FredEis
Traveller
1 comments
Posted 11 years ago
Howdy!
We are three lads in our best age (mid-twenties) that are looking for a summer along the railroads of Europe. None of us have been interrailing before, so we are exited to see parts of Europe we havn't seen before.
We have the three first weeks of August to spend, and the plan is to finish with five days in Ibiza.
Since we are Vikings from Norway we'll fly to Munich on sunday 28. July, so that we can spend more time in Central- and South Europe.
Our plan so far is something like this, starting on monday 29. July:
[b]2d Munchen (train to Garmisch late afternoon)
1d Garmisch (train to Innsbruck late afternoon)
1d Innsbruck (train to Verona/Venice afternoon)
2d Verona/Venice (train to Milano/Turin in afternoon)
2d Turin (train to French Riviera)
4d French Riviera (Cannes, Nice, Monaco etc.)
1d Marseille (train to Barcelona)
2d Barcelona (fly to Ibiza)
5d Ibiza (fly back to Oslo)[/b]
I think we have chosen a very doable route,specially since we want to avoid to many long transport legs. However; we are very open for tips along the road, since the cities we have put on the list are well-known, and we would very much like to visit smaller an more unknown places.
[b]1[/b] After reading a bit on the forum I've learned that several trains have a reservation fee of 10 Euro. That is not a problem on longer distances, but will be costly if we want to jump on and off at small places along the road. Are the trains in these areas likely to demand a reservation fee?
[b]2[/b] In Garmisch they celebrate Garmischer Festwoche at the time we will be there. Does anybody know if this is entertainment for people under the age of 40?
[b]3[/b] Is Innsbruck (or a town close by) worth a whole day or should we focus on getting to Italy rather quickly when leaving Garmisch-Partenkirchen?
[b]4[/b]In Italy or France we are very interested in visiting vineyards, olive fields and traditional Italian villages. Is it some good places close to our pre-planned route?
[b]5[/b] Is Marseille worth a visit, or should we choose another pit stop on the way to Barcelona?
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Hi!
Your route is a bit awkward for the existing InterRail offer...too short for the 10in22, too long for the 5in10...and the 15continuous is too expensive.
I would think that it might be the best thing for you to do to go with a combination of pre booked tickets and tickets bought as you go:
Munich - Garmisch-Partenkirchen - Innsbruck - Verona: You can book a through Europa-Spezial ticket for this route on [ux]https://rail.shop/bahn[/ux]. Search for a route Munich - Verona and add Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Innsbruck as stopover stations with 24 hours stopover each (this is the maximum available: 48 hours) and you will get a through ticket starting from 39€. Note that these tickets have limited refund and exchange policies.
Verona - Torino: [ux]https://rail.shop/omio[/ux]
Torino - Cote d'Azur: Definitely travel along the scenic Tenda railway via Breil-sur-Roya - Cuneo - Drap-Cantaron. Buy tickets locally.
Along the Cote d'Azur, make your day trips with tickets bought locally - distances are short and tickets are not expensive. In summer there probably will be the Carte Isabelle day pass that should suit you as well.
Nice - Marseille: Buy at rail.shop/sncf
Marseille - Barcelona: Buy at rail.shop/sncf Here you can either choose to go by high speed train Perpignan - Figueres - Barcelona which will be more expensive or with local trains from Perpignan via Cerbère - Portbou - Girona. In the latter case you can buy tickets for the part in Spain locally at Portbou station.
A really interesting detour that would require an extra day would be the Petit Train Jaune from Perpignan via Latour de Carol to Barcelona: [u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail/villefranche-de-conflent-to-latour-de-carol[/u]
If you have further questions regarding booking of tickets just ask. I think this will be the better option for you, as long as you can live with fixed dates for the longer legs; when making day trips in Italy and France you can buy your tickets spontaneoulsy at the station.
1) In case you choose to go with InterRail: The Innsbruck - Verona Eurocity trains require a 7€ supplement; the direct fast trains Frecciabianca Verona - Torino require a 10€ reservation, but can be avoided by taking regional trains and changing trains at Milano (same applies for Venice - Torino).
Avoid Bordeaux-bound Intercités and TGV trains between Nice and Marseille; same applies for Marseille to Barcelona: stay along the coast and travel from Perpignan via Cerbère - Portbou by regional trains without extra reservations.
2) Sure! They have beer! :D
3) You can definitely spend one day in Innsbruck. Visit the old town, take the funicular up to Hungerburg, go to Bergisel,...it is a small but relaxed town and worth visiting. :)
4) I am (sadly) no real expert for Italy, but you might have a look at Orvieto, which is quite a bit to the south but has rather good train connections; another option would be Montepulciano. However both are too far away from Verona for a day trip in my opinion, instead I would stay in Florence instead.
Not much wine along the Cote d'Azur, you should instead visit Languedoc (where you will pass on the way to Barcelona): Montpellier - Narbonne - Perpignan...I have been to Carcassonne which is really great and also worth a visit although a tiny bit off route.
5) I really like Marseille, so a yes from my side... ;) You can also enjoy a day at the beach nearby: [u]https://rail.cc/blog/scenic-train-cote-bleue/[/u]
OK, so it seems now that you may rearrange your initial route a bit depending on which additional places you want to visit - now the InterRail ticket might come back into play... ;)
Flo 8)
FredEis
Traveller
1 comments
Cheers!
The difference between a 15-days pass and 10in22 is just 30 EUR, and then we'll have the option of changing our plan along the way, so unless we can save a lot on buying tickets seperately I think we'll go for an Interrail pass, since our budget is pretty good.
We'll definitely check out the Petit Train Jaune!
The Italian towns you mention both looks very good, so I'll pass them by to my fellow travellers. Nothing wrong in changing the route.
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Alright - then purchase your IR tickets in our online shop: [ux]https://rail.shop/interrail[/ux] - thanks. :)
With an IR ticket you would also get a 20% discount on the ferries to Ibiza (from Barcelona)...