DD Interrailing

Like others, I went inter railing for 30 days long before mobile phones and long before the internet.
We just had a train pass and a budget of about £10 a day/night for all accommodation, food, treats, entrance to places etc. That was back before the Euro so we had to spend all coins each time we moved country and get currency for the next country. No contactless then and we didn't have credit cards etc.
We sent my Mum one postcard, and I think sent my Gran one postcard and that was it. We didn't have an itinerary, so our parents had no idea which country we were in even.
It was a different time, but so much easier for us as parents now than it must have been for my parents to wave us off.
My dc has just got back from inter-railing and they had been able to look things up beforehand on the internet, and they had contactless cards for spending, and had things like Google maps to search for anything. It is SO much safer than it ever was.

I went to Greece for 3 weeks at 19 in 1984. Managed to phone home once when one island had a public phone line. Otherwise no contact. Looking back my parents must have been nervous. My sister is 8 years older than me and inter-railed in one of her uni summers so they’d had practice.
she’ll be fine. It’s no unreasonable to be nervous for her. It would be unreasonable to let her know you are. And you should try to reassure your younger DD too.

Sounds fabulous- I am jealous. They will have a great time & get loads of life lessons.

Just make sure she does have travel insurance (easy to forget) and let her enjoy this time. You can buy things in Europe if you need stuff (although less is better imho).

Sounds fabulous. The only things is get her to do are to make sure she leaves you with photocopies and digital copies of her passport, ghic, insurance documents and ticket(s) and maybe any credit card/etc too, so that if they do encounter a problem you will be able to provide some support. Likewise if you have a copy of her travelling companions' details and they have their parents having your dd's details. And she needs to take a photocopy of her details with her and have them accessible online (eg in a Gmail account) so that she can access them too if needed - if she does have a problem and loses her passport it's much easier to get it reissued and sorted out if she has all the info with her.
If also get her to have a money belt and/or money scrunchie/etc that she can put some money and cards in - she's not going to want to rely on just keeping things safe in her main bag and day bag!

Also make sure she knows what to do if she does have a problem - something is lost or stolen, will she need to report it to the police, get a crime number, report from the hostel or anything else? If she wants to claim on her health insurance, will she need to use her ghic first or does she need to call the insurance 24 hour helpline before doing anything for a claim to be valid? And so on... Different situations, different policies, different countries etc - just so long as she is aware of all the'obligations' that some of these things come with - if she were to have her bag stolen it would be gutting to discover that she wasn't covered because she didn't get a crime number at the right time or that her health cover didn't cover the initial treatment because she hadn't phoned up before going to the hospital...

Also try to persuade her to take pictures of lots of the little details as she goes around - tickets, name of places, attractions, stations, snacks, being in supermarkets or food shops, places where she stays, as well as the main sights and her friends - it will really help her remember her trip when she comes back and make for a much better photo book if she decides to go down that route for making her memories afterwards, bit will also be nice to talk through and show you and her sister on her return, without putting pressure on her at the time. If she is able to upload it to something like Instagram or Amazon prime photo storage (if you have Prime? It's got good free photo storage!) as she goes, and you're able to see what's going on then that's a bonus for you :)

Make sure she leaves plenty of space in her rucksacks and bag before she goes on case she wants to buy any souvenirs or gifts, and that she takes at least 1 plastic wallet that she can seal watertight to put all her leaflets, brochures, tickets, maps, guides etc in as she travels around.

Encourage her to have a fantastic time and say that you and dd2 are looking forward to hearing all about it on her return. Can she do anything to get dd2 interested or involved rather than worried? Even if it's just too take pictures of dogs that she thinks she will find cute or the biggest cream cakes she spots in each destination... Something that will change the narrative around and not make it as worrying...

She's with a group of friends and it sounds like she's sticking to the more developed European countries. She'll have a blast.

I did inter railing at 18 and it was a brilliant experience. I remember feeling very grown up and learning a lot about culture on the various walking and cycling tours. I also have a memory of cycling through Tiergarten in Germany and almost crashing at the shock of all the old naked men!

Sounds amazing! I loved interrailing. It was one of the best times of my life.

You should be really pleased you've raised such a confident and adventurous daughter

Sounds fabulous, what an amazing summer she’s having.

