Rail Europe holiday advice

[creamcheeseandlox]

Hello. Want an adventurous interrail type holiday for me dh, DD 14 and ds 12 in August. Don't know where to start. Done lots of backpacking when younger so don't mind living out of bags etc. Main wants...few city stops Inc Amsterdam but really have Scandinavia in my mind...Northern Norway, fjords, want to see wildlife and swim in lakes etc. Max 14 days. Where do I start. Is an interrail ticket the best way to do this rather than plan and buy a ticket each day? Are sleeper trains an option? Pre set routes?

Throw some ideas at me please.

All you'll ever need to know about rail travel has been put together by Mark Smith - The Man in Seat 61 > The Man in Seat 61 | The train travel guide

As for a trip - I'd take the ferry to the Hook of Holland or Amsterdam (or fly if you're OK with that) and then travel north towards Hamburg, then Jutland in Denmark (Esbjerg, the west coast, Aarhus, Billund, Kolding, Sonderborg) and then either further north to Skagen/Hirtshals for a ferry to Norway, or turn East and look at Odense, Roskilde, Copenhagen, Malmo, Bornholm and back via the German Baltic coast (Rostock, Lubeck) and back to the UK via the Netherlands.

Alternatively, if time is short and you're happy to fly, fly to Aarhus in Denmark and then trek north to Skagen/Hirtshals, then a ferry to Norway, tour Norway, then back by ferry from Oslo to Copenhagen (or train from Norway to Sweden and then a ferry from Gothenburg to Denmark, or continue by rail to Malmo and then on to Copenhagen, from where you fly back to the UK).

Definitely Seat 61 website as a starting point. Scandinavia is expensive so Interraill pass likely to be the cheapest option. (Italy and Eastern Europe tend to have cheap train prices, so it's always worth weighing it up). Trains, like planes, tend to get more expensive the closer to travel.

So like this sort of route.... Harwich to hook if Holland, stay in Amsterdam, then onto Hamburg, then north to Denmark, Gothenburg, Oslo, Bergen then fly home from there. How does that sound.

@creamcheeseandlox Yes, that route is doable. To fit in your itinerary by train you'd just have to do Amsterdam - Hamburg - Copenhagen - Malmo (or Helsingor-Helsingborg) - Gothenburg - Oslo - Bergen.

Ok this sounds plausible then. Is the Legoland in Denmark worth visiting?

@creamcheeseandlox Legoland in Billund is OK, but kids aged 12 and 14 who are into Lego would probably prefer the Lego House, which is also in Billund.

But - Billund is a detour from your route. You'd have to travel from Hamburg to Vejle in Denmark (easy enough, either direct or with a change at Fredericia) and then take a bus from Vejle to Billund (takes under an hour). To get the most out of the day(s), stay in Billund overnight - Zleep Hotel, Lalandia, Lego Hotel and several other options; Billund is a very small town and everything is within walking distance. You could of course start your trip in Billund - there are several flights a day from various UK airports, mostly by Ryanair so usually very affordable. From Billund take the bus to Vejle, then the train to Copenhagen ...

I did an Interrail holiday last year and the pass included the Eurostar. I did it to Brussels then got trains in France, Switzerland and Germany.

Am going to do it again this year but do more Belgium and maybe Holland and Denmark as well as France.

Just be aware of trips that you have to pay reserved seats which aren't included in the Interrail ticket.

I looked at my potential trips first so I could get the best value without routes where you have to reserve seats. Worth a look.

https://www.interrail.eu/en

Thanks. This is useful. If we decided against it would it be easier just to go straight to Copenhagen and miss out that part of denmark, or it is worth visiting anyway?

@creamcheeseandlox Much as I like Jutland, with your timetable I'd go straight to Copenhagen - perhaps stopping off at Roskilde to visit the Viking longboats.

There is easily enough in Jutland to fill a two-week holiday, but it is a detour from your route to Norway and Sweden.

There are a few sleepers that might fit your route.

For example;
Brussels/Amsterdam to Berlin;
(Brussels 19.22) - Amsterdam 22.34 - Arr Berlin 06.18
Return
Berlin 22.56 - (Amsterdam 06.26) - Arr Brussels 09.27

From Berlin to Stockholm;
Berlin 18.37 - Arr Stockholm 09.57
Return
Stockholm 17.34 - Arr Berlin 09.25

or
Berlin 21.10 - Arr Stockholm 13.20
Return
Stockholm 16.20 - Arr Berlin 07.46

Hamburg is an option rather than Berlin, but arrivals are rather early in the morning.

And from Stockholm right up North;
Stockholm 18.08 - Arr Narvik 12.40
Return
Narvik 15.11 - Arr Stockholm 10.09

(Obviously timings may vary)