The Student Room Group

Interrailing/Eurailing Advice Superthread (IMPORTANT: FAQ at start)

Scroll to see replies

Original post by Dux_Helvetica
Dubrovnik is notoriously difficult to reach. There are no direct train services and any bus services take very long. It was because of this that I took it off my list of stops for my summer's Euro-trip.


Wow thanks for letting me know, I can't believe I didn't see that anywhere. I still really want to go to somewhere in Croatia, any suggestions?
Original post by Monkey magic
Wow thanks for letting me know, I can't believe I didn't see that anywhere. I still really want to go to somewhere in Croatia, any suggestions?


You're welcome. Well I'm stopping in Zagreb (the capital). It seems worth a visit, but if you're looking for a seaside town in Croatia I can't help you there.
Reply 942
Original post by Monkey magic
Wow thanks for letting me know, I can't believe I didn't see that anywhere. I still really want to go to somewhere in Croatia, any suggestions?


Split is really nice; is an old Roman port and has easy access to the most popular islands such as Brac and Hvar.

I would say that Dubrovnik is worth the trip though, beautiful city! I couldn't tell you anything about transport since I drove there, sorry.
Reply 943
Original post by Dux_Helvetica
Dubrovnik is notoriously difficult to reach. There are no direct train services and any bus services take very long. It was because of this that I took it off my list of stops for my summer's Euro-trip.


I think you're being a bit unfair there, as it's hardly "notoriously difficult". All you need to do is hop on a five hour bus from Split and you're there. I don't see how that is any different than getting a five hour train, which would be fine on an InterRail pass. I understand that it's a very long way if you're only visiting Croatia to go to Dubrovnik, but if you're planning on spending more time in Croatia, Dubrovnik is a must.

It's also a great way to stretch your travel past your InterRail pass deadline. I had a month global pass, but due to being in Croatia and using buses to get around, we squeezed an extra week out of our holiday, before flying home from Dubrovnik.
Original post by Syko
I think you're being a bit unfair there, as it's hardly "notoriously difficult". All you need to do is hop on a five hour bus from Split and you're there. I don't see how that is any different than getting a five hour train, which would be fine on an InterRail pass. I understand that it's a very long way if you're only visiting Croatia to go to Dubrovnik, but if you're planning on spending more time in Croatia, Dubrovnik is a must.

It's also a great way to stretch your travel past your InterRail pass deadline. I had a month global pass, but due to being in Croatia and using buses to get around, we squeezed an extra week out of our holiday, before flying home from Dubrovnik.


i'm planning my interrail journey for this summer and there is no reason why I shouldn't end up in that kind of area. What is so special about this place, I can't say i know much about it. As is with the rest of EU, partly why I'm traveling it some of it!
Reply 945
Original post by pizzle223
i'm planning my interrail journey for this summer and there is no reason why I shouldn't end up in that kind of area. What is so special about this place, I can't say i know much about it. As is with the rest of EU, partly why I'm traveling it some of it!



Simply, it's a beautiful old walled city with lots of history in a lovely location i.e. on the Adriatic (think azure seas in summer). You can go kayaking from here or explore the local islands. If you avoid the cruise ship arrivals at lunchtime then it's quieter than other 'big' European cities e.g. Prague, Venice etc. I arrived at 8am and loved it until 12pm when it got way too busy for me (this was in August, so yeah). If you go, I'd definitely recommend going on the walk around the walls. Great views!
Reply 946
Im planning on visiting the plitvice lakes while in Croatia, does anyone have any experience of this ie, getting there? And would you recommend it?
Original post by gemini89
Simply, it's a beautiful old walled city with lots of history in a lovely location i.e. on the Adriatic (think azure seas in summer). You can go kayaking from here or explore the local islands. If you avoid the cruise ship arrivals at lunchtime then it's quieter than other 'big' European cities e.g. Prague, Venice etc. I arrived at 8am and loved it until 12pm when it got way too busy for me (this was in August, so yeah). If you go, I'd definitely recommend going on the walk around the walls. Great views!


