My Interrail Journey

Are you thinking about Interrail? Yes – do it!!! No – why? Maybe this will change your mind.

It’s been a few years now since I did it (wow that makes me feel olddd and a bit sad) as I went summer 2017 between finishing A Levels and starting university. So, 18 year old me who wants to see literally everywhere sets off with my best friend, my backpack and the intention of having the best 6 weeks of my life. Did we? Yes. Were there things we could’ve done to make it even better? Of course. Would I ever go interrailing again? In a heartbeat.

This blog post is about where I went, what I liked and disliked about the experience and a couple of tips I have. Granted, this is my own personal view, and it has been a few years but I hope it’s helpful or at least that it’s not boring if you choose to carry on reading!

The first stop on your interrail journey? BUDGET!!! Yes, it’s boring but so much better to have an idea of what / where you can afford before you plan. I’d been saving for a couple of years, putting aside Christmas and birthday money as well as any extra I had spare from my job and babysitting. I couldn’t even guess how many hours of research went into it – blogs, vlogs, travel guides, personal opinions, magazines, random websites… you name it I used it. So I had a pretty good idea of the top ten places I wanted to go which I whittled down after looking at average costs in each place, safety and ease of using public transport.

https://www.interrail.eu/en The blog section of the interrail website has some really good tips and pre planned route ideas for all budget types! These are a great place if you’re really not sure where to start.

This website was my best friend and the bane of my life for the few weeks I was trying to get a route nailed down. https://interrailplanner.com/ It has really helpful features… you can see how long it takes to travel from place to place, you can put a start date in and choose how many nights you want to spend in each place to help you imagine your time in each location, you can decide between day and night trains, you can even select a pass to try and best fit your travel days around your plans anddd it has a very helpful cost estimator! Honestly – a life saver.

^ 3 of many, many (37 to be exact) attempts to figure out a route.

^ My final route plan.

After much consideration, I chose the month-long pass as I wasn’t too sure about night trains and wanted to be on the safe side as I had a lot of places I wanted to go – on reflection I could probably could have chosen a slightly cheaper pass and taken more overnight trains. My trip lasted 6 weeks because I also cheated a little and used flights to get to my first and last destination.

I had to get to England by plane anyway to begin my trip and the flights from home to Manchester to my first destination of Amsterdam I managed to get for less than the cost of flying from home to London so it was an easy choice for me. It also meant that I didn’t need to start my interrail pass until the day I left Amsterdam, giving me the extra 3 days I spent there.

I had all of my accommodation and most of my trains booked before I went. It is personal preference whether you do this or not but for me I just wanted to have everything planned out before I left so there was minimal stress as this was my first big trip. I also went during peak summertime, so I wanted to avoid any high costs of last-minute accommodation. If I were to do this again in more of an off-peak time, I would most likely only book the first few nights accommodation and leave myself a bit more open.

Stop 1: Amsterdam, 3 nights

Lots of bikes, lots of flowers, and lots of open space. Amsterdam was pretty much what I had expected, the people were all very chill, I nearly got run over by a bike multiple times and the buildings and canals were beautiful. If I were to go again, I would definitely visit the Anne Frank house, I hadn’t realised just how far in advance tickets get booked up and I didn’t want to spend an entire day standing in line.

Amsterdam to Berlin (my first interrail journey)

On reflection, this would have been a much better use of a night train. We had left at around 10am and not arrived in Berlin until around 5pm but as a first train, it wasn’t bad and it gave me time to think if any of my priorities had shifted with what I wanted to do and see whilst travelling.

Stop 2: Berlin, 3 nights

Whilst in Berlin I met up with two of my friends who joined us for a long weekend. Despite being only a few days into the adventure it was really great to have two more people to share it with! We rented a one bedroom apartment right in the city centre and made all of our food in the little kitchenette. This was a great way to keep costs low and after splitting the apartment it was less than a lot of a hostel. Berlin was full of history, it’s definitely on my list to go back and visit. A top tip from experience…sometimes the smaller stations within Berlin have the same name as a town on the outskirts…we accidentally got on a 1.5hour train to a different town instead of a 15 minute train to a different part of Berlin.

Berlin to Prague

The views on the trains from Berlin to Prague were incredible - I had not been expecting to see anything like it.

Stop 3: Prague, 2 nights

Prague felt a little bit like a fairy tale. Walking along the Charles Bridge, the gorgeous Old Town and every building in between was just breath taking. I loved the ‘City of a Thousand Spires’ and there was lots of quirky historical buildings and monuments that are pretty easily accessed on foot. Also, I would definitely recommend trying a Trdelník (chimney cake) and enjoying it right in the old town square.

