Interrail itineries

[interferringma]

We did this as students in the 80's and were seduced by the recent Interrail Sale. So we're off in October!
I really fancy Istanbul and then meandering back via Vienna and berlin. But it won't be like the actual Orient Express on normal trains so I'm getting cold feet! Anyone done this?
Alternatively, please tell me you itineraries and what worked. We're deep in planning mode! xx

Chuff chuff. Toot toot. Anyone?

There are quite a lot of restrictions about which trains you can travel on with Interrail tickets. When DD went interrailing three years ago they had to get four trains from Paris to Amsterdam even thugh there was a through train. Also it is often the same price or cheaper to buy individual tickets.

If you have a route planned then I would check prices on The Trainline and Man in Seat 61.

That's interesting @RampantIvy
When DS did it 8 years ago it was plain sailing, and DD did it two years after that.
Hope the rules haven't changed in the interim!

Watching with interest. Did it 40 or so years ago and thinking of doing it ( May even splurge on first class)

DS has just come back. He managed Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon, Seville, Munich, Frankfurt, Nuremberg and Brussels in just over 2 weeks! I was so jealous I’m thinking of joining him next summer

I did this in 1987. Best experience. I did France, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Holland, Greece and Italy.

I’m interested in why visiting lots of places but never getting a true experience of them is worth anything at all? I love exploring cities and cultures and I don’t see how sitting on a train does that? Why not visit fewer cities for longer? Covid rules are not the same everywhere are they?

@TizerorFizz I'm interested in that too! But 40 years ago when I first interrailed I couldn't afford to do or see much. I even slept on station playforms! Plus I live in the sticks and often have a hankering fir a giant dollop of history and culture. What better way?
Plus the tickets were on sale so we've nabbed first class!

Well I understand that it’s cheap but the travelling time must far outweigh the culture and history you can experience in such short time in each place I think.

Don't you think travelling on local trains with local people is part of the experience? Rather than milling around in a vast airport departure hall? My memories of interrailing may be rose tinted with age but I recall waiting on a platform in deepest Hungary before the fall of the Wall, and the only food available was corn cobs cooked by actual gypsies. I can still smell it. Wonderful!
It'll be interesting to see if rail travel is now more sanitised

Never did interrailing but I've used high speed trains in Spain and Italy and they are very very nice indeed! Certainly better than Northern fucking Fail. And cheaper. Sanitisation can be a good thing.

I fancy it! I could do loads of cities in 2 weeks.

I agree with your comments about Northern Fail @Dauncets.

God they're dreadful aren't they @RampantIvy .

Still. Maybe there's a nice wee Hungarian somewhere reminiscing about her time spent on gritty local transport with the pissheads and brawlers. (Joke, OP 🤣. Well, sort of.)

Gee this place is weird tonight! I'd love to hear itineries and am excited about my trip. If you don't fancy interrailing that's fine. Don't do it!
I live in the back end of beyond far from any stations so I dream of any rail links good or bad!

Sorry OP

If your ticket includes high speed trains use those. They honestly are brilliant. If not then travel overnight in sleepers to maximise time in your destinations.

Thanks @Dauncets that was my hunch so we'll make that a plan.

Oh I was tempted by the sale too! One the interrail website they have some "package tour" itineraries that might inspire you.

Have you found the Maninseat61 website? He did explain the sale when it launched, but he has fab up to date sections for most of Europe. I think he also keeps an eye on "Rail Travel" in the Tripadvisor forums.

Have fun.

Id love this.

Seat61 is fantastic as others have said

We got sail tickets too, way cheaper than flights and train journeys that we were intending to do even with the upgrades.

To answer your itinerary question Belgium- Germany-Switzerland-Austria.

I agree with @TizerorFizz that spending so much time on a train that you see very little of where you visit seems rather pointless. When DD went interrailing they spent 2 - 3 nights in each city they visited.

Her Interrail ticket had the wrong dates on, so I ended up having to book point to point tickets through the Trainline at the eleventh hour. This is when I discovered that Interrail tickets had so many restrictions. I could have booked her a ticket straight through from Paris to Amsterdam, but her boyfriend's Interrail ticket meant that they had to make three changes en route.

I also discovered that Trainline tickets cost pretty much the same as an Interrail ticket.

The other piece of advice is make sure you pre-book accommodation.

I’ve been by train to Istanbul (and beyond - went on to Tehran and Esfahan) but it was over a decade ago. We did Eurostar to Paris, night train to Vienna, breakfast and morning there then afternoon train to Budapest. Few nights there, then night train to Belgrade. Few nights there then day train to Sofia, changed to overnight train to Istanbul.

We have also splurged in first class in the sale! We are hoping to do Paris for 2/3 nights then head on TGV to south of France, then maybe up to Strasbourg, somewhere in west Germany and up to Belgium or Holland. Really interested to see what others are thinking about. I’m excited about the planning of it too!