Favourite Interrail country ?

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Hej!

Well, this is not easy to say...because even though you have to get extra reservations for many trains in some countries IR is still a good offer. We actually should compile such a list for the railcc website...
In the meantime, some rough info (my personal view): ;)

Night trains are excluded from this notes and are treated separately at the end.

InterRail is probably most easy in [b]Central Europe[/b]:
In Austria, Germany, BeNeLux, Switzerland, Denmark, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia you can use almost every train of the participating train companies without paying extra for reservations.
The most notable expectations would be the Thalys and Fyra services in Benelux. Thalys reservations are really expensive but luckily there are still convenient alternatives which you can use without paying extra. The Fyra services in the Netherlands require a supplement but are not of much use to InterRailers as there are enough free alternatives available.
Also, for the SuperCity trains in Czech Republic you need an extra reservation, but as above you have enough alternatives without extra paying.
In Switzerland with its numerous smaller train companies you can use almost all important ones without paying extra. On the MGB which operates part of the Glacier Express route you get at least a 50% discount with a Youth Pass. Sadly, you have to pay full for the railways in the Jungfrau area. If you want to go with one of the famous other alpine railways (ie Glacier Express, Bernina Express) you have to get a reservation, but you can use regional trains instead that run on the same route.
In Slovakia you need cheap reservations on some of the faster IC trains.

In [b]Northern Europe[/b], there are only some minor complications:
In Finland and Sweden you have to get extra reservations for their high speed services, S2 and X2000/Sanbbtag respectively. On most routes it is quite easy to get by these trains and use other services instead.
In Norway you formally need reservations for all long distance trains but it is no problem to just hop on without and ask the conductor for free seats - you wont get kicked off the train. It is similar in Finland.

In [b]Western Europe[/b] it is easy:
In both the UK and Ireland you do not need any reservations. Just hop on the train and enjoy.

However, the situation in [b]Southwestern Europe[/b] is more tricky.
In all France, Italy, Spain and Portugal reservations are obligatory for most long distance trains which can get rather expensive if you have to change trains often. Therefore, travelling in these area needs a little more preparing work than elsewhere.
In France you need reservations for the high speed TGV as well for the TEOZ trains. These are 6€ normally but the quota for IR is limited which can mean that you have to pay a higher fare of up to 18€. To avoid this, book early or get an Abo Forfait 2eme reservation instead...which is not 100% official but accpeted by most conductors and much cheaper. You can also ask the conductor directly at the station if you didnt get a reservation...you will likely can hop on the train, sometimes with paying extra (12-18€) sometimes without. As the country is large, regional trains are not always an alternative so if you are travelling longer distances, get reservations for the fast trains, for shorter distances you can save your money and travel with the slower regional trains instead.
In Italy, the fastest trains AV and ES(City) have 10€ compulsory reservations which seems quite expensive at first. However, similarly to France they make sense especially on larger distances.
In Spain there are numerous different branded long distance services with either 10€ or 6,50€ reservation. To save money it is important to plan carefully to not use too much trains with reservations. Sadly, there are almost no alternative regional trains on most routes so you will have to travel with the fast trains in most cases.
In Portugal the long distance services AP and IC have 8€ and 4€ reservation and it is difficult to get by these as well. For shorter distances you can look for regional services but for longer distances use the IC/AP trains.

In [b]Eastern Europe[/b] situation is rather complicated.
You need reservations for all most long distance trains in Poland, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. In Romania, domestic trains require an extra supplement which can be rather expensive on longer journeys but reservations for international journeys are quite cheap. In the other countries, reservations costs are quite cheap but there are numerous train categories to which different rules apply.
In Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia you need reservations only on some selected services in Croatia and Servbia (~1€), all other trains are free.

In [b]South Western Europe[/b] you need reservations for most trains.
In Turkey and Greece reservations are required for most trains.

Night trains usually consist of seated accomodation plus couchette and sleeper wagons. For the latter you always have to get a reservation which ranges vaguely from 15€-150€ depending on country and comfort category.
Seats often need a reservation as well, mainly in the following countries: Portugal, Spain, France, Germany, Austria (services to Germany and Italy), Sweden
In most other countries you do not need reservations for a regular seat on a night train.


For me personally it is hard to pick a favourite IR country...


Flo 8)

Head
Traveller
101 comments

I would vote for Germany: extensive network, almost no high-speed supplements and compulsory reservations, good night connections (including those by ICE/IC), excellent information service and definitely the best IR brochure )

orestgreece
Traveller
44 comments

excellent description Flo ... I think you helped a lot of people with this description to choose their interrail trip ;)

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Thanks - more detailed infos for each country will be online soon. :)