Any interailers?

Clive_Woody

I went interrailing after I finished my degree....back in 1996. Best holiday I've ever been on. We flew to Paris with a tent and rucksacks and did a big loop down through France and Italy, ferry across to Corfu then to mainland Greece. Back to Italy and up through Austria, Germany, Netherlands and Belgium, finishing back in Paris. All in a month. Absolutely amazing time 🍺

gt568

Rosa_Damascena said:

OP - I think this is a great way to introduce children to inter-railing, it will build their confidence and also yours that they will be safe an well on future journeys as young adults.

Would I do it myself? Not in a million years!

Why Not..?

Rosa_Damascena

gt568 said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

OP - I think this is a great way to introduce children to inter-railing, it will build their confidence and also yours that they will be safe an well on future journeys as young adults.

Would I do it myself? Not in a million years!

Why Not..?

i) I don't like being away from home
ii) If travel is unavoidable, I go with the luxury option. I'll leave inter-railing to the youngsters.

Voyager2002

Rosa_Damascena said:

gt568 said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

OP - I think this is a great way to introduce children to inter-railing, it will build their confidence and also yours that they will be safe an well on future journeys as young adults.

Would I do it myself? Not in a million years!

Why Not..?

i) I don't like being away from home
ii) If travel is unavoidable, I go with the luxury option. I'll leave inter-railing to the youngsters.

First class can be extremely luxurious.

Toni'sfriend

I would definitely recommend Man in Seat 61 for research. Second class on European trains absolutely fine (very comfortable) but sometimes for a few Euros more you can upgrade to First class. I think it's something to do with paying a fee for for booking a seat on second class but not first. 

morizot

Yes, I interrail and am 60 plus.  I have been to loads of places. 
The man in seat 61 and the FB group interrail & eurail travelers are really good.
I wouldn't bother with the other FB group interrailing for the older crowd as they are pro Brexit 

gt568

Rosa_Damascena said:

gt568 said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

OP - I think this is a great way to introduce children to inter-railing, it will build their confidence and also yours that they will be safe an well on future journeys as young adults.

Would I do it myself? Not in a million years!

Why Not..?

i) I don't like being away from home
ii) If travel is unavoidable, I go with the luxury option. I'll leave inter-railing to the youngsters.

Another big concern of mine.

sirisari

gt568 said:

Hi

Anyone on here into inter-railing?  We are thinking of taken our 13 and 16 year old inter-railing in Europe this summer but we don't know where to begin.....other than maybe fly to Berlin to start with and go to auschwitz....probably 10 days.....spend a day or two at each locat....

Any tips or advice?  is it even realistic for middle aged parents?

Hello

I found this topic on X, and I came here to share my experience with interrailing with 2 children ages 8 and 12 (girl and boy). Apologies in advance for the long post. 

We started last year's Easter break in 2023 (13 days). At that time, my boy was 11, and they were both free to travel, except for seat reservations, which are per person. This year (April 2–11), I had to buy youth tickets for my son. 

Our first interrail itinerary, I bought a 10-day Global Pass but only used 7/10.

London, St. Pancras, and Brussels
Brussels-Koln (Cologne)
• 2 nights in Koln

Cologne, Germany - Chur, Switzerland
• 1 night in Chur; boarded the Bernina Express the following day to Tirano

Tirano, Lake Como
• 3 nights 

Lake Como, Milan, and Paris Gare de Lyon

• Overnight in France

Paris Gare de Lyon—Angers, France 

• Destination: Puy du Fou (Attractions) Les Epesses France
• 3 nights 

Angers at Lille Flanders (International)
*2 nights in Lille

Lille-London St. Pancras

===========================================
2nd Interrail, Earlier this month (11 days), 

I bought a 7-day Global Pass for 1 adult and 1 youth and a free Interrail pass for my daughter. 

Itinerary: 

London St. Pancras, Paris Gare du Nord, Stuttgart (night train) to Lesce Bled (Slovenia) Depart at 1 a.m. (2.04) from Devon; arrive in Lesce Bled at 7:30 a.m. (3.04).

• The OBB Night Jet train for a 3-person sleeper cabin is €239.70 (I noticed that the price has now been increased). I was disappointed at this booking as they made us board the Mav Start Sleeper train, which was not the one I booked for. I sent a complaint, and until now they haven’t responded. 
• The journey as a whole is equivalent to a 1-day Interrail pass.
• Spent 3 nights in Bled, Slovenia

Lesce-Bled-Villach Hbf (Austria)-Venice-Florence-Pisa Centrale-Pisa San Rossore

• 3 nights in Pisa (Visited Tower of Pisa, Florence, and Siena) 

Pisa Centrale - Florence - Venice
• Overnight in Venice (half-day sightseeing)

Venice - Milan- Zurich

• 2 nights in Zurich
Travelled from Interlaken to Jungfraujoch (Attractions: highest railway station, 20% discount with Interrail)

Zurich-Frankfurt

• Overnight in Frankfurt (half-day sightseeing)

Frankfurt, Brussels, and London St. Pancras

==========================

Things to consider: 

* It is not cheaper than a package holidays, after all we are visiting multiple cities. Conservatively, a budget of 1k per person

* Additional cost to Global Pass are seat reservations. If using Eurostar, it's £15 per person (as time of writing)

