How To Go Interrailing This Year

Last Updated on: 20th March 2023, 09:04 am

Recently I mentioned that I was going to go interrailing this summer and I was surprised at how many people wanted to know how to do it. So I thought I would write this article to explain how easy it is to go Interrailing this year. Interrailing started 50 years ago for teenagers to go travelling in their gap year. But these days absolutely everyone and anyone can go interrailing.

Interrailing can be as cheap or as luxurious as you want it to be. Because you get to choose whether you want to travel first or second class.

Interrailing is not always the cheapest way to travel because if you book a trip in advance it is always cheaper. But you will need to travel at a certain time and stick to the train you purchased. These tickets are usually none refundable. Interrailing gives you flexibility and you can simply hop on and off trains.

How To Book Interrail Tickets

Although you can book Interrail tickets through most train websites, we chose to book through Interrail.eu because they offered a 100% cancellation policy for an extra £20. Other train companies selling Interrail tickets didn’t seem to offer this option.

Choose The Tickets That you Want To Go Interrailing This Year

This all comes down to where you are travelling to. If you are only going to one country, then your best idea is to fly to the country that you want and buy a one-country pass. There are 30 European countries that have a one-country pass. But if you are looking to travel through a few countries, you will need to buy a global pass. This covers 33 countries and you a free to travel through all of those countries.

Reservations On The Trains

When you go travelling there will be trains that you use that have compulsory reservations. This means you need to book the seats to ensure you have space on the train and it helps the company know how many people are travelling. Some trains have optional reservations, but I would suggest booking seats during peak times and on popular trips.

If you are travelling on a strict budget, then take a gamble and choose trains without compulsory reservations. Especially if you are happy to not sit together with your group. Some trains charge 8 Euros for a reservation. So you can save a lot of money on your overall trip if you take a risk of not reserving seats.

How Long Will You Travel For?

You can travel for a few days, right up to 3 months. You can buy a flexible pass where you travel for a certain amount of days out of a month. Their most popular pass is the flexible 7 days out of a month pass. This means you have a month pass and you can travel on 7 of those days. So if you are planning on staying in some destinations for a few days before moving on, this is the pass for you.

A continuous pass means you can travel anywhere on any day of the month. If you want to make your journey up as you go on and you don’t want to limit your travelling, this is the pass for you. If you are thinking of doing overnight trips, you need to remember that this will use 2 days of your pass. This is okay if you have a continuous pass, but if you have a flexible pass, this uses 2 days of your limited travel days.

What Ticket Can You Buy To Go Interrailing This Year?

The best thing about Interrailing is that kids under 12 travel for free! You can take 2 children for free with every paying adult ticket. Unfortunately, you cannot take any children for free if you travel on a youth ticket. So If you are under 28 and travelling with kids, buy the adult ticket.

Kids over 12 do need to pay for a ticket and they will need a youth ticket which covers people from 12 to 27 years old. And for those over 60 years old there is a senior ticket to travel to Europe.

Which Class Do You Want To Travel?

There are 2 classes, 1st and 2nd. Although the second class is a bit cheaper, it is better to buy the first class tickets. when we travelled in the past, we travelled second class. But as interrailing is so popular in Europe, the second class gets quite crowded. So this year we opted for first class.

With the first class, you also get some extras on the trains and at train stations. At some stations, there are first-class lounges where you can grab complimentary food and drinks before you travel. On some of the trains, there are also snacks and drinks offered in the first-class carriage.

Can You Travel In Your Own Country?

You can make one journey to the point of port or exit from the country that you live in. In mainland Europe, this is easier to do. But In the UK, you can use your Global pass ticket to get to the airport or Eurostar. So for example. You might use the ticket from Brighton to London Gatwick and then jump on the plane to take you to Europe. But if you are travelling by Eurostar, you cannot use the ticket to get from Brighton to London St Pancras, as you will be using the ticket from London to the channel tunnel and on to your European destination.

Choose Between A Paper Pass And A Mobile Pass

When you book your ticket, you get to choose whether you want a paper pass (which makes an awesome keepsake). Or whether you want to have a mobile pass. When we went travelling before, we had paper passes. But I was so worried about losing my pass all over the trip and as we travelled it got wet and ripped. But we travelled 6 years ago and I still have that ticket! With the paper pass, you also have to write all of the point-to-point destinations that

Sleeper Trains When You Go Interrailing This Year

If you are travelling to many places, you might need to take an overnight trip. This is a great way to save some travelling time because you go to sleep at one destination and wake up at another. You can reserve a seat for the overnight trip or you can booker a bed in a sleeper carriage. These vary in price depending on the places that you travel through.

Sleeper carriages are very popular and you will need to book them as soon as possible before your trip. The sleeper carriages normally have rooms that sleep six people, so you will be travelling with strangers – be prepared for that. But travelling with strangers is the best way to share stories and holiday ideas.

If You Lose Your Pass When You Go Interrailing This Year

If you lose your paper pass, you will need to buy a new one. The amounts of time I was panicking when we travelled last time …… But I never did lose it. If you lose your phone or it is broken, get in touch with Interrail and they will help you get your pass put onto another device to continue your trip.

Other benefits Of An Interrail Pass

There are loads of benefits of using the interrail pass because you can also use your pass on many local bus and train services throughout your journey. You can also use some ferries that are included in your pass. You can even use an interrail pass to get a free trip on Eurostar, all you need to do is pay for a reservation on the train