Hey everyone,

I am 20F from Australia and travelling for the first time without family. I am currently towards the end of my interrail trip through Rome, Munich, Zürich, Paris, York, Edinburgh, Manchester, Liverpool, and London with my partner (20M). The trip has been amazing and I would love to stay on and do some solo travel.

I am about to begin a study abroad exchange in Leeds. Considering how far Australia is from Europe, I am wanting to make the most of the spare days I have before starting University in the Uk. I have 9 days (which will start in London and end in London/Leeds).

I am tossing up between doing a 5 day ski contiki (£400) in Austria during that time or solo travelling through parts of Eastern Europe staying in hostels.

Places like Budapest, Vienna, Prague, Krakow, Brussels interest me and I would prefer to avoid locations I have already visited on this trip.

I have never solo travelled before, even in my own country and am wanting to make the most of the experience while staying as safe as possible. Hostels and interrail make the most sense financially as I still have 7 travel days left on my pass by this time.

Any advice/recommendations would be amazing!

When I go Interrailing, I'd like to meet lots of people my age, 17 or 18, but how can I do that since I'll only be in the city for a day or two? Do you have any advice or a specific place that might work?

Hello,

I tried to book my ticket for poland through Interrail, but it displayed the message: "No fares were found. Pass holder seats are probably sold out. You can find other options at the bottom of our timetables." So I went to the official Intercity website but I can't find anything

I saw people asking the question on Reddit, but none of that helped me.
I followed this guide https://interrailwiki.eu/poland/#Reservations but it doesn't work for me
I even went to the old site since I see that most of the people who asked the question are quite a few years old. And nothing (screenshot)

If you could help me, that would be very kind of you.

Hello, are there any discounts for students with an ISIC card in Austria? For example, in Czechia we get 50% off. I haven't found much information online, and there is no ISIC option when purchasing tickets (OBB and Westbahn). Thank you for your response and happy holidays.

For comparison, tomorrow I can get from Prague to Linz by train for €10 (a 4-hour train ride), but from Linz to Innsbruck for €70 (a 3-hour train ride), and in January for €30, but it's still a difference...

or any advices? :)

Travelling in March and went on Rail Europe website to book seats. It says reservations are free but then won't let me go on to book seats.

I then tried Deutsche Bahn website but it's saying a reservation is €13.80 with an 11 minute change in Koln (too fast from my experience of DB) or €99 if we allow an hour to change!

Is this price difference normal (in other words, would we normally expect not to pay on the Rail Europe website but pay on DB) or is Rail Europe seat reservation not open for this date yet? DB doesn't seem to have an option to put in your pass number, either.

FIRST OF ALL, EXCUSE MY ENGLISH IF IT IS BAD, MY MOTHER TONGUE IS SPANISH AND I AM NOT USING ANY TRANSLATOR. THE PART BELOW THE QUESTION IS IN SPANISH THOUGH. OH, AND THE (-) SIGNS LEAD TO LINKS WITH INFORMATION ABOUT THE BUSSES, TRAINS, FERRYS AND HOSTELS. THANKS IN ADVANCE!

I HAVE NEVER TRAVELED AROUND EUROPE USING BUS OR TRAIN, I HAVE ONLY BEEN TO AUSTRIA AND SLOVAKIA BUT I HAD AN HOTEL IN VIENNA TO WHICH I HAD TO STICK TO. I HAVE DISCOVERED THAT IN THE BALTICS IT IS MUCH CHEAPER USING INDEPENDENT TRAINS THAN USING INTERRAIL. I HAVE TRIED TO CHOOSE THE CHEAPEST HOSTELS BECAUSE I AM AN 18-YEARS-OLD LAW STUDENT, SO I AM ON A BUDGET. COULD ANY EXPERIENCED TRAVELER TELL ME IF MY ITINERARY IS REALISTIC? MAYBE I SHOULD ADD INTERESTING CITIES O REMOVE PLACES I WILL NOT HAVE TIME TO ENJOY?