Don’t let on you’re worried or annoyed at not spending time with her, wave her off with a big smile. It’s not about you and I mean that kindly. Be thrilled she’s so proactive and confident enough to do this.

My DD did this at 18 and it was an incredible experience.

I went off to Greece with a friend after A levels for several weeks (got home the day before we got our results)

This was 1976. Not only were there no mobiles, my parents hadn't even got a landline installed so apart from writing a couple of letters home, they had NO idea how I was getting on.

ps When I did it it was pre-mobile phone /social media and I was asked nicely to call once a week! My parents must have fretted slightly, but never let on.

Yabu.
I went at 18 and had a great time. Well nearly fell out with my friend but we held it together and are still great friends many years on.
Some annoying experiences but no dodgy ones. Met loads of lovely people. I’d recommend it to any young adult.

just make sure she has good insurance and in it all goes horribly wrong have cash on hand to pay for a flight home.

Definitely. I was ill abroad and my replacement GHIC hadn't arrived and I was able to use the code on the email.

YABU-she’s an adult. Leave her to it and don’t worry at all - she’ll be with friends. They’ll have an amazing time

When mine did this, I transferred some money half way through the time. You always spend more than you think, and it can be nerve wracking counting days v money left! Try and send her off with a smile-cry once she's gone! Avoid putting any guilt at all on her. Don't put any pressure on her to keep in touch. "It would be lovely to see the occasional picture if you get the chance"

Interrail holidays are fantastic, and a great antidote to a break up! I can understand your younger daughter missing her, especially if she's leaving for uni at end of summer but really I hink u need to address her anxiety re trip. I'd have thought most 13 year olds who's sibling was going off on such a trip would be envious, imagining where they'd go etc. I think maybe given you suffer from some anxiety yourself, that you should do your best not to let her see it, and remember kids see and hear way more than we think! Hope she has a lovely trip !

Relax - she is an adult. Of course she wants to do this and will have loads of fun. I did similar when I was under 18 just with one friend.

Well, at this point the vote is 100% YABU.
That should tell you something.

I mean, YA not BU to worry about them.
It is part of loving someone, to be a bit worried when they are away.
But YABU to make this about you and about your younger dd.
This is exactly the sort of thing she should be doing at 18, and she is lucky enough to have the money and friends to do it with.

I expect there will be odd things that don't go according to plan - that is all par for the course but dealing with those blips and learning from them is all part of the journey.
She will have a blast.
Please don't try to bring her down by putting a dampner on it.

Not even train cancellations will be an issue - the inter rail app is great for planning changes to routes. DH and I took 3 weeks off and went recently, I wish I’d had the finances to do it as a student!

Mine managed to lose most of her possessions (fortunately not her passport) and get wrong trains to the middle of nowhere on her first solo trip. But she came home excitedly planning the next time.

Be glad yours is going with a mate so you won’t get a text saying ‘I’ve lost my wallet and my card and my phone charger and I have 4% on my battery what do I do tell me quickly??’

(Western Union, for emergency cash transfer, if you were wondering. Just don’t lose the passport on top.)

Ds went interailing earlier this year 3.5 weeks, came home & then moved in to his first home with his dp, he gets married in August. It feels sad that he most likely won't ever live at home again.

I agree, good response @ChannelyourinnerElsa .
My DD and her friend traveled all over Morocco when they left school (this was 25 years ago!) they didn’t tell me until they returned that they’d actually flown to Madrid then hitchhiked!
No mobile posh phone then other than the most basic.
I just made sure they had good travel insurance and kept my fingers crossed!

I went interrailing at that age. All over Europe. Was 25 years ago so no mobile. I rang my mum from a phone booth once a week and had the time of my life.

Just relax and let her enjoy the experience. It is a completely normal thing to do. Do not ruin if for her with your anxiety. She is in a group. It will be absolutely fine!

Allow her to experience life, it's lovely for her and her friends to stretch their wings, be happy for her, you can't beat an adventurous spirit.

Perfect reply and exactly what I was about to write so thought I’d just repost yours instead!

Now I want to go interrailing again.

Well jealous.

You should be thrilled for her, OP. Not only that she's getting to do a bit of travelling, but that she has good friends to do it with.

If you need something to focus on, perhaps turn your attention to your DDs's anxiety issues before they start to impact her life in a negative way.