HopeEast
Traveller
2 comments
Posted 5 years ago
I\'m planning a first Interrail Global Pass trip, 5 days travel for 15 days. I have to be in Faro, Portugal on a certain date to meet up with friends, so that first trip will be to get there as fast as possible, without stopovers. So I checked on loco2 : TGV#9810 Brussels Midi at 07:08 to Lyon Part Dieu at 1:30, then from Lyon Part Dieu at 11:10 TGV#6811 via Nîmes 12:31 - 13:07 TGV#9713 to Barcelona Sants 16:34, from Barcelona Sants 17:00 AVE#3172 to Madrid Atocha 19:45. I take the metro to Madrid Chamartin where I take the Renfe Trenhotel 00332 at 21:43 to Lisboa Oriente 7:20. There I will take the train to Faro (have all day to get there). That is 2 days on the pass.
First question for this trip, when I pick Lyon - Barcelona and it goes via Nîmes, do I pay 2 reservations or 1? Are the trains I looked up outside Interrail (you can only check once you have bought the pass, but I need to know it\'s possible to do my trip before I buy) possible on Interrail, as long as they work together? I know TGV, AVE, Renfe are accepeted.
I\'m returning from Seville in Spain. 1 day pass for the trip Seville - Barcelona, where I stay a few days. Then I will take the 2 local & scenic trains via the Pyrenées (Latour de Carol) to Toulouse, no reservations, 1 day on the pass. Both train rides are about 3 hours, but there is a wait in between (no idea how long) I stay 1 night in Toulouse (unless I arrive early afternoon and travel on with a local train). And the next day I take the TGV#8508 from Toulouse Matabiau at 11:49 to Paris Montparnasse 16:13, take metro to Paris CHarles de Gaulle TGV - take train TGV#9865 at 19:07 to Brussels Midi 20:43. That\'s the last day on the pass. So that is quite a number of train reservations to pay. I don\'t think I can avoid it on the trip to Faro, as time and good connections is of essence. But is there a way to go from Seville to Barcelona without reservations? And would travelling from Toulouse to Brussels be possible without TGV?
Any tips are welcome! I\'ve already spent hours planning this, pfff.
HopeEast
Traveller
2 comments
I\'ve been reading on for more info, and checking the reservations price via the ACP link. However, not all point to point trips are possible to make reservations for. Eg Brussels - Lyon or Nimes - Barcelona. However I can buy a ticket with reservation. Does that mean that with Interrail I cannot do the reservation?
traiveller
Traveller
25 comments
Hi,
why not via Irun? Thalys to Paris Nord, Metro to Montparnasse, TGV to Hendaye, Bus to Irun. Arrival 18.00. Night train to Lisboa Oriente at 18.45, arrives 07.20. Could also be 08.00 or 09.00, happened to me twice. Not that much important if you only continue to Faro.
Or : Lille Flandres TGV to Bordeaux 10.20 to 14.52, TGV to Hendaye 15.02 to 17.35, Bus to Irun 18.00.
Depends of where you live, Lille is easy to reach in the morning from Antwerp or Gent.
Quenzon
Traveller
97 comments
Hi,
about going from Brussels to Faro: Loco2 and Omio are great for buying tickets and comparing prices, but I wouldn\'t use them for planning more complex trips, since they only show you the trains they are currently able to sell. A much more comprehensive trip planner, with timetable information about most trains in Europe is available at [ux]https://plan.rail.cc[/ux]
The connection to the night train to Lisbon is now at Hendaye, where the TGV from Paris terminates. Here is a sample itinerary for Friday, 7th of September (Timings might vary for different travel dates, the route should be the same) :
Bruxelles Midi dep 08:43 THA 9412 Discount rate for Interrail pass holders, but you still need a ticket.