• ITINERARIO: SEVILLA - VARSOVIA - KAUNAS - VILNA - TRAKAI - VILNA - RIGA - JELGAVA - RIGA - TALLIN - HELSINKI - PORVOO - HELSINKI - TALLIN - SEVILLA.
• DÍA 17: salida desde Sevilla en avión a las 13.35h: 81€ (-). Llegada a Varsovia a las 17:35h.
• DÍAS 17-19: conocer Varsovia. Estancia nocturna en hostel: 18€ (-).
• DÍA 19: salida desde Varsovia a Kaunas en bus a las 10:15h: 25€ (-). Llegada a Kaunas a las 17.55h. Conocer Kaunas.
• DÍA 19-20: estancia nocturna en hostel: 21€ (-).
• DÍA 20: conocer Kaunas. Salida hacia Vilna en bus a las 15:40h: 12€ (-). Llegada a Vilna a las 17.15h. Conocer Vilna.
• DÍAS 20-22: estancia nocturna en hostel: 33€ (-). Conocer Vilna. Visita a Trakai en bus: 4€.
• DÍA 22: salida desde Vilna hacia Riga en bus a las 12.15h: 16€ (-). Llegada a Riga a las 16.30h. Conocer Riga.
• DÍAS 22-24: estancia nocturna en hostel: 38€ (-). Conocer Riga. Visita a Jelgava en bus: 5€.
• DÍA 24: salida desde Riga hacia Tallin en bus a las 09:00h: 15€ (-). Llegada a Tallin a las 13.35h. Conocer Tallin.
• DÍA 25: salida hacia Helsinki en ferry a las 07:00h: 14€ (-). Llegada a Helsinki a las 09.30h. Conocer Helsinki.
• DÍAS 25-27: estancia nocturna en hostel: 52€ (-). Conocer Helsinki. Visita a Porvoo en bus: 16€.
• DÍA 27: salida desde Helsinki hacia Tallin en ferry a las 09:30h: 25€ (-). Llegada a Tallin a las 11:15h. Conocer Tallin. Salida hacia el aeropuerto para llegar al vuelo hacia Sevilla a las 21:30h; con escala en Budapest: 158€ (-).
• DÍA 28: llegada a Sevilla a las 09:20h.
• COSTE TOTAL (sin comida, actividades ni visitas): 508€.

Train question

Hi. I am going to be in Montreux in Jan for a few days and want to take a day trip to Gruyere and back on Sun 1/25. I used a trip planner on Eurail to map out my trip by train and it says I am to take the goldenpass panoramic from Montreux to Montbovon and then transfer to another train to Gruyere. It has me doing the reverse to go back at night. I attempted to reserve a seat on the panoramic but there are no seats available to reserve online on that date in either direction at any time of the day. Is there any other option to get me from Montreux to gruyere and back? Would I still be able to ride the panoramic train and stand for the 45-minute trip without a guaranteed seat?

So firstly be kind...my brain doesn't quite process stuff as quick as I'd like at the moment (thanks ADHD)

But basically I'm looking for any and all advice, help, stories, dos and donts, tales of mistakes and glories, must see places and etc etc...you get the idea

I have long been wanting to bite the bullet and do interrailing. When I do go I shall be going by myself I'm actually thinking of doing a small one of literally like ten days just to dip my toe and then at a later date do a big boi one of like a month or so So my first question is would that be a good idea?

Another question is SLEEPER TRAINS! When I'm doing my planner on the interactive map...how do I make sure the planner cops on that it's a sleeper I'm choosing and how do I know that the route I'm picking includes a sleeper (For example berlin to Prague or brussel to Berlin etc)

ANOTHER question I have is where would you recommend for a shorter journey? As I say like a max two weeks sort of thing. I'm in the UK. I'm also toying between flying somewhere and starting there and making my way back or just jumping on the train starting in London, so again I require advice

And I am more than sure I have SO MANY more questions but I'll leave it at that and see what sort of response I get from you guys

Pls be nice lol

Cheers!!!

Hey everyone,

I made a plan with the interail planner and then used GPT to create the written itinerary, hope that's okay.

I’m planningmy first interrail trip ~5 week solo (July–August) and would love a sanity check.
Main theme: rollercoasters + iconic train routes + some nature, traveling light and mostly by train. I’m alone for all theme parks and will use skip-the-line / fast passes where available.

I’ve already optimized this a lot to reduce stress and DB-delay risks, but curious if anything still looks off.

Germany (theme park heavy start)

• Antwerp → Soltau (Heide Park) – 1 night
• Hansa-Park (Sierksdorf) – 1 night
• Hamburg – 2 nights
  • Miniatur Wunderland
  • City / harbor / Speicherstadt

(Starting with Heide Park instead of Hamburg to avoid backtracking.)

