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Yeah, the current price on the Interrail site for under-28 is 503 euros for a month. That'd be great for unlimited rail travel through Europe, but then you real

Yeah, the current price on the Interrail site for under-28 is 503 euros for a month. That'd be great for unlimited rail travel through Europe, but then you realize you have to pay extra for many of the trains you'll want to take. For example, you want to take a night train? In Spain you'll pay a €35 surcharge for a bed, in France 19-25€, for any international OBB Nightjet 34€ [0]. You want to take a high speed train? The TGV will set you back either a 10€ or 20€ fee (the 10€ seats sell out earlier.) In some countries you can travel mostly freely within the country (e.x. the Netherlands, no registration or fees or anything required, just scan the pass and get on the train) but in those countries there are almost always cheaper unlimited passes of various length, or excellent deals available if you're slightly flexible. I think a lot of people have the fantasy that they'd turn up in a train station somewhere and just jump on the train to Paris, or Amsterdam, or Berlin, or Barcelona or what have you. The reality is that all of those trains are high speed and require reservations, and those reservations sell out or increase in price if you want to get them last minute. If you do want to live that experience you'll be better served by a truly unlimited national pass, or something like France's Carte Jeune, which is a discount card currently available for 25€, and provides solid discounts on French and some international trains. Now, if you don't care about exactly how you get somewhere, or how fast you're going, and you'll be visiting 20 countries and you don't want to mess with 20 different discount cards and train websites in different languages, then Interrail/Eurail is perfect for you. You'll pay a moderate premium over what you'd pay with a pile of discount cards or subscriptions, but it'll save you a world of complexity. You won't be able to just step onto the train Amsterdam to Paris, but you can step on the train to Antwerp, from there to Lille, Lille to Amiens, Amiens to Paris. In a way, that's also more true to the style of old Interrail many remember from the 70s-80s, before high speed international trains even existed. That will cost time, though. Some routes are the same speed or similar with regional or high speed trains (41 minutes vs 1:10 for Amsterdam-Rotterdam, 1:58 vs 2:14 for Antwerp-Lille etc), some routes are short enough it doesn't matter much, but a lot of the longer distances will take a while to cross. Crossing the 1000km of France will take you at least an entire full day of slower train travel, while the TGV will take you from Paris to Marseille in 3 hours, 4:30 from Lille to Marseille. If you want to see how much you'd spend in reservation fees with an Interrail/Eurail pass, this is the page: https://www.interrail.eu/en/plan-your-trip/reservations/reservation-fees https://www.interrail.eu/en/plan-your-trip/reservations/rese... [0] https://www.interrail.eu/en/plan-your-trip/reservations/reservation-fees/night-train-reservation-fees https://www.interrail.eu/en/plan-your-trip/reservations/rese...

vertex-four 6y ago
The trick to Interrail is that you avoid Spain, France, and Italy - reservations are generally free or cheap outside of those countries. It's also handy if you need to get from somewhere aside from London in the UK into Europe - UK trains have no fees, and the Eurostar is 38 euros each way (it's extortionately priced otherwise), so even just hopping over to Berlin via Brussels becomes cheaper with Interrail most of the time.
- owenversteeg 6y ago
  Well, if you avoid those countries then you're only left with places where buying trains as you go (or a national pass) is more effective. In the Netherlands, easily available discount tickets will get you around far cheaper than Interrail (or a short unlimited subscription, also cheaper if you do really want that freedom.) In Germany, Interrail is really only cheaper if you want a last minute non-crowded ICE. A last minute crowded ICE won't have Interrail spaces available, and non last minute ICEs will work out cheaper to just book on your own. Non ICEs, you have plenty of options to travel cheaper, including the Quer-durchs-Land-Ticket, which gives you unlimited non-high-speed trains for a day after 9am. If you do want a last minute ICE, then your best bet is the German Rail Pass, which has the unique ability to let you take any German train at any time, including ICEs, with zero reservations. A powerful pass, a bit pricey though (cheapest pass is 3 consecutive days for 1 youth, 139 eur, up to 15 nonconsecutive days in 1 month for 1 youth, 369 eur) So, I'm not sure about the situation north(west) of the Netherlands, but for anything south or east of the Netherlands Interrail isn't super cost effective. Thanks a bunch for the tip about non-London places in the UK! That's a golden tip, because train prices inside the UK are really extortionate. I'm trying to figure out if that only applies to the global pass, it looks like the Eurostar discount applies to other passes also, but presumably not the free booking on through the UK: "Please note that journeys with Eurostar require a compulsory seat reservation and must be booked in advance. If you hold an Interrail Global or Interrail One Country - France, Great Britain or Benelux Pass you are entited to a special Passholder Rate. Simply contact Eurostar directly on 01233 617 575 to reserve (...and when booking, remember to tell them you have an Interrail Pass so you are given the Passholder rate!)" I wonder if it applies to the Britrail pass? Britrail seems to be far cheaper than Interrail, 57 eur for a youth pass for consecutive 2 days... Otherwise, the plain Interrail Great Britain pass starts at €166 for 3 days, and the Interrail Global pass €185 for 4 days within 1 month.

vertex-four 6y ago

The trick to Interrail is that you avoid Spain, France, and Italy - reservations are generally free or cheap outside of those countries. It's also handy if you need to get from somewhere aside from London in the UK into Europe - UK trains have no fees, and the Eurostar is 38 euros each way (it's extortionately priced otherwise), so even just hopping over to Berlin via Brussels becomes cheaper with Interrail most of the time.

owenversteeg 6y ago
Well, if you avoid those countries then you're only left with places where buying trains as you go (or a national pass) is more effective. In the Netherlands, easily available discount tickets will get you around far cheaper than Interrail (or a short unlimited subscription, also cheaper if you do really want that freedom.) In Germany, Interrail is really only cheaper if you want a last minute non-crowded ICE. A last minute crowded ICE won't have Interrail spaces available, and non last minute ICEs will work out cheaper to just book on your own. Non ICEs, you have plenty of options to travel cheaper, including the Quer-durchs-Land-Ticket, which gives you unlimited non-high-speed trains for a day after 9am. If you do want a last minute ICE, then your best bet is the German Rail Pass, which has the unique ability to let you take any German train at any time, including ICEs, with zero reservations. A powerful pass, a bit pricey though (cheapest pass is 3 consecutive days for 1 youth, 139 eur, up to 15 nonconsecutive days in 1 month for 1 youth, 369 eur) So, I'm not sure about the situation north(west) of the Netherlands, but for anything south or east of the Netherlands Interrail isn't super cost effective. Thanks a bunch for the tip about non-London places in the UK! That's a golden tip, because train prices inside the UK are really extortionate. I'm trying to figure out if that only applies to the global pass, it looks like the Eurostar discount applies to other passes also, but presumably not the free booking on through the UK: "Please note that journeys with Eurostar require a compulsory seat reservation and must be booked in advance. If you hold an Interrail Global or Interrail One Country - France, Great Britain or Benelux Pass you are entited to a special Passholder Rate. Simply contact Eurostar directly on 01233 617 575 to reserve (...and when booking, remember to tell them you have an Interrail Pass so you are given the Passholder rate!)" I wonder if it applies to the Britrail pass? Britrail seems to be far cheaper than Interrail, 57 eur for a youth pass for consecutive 2 days... Otherwise, the plain Interrail Great Britain pass starts at €166 for 3 days, and the Interrail Global pass €185 for 4 days within 1 month.