That sounds exactly like what I want as my last destination on my summer travels around Europe. Somewhere chilled and I'm assuming it's pretty reasonably priced.
This is in Portugal too right?
Yeah don't ask how I thought it was Portugal. I realize it's Croatia. I think I'll be finishing more in the spain/portugal direction.
Reply 949
Hoping to travel around some of Europe on the 22 day interrail pass, or roughly the same time by buying tickets depending on which works out cheaper.
Any ideas of how much to take? I know there isn't a set amount, but for a traveller who plans on staying in the cheapest hostels available and sleep on night trains between places, who plans on not eating at restaurants/spending any non-necessary money on food, how much would you recommend as a minimum?

I definitely want to go to Venice (by far most expensive place I would go) for 2 days, 1 night, and also considered Slovenia and lake Bled, and then moving down to Croatia.

Any other recommendations of interesting places in nearby parts of Europe? Preferably slightly less 'touristy' areas than the ones already mentioned, and also the cheaper the better! Plus I'm not sure if the interrail would be the cheaper option if I am starting in Italy for 2 days but then spending the rest of my time moving further east where travel is cheaper.

Edit: Also, does the 22 day trip pass allow unlimited travel e.g. I could spend all day hopping off one train to another if I felt like it? Not that I want to do that, I'm just thinking if I need to take a train somewhere to get to somewhere else would it use up two travels? The 7pm 'tip' confused me as I assumed it was unlimited.
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 950
myself and 3 friends are planning to go interrailing this summer and have just spent two days finalising our plans. we are three 16 year olds and a 15 year old, but are all very mature. we plan to buy the 22 day unlimited travel pass and travel around some of europe when we finish our exams this summer. the will be visiting:
Germany - Mainz (1 day), Wolfsburg (1 day) and Berlin (2 days)
Czech Republic - Prague (2 days)
Austria - Vienna (2.5 days)
Hungary - Budapest (1 day)
Venice (3 days)
Italy - Rome (and The Vatican) (4 days)
France - Paris (4 days)

we are looking to see the main attractions and not spend a lot of money on food or travel within the cities. i think paris is just about sorted, and there is plenty to see in Rome, but does anyone have any suggestions of things we ought to see while we are in these cities (preferably free/cheep attractions) or the best ways to travel in the cities (bus or metro?) and any other tips you have for traveling like this, as it is our first journey of this scale!
any advice would be greatly valued - thanks :smile:
Hi Trig,

First off, yeah 22 days pass is unlimited travel. you can jump on and off any train but bear in mind you might have to reserve a seat. Make sure its a global pass. Heres a link which I used for planning my train journeyshttp://www.bahn.com/i/view/GBR/en/index.shtml

Budget wise the countries you've listed aren't that expensive. Where are you planning to travel other than these?, I can then give a rough estimate. In slovenia lake Bled is full of tourists but visit it anyway as its good view. Visit lake Bohinj also in Slovenia its less touristic and bigger than Bled.

With Croatia, Zagreb you could do in one day (not much to see). Split is nice but its all the way down south so takes longer to get to. Bus is quicker option.

Other place you'd like is Mostar in Bosnia and maybe Budva in montenegro (Good coastal town if you wanna go the beachy type area)

Other thing I'd say is by the time you're in eastern europe the interrail pass is not really needed as you can get cheaper tickets and buses.

From my two times interrailing I've found that 2.5 days is enough to get to know the city.

Hope thats helped. Ask me if you have any questions :smile:
Original post by Rian1988
Looks like there are plenty of short connections, have a look here http://www.raildude.com/en/train-connections-city/nice-milan/france-italy/90


I think that's the one I'd seen before - just that it doesn't let you check train times for specific journeys, so I'm still a bit worried about the journey from Nice to Milan.
Original post by SLlewellyn
I think that's the one I'd seen before - just that it doesn't let you check train times for specific journeys, so I'm still a bit worried about the journey from Nice to Milan.


