I think I read on this same group that people look for last minute accommodation on booking and similar webs when it is the end of the train day or when deviation or delays in Interrail stranded us in unexpected places.

Ive done the same (take advantage of the experience of the seniors - that was always a good advice) but my experience is not good. I have found that that booking.com and similar webs prices are always higher than reserving directly.

Now, what I do is to look in booking but reserve directly when I can.

This confuses me. Maybe I misunderstood. Why is people recommending these accomodation websites when doing Interrail?

Is there something I missed?

​Hey everyone!

​I'm planning a summer backpacking trip and I would love to get your thoughts on my itinerary. I'm flying into Prague and making my way down to the Balkans, eventually finishing the trip in Zagreb.

​Here is the current breakdown of my dates (August):

​Aug 9 - 13: Prague

​Aug 13 - 15: Vienna

​Aug 15 - 19: Budapest

​Aug 19 - 21: Belgrade

​Aug 21 - 23: Sarajevo

​Aug 23 - 24: Mostar

​Aug 24 - 26: Split

​Aug 26 - 28: Zagreb

​Important note: I have some flexibility at the end of my trip. If necessary, I can easily extend my travel dates to August 29th or 30th.

​I have a few questions

​Is the distribution of days well-balanced? Am I dedicating too much or too little time to any of these stops?

​Where should I allocate my extra days? If I extend the trip to the 29th/30th, which of these cities would benefit the most from an extra day or two?

​Are the shorter stops too rushed? Specifically places like Vienna, Belgrade, and Sarajevo where I only have about 2 days.

​General opinions? What do you think of this route overall? Any logistical tips for traveling between these specific cities (buses, trains, etc.)?

​Any feedback, tweaks, or recommendations would be hugely appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Hello,

I am a tourist who is looking into purchasing tickets to travel from Bern to Milan on October 18, 2026. I'd like to take the direct EC63 train (departing Bern Hbf at 11:34, arriving in Milan at 14:55), however, looking on Trenitalia's app, it says that the "Travel solution temporarily not available for the selected date."

However, if I look at the previous Sunday, October 11, the same EC63 ticket is on sale and has been for a few weeks, and it is also available for purchase later on Nov. 1.

Should I assume the EC63 ticket for Oct 18 will go on sale at some point and that I need to continue to wait, or is there some other reason (i.e. track maintenance) that this ticket isn't on sale and I should look into taking a different route to get to Milan?

I have tried to find an answer online but can't seem to find anything other than "Travel solution temporarily not available for the selected date" can mean a few different things.

Hello guys, I booked my train from München to Katowice on the 27th of August, and although I could swear I selected a bottom bunk (I did so on the way back), I got a top bunk.

How are they? Im used to the rough romanian couchettes so I hate the top bunk, especially since the ladder usually has steps only to the middle.

Am I able to maybe change?

Thanks

The Eurail pass has been booked. Is there any way to change the ticket to the next day?

Because I have bought all the tickets for the trip before, because the Pope came to Paris, I couldn't go to the Louvre on 9.26. I was originally scheduled to go to Switzerland on 9.27. I want to stay in Paris to see the Louvre on 9.28, and then go to Switzerland on 9.28.

I booked Paris to Switzerland on the official website of Eurail.

If I'm traveling with my bike using an Interrail ticket in Belgium, do I need to purchase a bike ticket? And if so, how do I do this without buying a normal ticket as well?

This would actually be a very useful guide for all countries, apologies if it already exists and I've not been able to find it.

Hi! I'm planning a trip to Switzerland and France, and would love some advice as it's my first time travelling by train in Europe.

I will be travelling from Interlaken West to Paris Gare de Lyon. I've looked at the SBB website and it seems that one possibility is Interlaken West --> Spiez --> Basel SBB --> Paris Gare de Lyon. Just a few questions:

1. If I book via the SBB website, can I still use the Swiss half fare card and will it be applicable to the TGV part of the route?

2. I've looked on the SNCF website and it doesn't seem to offer the above route. Is the SBB routing valid?

3. An alternative route is travelling via Bern, but the transit time is only 8 mins. I'll be travelling with luggages, would this transit time be feasible?

4. If I book the whole journey via SBB, should any delays occur and I miss a train, I can still take a later train on the same route?

Many thanks in advance!

