INTER-RAIL FOR AN EXPERIENCE YOU WILL NOT FORGET. (InterRail)

Member Name: purplegirl1989

Product:	InterRail
Date:	16/06/09 (179 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: See many countries, much cheaper alternative to plane travel, greener than planes, learn life skill

Disadvantages: If not planned, you can waste time and therefore waste money. You don't get that much time.

It seems there are quite a few reviews on this topic, but then when it concerns such a huge experience, I believe that there can never be too many opinions on it! This experience actually did change my life in so many ways and hopefully this review will give people the extra push to do it.

> > > >> What is InterRail? < < < < <

Well I'm not going to bore you with the ins and outs, as it doesn't take long to look on the internet. It's a pre-paid ticket which allows you travel on practically most trains throughout the participating countries (most of Europe.) However, it's not valid for travel in your country of residence, although we did get a discount on the ferry back from France. There are four types of tickets (they are only available to European Citizens)-
*5 days within 10 days
*10 days within 22 days
*22 days continuous
*1 month continuous.
The prices vary depending on the ticket, with the highest price for Second Class adult 599EUR and First Class 809 EUR. What's great is if you're like me and under 25 years you can get a Youth Ticket for a discounted price. You're given a ticket within a paper envelope which you must keep and show when the ticket inspectors ask for it.

> > > > > What ticket did I get and what was my route? < < < < <

As this was a rash decision (literally a week before we left) my friend and I each got the youth monthly pass. We decided to take the more adventurous way and plan as we go, which had its spontaneous advantages but then also quite a few disadvantages as I will mention later! So in August 2008, we booked a one way flight to Helsinki, Finland as we already had decided to spend two weeks there with another friend. If you haven't guessed already, I am rather in love with Finland and its culture, people, scenery, history....And so it shouldn't surprise you that about two weeks of our trip (extra as well as just the holiday) was in Finland. Now, some people may say "why didn't you just get the one-country pass for a much cheaper price?" (from the same people who do the InterRail) and the answer is that I wanted the best of both worlds; to see more of my favourite country but also to discover more of Europe. Ok, so we could have got a two week one country pass, then a two week InterRail, but we obviously weren't that organised! And so our original plan was to see Finland, then Sweden, Norway, Denmark and back to Finland and then to get the plane home. We soon realised that was rather impractical! Firstly, the accommodation in Sweden and Norway especially was much too expensive to book with hardly any notice. Secondly, after this trip would we really have the money for a flight back home?! (Considering we had savings, but as we were only 18 at the time, not much!) Therefore, after many changes, our route was:

[ Finland ] Helsinki- Lahti- Tampere- Oulu- Turku- [Sweden] Stockholm- Gothenburg- (via Copenhagen, Denmark)- [Germany]- Hamburg- Berlin- [Czech Republic] - Prague- [Austria]- Wien- [Switzerland]- Zurich- [Belgium]-Brussels- [via France, ferry across the English Channel]- UK.

The inter-rail pass was great as it got us heavily discounted places on the deck (no cabin) on the VikingLine ferry from Turku to Stockholm. We were assured by the Finnish people that this isn't supposed to be a sleeping ship anyway, it's a 12hour long party. I reserve comment ;)


> > > > > Was it easy or difficult? < < < < <

Well the answer is a mixture of both.

* In terms of trains... The first train journey from Helsinki to Lahti was rather scary as we were unaware of the way that trains worked in Finland. We didn't reserve seats as we didn't think there would be a need to. However, on this train in particular we couldn't find a way of telling which seats were reserved and the only way to tell was when the person who did reserve it came up to you and spoke Finnish quickly, pointing at their ticket. And so, no, moving from seat to seat with baggage wasn't easy. Therefore, we learnt to always reserve seats if possible, particularly in Finland! It could also be rather hard to reserve the seats in the first place if you don't know the language. Also, some stations in particular were rather huge- Zurich springs to mind- and so can be quite nerve-wracking to navigate through. And in France when we had to change at a station, it was split in two and they didn't tell us, but luckily we found out where the other station (where our next train was going from) was. It was a 15 minute walk down the road... Then again, England has its fair share of large scary train stations, and none of the stations that I can remember were half as bad as London Paddington! That's the station where I feel there's a real language barrier- and that's where both parties are speaking English! (These people don't seem to understand the words "Heathrow Connect...")
If you're a calm relaxed person though and are willing to attempt to learn some languages (i.e Do you speak English?) then you should have no problem. If you're willing to risk not having a seat, then you can in most cases you can literally just jump on any train, although you should check whether that train company in particular accepts them. I didn't have any problems with showing the ticket to the inspectors, although they did seem rather confused at first. Just ensure that you fill out the sheet with every train/boat you've been on. I also found that in most cases, train companies in Europe are generally a lot more reliable than our English ones, mostly running dead on time (to the second) and quite often. Most of them were also rather comfortable; in particular the train from Hamburg to Berlin, when we got our own exclusive carriage in a train that looked like it belonged to the movie set from Harry Potter!

