Often people wonder what is the best way to visit Europe. I am here to convince you that Interrail and Eurail tickets are the best way to travel through Europe.
If you like to drive, and you are only visiting one or two coutnries, a car is a great option. But it involves many additional costs (from renting the car to parking fees). And, you will be a slave of driving. But yes, you can find more secluded locations with private transportation. Despite this reason, I think this is not the best way to travel through Europe.
Flying from one destination to the next is also another great option. Prices will be high but it is still possible to go through very long distances in a very short time. Also, because you won’t be participating in the piloting, you can still spend the time reading or journaling about your trips. A good option, but is it the best?
In my opinion, Interrail is the best way to travel through Europe. Taking trains are a fast option and the most eco-friendly alternative. And thanks to Eurrail and interrail passes, also the cheapest.
What are Interrail or Eurail
In my opinion, Interrail and Eurail are the best way to travel through Europe because of the flexibility they give you. These are train tickets that you can use to discover any country in the old continent. You can use them to take any train with the exception of high speed trains. For these, you just need to pay a small fee.
Differences between Interrail and Eurail
There are two main differences between the Interrail and the Eurail ticket. The first one is which one you can purchase. If you are from the Eurozone, then Interrail is your ticket. If you are from abroad Europe, then you need to purchase an Eurail pass.
The second difference is the price. Interrail passes are usually cheaper than Eurail tickets. I guess that it is one of the benefits of traveling withing your own continent.
Age limit for the train passes
There is not a real age limitation to neither the Eurail o Interrail passes. But, and this is a big but, the prices are significanlty different depending on how old you are. For example, let’s say that you want to travel for one month using the pass every day. For this purpose, you’d need the 1 month interrail pass.
If you are aged between 12 and 27 years the first day of your trip, this will cost you 503€. If you are older than 27 but younger than 60, this ticket will be 670€. A child (younger than 12yo), will travel for free, but it should always be traveling with an adult. Finaly, seniors (+60) will need to pay 603€. This dates are from mid-2020 and they change slightly as the years pass.
Types of interrail and Eurail passes
There are many different types of Interrail and Eurail tickets. The same type of passes are available from both platforms and they can be grouped into two types: the Global Pass and the Country Pass.
Global pass
This type of train ticket can be used in any European country except the one where you reside (in the case of the interrail). Or without restrictions for Eurail. This means that, if, for example, you live in France, you can fly to Italy. And then use the Interrail o Eurail pass to travel through Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Czech Republic and Poland. There is one exception to this rule though, you can use the global pass in your country the day of departure and arrival only.
One-country pass
Another possibility, if you do not want to travel as extensively, it is to buy a one-country pass. As the name indicates, it can only be used to travel throughout one country. This is the best way to travel through Europe one country at a time. Another additional perk about this is that because it is only one country, the price depends on the country you are visiting. The Global Pass is a bit more expensive.
How often can I take a train with an interrail pass?
As I mentioned before, you can select the ticket that you want to buy depending on how many countries you want to visit. After that, you need to decide how often you want to travel. Interrail and Eurail offer basically two types of tickets: X days in Z months, or a continued travel type of pass.
If you plan on doing slow travel, you may benefit from the X days in Z months. The different tickets that they offer are: 4, 5 or 7 days in 1 month, or 10/15 days in 2 months. Even though this is self-explanatory, you can only use these passes the number of days (X) in the number of months (Z).
The other types of tickets you can purchase are “continous”, meaning that you can take as many trains as you want, as often as you wish. This is the type of ticket I bought when I went Palace and Castle hunting through Germany a few years ago. These tickets are a bit more expensive but well worth it.
To book or not to book your train tickets
Some times, for high speed trains such as TGV, ICE or AVE, you will need to book your tickets. This translates into paying additional fees to take these trains. The fee can be substantial depending on how far you are planning on traveling, but you can always find free no-fee alternatives. It will just take a bit longer to get to your destination.
Real time information about all the trains through Europe
Since most often people travel with these tickets through different countries in Europe, finding out where your next train is going to be departing from, or the schedule for the connection you need to make that evening can be a hassle. You will often find yourself looking into different websites and schedules in different languages.
But do not fear.
The great Germans are there to help us. Even though their train system is known for being late most of the time, their website is one of the greatest resources for anyone with an Interrail or Eurail pass. Because Bahn compiles all schedules and information from all other countries in Europe, their website (or app) is one of the best resources you will find to plan your trip all throughout Europe.