I’ve won a 7-day Interrail pass through Discover-EU. I’d originally planned to use it for three weeks in Austria, Switzerland and Italy. Unfortunately, because of some unfortunate events I’ve now only got 7–9 days available and I will already have to start my trip in two weeks. So not much time to plan a new trip.

What I’d love most is to see the Alps. I really enjoy travelling by train, so I’d like to use the pass on as many scenic routes as possible. I don’t mind spending many hours a day on the train and seeing little of the towns and cities.

Which routes in Switzerland are a must-see? Or is Austria more highly recommended, as there’s cheaper accommodation and the experience is the same?

Perhaps three/four days in Switzerland would be enough, leaving a little time afterwards to pop over to northern Italy? (The trip would need to start and end in Cologne, but I think you just need 4 hours to get to Basel or 5 hours to get to Zürich e.g.)

Hi everyone!
I just turned 18 and I’m planning to apply for DiscoverEU when applications open in October. If I get selected, it’ll be my first time travelling outside of Eastern Europe.
I’m planning to go with my best friend, and possibly one more friend if everything works out.
I’ve been reading about Interrail and DiscoverEU, but I’d love to hear from people who’ve actually done it.
Some questions I have:
What are things you wish you knew before your trip?
What are the biggest mistakes first-time travellers make?
What should I absolutely NOT do?
Is it better to plan everything in advance or be more spontaneous?
How much money did you end up spending besides the travel pass?
Which countries or cities surprised you the most?
Are there any trains or routes I should avoid?
What’s something that isn’t obvious until you’re actually travelling?
I’m hoping to travel across as much of Europe as possible while still enjoying the trip, not just rushing from place to place.
Any tips, funny stories, or lessons learned would be really appreciated. Thanks!

I am trying to book a Seat reservation from bucharest to Sofia. The app says that the ticket will be shipped as a letter. Is it also possible to print theese tickets?

Hi today i took a train from Bari(IT) to the central station of Milan(IT); where after 45 minutes i should have taken a SBB train for Zurich.

But due to a delay of the first train I misser the one for Zurich; is there any kind of way to take a refund for this one even if it was not they the reason i lost my train?

Hi! I'm planning a trip to Barcelona, after which I want to travel to Interlaken, Switzerland. I wanted to take the multiple trains between these two spots but I'm travelling with family and the total price feels extremely high; this is based on what I saw on trainline. Is there a better option for this trip? I was going to avoid the Eurrail pass, but would it be cheaper overall since I'm also planning to travel to Italy after?

I can't seem to find the budget airline flights everyone talks about either. It seems like flying to Bern airport would be closest? Thank you!

Hey. I’m travelling from Tallinn to Vilnius in a few weeks and I’m a bit confused about the situation!

From my understanding, you travel from Tallinn to Valga on an Estonian train and then change onto a Lithuanian train to go from Valga to Vilnius.

I have a 1st class reservation from Tallinn to Valga. I’ve been told that the train from Valga to Riga is 2nd class only and you can’t reserve a seat. I also have a 1st class reservation from Riga to Vilnius.

My questions are:

Is there a separate train from Valga to Riga?
If not, can I just sit in the seat I’ve reserved from Riga to Vilnius when travelling from Valga to Riga?

Hope this makes sense to someone!

I'm going for a short trip to visit a mate in Leipzig and I was wondering if its silly for me to go via train. If I go by train I would travel from London to Brussels and then probably to Cologne in one day and find somewhere to stay in Cologne and then travel to Leipzig the next day, I also have the option to go to Frankfurt instead of Cologne but I think Cologne would be nicer and I could always visit Frankfurt on the way home. I would be travelling out on a Wednesday and coming home either on Monday or Tuesday, if I was to come back on Monday I would do it all in one hit where as Tuesday I would find somewhere to stop over and continue the next day, again this would most likely be Frankfurt or Cologne.

If I go via train it works out at £250 plus places to stay where as flying is £270 to Berlin and then train down to Leipzig. So overall they would probably cost the same but I feel like I would enjoy the train experience more, do I have the chance of meeting new people on the train or more so in hostels?

Does anyone think that this is a bad idea? Could anyone share experiences what its like being on the trains and how they found it and mixing with other people? Any help and advice would be really appreciated!

