3 ms·

Yes. It was called Interrail. You had to have an EU Passport to buy this ticket. And be below 26 years of age. I think it still exits.

brabel 2y ago
I travelled Europe on night trains almost exactly 20 years ago as well, and I was not an EU citizen back then... I guess I just paid more than with interrail? Just wanted to mention it was possible, and must've been pretty cheap as I was broke as hell at the time.
- rconti 2y ago
  Eurail passes (for non-EU citizens) were cheaper than interrail passes. You needed a non-EU passport, and a non-EU address. I ordered one to my parents' house in the US and had them FexEx it to me in Europe.
ben_w 2y ago
It's still around, I used it in 2016 aged 32. I've not heard of any age requirements. https://www.interrail.eu/en https://www.interrail.eu/en
- bpye 2y ago
  There is a cheaper ticket for 12-27.
GuB-42 2y ago
It still exists: https://www.interrail.eu/ https://www.interrail.eu/ You don't have to be younger than 26 to buy one, not anymore, but it is cheaper if you are. If you are a EU citizen, it gets you free, unlimited travel by train in most European countries. If you are not a EU citizen, there is the Eurail pass that is similar. But that's the theory. In practice there are important limitations: - You can't use it in your home country, except for a single round trip: in and out. - If you make a reservation, you will have to pay reservation fees, and many long-distance and high-speed trains only have reserved seats. - Not all seats are available to pass owners, if you want to travel in these seats, you will have to pay full price. And considering that the pass itself is not that cheap, you really have some planning to do to see if it is worth it. In many cases, it isn't.
- sourcepluck 2y ago
  The word "free" is being ruthlessly abused here, surely... If I follow the link there, it costs 239E for a 5-day pass, where each of the 5 days must be used in a 1 month period. That's not "gratis", that's 47.8E per day the train is used?
- sazor 2y ago
  Not citizen but resident of EU country. Last summer Spain’s Renfe offered huge discount for a pass for people under 31. Only for paper version though which is slightly less convenient but worth it anyway. I guess other eu countries could have similar seasonal discounts.
  - bpye 2y ago
    And to nit pick, it's not just the EU, for example the UK is still included post Brexit.
- sakjur 2y ago
  For non-Europeans: https://www.eurail.com/en https://www.eurail.com/en There are some home country limitations for Interrail, but I’m not really sure why the passes are still kept separate beyond that. It seems Eurail and Interrail are mostly identical beyond the residency/anti-residency requirements.
- freetanga 2y ago
  Or no planning at all, as I did 26 years ago. Meet some people in a cafe in Paris, agree to all go to Amsterdam for 2 days, grab your bag and then find a hostel when you arrive. I spent 2 months without knowing where I was going to wake up the following day. No mobiles, only lifeline home being a pay phone call every week. Not the same stores in every city as it is today. Life was beautiful back then and we did not know it.
  - GuB-42 2y ago
    I understand what you are talking about, and you can still do that, but it is going to be expensive. Or at least, expensive for a typical 20-something heading out to explore the world. Times have changed, and now like it or not, we are in the internet and smartphone age. The best travel deals are online, the cheapest accommodations are also found online. The Interrail pass is a bit of a relic, it can still be useful, but if you have no plan and limited cash, you are probably better off chasing last minute deals on your trusty smartphone. And yes, I think we have lost something, disconnecting is hard, and stores tend to be all the same these days, and finding something interesting to bring back home is becoming a difficult task now that you can order everything online. But I also think we gained something. The language barrier is breaking down. More and more people speak decent English as a secondary language, smartphones come with pretty decent translators, plane tickets are ridiculously cheap if you are not too picky. Getting in touch or keeping contact with people on the other side of the planet is almost too easy, great for exchange. When travelling in a group (even a temporary group), having mobile phones cuts down on the time waiting for people to gather, and offers more freedom than "let's meet at a precise place at a precise time", which is one of the most annoying parts of travelling in a group. Now, I talked a lot about "cheap". That's because while travelling, I consider using money to be like cheating. You can do everything (well, almost) with money. Want to do a smartphone-less trip, randomly hopping into trains? You can, with money. Finding a ho(s)tel without price-checking online first? Sure, with money. Cheapening out is a good way to keep a "no plan" travel unplanned. But yeah, now there are smartphones involved. And life is still beautiful. In my opinion, more beautiful than it has ever been, but in different ways.