Other benefits of an interrail pass
Travel by train is a very enviromentally friendly way of discovering Europe. Besides this, owning an interrail ticket also comes with many additional benefits. From discounts in popular attractions to free or almost free Ferry tickets. You can also access tours with a reduced fare and travel in scenic trains for only a few euros. Additionally, some hostels also offer discounts to interrail and eurail pass holders. You can scroll through all their offers here.
Where can I buy an Interrail or Eurail pass?
The easiest way to purchase an Interrail or Eurail pass is online. Their official websites: www.interrail.eu and www.eurail.com offer the passes in the most secure way. Just remember to book them with enough time for them to reach you before your departure time.
How to use an Interrail or Eurail pass?
Once you receive your package from Interrail or Eurail you will be almost ready to enjoy the best way to travel through Europe. You will receive a traditional train ticket, along with an additional page with a few columns. Or what’s called, your travel diary.
In these columns you will need to write down the origin and destination of the trains you are taking every day. The first time you will use the ticket, the controller will put a stamp on it. Or at least he should. Then, your ticket will be “active” and your trip will be smooth and relaxed.
My experience traveling through Europe with an interrail pass
I am a planner. I like to have my itinerary before I depart and I often enjoy the planning as much as the trip. I studied and analyzed many different transportations methods when I decided to visit the center of the Old Continent. And after all this research, I came up with the tittle of this post: interrail is the best way to travel through Europe.
I was 25 and on the verge of losing many discounts and offers tailored to a younger audience. And taking a train trip through Europe had been on my travel bucket list for ages. Back then, the age threshold was 26, so I knew that it had to be my year. And it was great.
I got a Global Pass to travel through Europe for 22 days for barely 300€. I used the pass to move through the Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland and the UK. I took more than 50 trains and I even got to do a river cruise in the Alps at half the price! A steal if you ask me. And also one of the most amazing experiences of my life!
This is great information, I didn’t know about these passes, it sounds like the perfect way yo travel. It seems like a pretty easy going way to get to know europe and its countries with beautiful sightseeing.
Thank God for Interrail! It really is a great idea if one wants to travel through Europe, across countries. Luckily the distances between countries in he continent are not very long.
If you plan on going from Croatia to Norway it wouldn’t be the greatest of the ideas, but when you want to visit plenty of things that are not that far away… It’s fantastic!
Yeah being an adult sucks coz we cannot enjoy those privilege travel and ticket discounts… Hugh, but being an adult have tons of perks too, and won’t regret it. Oh I wish we also have a reliable train that we could use here in PH for more affordable trip. That’s one of the CONS of being living in islands 🙂
What an amazing deal you were able to take advantage of! I had looked at Eurail before but it did not make sense of my visit as I was not going to be in Europe long enough. I would definitely take advantage of it though if I ever visit again for a longer period of time.
It is a great way to save some money… But on the correct type of trip, I guess!
Oohh i did not really know about this one. This makes Europe so much more convenient. Next time I head here, I know what to look for.
I’ve heard lots of people comment on a rail pass (in general) that it’s great but sometimes too tempting. As: you are constantly tempted to keep moving, to not stay in one city for more than a day or two in order to take advantage of using your pass. Did you ever have that feeling?
Never uses this service as when i calculated The pricing for my eastern Europe trip, it was cheaper to book the tickets myself! Always worth checking before going for a service!
It definetely is cheaper in Eastern countries. Next time, if you travel through Switzerland, for example, you will see how different the price is! That country is scary expensive!
This is perfect for me when I am planning an epic Europe tour. This helps me sort out on a lot of transportation costs. I would love those other discounts as well. 🙂
There are plenty of discounts. Since they are not very well detailed, the trick is ask all the time, sometimes it is included on the ticket, sometimes they just pity you… in any case, a great deal!
You had all trains included just for 300 Euro? This sounds like a deal of the century! Why haven’t I ever heard about it?
Well … when we lose our youth we are supposed to gain extra income, right? hehehe
About the ticket, hell yes, it was a great deal! And about the getting extra income… I am almost touching the 30s and I don’t completely agree hahaha, maybe whith the 3_ it will all get better!