Raildude timetable are reliable but you can check here http://www.bahn.com/i/view/GBR/en/index.shtml. Just enter the cities to and from etc.
Original post by hmm123
myself and 3 friends are planning to go interrailing this summer and have just spent two days finalising our plans............


Hi hmm123,

First thing I gonna mention check Hostel age requirement. Most are happy for under 18's. You might like to book a room which has 4 beds in it rather than dorm.

The route looks OK but you might get tired travelling too fast, it is possible though :smile: Also you have to consider the fact that it takes a couple of hours to get to the next city or country. BTW which country your starting from and to?

The trains have set times. Best advice I can give you, if wou'd like to save money is to take night trains. Best to reserve seats as they're often cheaper than hostel prices. Be careful on night trains as you would in the UK.

Normally what I do is when I arrive in a city I go to the ticket office and ask them when the next train will be to that city.

In Berlin you can take a free tour which if I remember correctly starts ar Berlin dome the big church looking thing. Same goes for Czech republic, Austria and Hungary. Don't forget to tip these guys and girls as they usually do it for free.

Travelling wise try and use your interrail pass as much as you can. In Germany you can you it on most trains. Again Same goes for Czech republic, Austria and Hungary.

Hope thats helpful.
(edited 11 years ago)
Can anyone help point me towards any websites that would give me fares for trains in Eastern Europe? I've heard it is a lot cheaper to do without the pass but I can't find anything that proves that! Thanks :smile:
Original post by Chapeau Rouge
Can anyone help point me towards any websites that would give me fares for trains in Eastern Europe? I've heard it is a lot cheaper to do without the pass but I can't find anything that proves that! Thanks :smile:


Here you go...

http://www.seat61.com/Europe-train-tickets.htm - Look for the relevant country and click the link to open. Tip: Most sites are in other languages but there are usually english icon to change the site into well english :smile:

For me this book was invaluable, just make sure you get the latest edition. http://www.thomascookpublishing.com/Rail%20Guides/65/European%20Rail%20Timetable/
Original post by Chapeau Rouge
Can anyone help point me towards any websites that would give me fares for trains in Eastern Europe? I've heard it is a lot cheaper to do without the pass but I can't find anything that proves that! Thanks :smile:


I'm fairly sure this is true, I haven't used any websites in particular looking up for my planned route is Berlin - Prague - Wroclaw - Krakow - Budapest - Pécs - Novi Sad - Sarajevo - Split - Ljubljana

and I've looked up about the first half of the journeys to come up to a bit over approximately £50

basically just by typing into Google 'how to get from Berlin to Prague' then exploring all the results, forum posts, Yahoo answers etc. so I've included coaches as well trains

just think about some of the journeys you might take, look them up and see for yourself! :smile:
Reply 958
Hey,
Some friends and i are planning to go interailling in the summer for 22 days, do you think this route is possible/ good, or anywhere we have missed,

Brussels-Ghent-Bruges-Amsterdam-Munich-Salzburg-Viennia-Budapest-Bled-Prague-Berlin

Thanks :smile:
Original post by _holly_
Hey,
Some friends and i are planning to go interailling in the summer for 22 days, do you think this route is possible/ good, or anywhere we have missed,

Brussels-Ghent-Bruges-Amsterdam-Munich-Salzburg-Viennia-Budapest-Bled-Prague-Berlin

Thanks :smile:


I personally think it's a bit too full! When we went with the 5 days in 10 days ticket and went to 5 cities over 14 days and it was just too much to see in too little time. Would have been better to drop a city and had a bit more time at each one. From your list I would drop maybe one of the german ones or Amsterdam - there's enough in those to go for a week holiday or something whereas the others I think you have much better chance of getting to see most of it in 2 or 3.

Also, Bled is beautiful - enjoy that! :smile:

Quick Reply

Latest