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Holidays

Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

Interrailing - anyone else??

69 replies

mikado1 · 07/01/2023 18:23

Getting ready to book our interrailing tickets, two dc u/12. Not 100% ok route as yet. Is anyone else planning or has anyone done it before that might have any advice? Looks fantastic.

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SunshineLollipopsAndRainbows · 07/01/2023 18:32

I did it at 19 with a friend & it was absolutely brilliant! We had 3 weeks. Did Paris, Switzerland, Venice & Florence. We loved the freedom & sometimes travelled a very long way to just stay very briefly somewhere eg one day in Switzerland & a night in Toulouse. Wish we’d had more time to explore all of the countries. Venice was amazing albeit smelly! I loved Paris. Was lucky enough to have visited at 16 & I worked there in my late 20s too. Wonderful city.
With kids under 12, it will obviously be a different experience but they will love it I’m sure. I would sit down with them & see what catches their eye. I bought the Eye Spy Guide to Paris which was invaluable. So envious OP! You will have a blast!

mikado1 · 07/01/2023 18:36

Oh so exciting to hear that! Thanks so much, must have been wonderful, I should have done it when younger, tho I did have an Erasmus year which was also fantastic. Thanks for the tips!

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MilkshakesBringAllTheCoosToTheYard · 07/01/2023 18:46

Did it pre-Covid with DS (then 13) and absolutely loved it. We only had around 10 days but we did Zurich, Paris, Prague, and Berlin.

Berlin is a very adult city - I felt that there were amazing clubs and parties happening around every corner that I was missing out on, but maybe that's just me!

We did a night train to Prague which was an amazing experience.

Two tips: Look at a website called the Man in seat 61 which is just full of hints and tips, routes and ticketing advice. Just brilliant and what the internet was invented for.

Secondly, price things up very carefully - I ended up not getting an interrail ticket as it was going to be cheaper to just buy individual tickets. It very much depends on how many days travel you want to do within the holiday period.

You'll absolutely adore it, it's the best holiday we ever did.

jocktamsonsbairn · 07/01/2023 19:04

@MilkshakesBringAllTheCoosToTheYard maybe you can help! I came on here to post about interrailing as dd is doing it this summer! They have booked hostes in Amsterdam and Athens and possibly have one for Berlin. They are looking for cheap but safe hostels/Airbnb/other accommodation in Prague, Vienna, Venice, Naples, Amalfi coast (I know.... ££££) and Rome. Anyone with any advice or recommendations for places to stay it would be very much appreciated!

@mikado1 which cities are you looking at visiting? We have been looking for dd so have found a good range of places! With children I'd probably try and visit a couple of coastal places or similar to have a bit of down time from the biz of cities. DD is finishing up in Athens and then they are spending last few days on the beach on a Greek island a 40 min ferry ride away!

jocktamsonsbairn · 07/01/2023 19:04

Oops and Florence!

MilkshakesBringAllTheCoosToTheYard · 07/01/2023 19:15

We hotelled it @jocktamsonsbairn Blush I was totally fine to take the train, but my hosteling days are loooong gone.

Prague has lots of cheap accommodation but there's also a real stag-do/lad culture. I'd prioritise a quiet, safe place over saving a few ££. For Venice, they should look at the islands and water taxi into Venice itself, much cheaper and lots of fun.

jocktamsonsbairn · 07/01/2023 19:18

Great advice thank you! Yes I was a bit worried about the stag do culture in Prague!

confessionstoday · 07/01/2023 19:20

I'm looking at doing this in the summer. I fancy going to Berlin and Prague. Not sure where else yet.
So following with interest

mikado1 · 07/01/2023 19:29

Sounds wonderful jocktamsonsbairn! That's my kind of route ☺ but I have to take the dc into consideration too. Yes absolutely re coastal and would love any recommendations there. A v helpful poster on an Autumn thread suggested The Hague as a finish up and resort.. Can I just get my tickets, knowing totally time and number of days travelling and then decide on the route? I know we'll have to book the actual trains.

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Paq · 07/01/2023 22:22

We did it with my then 11 year old. Trailfinders booked all our hotels and we got amazing deals through them. We pre-planned everything so we could just relax. Our itinerary was Brussels - Luxembourg - Cologne - Vienna (overnight train) - Lublianja - Zurich (overnight train) - Basel - Strasbourg - home via Lille.

If I was to do it again I'd skip Switzerland (we went because we visited friends and it was heinously expensive) and go further east instead - Hungary, Bulgaria etc. The sleeper trains were brilliant fun.

It was amazing.

Paq · 07/01/2023 22:23

Also, we went at Easter. If you are going im the summer id stick to smaller cities or slightly less touristy spots, plus remember how hot it gets in July/August.

MissAmbrosia · 08/01/2023 12:19

We did Prague, Bratislava, Budapest, Vienna, Seefeld and Munich a few years ago with teen dd. It was a fantastic trip. We tried to do 3-4 nights in each place, though only 2 in Bratislava as it's quite small. Have you looked at Seat61.com?
I would price up booking direct tickets vs interrail always as you can get some real bargains booking early. My trip above - we flew to Prague and did a lot of first class and it cost less than the interrail pass would have done. Especially if your kids are under 12 - you might get free travel for them (certainly it's the case in Belgium). It's also worth knowing that the seat reservation alone for Eurostar is about £35 per seat. Given you can book direct for not much more....