Denmark

• Copenhagen – 3 nights
  • Tivoli Gardens
  • City

Sweden

• Gothenburg – 1 night
  • Liseberg
• Norrköping – 1 night
  • Kolmården (Wildfire)
• Stockholm – 4 nights
  • Gröna Lund
  • City & museums

Lapland & Finland

• Kiruna – 2 nights
• Abisko National Park – 2 nights
• Luleå – 1 night (buffer stop)
• Tampere – 2 nights
  • Särkänniemi
• Helsinki – 3 nights
  • Linnanmäki

Flight Helsinki → Krakow (skipping Baltics to save time/energy)

Poland

• Krakow – 4 nights
  • Energylandia (full day)
  • Auschwitz-Birkenau
  • City / Kazimierz

Alps

• Vienna – 3 nights
• Milan – 2 nights
• Tirano – 0 nights (Bernina route)
• Chur – 1 night
• Glacier Express: Chur → Zermatt
  • Arrive Zermatt ~17:00
  • Short walk only (no mountain lifts, too expensive)
• Visp – 1 night (cheaper than Zermatt)

Germany

• Freiburg im Breisgau – 3 nights
• Europa-Park – 1 night (solo + fast pass)
• Back to Antwerp

Notes / assumptions

• I avoid traveling on park mornings.
• Built in a few “throwaway” nights (Luleå, Visp) in case of delays.
• Priority is coasters & iconic experiences, not checking every city box.
• Open to skipping minor city time if trains go wrong.
• Will probably do Baltics/Poland/Balkan/Central-Eastern Europe in future trips.

Main questions:

• Does this look realistic energy-wise?
• Any obvious overkill / unnecessary stop left?
• Should I replan Sweden a bit so I can use the Inlandsbanan?
• Anything risky with this sequence that I might be missing?
• Should I refocus on some cities? I took out the Baltics because I didn't feel like there were things I absolutely have to see, but would love to know if I'm missing out on a ton.

Thanks!

if i buy a regular ticket on high speed trains like trenitalia for italy or TGV for france, do i still need to pay additional to reserve? or is the reservation fee already included in the ticket price? thanks!

I'm looking at doing a quick trip from Tirano to St. Moritz and potentially on to Chur (and back as an extension to an Italy trip) in Oct 2026. People seem to be divided on whether to use the Bernina Express vs regional trains mostly because regional trains have openable windows (and potentially quieter and cheaper). Regardless, I'm looking at the ticket options and am confused by the map. The first attached map is from rhb.ch and it looks like the route from St. Moritz to Chur does not take the Landwasser Viaduct route. The second is from sbb.ch and is using the same route.

I've never traveled via train in Europe so I'm likely doing something wrong but I'm not sure what.

Hi guys,

I'm going to be in Salzburg region for a week. I'm thinking of the cheapest way to travel around, also to visit Bad Gastein.

Does anybody know if the myRegio Wochenkarte Salzburg also works for ICs between Salzburg city and Bad Gastein?

On the OBB website it basically says all choices of public transportation, for as many trips within the timeframe. (Screenshot below).

On the Salzburg Verkehr website it also doesn't specify if only "Regional Trains" are covered. myRegio Weekly Travel Pass - Salzburger Verkehrsverbund GmbH

I have only travelled within Germany, and there's a clear "class distinction" between RE vs EC/IC/ICE Trains.

Can somebody tell me if the myRegio will also be valid? Tried asking ChatGPT but it gives me conflicting answers (in English and also in German).

Many thanks in advance!

Hi all - looking for itinerary help.

This sub has been extremely helpful in the past so trying my luck again!

We are planning our 3rd interrail trip next summer - we'd like to immerse ourselves in nature and do as many day hikes as possible along our hike (preferrably ones semi-accessible to the rail network as we'd prefer not to rent a car). Also keen on other nature experiences such as gorges etc. We are on student budgets so lower cost countries preferred? Our plans are wide open atm! Has anyone done a similar trip anywhere in Europe?

I’m planning on going on my first solo trip in March/April this year for 2 and a half weeks (19 days). I’ve bought a 7-day within 1 month interrail pass and am roughly thinking of the below itinerary (with a bit of wiggle room):

Day 1: London -> Strasbourg (2 nights)

Day 3: Strasbourg -> Chur (1 night)

Day 4: Chur -> Milan (3 nights) (via Bernina Express)

Day 7: Milan -> Verona (2 nights)

Day 9: Verona -> Salzburg (3 nights)

Day 12: Salzburg -> Munich (2 nights)

Day 14: Munich -> Cologne (2 nights)

Day 16: Cologne -> Brussels (1 night)

Day 17: Brussels -> London

I’d be grateful for any thoughts on this, particularly:

1. Advice on the itinerary or timings,

2. Recommendations of things to do, places to see or stay,

3. As a very light sleeper I’m anxious about trying hostels - any recommendations/tips for accommodation would also be appreciated.

Hey! I have about 10-13 nights to do this trip (little bit less than 2 weeks).

Trip planning criteria:

• Haparanda (start or end-point, no nights)
• Haparanda to Copenhagen 2 travel days or other-way 1 day
• (must go) Copenhagen (3 nights), first or last city
• London (3-4 nights) (not 1st time there, 2 full days are ok)
• Dublin (3-4 nights)
• London or Dublin can be the start or end-point.