If you have a connecting train, and it’s a high-speed train, another £15pp or more. Some connections do not need seat reservation, you just need to show your pass when prompt. Most often they don’t check. If you can’t book a reservation on Interrail/Eurail, you have to source it outside. Trainline is okay for reference, and will show every train company on the lists. SNCF, DB (Deutsch Bahn), Trenitalia, OBB. Depends on your destinations. Some train companies do not accept Interrail passes, which means you have to buy the ticket as is, without discount. Trainline will show you the cheapest options. City trains also do not accept Interrail passes. When we went to Zurich, I had to buy it  Chf22, with a 24hr validity for Zone 1 & 2. If you’re traveling to Italy, Trenitalia have a promo: a 3-day pass for €29pp, 5 days for €49pp. But you are only allowed on regional trains, not valid on high-speed trains such as Frecciarossa. Regional trains are slow trains, they will work against you getting to your destination quickly to maximize your time.

* Traveling to different cities is time-consuming, even onboard a high-speed train. 10 days is only worth 5 full days of sightseeing. Most of the time, we are on-board the train, or waiting outside the station because the train was either cancelled or delayed. One has to be flexible when arranging one's booking. Always have plan B. 

* When booking for hotel/hostels, pay for flexibility, just if you get delayed, there's an option to cancel. 

* There's always a rush to get on to the next connection. It's helpful to know in advance which platform you will arrive at and which platform you need to go to. Deutsche-Bahn has them, but not every time. 

* Public Toilets charge €1 

* For reference: Paris Gare du Nord and Paris Gare de Lyon are two different buildings and not adjacent to each other, totally different location. You have to get out of the first building, walk to the direction on the left, straight-ahead, turn right. So it's not actually 7 minutes, as some websites claim, not unless you have no luggage with you, and you know where you're going. As I've said, time is very limiting. Our first Interrail was full of mishaps at every stop. Perhaps it's just our luck. The second time, we are more relaxed, and it's much easier to navigate as we learned our lesson the hard way the first time

* No restrictions on luggage as long as you can carry them. It's not like flying where it will wait at the end destination, we have to carry it in every journey. My children tried so hard to lift it up when getting off the train and boarding, or carrying up the staircase. We get help sometimes, but most times we managed by ourselves. 

* Eurostar in Brussels are difficult to locate as it doesn't have clear signage. Even the different platform number is hard to locate. 

With the price of airline tickets, travelling by train is a new way to discover places. My children are still young to appreciate some of the places we've been. They are just happy to go wherever, for them it's an adventure not a destination. We're always on the go, leaving the hotel early and coming back or arriving late at the next destinations. I had to explain to them in advance that after the train we're on, there's another train we need to catch. So they can count how many trains we needed to get to the last destinations. We also have to be ready at the door before our stop. Most of the trains have free Wi-Fi, so they get entertained until they go through a tunnel, then they get annoyed about getting disrupted. 

I paid for hotels rather than hostels as they are young children. It's better we have our own privacy. They like the hotels we have stayed in so far. There are fewer tourists in spring, places are affordably cheaper to book. I always choose one that is a walking distance from the train station. 

When I was still considering going Interrailing a year ago, I looked online for some real-time events. Most of the blogs I've read are just about the places they've been, talking about the actual place but no actual facts on how they got there. Most of the questions I had in mind, I couldn't find an answer online. That's why I want to share some experiences. 

Thank you for reading.

sirisari

*typo Paris Gare du Nord and Paris Gare de L'est and not Lyon. I mention this because when changing into connecting trains, like Eurostar arriving Nord (North), whilst most connecting train to Germany are in Gare d'East. If transfer time is short like less than 10 minutes, it's better to know way ahead where's the next platform and how much time you need to walk from A to B.

Lauraebrad

I'd second all of the website suggestions above.  I've interrailled 3 times now as a 40-something single parent with my son who's now nearly 12.  We've had some really great times - helped by a few simple things.  Patience, fully charged battery packs, USB adapters for tech on trains and a VPN.  The interrail app works well and the planner within it is useful for looking at options for routes. 
We've had a few good experiences on sleeper trains - it's so time efficient on longer routes, as well as the excitement factor.  There are a few good European hostel chains that we've used as well - Meininger and Stayokay in particular.  
I do think it's worth pricing up the journey with and without the interrail pass as some journeys will definitely be cheaper without - however particularly if you are in western Europe i think it works well, and especially when you consider it includes a day getting out of and back into the UK which can save a fortune.  For example Sheffield-London-Paris and the reverse is an expensive journey but included within your 2 entry and exit days. 

Last year we got a four day pass:
Day 1 Sheffield - London - Paris - Sleeper to Salzburg 
Day 2  Salzburg - Bled (Slovenia)
A week then spent travelling round Slovenia including car hire
Day 3 (of pass) sleeper Ljublana - Stuttgart 
Day 4 (of pass) Stuttgart - Paris - London- Sheffield

Previous year 5 day pass
Day 1 Sheffield - London - Brussels - Aachen
Day 2 - Aachen - Cologne - Munich
TIME IN MUNICH
Day 3  of pass sleeper train Munich - Rome
TIME IN ROME 
Day 4 of pass Rome - Milan - Zurich - Paris 
TIME IN PARIS
Day 5 of pass  Paris - London - Sheffield

Go for it and enjoy it!!