Liina
Traveller
0 comments
Posted 3 months ago
Hi!
Iam preparing our first Interrail trip for June 2025. One adult and two children. Does anyone have done the route Stockholm-Amsterdam-London-Paris-Barcelona-Madrid-Lisbon? Any advices or suggestions? How can we save time and money with accomodation? Is a 5 day in a month travel ticket enough? Thank you already in advance!
MisterSteve
Traveller
1090 comments
1. That is not a route, it is your random list of big cities and nobody is likely to have done it already. But many have sad experience of trying sections of it. Starting in Stockholm, because the Swedish national track authority is useless there are often problems getting early reservations, especially for long distance international trains. Which means you may have to organise everything without being certain of how and when you will leave Sweden. Assume whatever you travel on to Hamburg will be late and do not plan tight connections there. The good news about Germany is that reservations are not compulsory so you can be flexible. But there may be a summer reservation requirement on international fast trains entering the Netherlands (which is usually announced late). Amsterdam-London is Eurostar and NOT free with Interrail, not by a long way, there is a reservation fee which includes the non-discountable fee from the Channel Tunnel owners (like the airport fees that used to appear seperately on flight tickets which could be more than the Ryanair fare!). From memory the charge will be around 35€ per adult. And the London to Paris train is the same! The Paris-Barcelona trains also have surcharges, but without the Channel Tunnel excuse. The pass is NOT valid on French trains with the Ouigo name (train numbers begin OGV instead of TGV). In Spain the pass is valid on RENFE trains but anything that goes long distance or high speed requires a reservation, and not all can be reserved outside of Spain, see the reservations info on the Interrail website. The pass is NOT valid on Iryo fast trains. And Madrid-Lisbon has no proper rail connections - anything you read about a direct train is years out of date. There are some plans for an alternative but this probably won't be in 2025 and may be an operator that doesn't take the pass. The easiest way is to pay extra for a 7 hour bus ride. The alternative is very limited and complicated.
2. The best advice for saving money on accomodation is to NOT stay in expensive big cities!!! If money is tight that was your first mistake.
3. No, 5 days is not enough. Have you checked any schedules www.bahn.com ? If you leave Stockholm at 05:21 you will not arrive Amsterdam until 22:26 and that needs FIVE different trains with no time in any German city. That's day one gone and the kids have seen/experienced nothing but the trains. Presumably London is not just a few hours detour between Amsterdam and Paris so that's days 2 AND 3 gone. Paris-Barcelona is day 4. Barcelona -Madrid is day 5. And what about the return trip?
I hope the children are teenagers who can carry their own luggage and have an interest in trains!
You should spend a lot of time reading www.seat61.com If you pick through it you will find each section of the plan and advice/info for the trains.