Interrailing Summer 2017

interrail00

Me and a group of my friends are going inter railing for the first time in the summer and we are just trying to get a rough idea for a budget for the trip.


We are looking to go for 4 weeks, and to these cities:

Amsterdam , Berlin, Prague, Ljubliana, Split, Belgrade, Budapest, Krakow.

Excluding flight costs and inter rail ticket price cause we have them booked already, would anyone who's been on a similar trip or might have a rough idea be able to give an estimate at what it might cost for the trip, for food, cheap hostels, cheap drinks, cheap entertainment and clubs?

We will spend more of the time in the Eastern european cities to cut down on cost.

If anyone can help that would be appreciated.

Thanks.

MarkY91

I can't recommend "mosquito" hostel in krakow highly enough. Great little hostel and they do drinking games every night and bring you on a pub crawl.

You'll struggle to spend your money in krakow too and it's got great nightlife.

Auschwitz isn't too far from krakow and can be booked with the hostel.

Fitz*

I'm also going this summer. Gonna attempt it solo, to try see as much as possible as I want. A few friends might join my for some legs or for a weekend in a certain city but at the moment going solo & hoping to meet people on the route in hostels etc.

I've been to Prague (saw nothing but an Irish bar, a local bar & 2 nightclubs! )

Have been to Budapest a couple of times, but during the winter. The Baths are cool and I'm fairly sure they do like a pool party type event there during the summer which could be worth looking into. Last time I was there, local pints were around 450-500F which is under €2. Drink is very cheap in shops too. I wouldn't be the biggest fan of locals there, them seem to have a very large Soviet chip on their shoulders, so I would advise to have any activities/bars/clubs planned in advance and an estimate of how much taxis will be. They can try catch you out there cos of the conversion rate. Hello Kitty is a mad club, and also the Ruin bars are a must - I would recommend Simpla. It's brilliant there, and weirdly and cooly odd and funky!

My own route at the moment I am trying to work towards is Bratislava -> Brno -> Vienna -> Munich -> Stuttgart -> Dusseldorf -> Maastricht -> Antwerp -> Brussels -(fly)> Croatia -(fly)> home

I'm avoiding bigger places like Italy, Berlin, Amsterdam as I think that they would be better suited to a group of lads rather than solo. So any advice on above places would be greatly appreciated!

VG31

FitzShane wrote: »

My own route at the moment I am trying to work towards is Bratislava -> Brno -> Vienna -> Munich -> Stuttgart -> Dusseldorf -> Maastricht -> Antwerp -> Brussels -(fly)> Croatia -(fly)> home

I'm avoiding bigger places like Italy, Berlin, Amsterdam as I think that they would be better suited to a group of lads rather than solo. So any advice on above places would be greatly appreciated!

Here's some general suggestions of what to see in some of the cities. If you have any specific interests let me know and I can suggest other things.

Vienna

• Schönbrunn Palace. This will take up most of the day if you see all the attractions (Palace tour, gardens, Orangery, Hedge maze, viewing point). There's also a zoo in the park.
• Art museums: Kunsthistorisches Museum, Belvedere Palace Museum
• Hofburg Palace
• State Opera House
• Natural History Museum
• Museum of Military History
• St. Stephen's Cathedral

Munich

• English Garden
• Viktualienmarkt (outdoor market)
• Olympiapark and Olympic Tower
• Deutsches Museum (technology museum)
• BMW Exhibition and Museum
• Old and New Pinakothek (art museums)
• Nymphenburg Palace
• Residenz Palace
• Allianz Arena
• Tierpark Hellabrunn (zoo)

Stuttgart

• Mercedes-Benz Museum
• Porsche Museum
• Wilhelma Zoo and Botanical Garden
• Television Tower

Between these three cities I'd be inclined the stay the longest in Munich, Vienna and Stuttgart in that order.

Vienna is a good city but a little pricey. If you are not into palaces or art museums I wouldn't spend too long here. Make sure you try the Austrian specialties of Wiener Schnitzel, Tafelspitz, Apple Strudel and Sacher Torte.

I highly recommend stopping in Salzburg between Vienna and Munich. It's a stop on the rail line between the two cities so it's not a diversion. I'd go as far to skip Vienna for Salzburg. It's main attractions include: Hohensalzburg Fortress, Mirabell Gardens (featured in the Sound of Music) and Hellbrunn Palace and Trick Fountains. If you are interested in WWII, it's very worthwhile to take a 45 min bus journey to Berchtesgaden in Bavaria where you can visit Hitler's Eagle's Nest (and lots of other attractions in the National Park).

I love Munich; there's a great assortment of things to do there. Definitely go to the beer halls and beer gardens. The Viktualienmarkt is great for trying all the food. I recommend the Munich specialty, Weißwurst (a pork and veal white sausage served with pretzels and sweet mustard).

Is there any particular reason why you want to go to Düsseldorf? There's nothing particularly interesting to see there. I'd be more inclined to visit Cologne, Heidelberg or some other city.

Here's some suggestions for what I think would be a better order of cities for the Austria/Germany section of your trip:

Vienna -> Salzburg -> Munich -> Stuttgart -> Cologne
Vienna -> Salzburg -> Munich -> Nuremberg -> Cologne

Also why are you flying from Brussels to Croatia? That doesn't really make any sense. If you want to see Croatia would you not start there?

Fitz*

Thank you very much VG31 for your detailed reply. It is much appreciated

I certainly will take all of these into consideration

VG31 wrote: »

Is there any particular reason why you want to go to Düsseldorf? There's nothing particularly interesting to see there. I'd be more inclined to visit Cologne, Heidelberg or some other city.

Also why are you flying from Brussels to Croatia? That doesn't really make any sense. If you want to see Croatia would you not start there?

I just picked out these, as to reply.

I am just picking Dusseldorf as it would break up the journey between Munich -> Maastricht, but perhaps as you said Cologne may be a better option there to visit for a day as they seem pretty close by too. I haven't finally nailed down a route but I can change it so if you think Dusseldorf is worth leaving out then I may just do that.

I'm flying from Brussels to Croatia as I wanted to finish up in a beach resort type place. Also, I have Ryanair vouchers to use and the flight is only €30! Also, there is a direct flight from Zadar in Croatia back to Dublin, so the route just kinda fit into place!

tricky D

+1 for Cologne over Dusseldorf. Simply a lot more on offer.