richy93
Traveller
1 comments
Posted 12 years ago
Hey!
A group of anywhere from 2 to 5 of us are looking at how viable the above trip would be. I seem to be the organiser, but i'm not a seasoned rail-traveller so i'm sorry if some of these questions are quite naive! The trip should take around 20 days, with us travelling on a 10 in 22 days Interrail pass. We will be stopping for around 3 days in Switzeland, 4/5 days in Rome, a few more days in Croatia and 1or 2 days in Paris and Venice using campsites as they are cheaper and provide a base to leave all our heavy gear for just a backpack and some water.
Our current plan is to catch a connection Eurostar train (Cardiff to London to Paris) and that's quite straightforward for us. After that, we were looking at campsites in the Berne/Interlaken area of Switzerland, but Paris-Berne isn't mentioned in the railcc guide. Is there any reason for this, such as it's not possible to travel using an Interrail pass on that route?
The next problem for us comes with getting from Rome to Split (via Venice.) Would this require a train to Venice, a different train to Zagreb then a different train again to Split? And if so, are we looking at a one night stay in Zagreb?
Lastly, is there anywhere online where we could find some information on local train times, such as when they stop? So say if we arrive in Rome in the night, we can plan ahead and see if the local trains are still running or not.
To sum up... The trip would ideally be: Paris --> Berne --> Rome --> Split --> Venice
Would this mean travelling, say: Paris --> (Lyon) to Berne --> (Florence) to Rome --> (Vienna to Zagreb) to Split --> (Zagreb to Vienna) back to Paris --> Home.
Any advice on how this trip could be most efficiently done would be most welcome! Any night trains suggestions, possibilites of paying extra for a train if it's quicker, the best routes and so on would be most helpful!
Thanks, Richy.
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Hej Richy!
We offer handmade connections for many routes thorughout Europe on railcc :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/search-interrail-route[/u]
These connections are recommended to InterRail/EuRail travellers as they often show you are way to avoid trains with expensive extra reservations, or run via a scenic route or are just simply the best connections on a special route.
However, since we are no big company we cannot (yet) offer these connections for every route in Europe. If you do not find for example Paris - Bern in our database, please use the online schedule planners :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/search-interrail-route[/u] or ask us here in the forum . :)
With a 10in22 InterRail pass I would suggest a route more or less like this:
Cardiff - London - Paris by Eurostar (with a regular ticket, do not use InterRail for travelling on Eurostar since supplements are hefty!)
In Paris, the campsite is at Bois de Boulogne, let me know if you need more info and also have a look here :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/paris/campsite-bois-de-boulogne-paris/l874[/u]
From Paris, you could get a night train to the Cote d'Azur :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/train/paris-to-nice[/u] (and make Switzerland on the way home) Then either stay one day or so in the area or directly proceed along the coast to Italy :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/train/nice-to-rome[/u] You could also stay somewhere along the Italian coast, maybe in the Cinque Terre area. :)
Then to Rome. While travelling in Italy, take care not to use AV/ES trains for short legs as they require a 10€ reservation - better use regional trains or IC for shorter distances. :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/train-type/italy/it[/u]
The most elegant way to proceed to Split would be the ferry Ancona - Split. The alternative would be a rather complicated trip via Venezia - Ljubljana - Zagreb as you've said. There are currently to trains crossing the IT <> SI border so this is indeed not the best way to go. ;)
If you took the ferry, you could then go Split - Zagreb (possible by night train) :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/train/split-to-zagreb[/u] and then you have to do the above mentioned complicated trip to Venezia. First, you will have to go to Ljubljana, then as described here: :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/train/ljubljana-to-venice[/u] (via Nova Gorica). Another nice route would be to go to Sezana from Ljubljana, then by bus to Villa Opicina, then use the tramway to go down to Trieste. From there by train to Venezia. Ask if you need details. ;)
Venezia - Switzerland: You will have to go to Milano first (either by fast AV train with 10€ reservation or by slower regional trains), from there you have several possibilites.
To Bern/Interlaken: Via Domodossola - Brig; there are direct EC trains again with 10€ reservation; alternatively you can use regional trains but theses do not operate frequently
To Zürich/Luzern: via Chiasso - Arth-Goldau; as above either with direct EC trains with reservation or using the more frequent regional trains
To Graubünden: via Tirano to Pontresina/St Moritz/Chur with regional trains without reservations.