Stop 4: Munich, 2 nights

I’ll admit I didn’t expect too much from Munich, one of my favourite books is set here so I had to go and see it for myself and I’ll hold my hands up and say I underestimated this city. I stayed in a very small but weirdly high tech 9m2 hotel room right in the city centre that I found an amazing deal on. Everything about this city shocked me, I definitely wish I’d had at least another night. One of the highlights was watching a group of locals play a game I didn’t understand who ended up talking to me for ages and then recommending we go somewhere there ended up being a celebration of LGBTQ+ and it was insane!

Stop 5: Salzburg, 1 night

Everywhere I went there was musicians around on street corners and the city itself is very walkable with amazing views all the way to the mountains. I would definitely recommend Mirabell Palace and its gardens. Top tip: If you’re as used to British weather as me, make sure your hostel has air con…the hostel I stayed in had no blinds, the mattress covers were plastic and the temperature felt a lotttt higher than 30c! Suffice to say I did not get the best nights sleep. On a more positive note…they gave you a beer on arrival.

Stop 6: Vienna, 2 nights

If you visit Vienna you can’t miss Schönbrunn Palace. I spent an entire day here walking around its lavish gardens and sat people watching the masses who came to see it for themselves. The city itself is very clean and there is something ever so pleasantly quaint about seeing horse drawn carriages. Here I stayed at my first chain hostel and I definitely wasn’t disappointed; the downstairs bar area had a comedy night (in English) I attended and met some really interesting people from all over the world.

Stop 7: Budapest, 3 nights

The hostel I stayed at in Budapest was definitely not what the photos made it look like…it had minimal reviews and the website didn’t work but at the time of booking was only a couple of pounds per night so I decided to go for it. I’ll admit the bathroom situation was definitely the worst I came across on this trip but (and this is a big but) the people I was in a room with made up for it completely. The hostel staff had amazing recommendations of places to go for cheap food, free sightseeing and the cheapest supermarkets. There was a plaza less than 60 seconds from the hostel where I spent one of the evenings just people watching, enjoying the live music and eating ice cream soaking in the city and it was wonderful. I did go to one of the ‘sparty’ nights at Széchenyi Thermal Bath but will admit it wasn’t really my thing but I’m glad I ticked it off the bucket list. There is just as much (free) stuff to do in Budapest in the day as in the evening, the sights are amazing both sides of the river and the architecture again is so unique. Budapest was definitely one of the highlights of the trip for me, I have been back since and am still just as in love with the city.

Budapest to Split (first overnight train)

Night trains are a good way to get somewhere that’s a little further away without wasting a day getting there. However…you need to make sure you think about it logically. Are you someone that can’t function without 8 hours of peaceful sleep in a comfortable bed? If you said yes then nights trains probably aren’t for you. They can also be a great way to cut out accommodation costs for a night. Again though, you have to think about how easily you can sleep. I opted to pay to reserve a bed in a 3 person bunk, it was about the same price as a night in the hostel I’d be staying at in Split. Luckily the third person that had booked never turned up so I only had to share the space with my friend which was great because as you can see, it’s not very big. All in all, the experience wasn’t too bad and I would be happy to do it again to save the 12 hour train during the day.

Stop 8: Split, 5 nights

Split was actually the longest place I stayed and I divided up my time there in 2. I spent 2 nights in a hostel right near the old town, then 3 nights in an Airbnb apartment about 45 minute walk from old town that was close to a beach. The first section I spent two long days exploring the city, the last few days I spent relaxing at the beach, sleeping and catching up on some washing (sometimes it’s cheaper to get an Airbnb and do your washing there then find a hostel in case you have to pay – especially if it’s 2 weeks worth of washing for 2 people)! I also decided to splurge and go on an organised boat trip for a full day – despite trying to keep to a strict budget there was occasionally more expensive experiences I spent money on and this one was 1000% worth it!

Split to Zagreb (second / final overnight train)

My second overnight train was just over 7 hours from Split to Zagreb. A similar thing happened that I booked to sleep in a 3 person bunk and the 3rd person just didn’t show up so my friend and I had it to ourselves again! This one wasn’t quite as comfortable as the first one, I definitely didn’t feel as well rested when we pulled into the station at 6am anyway. A big tip for taking night trains I’d say is to take a longer one if you can just to try and get as much sleep as you can. Plus – if you’re arriving somewhere at 6am like I did there’s not much open and you have to carry your bag around with you for a while until you can drop it to your hostel!

Stop 9: Zagreb, 2 nights

Zagreb is another European city that is quite compact so I got to see a lot of it in the 2 days I was there, there is a strong café culture and a really friendly atmosphere. Our hostel recommended an amazing food market and we bought sooo much fresh fruit. Zagreb felt like a bit of a hidden gem to me.

