helpimlost
Traveller
5 comments
Posted 14 years ago
Hi :D ,
I'm looking at doing the following route...
sofia - bucharest - belgrade - zagreb - ljubjana - budapest
...over a period of 15 days (mainly using the night trains so I don't waste my days, and i can get a bed on the train to sleep for long journeys). The pass i was looking at is the Global 5 days travel in 10 days, which is £238 (259 euro). I understand there are supliments and extra fees on top of the interrail pass for night trains/faster trains etc. There's 2 of us traveling if it makes a difference, and we dont mind sharing cabins etc.
My question is...
1) Do you think it will be cheaper to get this interrail pass or just buy individual tickets when I'm over there?
2) Where can I check the times and days of the night trains along this route? (i.e. I dont want to find that there's only a night train from A to B once per week etc).
Cheers,
Stu
Peter
Traveller
9339 comments
Hi Stu.
1) I can't give you details as I don't have information about single prices for these routes. Try the websites of the national railway companies in each country.
2) Information about night trains: [u]https://rail.cc/en/night-train[/u]
Or simply use the schedule planers: [u]https://rail.cc/en/search-train-route[/u]
Here you will also find information about connections from A to B: [u]https://rail.cc/en/search-interrail-route[/u]
Peter :)
nltrainer
Traveller
1478 comments
IR is a waste of money for this-anyway IN the Balkans (does not include portion from Serb/Hrvatska border onward) there si also the Balkan Flexi pass-much better value, esp. for youth. Worjks same way as IR-but for that area only. If you see any price indicators- (very difficult and unlikely to be found on www) then locally INTernational tickets IN that area are also 50% cheaper as the full-fare TCV-tariff that western railways will have at hand.
and hold your breath-this is not the Andes or Gobi desert here-all routes have at least daily trains and most evenmore-though some with a change en-route. Quality of those may be a little 1980ies-but then again the UK also has its share of utter old and derelict trains. There are NO supplements in that sense (paying extra just for it), but you have to pay extra for some reservations and always for sleepers or the more budget-style couchette. But the price you quote seems to say you are not <26. And no-those trains are not always full or booked solid monthes advance-leaving it till there is often enough-plus you get the best info and best prices then.in fact it is nigh impossible anyway to book online with an IR or other ticket, or in fact at all do book online. Just think-uhm-a little 1980ies in this respect too.
helpimlost
Traveller
5 comments
Many many thanks for the info so far.
In answer to your questions... yes we're over 26 (32 actually), and yes we'll be probably using the couchettes and the occasional sleeper cabin if they're not too expensive. It sounds as though what your saying is the interrail pass is not worth it for this trip, and that we should just turn up and book trains at the stations etc, however couple more quick questions...
1) the balkan flexi pass from what i can find on the www seems to cost 174 euro and covers our trip until i get to croatia... after which I'd have to buy individual tickets for - zagreb - ljubjana - budapest. I imagine thats going to be roughly the same total cost (all in) as the interrail pass?
2) i tried to check individual prices (as suggested in the first reply) on the countries railway websites but it is very hard to get the info. I then found another website xxxx expenisve website - not recomended by the railccs!that did allow me to select my separate tickets but this showed the price as 65 euro just to get from sofia to bucharest (didn't even give option for couchette etc)??... this seems expensive and maybe its better to get some sort of pass again? or is this just an expensive website ive found?
3) is the thomas cook europe rail timetable that's for sale at about £10 going to be a must/highly recommended for us on this trip?
4) Can i purchase the interrail pass from the trainstation over there? (sofia station) or is it only available via the website?
I'm not looking for an exact price of the trip via individual tickets etc, as if its 'roughly' the same cost as the interrail pass or cheaper then thats both fine. I just dont want to find that it costs A LOT more to book individual tickets when im over there (and therefore i should have got a pass). So im lookin for someone who's been and done it (or knows the area/trains/costs) to just give me an indication... obviously not an exact cost :)
Cheers,
Stu
Peter
Traveller
9339 comments
Hi Stu.
You will get point to point tickets much cheaper directly at a train station in the countries you want to visit.
1) It is the 5 days in 1 month you are talking about? Don't buy it online, buy it directly in one of the participating countries. Example 5 days in 1 month Balkan Flexi Pass - Adult 1st class from Serbian railways: EUR 117.
www.serbianrailways.com/active/en/home/glavna_navigacija/putnicki_saobracaj/medjunarodni_saobracaj/cene_prevoza_v01.html
2) Already told it above: buy tickets directly there.
3) [u]https://rail.cc/en/search-train-route[/u]
4) Yes you can buy it at big stations - should be possible at the RILA office (blue - white logo) in a corner of Sofia main station. It's the international ticket sale office of the Bulgarian railway company.
Of course you support our work when purchasing your Interrail pass here [ux]https://rail.shop/interrail[/ux].
Peter :)