brabel 2y ago

I travelled Europe on night trains almost exactly 20 years ago as well, and I was not an EU citizen back then... I guess I just paid more than with interrail? Just wanted to mention it was possible, and must've been pretty cheap as I was broke as hell at the time.

rconti 2y ago
Eurail passes (for non-EU citizens) were cheaper than interrail passes. You needed a non-EU passport, and a non-EU address. I ordered one to my parents' house in the US and had them FexEx it to me in Europe.

ben_w 2y ago

It's still around, I used it in 2016 aged 32. I've not heard of any age requirements. https://www.interrail.eu/en https://www.interrail.eu/en

bpye 2y ago
There is a cheaper ticket for 12-27.

GuB-42 2y ago

It still exists: https://www.interrail.eu/ https://www.interrail.eu/ You don't have to be younger than 26 to buy one, not anymore, but it is cheaper if you are. If you are a EU citizen, it gets you free, unlimited travel by train in most European countries. If you are not a EU citizen, there is the Eurail pass that is similar. But that's the theory. In practice there are important limitations: - You can't use it in your home country, except for a single round trip: in and out. - If you make a reservation, you will have to pay reservation fees, and many long-distance and high-speed trains only have reserved seats. - Not all seats are available to pass owners, if you want to travel in these seats, you will have to pay full price. And considering that the pass itself is not that cheap, you really have some planning to do to see if it is worth it. In many cases, it isn't.

sourcepluck 2y ago
The word "free" is being ruthlessly abused here, surely... If I follow the link there, it costs 239E for a 5-day pass, where each of the 5 days must be used in a 1 month period. That's not "gratis", that's 47.8E per day the train is used?
sazor 2y ago
Not citizen but resident of EU country. Last summer Spain’s Renfe offered huge discount for a pass for people under 31. Only for paper version though which is slightly less convenient but worth it anyway. I guess other eu countries could have similar seasonal discounts.
- bpye 2y ago
  And to nit pick, it's not just the EU, for example the UK is still included post Brexit.
sakjur 2y ago
For non-Europeans: https://www.eurail.com/en https://www.eurail.com/en There are some home country limitations for Interrail, but I’m not really sure why the passes are still kept separate beyond that. It seems Eurail and Interrail are mostly identical beyond the residency/anti-residency requirements.
freetanga 2y ago
Or no planning at all, as I did 26 years ago. Meet some people in a cafe in Paris, agree to all go to Amsterdam for 2 days, grab your bag and then find a hostel when you arrive. I spent 2 months without knowing where I was going to wake up the following day. No mobiles, only lifeline home being a pay phone call every week. Not the same stores in every city as it is today. Life was beautiful back then and we did not know it.
- GuB-42 2y ago
  I understand what you are talking about, and you can still do that, but it is going to be expensive. Or at least, expensive for a typical 20-something heading out to explore the world. Times have changed, and now like it or not, we are in the internet and smartphone age. The best travel deals are online, the cheapest accommodations are also found online. The Interrail pass is a bit of a relic, it can still be useful, but if you have no plan and limited cash, you are probably better off chasing last minute deals on your trusty smartphone. And yes, I think we have lost something, disconnecting is hard, and stores tend to be all the same these days, and finding something interesting to bring back home is becoming a difficult task now that you can order everything online. But I also think we gained something. The language barrier is breaking down. More and more people speak decent English as a secondary language, smartphones come with pretty decent translators, plane tickets are ridiculously cheap if you are not too picky. Getting in touch or keeping contact with people on the other side of the planet is almost too easy, great for exchange. When travelling in a group (even a temporary group), having mobile phones cuts down on the time waiting for people to gather, and offers more freedom than "let's meet at a precise place at a precise time", which is one of the most annoying parts of travelling in a group. Now, I talked a lot about "cheap". That's because while travelling, I consider using money to be like cheating. You can do everything (well, almost) with money. Want to do a smartphone-less trip, randomly hopping into trains? You can, with money. Finding a ho(s)tel without price-checking online first? Sure, with money. Cheapening out is a good way to keep a "no plan" travel unplanned. But yeah, now there are smartphones involved. And life is still beautiful. In my opinion, more beautiful than it has ever been, but in different ways.