*In terms of the experience in general...It was of course easy to keep a smile on your face most of the time as you encounter such a vast range of scenery and the culture and its language always seems to be changing. However, in my experience, in this trip- travelling IS your occupation. For that one month, that is your complete life- there's no time for anything else. If you 'plan' it in the same way we did, then be prepared to learn some harsh life lessons that you simply can't learn anywhere else. You're regularly on the internet searching for the hostels, phoning constantly to try to get through to anyone - preferably someone with a room for the dates needed- and not to mention the time spent trekking with bags almost the size of yourself in search for your accommodation. Then there's the inevitable chance that you WILL find some accommodation that is truly awful: try sleeping in an unfurnished flat on a strip-club street in Prague, staying in a university church looking building with thousands of stairs to climb in Lahti and a smoke chamber where the main contributors to the atmosphere are the cleaners in Wien, for example. But then there's also the inevitable chance that you WILL find some amazing accommodation: sleeping in a cabin in the mysterious forest of Oulu, living in an apartment above a rock bar in Berlin and a cosy-student atmosphere in the hidden away "Happy Hostel," also in Wien, for instance. No two experiences are the same (unless they travelled with you of course..) but it is guaranteed that there will be difficult times as well as easy times in the InterRail experience.

> > > > > Ten Top Tips you can learn from my experience < < < < <

1- Plan ahead! - We aimed to plan at least a week before but in truth, you need at least two or three weeks before hand. Plus, more advance bookings usually mean cheaper prices and always guarantee less stress! It's probably an idea to use the lower costing ones if you plan to visit as many countries as possible. We aimed to spend at least 3 days in each place, which worked out for us nicely.

2- Learn languages!- Seriously, the reputation of us English people abroad is not brilliant! People think we're arrogant and simply don't see the need to speak in other tongues. However, not only is it much more polite, it makes things move along a lot more smoothly for you. Even with the simple remarks "Hello", "Do you speak English?", "thanks", "bye!" in the country's language will make the people much more willing to help you. No one likes an arrogant traveller!

3- Research Hostels as much as possible before booking!- Don't just look on one website, look on other hostel websites for reviews of the place beforehand, it can reduce the chance of encountering a nasty surprise!

4- Before leaving the city's train station, get a map and timetables if possible- You'll be surprised how hard it is to find them sometimes!

5- Don't trust the cheapest tour guide bus!- We thought we'd do something different and take a sightseeing tour of Hamburg. We really wish we didn't...all we saw was a building site and a porn street.

6- Always research vital numbers for that country- Police, Fire Service, Ambulance British Embassy etc... Ok we did that one, but thought I'd include it anyway :)

7-Take a Nationwide Flex account card with you- Since they don't employ me anymore, I won't bother promoting it that much, but it does give free usage of cards abroad- although this has changed slightly, check their site for T&C's- and Visa is widely accepted throughout Europe. (We also did this one.)

8- Don't Over pack!- There are just some things that aren't meant to go with you on a long InterRail trip, so do your back a favour and don't take them.

9- Use your ticket for discounted fares- Go to the ferry booking office and mention the InterRail card for a hefty discount, details again can be found on the InterRail website.

10- Enjoy it!- Let the stress pass over your shoulders and really try to take it in because it will be over in a flash!

> > > > > Would I recommend it and who to? < < < < <

Yes, of course I would. For the majority of people. It's not for those who aren't willing to learn and think they know it all. It's not for those who have no interest in European Culture. It's not for those who want a relaxing holiday. It's for those who want a completely different experience. It's for those who accept there will be great challenges but will appreciate them and live for the moment. Personally, I did this as part of my gap year before I go to Uni, in an attempt to gain more confidence in life and get some unforgettable experiences. And that's what I achieved by doing this trip.


www.interrail.net

Summary: Fantastic experience, not just for those on a gap year!