Maybe not the first idea that pops on your mind when travelling through Europe but let me change your mind. Europe has over 40,000 railway stations. Yes, you heard right…

Before I go into reviewing a website that I chose to show you today, let me state a few benefits of travelling by train. Train stations are usually situated in the centers of large cities because most of the railways are old and a few hundred years ago, cities were a lot smaller. Newer parts grew around stations. Central stations were and still are railway stations. That knocks out additional transportation from airport, sometimes bus stations etc. When travelling by train you have the possibility to see a lot more of the scenery of the countries you travel through. Imagine that, to actually be able to get to know a lot more places and get a certain feeling; than to just read a paragraph from a paperback guide about it. They are a lot more comfortable that buses and if you take a long distance train or a night train at some point of your trip, you can relax and sleep in couchettes (mixed compartments usually with bunk beds). You can, almost always, take as much baggage as you want; but also think of it in a way…how much can I carry around with me? Trains are not necessarily slow, you can choose high-speed trains, where possible. And, don’t forget, trains are a green choice!

InterRail is a company and a really great website that has all the necessary information about European train travel and provides you with InterRail passes. Passes connect 27+ countries and come as two types: Global and One Country. Global pass is a kind of a general pass; where ever you want to go in Europe, while the pass is valid, you can. And One Country pass is available only for foreigners travelling through one country.

The pass concept is that you buy a number of days during your vacation you want to spend travelling. That means, if you choose 5 in 10 days, 10 days is the period you’ll spend in Europe and 5 of those days you can hop on and off trains with your pass. Or you can just buy a 22 days/ 1 month continuous pass if you want to be more adventurous. For prices go here. Students and generally young people under 26 can get a cheaper pass but it has to be 2nd class. You must order a pass 3 months before your first day of travel and it will be sent to you by mail.

Reservations are not required, but I still would recommend to do so for busy times and routes. They are only required for TGV (high-speed trains) and long distance trains. Baggage is not limited, only by Eurostar and some other hotel trains; always search for that information to make sure.

Your InterRail pass includes even ferry/boat passes where possible. Children under age of 12 get 50% off. Their website also provides all timetables and maps of all railways in Europe. That’s why I love it. They provide all information so you can easily plan your trip. Enjoy InterRail!

*InterRail passes can only be used by European residents. You must have been staying in Europe for more than 6 months on your first day of InterRail pass validity. But, don’t worry, I have found the same train pass for all of you travelling from outside of Europe. I will cover it in my next post.

Stella – European Travelling Advisor