Zagreb to Bled

Some of the best views of any train I have ever been on. It took around 4 hours by train to go from Zagreb to Bled and we shared a carriage with some really fun girls from Spain who were also interrailing, but oh my gosh there was no air con it was 38c I genuinely looked like a tomato and had the window wide open my hair was so crazy by the time we arrived.

Stop 10: Bled, 3 nights

Stop 10: Bled, 3 nights

Bled was my favourite place. I’m not too sure exactly what it was…but wow, I cannot wait to go back. Here I stayed in an Airbnb because it had a balcony where I could sit and eat breakfast looking right over Lake Bled – to me that was definitely worth the 10 or something pounds extra per night compared to a hostel. It didn’t seem very touristy at all and I absolutely fell in love it was absolute bliss so peaceful. I would wake up to watch the sunrise in the morning and eat breakfast on the balcony then walk down to the lake and spend the rest of the day walking around the lake, having picnics, swimming and going paddle boarding or rowing. If Lake Bled isn’t on your bucket list, I beg you to put it on.

Stop 11: Venice, 1 night

1 night in Venice was definitely enough for me. It is pretty expensive but still somewhere I was keen to go and see. It is easy to get lost in Venice there are so many dead ends and streets that look exactly the same but that’s all part of the fun – though if you don’t like walking or paying a lot for waterbuses Venice is not for you! I’d recommend getting a city pass and using it to explore the other islands such as Burano, Murano and Torcello.

Stop 12: Verona, 1 night

Top tip: double check on maps when you book accommodation! The hotel we stayed at in Verona turned out to be a 2 hour walk from the train station…not half an hour! In 37c heat…we were majorly regretting so many things. Whilst it was a very pretty city filled with Roman ruins and fantastic (like really really fantastic) pizza, I think the hike to and from our hotel kinda ruined it a bit. The Juliet statue was interesting though and a lot busier than I would’ve expected.

Stop 13: Pisa, 1 night

Another 1 night stop for, which I have to admit get tiring veryyy quick having to move around so much even if there isn’t really that much distance between the places you’re going it’s definitely something to bear in mind. It’s pretty obvious why I went – another bucket list – but wow leaning tower was busyyyy. I mean, I knew there would be a lot of people but I never would’ve expected quite so many, it was crazy. Trying to get the photo was unbelievably difficult.

Stop 14: Rome/Vatican City, 3 nights

I lucked out in Rome, it is somewhere my mum had been really wanting to visit so I met her, my brother and my Grandma there and definitely got some of the perks of a family holiday. We ate out every night and went on one of those open top bus tours instead of the free walking tours I had been getting used to! It’s probably pretty obvious, but you should definitely visit the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Palatine Hill, Roman Forum, Pantheon, St Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel. They can be quite expensive to get in though and the lines long so make sure to shop around for the best deals!

Stop 15: Naples, 3 nights

The last interrail train journey was a 3 hour trip from Rome to Naples. This was on the very last day that my pass was valid so I made sure I was getting the most I could from it. I have to say that overall I was a little disappointed by Naples but I have heard so many raving reviews that I think it is possible I just didn’t go to the right places. There were some very interesting and beautiful buildings in the city however I took a daytrip to Pompeii and this might have been the highlight of Italy for me. I had never really enjoyed history apart from when we learnt about Pompeii – I have always been more geography over history so that could have been why. The whole place was so well-preserved I was shocked… just remember to pick up a map on the way in!

Naples to Paris

I had quite liked the idea of visiting Paris again but had never really figured it out how to work it in to my plans whilst still being able to visit as many places as I could through my interrail pass. I had set a google flight alert for Naples back to England and was waiting for a good price when I thought I would just check Naples to Paris and then Paris back to England and found that there was a company doing a flight for 30 euros so I booked it straight away.

Stop 16: Paris, 2 nights

Paris is somewhere I thought would end my trip nicely, I managed to find a good price on a hotel room with a view of the Eiffel Tower (from a fair distance of course) and flights that were cheap and worked so that I could still get home the night before a level results! I had pretty much reached my budget by this point but how could I say no to going up the Eiffel Tower?! It was fabulous and I am so so glad I decided to do it, especially at night to see all the lights I was so happy I chose to do it. The rest of the time I spent just walking around Paris taking it all in and preparing myself to get on a plane back to England and leave behind the most amazing 6 weeks.

Paris to England

Getting on the flight to come home seemed to come round so quick. I was exhausted from exploring so much and so many new things over the last 6 weeks but sad to be leaving behind the adventure. Ps my bag didn’t come home until 3 days later because it got lost in Manchester airport.

So… that was my Interrail adventure. I hope that it has in some way inspired you to do something similar! If you made it this far then wow I’m impressed thanks so much :)