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devan
Traveller
2 comments

Posted 16 years ago

hi! im going on interrail next summer and i really dont have a clue about what im doing can anyone help me out on planning? a few tips perhaps...
i dont know how to plan my route and how long itll take from city to city so im a bit stuck right now with the planning part and if anyone could give me a bit of advice about how i can do all these i will be veryyy grateful:)

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Peter
Traveller
9330 comments

replied 16 years ago

hi Devan ...

to plan your city-to-city trips, use this website with all european train schedules:
[u]https://rail.cc/en/search-interrail-route[/u]

and your tour ... there are a lot of nice places in Europe... depending if you prefer nature or going to music clubs or ... ;)

let's hear what other interrailers write here ... :)

have a lot of fun,
Peter :)

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devan
Traveller
2 comments

replied 16 years ago

thanks for the website this is will help me out quite a bit:)
do you think that im maybe planning all this a bit early because im thinking of going in july?

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Peter
Traveller
9330 comments

replied 16 years ago

No, I think it is not to early ... but relax and do not plan to much. do not plan every single travel day... the best is: just look around now, find nice places in Europe you want to see.

And then when starting your tour, visit these places ... it will be fun.

But you will always meet other travelers during your tour (hostels are nice places to exchange ideas, places you must see and so on...).
And sometimes you join them, when you have a good understanding and the same route for some days...

So enjoy the feeling of InterRail: being free !!
Don't plan too much!!
And if the weather is bad, take a train and travel to a country where the sun is shining !! :)

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anonymous
Traveller
2467 comments

replied 16 years ago

When I went on my first trip I had some clue about wich places I wanted to visit, like barcelona and paris for example, but I tried to go to as many as possible just to get a grip of whole europe. Then the next time I travel I can choose the one I really liked and explore them more. And the places you didn´t like you can just ignore... enjoy your trip! and as peter wrote DON´T PLAN TOO MUCH!

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admin
Traveller
203 comments

replied 16 years ago

Hi,

I've done it several times. The way I do it is by a whole lot of browsing on the net and research in books like Lonely Planet to find places that appeal to me. Then I work-out a route: mostly overnight trains, so that I don't waste days sitting on trains. I like to have lots of variety in my trips and with overnight travel you can go from city centre to city centre in different countries very easily: e.g., Amsterdam-Zurich-Berlin-Krakow-Prague, etc. The Thomas Cook European Rail Timetable has all the info you'll need for planning and journey times etc. You can also get discounts for ferries from Italy to Greece, for example. Have a good look at Interrail's website: you'll find a lot of interesting and useful information and discounts there.

You can get a cheap flight to the start of your tour and book another flight for getting back from the last place on your tour. Many Interrailers arrive a couple of days before the pass is valid so that they can save travel days. Last year I stayed in the south of France for five days relaxation after my pass ended.

You can book some or all of your hostels on the net before you go and pay small deposits by credit card. This is a good idea as many places are very busy in the middle of summer and just arriving in a strange place in the morning after a long overnight trip without somewhere to stay is not adviseable.

I usually book two nights at each place so that I can recover from the train journey and explore a place for three days. If you change your route; if you decide to stay longer in a place or miss out one of your stops, you can cancel a hostel online and book another. But I think it's definitely better to have some places planned in advance.

Regarding personal safety. You meet up with other Interrailers and you can get advice on where is good/not good. Wear a money belt and keep money passport and credit cards in it. Watch all of your gear in railway stations and on trains. Take a small padlock and use it in the hostels if they have lockers an even on night trains you can lock your rucksack to the luggage rack.

It's also good to be able to polite in the languages of the places you intend visiting. People will generally be more friendly and helpful if you don't just assume that they'll speak or understand your language. I print up basic phrases and store key words on my mobile to help me on my tours.

Don't be put-off by organisation your trip and any worries about going Interrailing. The planning of routes and places to go to can be a big part of the pleasure. I'll start researching my next trip in the new year. There are always more places to go to.

Have great one.

iaink.

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devan
Traveller
2 comments

replied 16 years ago

thanks alot with the help everyone it really has helped me out:)