I would recommend the latter option as in includes a fanstastic alpine railway, the Berninabahn :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/train/st-moritz-to-tirano[/u] You could camp at Morteratsch :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/morteratsch/accommodation/c[/u]
From Zürich, Bern and Lausanne frequent Lyria TGV services operate to Paris (9€ reservation), on the way home you could try the Calais - Dover ferry if you dont want to use Eurostar twice.
For more questions, just ask - and if you want to support our work at railcc, please purchase your IR passes at our partner, thank you! :)
Flo 8)
richy93
Traveller
1 comments
Thanks for the super-fast reply Flo!
LINK TIMED OUT
I've arranged a basic timetable according to your suggestions, would you be able to take a quick look and let me know if i'm on the right track please? :D
Light green indicates days of travel (using the Interrail pass).
Light blue indicates days of no travel.
Light red indicates a day of no travel until the night.
And lastly, white indicates a day when you arrive at the destination in the night.
The times at each place are subject to change.. I'd like to spend more time in Paris and have a go a French since i'm supposed to be learning some! But I've tried to keep the trip around 18 days for the sake of my girlfriend (she doesn't want it to be too long) and budget. I'd rather have extra to take advantage of trips, excursions and entry into museums et cetera.
I'm not sure about which route into Switzerland to take yet. And as for the Ljubljana to Venice route, I like the straight to Venice route but what will we do when we reach the Italian border though? It's a bizarre scenario!
[quote](Train to the Italian border. Change to the bus and cross the border. Continue by train. Or direct night train.) [/quote] I found this on the Ljubljana --> Venice route. Is it possible to take a direct night train without getting off at the Italian border or is this from an older route?
I have another question too, the most important one in fact... What kind of time period do you need to book the Interrail ticket in advance of your trip? Is it only enough time to allow postage?
Thanks for the reply again Flo, it's extremely helpful. I was especially surprised about the camping in Paris option.. That's pretty cool. Also, I'd be happy to support railcc by buying my ticket here too!
Thanks again, Richy.
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Hi,
it is a bit complicated...if you want to make full use of your IR pass I think you should rearrange the route a little and visit one or two extra places.
Anyways, some thoughts on your current route.
- Staying in Paris with your girlfriend in order to learn French may not be the best idea...you wont have that many chances to try your French since in most touristy places it happens easily that you will talked to in English if you are not really fit in French (personal experience...) ;)
- Cardiff - Paris: If you decide to go by Eurostar you do not have to use your IR ticket for the London - Paris leg as you will find regular tickets bought in advance cheaper than the supplement you would need to pay if you'd travel with IR. So, it'd be ok if your IR ticket was valid only on the day you leave Paris for Nice (or elsewhere).
- If I'm not mistaken you want to use the night ferry to Split? I think it'd be much more interesting to travel during the day; especially since accomodation in Croatia wont be very expensive
- Plitvice. Humm...not really accesible by train. The nearby stations have to bus connection to the National Park and the distance itself would be a rather long +40km...so, bus ([u]https://rail.cc/en/plitvice-lakes/train/c[/u]) is the way to go. You could even go Split - Plitvice and Plitvice - Zagreb which would mean that you wouldnt use the IR ticket for about one week...
- Switzerland. As I've said before, I can strongly recommend the Berninabahn with the campsite in Morteratsch. However, you should then prepare for a possible cold night as it is one of the highest campsites (if not _the_ highest) in Europe at over 1800m. We were there in 2010 and at night temperatures were barely above freezing point at night. But during the day it was really nice. :)
Another nice area is around Luzern with the Vierwaldstätter See; and several nice mountain railways nearby.
- Ljubljana to Venice: :arr: [u]https://rail.cc/en/train/ljubljana-to-venice[/u]
The direct night is currently suspended, which means that there are no trains across the border. YOu have the following options to get to Venice:
a) Ljubljana - Nova Gorica by train (either via Sezana or via Jesenice, the latter being the more scenic option), in Nova Gorica leave the train and walk to the Italian station in Gorizia (Nova Gorica and Gorizia are twin cities) from where you can reach Venezia either via Udine or via Monfalcone.
b) Ljubljana - Sezana by train; then crossing the border either by foot (~4km) or by bus to Villa Opicina, then by the old tramway down to Trieste, from Trieste frequent direct trains to Venezia
c) Ljubljana - Koper then Koper - Trieste by bus and to Venezia as above
- Shipping of ticket. Standard shipping takes about one week so I would order at least one week before your departure.
Flo 8)