Paq · 08/01/2023 13:08

Also, apparently all train travel is now free in Luxembourg!

mikado1 · 08/01/2023 14:50

MissAmbrosia · 08/01/2023 12:19

We did Prague, Bratislava, Budapest, Vienna, Seefeld and Munich a few years ago with teen dd. It was a fantastic trip. We tried to do 3-4 nights in each place, though only 2 in Bratislava as it's quite small. Have you looked at Seat61.com?
I would price up booking direct tickets vs interrail always as you can get some real bargains booking early. My trip above - we flew to Prague and did a lot of first class and it cost less than the interrail pass would have done. Especially if your kids are under 12 - you might get free travel for them (certainly it's the case in Belgium). It's also worth knowing that the seat reservation alone for Eurostar is about £35 per seat. Given you can book direct for not much more....

Wow that's brilliant. And thank you to pp re heat in cities. Will definitely consider Easter instead.
Thanks MissAmbrosia, you've been really helpful to me before on this. Appreciate it.

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crackofdoom · 08/01/2023 15:03

I went interrailing on my own last Easter (Cornwall- London- Paris- Grasse and back), and am planning to take the kids this Easter.

The absolute saving on opting for Interrail with kids is that under 12s go FREE!!- although bear in mind you still have to pay for seat reservations with them. Another big saving for the UK based is that your inwards and outwards UK journeys are all included, and there are no reservation fees on British trains. So for example, my return journey Cornwall- London was included, and that's normally a good chunk of cash.

The absolute first thing you must do after buying your Interrail passes is to BOOK YOUR EUROSTAR RESERVATIONS!! There are only a certain amount of passholder places per train, and these are selling out early atm- especially over the school holidays. Especially for Amsterdam. If you really can't get a reservation, try Lille- you can always change there.

Night sleeper trains are great, and you should at least try one. They're a good time saver- not always a good money saver though if you have to pay for multiple berth reservations. For example, for me and the kids to take a Nightjet would cost 120 Euros, and we could probably get a hotel room/ AirBnB in most European destinations for that.

Worst countries for expensive reservations: France, Italy, Spain. Best value : Eastern Europe.

And YY to the man in Seat 61!!

mikado1 · 08/01/2023 15:05

Thanks again. Sounds like a bit of a minefield but getting my head around it.

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crackofdoom · 08/01/2023 15:14

The Interrail Travellers Facebook group is good, although often best for specific tips and niggles rather than blue sky planning.

Disneyforaweek · 12/01/2023 14:06

We did quite a few years ago! We did hotels though not the traditional hostels!

We went to Munich, Salzburg, Venice, Florence and Rome

Usernamen · 12/01/2023 16:43

Yes, interrailling this May! Berlin -> Prague -> Vienna -> Bratislava -> Budapest. Also, hoteling as definitely too old for hostels now 😝

crackofdoom · 12/01/2023 17:49

Hostels often seem to be more expensive than hotels when it's you and the kids anyway.

mikado1 · 12/01/2023 18:02

Thanks all. I'm still a little overwhelmed but maybe I just need to book my tickets and get going!! Great to see others' routes!

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NeuroWasabi · 12/01/2023 19:03

We did this a few years back, and very much enjoyed it. The highlight was a scenic train ride in the Swiss Alps... absolutely breathtaking! Switzerland was lovely altogether, but I can't remember the name of the places. It was very expensive and there was a lake and a lindt factory.

If I could do it again I'd spend more on accommodation - we used mostly hostels and very cheap options, thinking it wouldn't matter as we'd only be there to sleep - and it really wasn't great. I'd also prioritise having at least one full day and night in each city, because I was beyond exhausted. I can't remember exactly where we went, but Amsterdam, Germany, Belgium, Spain, France, Switzerland and Italy, from what I remember. In about 9 days, I believe.

We did sleep in one train, which was a couchette I believe, where the seats fold up and the beds fold down. I think they sleep 6 people. In the same compartment was a lady and her daughter who were lovely, but I think I was overoptimistic at what the quality of my sleep would be like in a moving train with strangers in the room. I'd try an overnight train again, but only with a private room.

In any case, don't forget your headphones and earplugs! The sound of the train gets very wearing after a while. Also don't forget to write down the journey stages in advance of the conductor coming around. I forgot and was accused of fraud at one point, though luckily he was laughing!

MilkshakesBringAllTheCoosToTheYard · 12/01/2023 19:23

mikado1 · 12/01/2023 18:02

Thanks all. I'm still a little overwhelmed but maybe I just need to book my tickets and get going!! Great to see others' routes!

OK, so let's see if we can break it down a bit for you.

Are you flying to Europe or getting the Eurostar? That determines your first stop - Paris, Lille, Brussels or Rotterdam.

Are you Eurostar-ing back, in which case you have to end at either Paris, Lille, Brussels or Rotterdam, or flying back?

mikado1 · 12/01/2023 19:36

Wow that was a lot in 9 days!

So we're looking at 2 weeks. We're in Ireland so we'll fly, I think to Paris or Amsterdam and hoping to get in maybe Berlin and end somewhere coastal (Ljubliana? Sp), open to recommended stops in between.

I would love the alps trip but no interest here as yet so maybe on another trjl. Thanks for info on sleepers and hostels.

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