Interrail Guide

Interrailing is often a magnificent experience for those who've embarked on it, and can give you the amazing opportunity to visit many European destinations. 

With interrailing the choice is all yours when you travel; you can zip through many countries and destinations, pace yourself and relax - or you can do both in equal measure. Its praises cannot be sung enough, but there's always the word of caution too, as there is a lot of planning and preparation needed to make sure your interrail journey goes without a hiccup. 

We have prepared a list of the best things to know, plan and prepare for interrailing travel so that your experience can be a safe and enjoyable journey.

Tickets/Passes

The InterRail Pass is a rail ticket designed for EU residents (Eurail is the equivalent for non-EU residents). There are two types to choose from when buying a ticket: the Global Pass or the One Country Pass.

The Global Pass lets you travel most European countries, and allows you to choose from 4 different types of different durations. You can choose to have continuous travel for either 22 days or 1 month, or there's also the option for limited-day travel, which can be either 5 days of travel within a 10-day period, or 10 days of travel within a 22-day period. 

Planning your route and travel

Your route planning will be dictated by the length of the journey and the countries/cities you wish to visit, so you should write a list of places you would like to visit before travelling. However you must be prepared to drop or cut short your plans at any point, as this list is usually far too ambitious! 

For some journeys you might find that it's not always a necessity to buy the Global Pass to get to where you want to visit. If you are travelling in Eastern Europe where the Euro is not their currency, you might find that it is a lot cheaper to buy your tickets as you go. It is also often cheaper to get a budget flight out to an Eastern country to skip past the expensive travel regions such as France, Italy and Germany.

When booking your accommodation you should decide whether to book it all up in advance, or on the night before your stays. For those wanting to see lots of cities and countries with no set plan, booking the night before gives you incredible flexibility. However, if you have something really special in mind it's advised to book ahead, as it will give you peace of mind and also something to aim your journey towards.

When planning routes to travel you may not want to leave every journey to a night train, as most major stops are no more than 4 or 5 hours between each other so it can be totally impractical at times. This of course all depends on the route you take, as some journeys are much faster by taking the night train, Barcelona to Paris being a notable example. If you book early enough in advance, night trains can also help you save on a hostel for a night - and you arrive at your next destination in the morning! 

What to pack

When Interrailing, like with any sort of travelling, space is limited so you need to pack lightly, but you also need to be sure to pack all the essentials. Read the guide on What to Pack to make sure you leave nothing behind and that you don't get overloaded with excess baggage. 

When you consider that you're going to be walking, getting on and off trains etc, it's recommend to bring a rucksack no larger than 50 litres. 40-45 litres can be enough for 2 weeks, and what you use for two weeks can be simply washed and used for a month. Also by taking a smaller bag you actively force yourself to take less of the unnecessary things. 

What documents you need to take

Here's a list of some essential and extremely helpful documents that you should take on your InterRail journey:

• Passport
• Interrail Ticket
• YHA Membership Card
• ISIC Card (Good for student discounts and using as ID when you don't want to leave your passport)
• Travel Insurance Documents
• European Health Insurance Card (i.e. the EHIC, the card which has replaced the E111 form)
• Traveller's Cheques and Information about their serial numbers
• A European Train Timetable Book

Enjoy the experience

Interrailing is a fantastic opportunity to see many countries, cultures and landmarks, so make sure that you keep yourself safe and prepared so that you will enjoy your journey to the fullest. Make sure you also take pictures and grab a few souvenirs - it will be something you'll be able to share for the rest of your life!