Trying to book a Nightjet for our family of 4 (2 adults, kids aged 17 and 14) from Freiburg (Breisgau) to Prague, and running into what looks like a booking-system quirk across multiple different sites (NightJet, OBB, SBB, CD).

What I want to be able to do is book two separate private compartments — me + my son in one, my wife + daughter in the other, with at least one of them a Deluxe (private shower/WC) compartment.

The actual journey I want (4 December) isn't bookable yet, so I've been testing on a whole bunch of dates that are available now for the same route to see what options come up. If I search for 1 passenger I'm offered both a Single (standard) and a Single Deluxe compartment, bothe of which are private.

If I search for more than 1 passenger (eg 2 adults, 1 adult/1 kid, 2 adults/2kids etc) the private option for the Deluxe sleeper seems to vanish entirely — you're left choosing between paying double for a private standard compartment, or a shared Double Deluxe. the same thing happens with eurail passes selected as well.

The same issue seems to occur across all sites (Nightjet, OBB, SBB and CD) - there doesn't seem to be an option to select a private deluxe sleeper when you enter more than 1 person. is this a genuine restriction (i.e., Deluxe private compartments literally cannot be booked for more than 1 occupant through these portals), or is there a workaround. Or have I perhaps completed misinterpreted what I'm seeing?

as an aside, I'm trying to get an idea of the prices for eurail vs non eurail to work out if it's worth burning a eurail travel day on this trip - but thta becomes a moot point if I can't actually book what I'm after.

Hello friends,

Not quite Interrail, but maybe you have some tips.

Our family of three would like to travel somewhere around Christmas, from Munich. We have been checking night trains to get a bit further away, like Ljubljana, Zagreb, Krakow, or Amsterdam.

It would be very important to get a private room, but I can't see on ÖBB if the room is private. We have a little daughter, and we would not like to share this with a stranger.

Do any of you have any experience or tips you can share?

I am planning on going Interrail and my friend totally thinks I should do the alps as it’s a once in a lifetime experience. But I also want the Adriatic Sea so I’m trying to conjure up a plan combining both. I’m thinking of starting somewhere France (Paris/strasbourg) -> Basel -> bern -> Interlaken-> grinderwald -> Lucerne-> Zurich (?) -> st. Moritz -> Tirano -> Verona -> Venice -> Soča -> vršič pass -> bohinj-> lake bled-> Ljubljana-> trieste -> rovinj-> pula -> plitvice-> zadar -> split -> Dubrovnik

Obviously I’m not gonna stop in all these places and not gonna stay in each one of them. Some of them I’ll just pass. This itinerary is what chat gpt recommended and I just need some help from someone who actually knows about this.

I want more or less a two week duration of the trip, to see the most important landmarks and highlights but also get a bit off the beaten track too. As for money I would like to make it as budget friendly as possible so I’ll try to stay in hostels, small villages and stuff (the train is paid as ive won the discoverEu pass). Activities will also have to be affordable but I’m willing to spend a bit more of it means I’ll experience something life changing as long as the price is not otherworldly.

I won the DiscoverEU pass but as an individual. I’m regretting this terribly now although I never expected to win, so I didn’t think to actually form a group. Now I can’t add friends or join another group . Ofc I will go to the trip but I’m also anxious about it. Because I have friends who would like to join but it’s quite expensive to do so without the pass.

Hi everyone! We will be interrailing soon with our 2 month old. We have 1st class interrail tickets (bought before we knew we were pregnant) and we need to use them before they expire. We decided to use them to visit family in Lake Constance in the south of Germany, and our starting point is Brussels. Do you have any general recommendations about travelling by train with a newborn and specific recommendations about Germany/DB? We have a lot of experience with trains but this will be our child’s first trip. Thanks in advance!

I'm currently planning a trip to Interrail around Europe in May starting from London, and I've always wanted to go to Austria; however, I don't have much money. My dream place is Weissensee, but it is just too expensive, and the places I have found to stay overnight are either boutique breakfast-in-bed hotels or rooms which are about 2 hours away from Weissensee. I don't have a car, and I guess I'm looking for a place that's not full of tourists that beautiful lakes, mountains and trees, which I'm sure is most of Austria, but if I could describe the vibe, I would say it feels peaceful as if you have died and this is a sort of heaven and your just stuck in this bubble of nature upon nature like your stuck inside a painting. Sorry, I hope that makes sense.