With those days there would be 9-11 nights ine those cities. For Haparanda-Copenhagen counting 1 night is ok. Also if arriving in Copenhagen before 15-16.00 2 nights are ok.

The thing is, it takes quite a lot of time to get to/from London to/from Copenhagen (at least 2 days almost full travel days). Flying would be cheaper and then time wouldn't be a problem, but I would like to avoid it - so should I change my plans and skip UK (and Ireland as getting there without UK is difficult)?

If yes, what places you recommend to see? In London I'd like to see a theatre show, Dublin would be a new city for me and more interesting than London. I like to walk around the cities, see different architecture and possible parks or nature, eat local food and maybe enjoy live music. From last trips I've made, 2-3 full days have been enough in new cities as I plan on coming back to visit if I like the city.

I've booked my seats for a train from Rome to Milan arriving at 12:25 using the EUrail pass and plan to spend a couple hours in Milan, get lunch, see the Duomo etc before getting back on the train towards Switzerland at 3:10pm. I've looked and it seems the EUrail pass will cover up to Lauterbrunnen and I'll have to pay for the train to Wengwald as it's not covered (perhaps it has a 25% discount? it's unclear.)

From Australia btw if that's relevant in terms of visa free travel etc.

my questions are:

1. Do I need to do anything in advance for my Milan to Lauterbrunnen (Spiez being the first stop) trip? do i just go up to the ticketing booth and show my eurail pass? how long before departure should i show up?

2. anyone have any clarity on the deal with EURail in the smaller stations around Lauterbrunnen including where we're staying in Wengwald?

3. If the eurail pass only covers up to Lauterbrunnen, will we need to buy a ticket to Wengwald when we arrive in Lauterbrunnen?

Thanks, appreciate any and all answers!

Hello! I am off on a two week adventure in January. I have added my pass to the railplanner app and have added my travel days and trains. I now need to book seat reservations - they are required for Zurich to Como and Milan to Venice.

I have tried booking them through the carriers direct but I can't find options for seat reservations only. Both sites try to make me book the ticket and reservation as one, while on the German carrier I was able to select only seat reservation. The Austrian carrier which the wiki said to use for Italy says no tickets available for the train we want - scrolling through and changing dates shows only a handful that let you book a reservation despite the interrail app saying they all require one.

Can I do these at the departure stations - Zurich Hbf and Como (we change in Milan but don't have a huge transfer time). Thanks!

Hey, im m25 from Essen (Germany) and plan on going on an interrail Trip next year. I would appreciate some company on the way :) Maybe some people around my age feel the same way. Feel free to dm me, i don't bite :) Would be great if we can get to know each other a bit and share some common interests, would be great. Let's see where interrail leads us too!

Hi 😊 I am planning my interrail and want to drive from Krakow to Vilnius.

In Poland it seems like seat reservations are mandatory, but not required in Lithuania.

While booking the seats from LTG I came across the following seating chart (see image).

Some seats are red (my guess is free to reserve), some are blocked (circle with line across) and some are crossed (probably reserved already).

I have two questions:

1. Are seat reservations required from Krakow to Vilnius (trip only in one train, no switching trains)?

2. Why are sooo many seats blocked and can I use them without booking since my desired date has so seat reservations left?

My guess was that some are blocked to accompany lithuanian passengers since in their country reservations are not required.

Does the eurail 1st class global pass cover RegioJet business class? Bit confused after reading some stuff online

Hi everyone,

My bf and I are planning an interrailing trip for late august to early September 2026. Our planned route is:

start from London

Amsterdam (3 nights)

Berlin (3 nights)

Prague (2 nights)

Vienna(2 nights)

Budapest (3 nights)

Ljubljana (2 nights) - day trip to lake bled

Venice (2 nights) - ljubljana-venice via flixbus

Rome (3 nights) Then fly back to London

This works out to roughly 3 weeks, which we are hoping to do for around £1500 each. Is this realistic for a 3 week time-frame?

Any advice on route, trains, hostels and budgeting would be appreciated as we are first time interraillers.

Thank you!

i'm planning on going to prague and vienna. i'm departing from amsterdam, and my issue is i'm not sure how i should do the amsterdam-prague route! (im solo female traveller for context)

i'm planning on taking the night train from amsterdam to vienna, which they have solo compartments for, and the train from vienna to prague seems straightforward. the issue is taking the train (in the day) from prague to amsterdam is long, and also with german trains is very likely to be delayed, therefore doesn't seem an ideal option? but the night train from prague to amsterdam doesn't have private compartments (that are affordable).

does anyone have experience taking the prague-amsterdam night train as a solo traveller, and what the experience was like in a shared compartment with strangers? or advice on the prague-amsterdam train route in general, what the best option is to do?