Inter railing questions

[Frith2013]

Has anyone been inter railing?

Can you just step on a train anywhere in Europe without paying? I know it does not include Eurostar but am I right in thinking it pays for you to get from your local station to London?

We (2 sons and me) are planning London to Paris, Paris to Switzerland, Switzerland to Italy, Italy to Germany, France then home over a week or so in August. Looks to me that it will be cheaper for us to buy an inter railing ticket rather than so many different ones!

Thanks for any advice.

I believe for certain trains (specifically high-speed ones in Germany) you have to pay a zuschlag (supplement), and you have to pay for the bed in an overnight train. I also thought you could not use them for domestic travel, but i am willing to be corrected.

Thanks.

It got so complicated as they all seemed to need reserving, that I've just booked and paid for each journey. Except a small leg in Switzerland which can't be reserved.

I couldn't find anywhere how to reserve but not pay the full price!

Many Swiss railways are privately run but you may get a reduction in fares.