Interrail: 6,379Km and 13 Countries over 7 weeks

For single countries though the Interrail not worth it, or more like make your own research

For example in Hungary we have an unlimited pass for ~53€ a month, valid on all trains and multiple public transport options (almost everything in Budapest included) https://bkk.hu/en/tickets-and-passes/prices/hungary-pass-ful...

Whereas a 3 days in 1 month Interrail pass is 79€ https://www.interrail.com/en/interrail-passes/one-country-pa...

The best part of interailling for me was turning up to a major train station, looking at the giant departure board, choosing an enigmatic destination and just getting on the train. No booking or reservations or even planning at any point.

Is this not possible any more?

I remember that there had been a discussion about providing free Interrail tickets to all EU citizens at some age (18 or 19 maybe?), which I found a brilliant idea. I don't know whether this actually ever materialized, though.

I wonder how much more exhausting could have been if they decided to go much southern in Italy, where the service can be much more degraded

I would love to take an Interrail, eg to visit France, but it's x days in one month (8 days is 292€ per person) and doesn't match my travel habits. I would prefer to make short travels everyday rather than long travels 8 days of the month.

Edit: global passes let you travel everyday of your pass, with passes of up to 3 months: https://www.interrail.com/en/interrail-passes/global-pass

TIL there is a Stockholm to Helsinki ferry.

I’ve done Helsinki Talinn and that was great.

In the middle of my doctorate I had a mini-crisis of "I'm not smart enough and I'm never going to manage this", got mononucleosis, and decided the cure was the US equivalent (the USA Rail Pass: https://www.amtrak.com/tickets/departure-rail-pass.html).

I spent weeks and weeks traveling around the US. The Amtrak system is much maligned but you get to move at a slow pace and see the country and meet people (some of which you would prefer to have not met).

I highly recommend doing it if you want to get a sense of the scale and diversity of the US.

During this trip, at the recommendation of a friend, I read (or tried to read) a number of "American classic" books which I would finish and then leave on the train for someone else to read. Catch in the Rye, Huckleberry Finn, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, ... The only book I couldn't finish was, ironically, On The Road which I found utterly tedious.

I Interrailed through Northern and Eastern Europe 20 years ago when it was mostly used by students? It was amazing and I really think it brings europeans closer together. Glad it is still around!

"The crew just opened the doors to let a breeze in - very little health-and-safety culture here!"

That's a bit presumptuous...

Just like with the Erasmus program, it’s a transformative experience. It immunizes you against the BS you see on the internet about countries and people, be it the hype or fear mongering kind of BS. I did Greece-Bulgaria-Turkey many years ago back in college and since can just turn blind eye to the stuff Turks may say about Greeks and vice versa with no effort.

Just doesn't trigger me, I have seen the non-touristy parts of those countries on my journey and neither the hate nor the hype rings a bell. It's one of those low-key super successful government stuff. Maybe something like that should exist on global scale.

Prediction: Germany is going to be your worst train experience.

I just love long rail trips, often do Switzerland-Tunis via Palermo to see my in law family. Best trip ever was Tbilisi-Zurich via Batumi, ferry to Odessa Kyiv and Vienna.

I went on my first Interrail trip last year. It was a single country trip though. Can absolutely recommend it!

> very little health and safety

There is this thing called “common sense” :)

Any estimate on how much would the trip have cost? Just Interrail price

Self promotion, support a long time HN reader and get your pass via https://allaboard.eu/eurail or https://allaboard.eu/interrail

It’s actually more affordable via us, as prices are net and we do free refunds. Loosing the Stripe fee but it’s worth it.

> Eurostar St Pancras is dangerously crowded and needs tearing down

Agreed. It's horrific. They need to get rid of some of the shops, knock through, and double or triple the size of the departure lounge. EES has made it even more chaotic.

We do this all the time in the UK - give too much space to retail. You can understand why though - we spend like crazy at airports and railway stations.

I did a first class Interrail earlier this year, not planning much, not staying in hostels. It was quite stressful as unsurprisingly Paris, Milan, Florence etc are popular and expensive places! Trying to chase good weather was annoying as it was a terrible winter in much Europe - we had all this flexibility but didn't want to go anywhere as everywhere was cloudy and rainy.

We ended up abandoning it half way through, when we were in southern Spain during the terrible week of multiple derailments. We aren't religious but we took that as a sign to head home

I'm still committed to trains but I wouldn't repeat the experience. I would base myself somewhere with good trains, stay somewhere a bit cheaper, and do day trips via train

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Is interrail still a thing? It was popular in Europe back in the 70s and 80s, when young people could buy a interrail pass. Many of my older relatives (now in their 60s) did that back then, but it was more or less dead when I was old enough in the early 00s. By that time, budget airlines had become a thing, and summer/party trips to Spain / Mediterranean started to dominate my peers' summer vacations.