Interrailing alone?

Dr_MaSoN

Is it advisable?

Ive been assured if fairly handy to meet people while traveling around who are going the same way as yourself. Its just something ive always wanted to do before i join up with the garda and no time like the present.


Has anyone set out on it on their own, id be thinking the 22 day pass, unsure of a route at prestent.


Cheers

raemie21

Course it is.
I went twice with friends and last year on my own and definitely had a better time on my own.
Big cities and smaller cities too - just book into hostel dorms and you'll be sorted - in fact I bet there will be times when you almost wish you had a bit of time for yourself!
Seriously though, go for it. Like you said, opportunity won't always be there and you'd regret it always if you choose not to go out of fear.
Safety and company are not issues at all. For me the big thing about going alone was that when you come back, there's no-one to suddenly turn to on a night out and go "Hey remember when......" and have a laugh about it - people don't really get things like holiday bits unless they've been there with you. But then, they are experiences that you will have for yourself and can get actually quite smug about - I for one am pretty proud about going alone last year because it does take a lot of guts and is completely self rewarding. Would rather do these things now on my own than wait for the possibility that others might come in a few years. heck I'm off to Vietnam on my own in July for four weeks - Nervous, yeah. Madly excited? Bigger YEAH!!!

Dr_MaSoN

thanks, pretty much exactly the reply i was hoping for


what way route did you go if you dont mind me asking?

how long did you go for?

Dr_MaSoN

has many others about the boards done it alone?

was thinking some think like

Barcelona - paris - munich- ( Zagreb if time) -prague - krakow - berlin - Amseterdam


Too much or too little for 22-25 days?

moomoo2007

When you thinking of going? Myself and one of my friends are going in july but just cant figure out a route kinda looking at prague- berlin-amsterdam- paris- barcelona- italy(not sure where) !!!! confusion

Dr_MaSoN

i really only have 2 gaps, which would be middle of june til mid july or so, or mid july til early august.

Preferably the second gap as i dont miss eric clapton then:D


The route for me is still up in the air, but im guessing the logical thing is to start one side and work across i guess

moomoo2007

Ya we are thinking mid july like 2nd or 3rd week, im finding the route really diffucult to pick

taram

I've travelled a lot in Europe by myself, only been to Berlin with friends, I find it more relaxing by yourself that with friends, and while a lot of my friends spent their time out getting pissed on cheap German beer I probably hit half the museums of Berlin (yep I'm a nerd!)

Only places on your list I found slightly dodgy were around train stations in Germany on match nights, some of the dodgier areas of Amsterdam at night in high tourist season (and not a local problem, clearly a tourist problem, usually fine in Winter). Otherwise they're fine, I used to go out for dinner at 1am in Germany and stroll around by myself, got no hassle from anyone, saw very little trouble, really pleasant experience after a hot day walking!

Try to get to some smaller cities, you might be a little pressed for time, but if you plan everything in advance you'll be fine!

raemie21

Dr_MaSoN wrote: »

has many others about the boards done it alone?

was thinking some think like

Barcelona - paris - munich- ( Zagreb if time) -prague - krakow - berlin - Amseterdam


Too much or too little for 22-25 days?

Seven stops is good for that time, will give you 3days in each place and recovery after some night trains or whatever. And minus the two days you would lose really for flights.
It's hard to put an itinerary together but are there any place you're dying to go to? Or any place you've thought before, yeah would like to go there? Maybe head into Eason's at the weekend & spend an hour or two flicking throught their Western Europe and Eastern Europe books.
The route you were thinking above looks great, lots of the biggies in there! Although geographically, would think maybe Paris/Amsterdam/Berlin/Munich/Prague/Krackow makes more sense and more direct trains. Barcelona is a bit out but definitely include it if you want, it is a city though that you could easily take a weekend break there in the future. Personally speaking, I think Zagreb will pale in comparison with the others, you could always try Vienna or Budapest - both would have a lot more happening and more to see.
Interlaken in Switzerland is a cool place aswell but a bit out of the way maybe, has lots of adventure sports of you're interested/can afford - I manage to do a skydive and climbed a glacier there last August - pretty amazing!

How about you think about it a bit more and then try to book your start/end point and flights, you can decide the details of in between later?
Also, for what it's worth I think that mid July to mid August is a better time aswell, no real reasons but yeah, more crowds, better weather and just feels more like a summer holiday. For me anyway

Dr_MaSoN

i would favour to keep it more central and eastern europe. The route above was just a rough one to get something in my head, Munich and prague are the only ones id say that i definitly want to go to the rest is flexible. 2-3 days in the citys works out well within the time scale i have aswell.

Just trying to figure out where to start from and fly home from.

Cheers.

Dr_MaSoN

QUick question for anyone who's traveled europe


is Flying to paris - Amsterdam - Berlin - Prague - Krakow -Munich - Fly home from Nice


Is it a viable route for 3-4 weeks traveling?

scruff321

to answer your questions yes it is

route seems fine to me no overly long journeys

Dr_MaSoN

With reagrds to buying the actual train ticket, where should i buy it?


Is the actual Interrail site the cheapest?

or should i buy it in the first station im leaving from?

raemie21

If you're talking about your actual interrail ticket, you have to buy it in your own country - so get going to a USIT office with your passport.

Also, just be sure to double check when you're travelling around that you don't have to pay a small supplement (like 5-7euro or something) as some trains are snazzier than others and your interrail ticket alone is not enough - only a few mind you but just don't forget to ask at each station beforehand. Also, for some trains you may have to reserve a seat in advacne e.g. if you're thinking about getting the Thalys train from Paris to Amsterdam.

Dr_MaSoN

i paid for mine through the interrail site itself, 309 euro.


Well it was booked for me while i was out.

would this stil be ok?:o

kerry4sam

Just found this thread and I done the inter-railing twice last year, once on my own and the other time with friends and both had considerable pro’s and con’s …

Both times flew into
Zurich --> Innsbruck --> Salzburg and onto Italy -->
Milan --> Florence --> Rome --> Naples --> back upto
Marseille -> Barcelona> Nantes --> Strasbourg -->
Luxembourg --> Brussels --> Munich and back to
Zurich --> Dublin --> Kerry

Just paid for the travelling as we went along as told the passes don’t add up in the long-run. When we were in Switzerland and Italy the trains we went on required pre-booking and although 2 had passes they still had to pay the same price as us.

On my own I started out on 2weeks travels and returned nearly 4weeks later and with old college mates we went for a fortnight and was plenty of time. Defo the perfect thing to do before the training starts in Templemore mate

Dr_MaSoN

ey kerry;)

Ive pretty much got the whole thing sorted now, i like to have everything organised in advance im weird like that.

Trapattoni

Bergen/Oslo - Stockholm - Helsinki - Tallin - Berlin - Krakow - Budapest - Dubrovnik (ferry to) Rome - Venice - Switzerland- Paris - Home


Does anyone know how little in terms of cost - this iternery could be done on?