Inter-railing around Europe

matthew

Well-known member

Sep 20, 2009

2,413

Ovingdean, United Kingdom

• Mar 12, 2013

• #1

Me and my friends are planning on doing this after our A-levels this summer for about 10 days.

Plan is to visit Italy, Germany, Amsterdam, Switzerland and France (not in that order).

Has anyone done anything similar to this and know how to spend minimal amounts of money without camping?

Hostels and B&B's seem the best options but are there any mistakes you made so that we don't or advice you can give.

Thanks

 

M

MikeySmall

Well-known member

Jul 7, 2003

1,072

BRIGHTON

• Mar 12, 2013

• #2

I did it in 1996. One of the places we stayed was here - it's still going it seems. Get the Thomas Cook rail timetable and plan to sleep as much on trains as possible, even making journeys to places you have no intention staying in, just to get free 'accomodation' on the train.

THE TENT

 

hybrid_x

Banned

Jun 28, 2011

2,225

• Mar 12, 2013

• #3

forget it, will all cost you a fortune - get to the far east or latin america and have treble the fun for half the price.

 

C

churley1

New member

Oct 13, 2009

1,089

Bogota

• Mar 12, 2013

• #4

Don't discount taking flights at some points, for example I flew from Budapest to Krakow for about 12 quid last year with Ryanair. Buying a monthly interrail ticket isn't the only cost associated with travelling, you'll also have to pay for seat reservations and if it's a sleeper train, a cabin.

Hostels, Hotels & Youth Hostels at HostelBookers are a safe bet IMO for booking accomodation, you only pay a deposit and the rest when you arrive so if you have a change of heart and want to go somewhere else, you'll only lose a few quid on the booking.

What hydrid_x said is true to some extent, but you'll have to deal with massive journeys due to crap roads and in Latin America, endless mountains/jungle so your first travelling experience should be limited to Europe I'd say.

Also, you've probably chosen the most expensive countries in mainland Europe, consider going East to Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic etc for a far cheaper time. There's nothing wrong with the chosen countries, but given you're only just finishing your A-Levels, it will be rather expensive!

 

M

MattBackHome

Well-known member

Jul 7, 2003

11,723

• Mar 12, 2013

• #5

hybrid_x said:

forget it, will all cost you a fortune - get to the far east or latin america and have treble the fun for half the price.

Click to expand...

...or spend the same amount of money and turn that 10 days into 3 months. No brainer.

And if you're 18 my advice would be South East Asia.

 

S

seagulls4ever

New member

Oct 2, 2003

4,338

• Mar 12, 2013

• #6

Me and my friends did it a few years back for 18 days on a budget of £1500, which includes plane tickets, train travel, accommodation and all spending money. We went to 8/9 different places, starting with Lisbon, and ending in Amsterdam. We never planned to sleep on trains (personally I would hate that, our last train journey took 18 hours since we missed a train, and I couldn't get to sleep at all). Book your first hostel and last hostel in advance, and everything else as you go (hostelworld.com), as you don't know what may happen. Your train ticket will make travel really cheap, but take into account you will still have to pay a small fee on most journeys you make as you go.

 

HovaGirl

I'll try a breakfast pie

Jul 16, 2009

3,139

West Hove

• Mar 12, 2013

• #7

I did this in 1973 and it was one of the best and most memorable trips of my life! We camped in France, Italy, Switzerland and Germany and even changed routes and destinations as the fancy took us. You have the internet, so surf for cheap hotels in the areas you are interested in. France has the very cheap Campanile hotels, but they are usually out of town and not easy to get to from the railway station. Try surfing for youth hostels, pensions. One problem is, that the cheaper the hotel or hostel, the higher the likelihood it's in a more undesirable (nay, dangerous) area, depending on the city. Some campsites on the Continent have permanent tents, so you wouldn't have to cart all your camping equipment about, if you went for that option. On the Mediterranean, some campsites are practically in the sea!

 

M

MattBackHome

Well-known member

Jul 7, 2003

11,723

• Mar 12, 2013

• #8

"I was hitching, down the French river area..."

[yt]LjxqeUcKSLk[/yt]

 

Wilko

LUZZING chairs about

Sep 19, 2003

9,922

BN1

• Mar 12, 2013

• #9

hybrid_x said:

forget it, will all cost you a fortune - get to the far east or latin america and have treble the fun for half the price.

Click to expand...

THIS.

Inter-railing around Europe is great but what you save on the airfare you will lose on the price of a lager. You can do a night out in Cambodia for the price of a pint in Amsterdam.

 

VAL1850

Well-known member

Nov 22, 2008

1,921

Beachy Head & WSU

• Mar 12, 2013

• #10

Dont fall into the trap of trying to see too much in 10 days - all you will see is the central stations of capitial cities of Europe