Wiv
Traveller
0 comments
Posted 1 month ago
Hello!
My son of 7 yrs dream of going by train from Copenhagen to Barcelona.
Is the night train Berlin - Paris a good idea? How does interrail work? If I get interrail 1 class, does that include the night train in private cabin or is it a extra fee? How do I book using interrail on that train for example.
:)
MisterSteve
Traveller
916 comments
Interrail does NOT include any extra fees, not even basic seat reservations which could be as high as 20€ per seat in France. The fees on Nightjet are complicated but expect around 90€ per bed, the private cabin option is not relevant for proper sleeping cars as they are sold as 1,2 or 3 bed cabins, the "private" option is for buying a whole 6 seat compartment (or 4-6 berth couchette compartment) and could cost nearly as much as a proper bed.
But this is not an easy journey, the fastest "direct" option is around 28 hours and uses 5 trains - none of them via Berlin! Personally I would avoid Berlin AND Paris ! Go to via Offenburg/Strasbourg . You can do this either by using the Nightjet from Hamburg to Offenburg or by going earlier and staying the night in Strasbourg (which is what I would do). Either way it's 3 trains. Second day is a TGV at 09:05 from Strasbourg to Lyons and then a direct train to Barcelona.
Interrail is sold for a umber fo days, either in a continuous block of for a number of days within a fixed period (that being the "Flexi" version), for this journey you would need the Global pass (all countries) since you would travel in at least 4 countries. It is valid on MOST trains but does not cover reservations which may be compulsory, usually does not cover the new start up "low cost" operators like Flixtrain, but also does NOT cover the low cost brand Ouigo of Fench state operator SNCF.