What’s the best way to visit as many European capitals as you can without wasting too much time, while also exploring hidden gems? Of course, planes are efficient. But, if you add the time spent at the airport, the fact that these facilities are far from city centers and the stress often connected to this travel method, trains suddenly seem a much better option.
So, how can you make the most of European trains? Interrail, of course!
Never heard of it? Let me explain.
What Is Interrail?
Interrail (or Eurorail for those without European Union citizenship) is a train pass allowing people to travel on several trains within EU countries for a fixed price. You can choose either a “global pass” valid for all EU destinations, or a “one country pass.” As the name suggests, the latter is only valid for a single country. Passes can be used for a number of specific days within one or two months. These can either be consecutive or not.
Here are a few tips to help you level up your trip:
Interrail tips I wish I’d known
After traveling more than 20,000 kilometers with Interrail to more than 10 countries on four major trips, I learned a few tips and tricks for the smoothest train journeys. Here are a few suggestions I wish someone had given me when I first started.
Reservations are A must
Don’t ignore those emails reminding you to book your reservations well in advance. They are not spam. When it comes to the most popular routes, such as night trains traveling within Western Europe, tickets tend to sell out fast, especially in the summer.
In addition, some reservations need to be mailed to your home address, which can take two weeks.
A little tip: Try to book your reservations on the train’s official website since Interrail charges you two euros for every transaction.
Unfortunately, not all train reservations can be made online. Some of these must be done in person at the station. If this is your case, no need to worry. The vast majority of the time, you’ll be easily able to reserve your seat once you arrive at the station. However, this depends on how many people are in line in front of you, meaning that you may miss your next train, so budget some extra time.
In general, train reservations can easily be purchased last-minute in Eastern Europe, though they may not always be available during the high season in Western Europe.
Don’t trust the app
Story time! A few weeks ago, I was about to travel between Amsterdam and Asti, a small city in Italy. Unfortunately, the app showed no options arriving on the same day of my departure unless I was willing to pay for a reservation. Yet, after adding an extra stop to my trip, namely Rho Fiera Milano, the perfect trajectory suddenly appeared on the screen.
Long story short: don’t trust the app.
It’s not perfectly optimized, and more than once, I found a better trajectory by looking for different routes manually. This can be as simple as adding a stop and seeing if the algorithm gives you a better option, or checking different routes on the train operator’s official website. Studying the main train routes of a country can be of great help.
Extra random tips
• If you wrote the name of a city and can’t find it, try to look for the name of the station. For instance, it’s not Istanbul, it’s Halkali.
• Beware of splitting trains. Just like Hogwarts’ stairs, they like to change midway. Some cars go to one destination, and others go to another. If in doubt, ask the conductor.
• If you are traveling only within Eastern Europe, Interrail may not be your cheapest option. Trains here are super cheap (and unfortunately very slow).
• An important note about Deutsche Bahn. All EU citizens complain about their country’s train service, yet Germans have a good reason to do so. Beware of delays and cancellations when traveling through Germany.
• Lastly, take it slowly. Opting for a train instead of a plane means enjoying a more relaxed pace of traveling. You may miss a connection and have to spend the night in a random town in the middle of nowhere in Romania.
If something like this just happened, smile. The best part of your journey is probably just about to start.
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See more about train travel here in Dispatches’ archives.
Cristina Miceli
contributors, and her work has been featured on several publications, including The Cabo Sun,
Bookmundi, SleepingInAirports, and more. Cristina is a huge promoter of slow travelling and
prefers long train rides to quick flights, analogue photography to selfies, and unknown towns to
massive metropolises. When she’s not writing breaking news or reporting her latest adventures, you may find her
drinking way too much tea, reading whatever book she found on the road, or playing her
classical guitar. Cristina has travelled to more than 30 countries on three continents, always slowly. One of her proudest achievements is a trip from Italy all the way to Gambia, avoiding planes.
