radujlo
Traveller
10 comments
Posted 12 years ago
Hi guys,
I'm leaving tomorrow on my 2 weeks InterRail trip and would just like to check if I planned the right routes, so I don't have to pay for reservations. Are the below ok, free rides, except the ones with brackets? If you can just have a quick look and tell me from your experience that would do, I don't need any detail info.
1. Switzerland (I understand here that to Zermatt I have to pay and if I go up to Jungfraujoch and Pilatus). Do I need to check at each station on which train I board, to make sure it's free? I will take several routes from Geneva to Sargans (3 days). Flo already gave me some insights on what I can visit.
2. Austria: I plan to stop in Innsbruck, then head to Salzburg where I will stay for one night. I might go around Salzburg to some villages / castles, then to Vienna. At some point I will come back to Vienna and head to Ljubljana.
3. Czech Republic: train from Vienna ([u]https://rail.cc/en/train/vienna-to-prague[/u]), then around the country, to Brno, then Brno to Bratislava ([u]https://rail.cc/en/train/prague-to-bratislava[/u])
4. Slovakia: Bratislava - Vienna
5. Slovenia: Ljubljana - Bled and maybe Ljubljana to Croatia (either Zagreb or at the seaside)
6. Croatia: to the Pltivice lakes or to the seaside
7. Hungary: from Zagreb to Budapest
8. Romania: from Budapest to Bucharest. Will take the one at 19.10 ([u]https://rail.cc/en/train/budapest-to-bucharest[/u]). Seems quite expensive and I that I won't get any discount in Romania, as I am Romanian. Is it like this or did I miss anything?
Besides all, can it happen that at the train station I am told that I need to reserve a seat, even if I am not obliged to do that?
Thank you for everything.
Cheers,
Radu
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Hej Radu.
1) I dont know your exact route but have a look at the map here :arr: [u]http://www.bueker.net/trainspotting/map.php?file=maps/switzerland/switzerland.gif[/u]
Routes where you have to pay extra as it is a private railway which not accepts IR - or only gives a discount:
Visp - Zermatt (MGB Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn); MGB also operates Visp - Brig - Andermatt - Göschenen/Disentis; from VIsp to Brig you can also use regular SBB trains
The narrow gauge network south of Interlaken. Several different operators which do not accept IR
The narrow gauge railways starting in different cities of the Rhone valley between Aigle and Martigny.
Trains to Rigi
Meiringen Innertkirchen Railway in case you want to go to Aare gorge
That's about it. All other routes should be included. You probably will be using SBB (state railway, all IC and IR trains), MOB (Montreux Oberland Bernois, from Montreux to Zweisimmen via Gstaad), BLS (Bern Lötschberg Simplon, from Brig to Spiez - Bern, Zweisimmen - Spiez - Interlaken and regional services around Bern), ZB (Zentralbahn, Interlaken - Meiringen - Luzern and Luzern - Engelberg), SOB (Südostbahn, from Luzern via Arth-Goldau to St Gallen, the train is called Voralpenexpress.
You wont need reservations at all, just hop on the trains.
Switzerland is a really nice country, if you are in doubt, just ask someone at the station.
2. No reservations needed within Austria. Avoid the Westbahn trains between Salzburg and Wien as they do not yet accept IR
3. No reservations needed for CZ, only avoid Supercity trains but you wont need them on your route
4. No reservation needed
5. Dito
6. Reservation (1€) needed for IC and ICN trains; Plitvice is hard to reach by train, better go there by bus: [u]https://rail.cc/en/plitvice-lakes/train/c[/u]
7. No reservation needed
8. Yeah, you need a ticket for travelling in Romania. Get it before departure at your CFR station, I think you wont get a discount though.
No, dont think that you will be asked for a reservation if there is no need to have one.
Hope that helps, enjoy your trip! :)
Flo 8)
radujlo
Traveller
10 comments
That's perfect, thank you again Flo, that's exactly what I needed.
Have a great travel time.
Cheers,
Radu