Paris Nord arr 10:05
Continue by Metro 4 direction Mairie de Montrouge, get off at “ Montparnasse Bienvenue”
Paris Montparnasse dep 12:48 TGV 8541 Reservation required
Hendaye arr 17:35
Hendaye dep 18:35 HOT 313 Night train with sleeping cars, reservation required
Lisboa Oriente arr 07:20
Lisboa Oriente dep 08:23 IC 180 Reservation required
Faro(P) arr 11:23
How to buy Thalys tickets: [ux]https://rail.cc/blog/thalys-paris-cologne/[/ux]
How to buy Interrail reservations for the TGV: [ux]https://rail.cc/blog/interrail-reservation-guide-tgv/[/ux]
How to buy Interrail reservations for the Hendaye-Lisbon night train and onward to Faro: [ux]https://rail.cc/blog/night-train-irun-madrid-lisbon/[/ux]
If their website doesn\'t work, give ACPRail a call [ux]https://rail.shop/acprail[/ux]
If you want to avoid having to buy a Thalys ticket, I recommend this connection (timings for September 7th) :
Bruxelles Midi dep 07:08 TGV 9810 Reservation required
Aeroport Paris-Charles de Gaulle arr 08:22
Take RER (mass transit) line B to “Gare du Nord”
From Gare du Nord, continue by Metro 4 direction Mairie de Montrouge, get off at “ Montparnasse Bienvenue”
Paris Montparnasse dep 12:48 TGV 8541 Reservation required
Hendaye arr 17:35
Hendaye dep 18:35 HOT 313 Night train with sleeping cars, Reservation required
Lisboa Oriente arr 07:20
Lisboa Oriente dep 08:23 IC 180 Reservation required
Faro(P) arr 11:23
If you have any questions, please don\'t hesitate to ask.
Have a nice trip!
Quenzon
Quenzon
Traveller
97 comments
About the trip back:
Since almost all trains in Spain require a reservation, it\'s not really possible to go from Seville to Barcelona reservation-free. Your best bet is the direct AVE high speed train at 8:50.
Sevilla Santa Justa dep 08:50 AVE 3943 Reservation required
Barcelona Sants arr 14:25
On the local train from Barcelona to Latour de Carol, Interrail is not valid. This train is part of Barcelona\'s "Rodalies" suburban network. A one-way ticket should cost about 20 Euros. This train is not listed on plan.rail.cc, but schedules are available here: http://rodalies.gencat.cat/en/horaris/index.html (Type in "Barcelona-Sants" to "La Tor de Querol-Enveig", which is "Latour de Carol" in Catalan). This is a stunning, scenic ride, I highly recommend it!
From Latour de Carol to Toulouse, Interrail is valid. You don\'t have to stay overnight in Toulouse if you don\'t want to, another option is the night train to Paris (either directly from Latour de Carol or with change in Toulouse):
Latour de Carol-Enveitg dep 18:51 D 3970 Night train with couchette cars, reservation required
Paris Austerlitz arr 06:49
If you\'d rather travel during the day and see more of the country, take TGV8508 from Toulouse.
Please note: If you haven\'t already bought your pass, I would definitely check if buying point-to-point tickets isn\'t cheaper than the pass and the reservations. On trips in France and Spain, you often can get a better deal if you book regular point-to-point tickets. Use https://rail.shop/omio or and Loco2 to compare prices and book as early as possible for cheap deals.
Again, please if you have further questions, please don\'t hesitate to ask.
Quenzon
Flo
Traveller
10723 comments
Since when shouldnt Interrail be valid on the (RENFE operated) Rodalies lines in Barcelona? I have travelled there in the past without troubles...
Apart from that, while individual tickets can be cheaper overall, Interrail still works out not too bad if you plan correctly (as already suggested): regional trains to Paris (or, if needed TGV Lille - Paris), then TGV to Hendaye/Irun, Surex from Hendaye/Irun; return via Lusitania night train to Madrid and AVE to Sevilla (would be my preferred option compared to a potential day trip via Badajoz or the bus option via Faro; then direct AVE Sevilla - Barcelona and back home as described above (with only one reservation needed either for the night train to Paris or a daytime TGV.
Quenzon
Traveller
97 comments
Hi HopeEast, hi Flo,
Thanks for the correction about Interrail on the Rodalies: I think a few years back, Interrail was not valid (or I was misinformed by local staff). Good to know that that\'s changed.
An Interrail pass does give you more flexibility in case you want to change your plans, but in this case, it may be worth it to compare prices. Another option that hasn\'t been mentioned are the low-cost high speed trains Ouigo and Izy, which you might be able to use.
Izy, Paris-Brussels: https://www.izy.com/en
Ouigo: Paris-Bordeaux and Paris-Montpellier: https://ventes.ouigo.com/en-GB, available at https://rail.shop/omio
Best,
Quenzon