bergen to Oslo). Is this the only way to do it?

Follow this topic
Userpic

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

replied 13 years ago

Hi!

Where is home? ;) How do you want to get back/get to Helsinki?

To the route itself. Doable and very nice. :)

Bus link Kemi - Lulea :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/finland-sweden-bus-kemi-tornio-haparanda-lulea/f1287[/u]

I guess you only want to stay overnight in Kiruna? You could stay in Gällivare too where I know a campsite (are you travelling with a tent?).

The railway then ends in Narvik - a rather dull port but it is nice to be at the end of InterRail tracks. ;)
The quick way back to the South is then with the bus to Fauske and continue with night train to Trondheim.

Or you go via the Lofoten - by bus eg to Svolvaer. From Svolvaer fast catamarans operate back to Bodo - connection to night train to Trondheim. Or stay and travel during the day - it is worth it! :)

Each bus/boat trip is ~25€ with InterRail/student discount. More details here :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/bodoe-narvik-hurtigruten-lofoten-bus/f1285[/u]

If you want to go to Bergen, you can only go there from Oslo by train. Other alternatives would be buses which are not included in InterRail (or Hurtigruten boats along the coast which are not included either). You could go one way with the night train...?

We will add more detailed routes in this area in the following days (eg Stockholm - Kobenhavn is already available :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/train/stockholm-to-copenhagen[/u]


Flo 8)

Userpic

railgirl
Traveller
6 comments

replied 13 years ago

Thanks for your quick answer!

My home is in the Netherlands, less than 8 hours by train from Berlin. Before the interrail, I'm going to be backpacking (using the bus) through the baltic states, then from Tallinn I'll take the ferry to Helsinki.

About Bergen: I'm afraid a night train is not really an option. For the Trondheim-Bergen part I plan on taking the night train to Oslo, then day train to Bergen. The other way around would cost an extra travel day. From Bergen back to Oslo I hope I can go on the flam-myrdal train, so I have to use day trains.

I'm not taking a tent so I've been trying to find cheap accommodation (40 euros or less per night) in northern Scandinavia. I found hostels in Rovaniemi, Kiruna and Bodo, that's one of the reason why I picked those cities.

I'll take a look again at the bus/boat schedules, but I had some problems there before. If I cannot find them I'll post in the topic you mentioned.

The Interrail train schedule looks very nice! It gives a good overview of everything interrailers need to know.

One other question: how do I know what train types are used on a certain route? For example, the Kiruna-Narvik route. I went to fahrplan.oebb.at but it only tells me 'INZ' or 'IC', which I cant link to the train types listed for Sweden. I like to know this so I know if I need to make reservations and how much they'll cost.

Userpic

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

replied 13 years ago

Hi!

Trondheim - Oslo - Bergen:

This should be possible:

Trondheim - Oslo night train, the continue to Myrdal. Make the trip with the Flamsbana to Flam and back again to Myrdal. Go to Bergen in the evening.

On the return journey you could then use the night train to Oslo and continue towards Göteborg - Malmö - Kobenhavn. :)

[quote]
The Interrail train schedule looks very nice! It gives a good overview of everything interrailers need to know.
[/quote]

Thanks! We just updated routes within Norway :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/search-train-route[/u]
More routes (including those to Narvik) will follow! ;)

The other route planners do not have specific InterRail information - they use many different train categories which often do not represent the actual train category in each country. It is best to check here if a train requires a reservation or not. In case you do not find a train category from the schedule planner here at railcc (eg INZ) that is since the train is of another category in its country. Then ask here and we can tell you whether you need a reservation or not.

For Kiruna - Narvik you do not need a reservation.


Flo 8)