Interrail sounds like a great way to travel and not break the bank. I love the fact that you also can get discounts on other things too using this card.
That ticket sounds like a great deal! I traveled around Europe this summer and I used mostly Blablacar and Flixbus. It was pretty cheap! But if I had wanted to spend a little more money, the Eurail pass sounds good.
Yes, yes, there are many ways to travel through Eu cheap… but I love trains. The inconvenient with Blablacar is that at the end you depend on what the driver wants, and with the buses, I don’t like the freedom of not being able to move as much as I would like… For shorter trips, they are a nice option too!
This is a very informative post. Making a note of this for use if ever I get there.
It does sound good.
Sad times are amongst us when our student cards stop providing us discounts because we’re too old! I know that feel. I kind of regret not making as much use of them as I could haha! This is a really informative post and I’ll be saving this for the next time i visit Europe.
Feel free to ask anything you may need about it =)
This is great source of information. Europe has multitude of attractions and destinations well connected by rail. So this option of interrail definitely sounds like worth it option to explore the best of Europe.
I haven’t really used Interrail, to be honest. The one time I wanted to try it, instead of driving everywhere, it turned out not to be a very good fit (because of schedules and the amount of stuff I had to carry with me). I would absolutely love to try it in the future though, it seems like such an amazing travel experience.
I’ve never been to Europe and didn’t know anything about Interrail ticket! Thanks for sharing all the information! I’ll keep in mind whenever I’ll be visiting Europe soon!
Many young people in Italy leave for an interrail trip after high school before starting university. Such a pity I didn’t do at that time (my parents wouldn’t allow me!), but it should be such a wonderful trip!
It’s never late Paola, you can still go!
I have never taken advantage of the Interrail service, but it looks like it would truly do the trick for anyone travelling through Europe on a Budget! Thank you for sharing this!
You are right about this. Interrail is the best way to travel across Europe. This I realized during my stay in Italy seven years back.
Nice informative post though about the “what and how” of the Interrail pass.
But hey, 25 is young..hell these days even 35 is still young 🙂
My Eurotrip was part of a tour so we took a coach bus which was cool to see the scenery. I’ve heard the rail is easy to navigate all around!
Yes, European train network is really good. Even the very remote towns in the middle of nowhere (mountains left aside), are well communicated!
Well being in my mid 30’s, and having started working as a professional at 21 years old, I have no memory of ANY time where I received huge discounts for being young but sounds like a very good deal.I I moved to Europe later in life so I rely on buying train tickets ahead of time (HUGE SAVER) blabla car and airline points 😉
I don’t think you can actually take ANY train on the Eurrail pass though, only the trains that qualify. For instance there are many long distance trains that have to be reserved months in advance and have assigned seats and those types can’t be taken on the Eurrail which means some regions are much more difficult to get to (must take multiple trains rather than just getting one fast one, etc). But for open trains and if you have an open itinerary it’s an awesome way to travel! Even at 150 Euros more 🙂
Well, 50% discount in many places are not that bad. I know that in Spain and in Belgium, it is actually common. Not so much in the UK though… And, about the pass, only fast trains you have to book in advance. And in those cases you only have to pay the difference to a normal train. Also, there are no connections in Europe only done by a fast train, there is always an alternative, slower and cheaper, that allows you to use the pass.
Thanks for commenting!
I’ve never been inter railing before but have had SO many friends telling me about the experience that I’m now definitely considering doing it next summer. It sounds like you had an incredibly amazing time!
You can’t imagine how great it was to be able to just get any train you wanted. Sometimes, there are some trains you are supposed to book… but playing the I’m an idiot tourist card works perfectly fine!
It’s a very nice option. Also, since trains are so comfortable here, are always a great deal!
Well, islands have some great perks, I call them beaches! and not being “young” on paper doesn’t mean I am still not young in anything else that matters!
I usually don’t spend more than 1-2 days per city so… I was not affected by the pass hehe
Moving with public transportation is always better when one travels light! otherwise it can be a mess!
Ah I wish I’d done this before I was too old to get the cheaper ticket! Never mind; it’s still on my list to do one day. 50 trains in 22 days is quite a feat – I bet it was epic!
You can’t imagine how much! I think I can officially say that I have seen central Europe! Some people may try to do it more slowly, but I really like my pace =). Anyway, make the numbers and go for it, the age only affects in the ticket price 😉