Inter Rail Diaries: Beginner`s Guide to Inter Railing

Inter Rail Diaries: Beginner’s
Guide to Inter Railing
By Jess Fitch
Inter Rail Diaries: Beginner’s Guide to Inter Railing
Beginner’s Guide to Inter Railing
What’s involved?
If you’re looking for an adventure this summer, an Inter Rail ticket could be just what
you need. Having spent two summers Inter Railing round France, Switzerland, Italy
and Spain, I can reliably inform you that Inter Railing is cool. With one ticket, you can
travel freely on Europe’s trains for up to a month. You can visit bustling cities, sunsoaked beaches and tiny towns clinging to mountainsides. You can cut through Alps
and olive groves on trains that run quickly, smoothly and on time. You can meet
locals and fellow travellers from around the world. You can jump off on an impulse
if you pass through somewhere that looks interesting, or if you can’t afford a hostel,
kip your way across the continent on a night train for zero Euros. See, told you it was
cool.
Buying your ticket
The Inter Rail ticket works on a ‘price level’ system. Each country in Europe is priced
at one of four levels depending largely on how much it costs to travel in that
country. With ‘Level 1’ as the most expensive, they are priced like so:
Price Level 1: France, Germany, Great Britain, Norway, Sweden
Price Level 2: Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Finland, “Greece Plus”
(incl. ferry Greece - Italy), Republic of Ireland, Italy, Spain, Switzerland
Price Level 3: Croatia, Denmark, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania
Price Level 4: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, FYR Macedonia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia,
Turkey
You can either buy a pass for a single country or purchase a ‘global pass’ that covers
all of the above countries.
Before you go
Before you go, read up on the places you’re
thinking of visiting: there’s nothing like
leaving a town far behind only to read that
it’s home to the word’s biggest cheese
sculpture, or that you’ve just missed the
international air guitar championships.
Chances are your trip will take you through
several different language zones, which can
be a bit daunting. Try to learn a few basic
words in the language of each country you’ll be visiting. It really will help. I think you
can get by with the ones listed below. A basic grasp of mime will also help.
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●● Hello
Inter Rail Diaries: Beginner’s Guide to Inter Railing
●● Yes
●● No
●● Thanks
●● Sorry
●● Do you speak English?
●● Numbers (up to the number of people in your group - so you can ask for the
right number of drinks or croissants!)
●● The word for the drink you’re most likely to choose (‘coffee with milk’, ‘beer’ etc)
●● Supplement (so you can find out if you’ll have to pay one on a particular train)
If you only learn one word in each language, I’d recommend ‘thanks’. Then if you
sound like an ignorant Brit, at least you’ll sound like a polite ignorant Brit.
What to take
The normal rules apply - make sure you have a comfy backpack and pack light.
Here are some issues specific to Inter Railing...
Which guidebook?
You’re passing through six countries. This doesn’t mean you have to lug around six
guidebooks. Take a general Europe guidebook, such as Lonely Planet’s Europe on a
Shoestring.
How much money...?
As a general rule in Europe, east and south are cheaper than west and north. As a
rough guide, if you’re camping and making your own sarnies, you can get by on less
than a 15 a day. If you’re hostelling and eating out, you’ll need more like 25 to 30.
...And how to take it?
Say what you like about the Euro, it does make Inter Railing easier. Take 100 in
Euros and the rest in travellers’ cheques. Take a debit card too and you’ll be able to
withdraw local currency from ATMs in most towns, sometimes for a small charge
(around 1.50).
To tent or not to tent?
Camping isn’t everyone’s idea of fun. Putting your tent up every night...the
inevitable thunderstorm/cockerel/amorous couple next door...cooking on a wobbly
little gas stove surrounded by cow-pats...I love it. In my opinion, a tent is an essential
companion on an Inter Rail trip. You can camp for a fraction of the price of a hostel
bed and there’s less necessity to book ahead. As well as countryside and seaside
campsites there are campsites in - or just outside - most major cities, and many run
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free buses into the centre.
Inter Rail Diaries: Beginner’s Guide to Inter Railing
Other essentials...
Sun cream, sunhat and rain-coat (no, we’re not the only country with unpredictable
weather)...a sleeping bag...a small bag of washing powder...a penknife...a gas-stove,
two pans, forks, plastic plates and cups...
How it works
Your Inter Rail ticket allows you to hop
on and off Europe’s trains for free, with a
couple of exceptions. If you want to reserve
train seats in advance, you’ll have to pay to
do so. And if you want to travel in a sleeping
carriage with bunk beds, or on some highspeed intercity trains, you will have to pay a
supplement. Ask before you get on to avoid
nasty surprises.
The Inter Rail pass is personal and non-transferable, which means that only you can
use it and you may have to prove you’re you. Keep your passport handy.
Inter Railers are not permitted to travel with their pass in their own country of
residence, although discounted rail travel is available on presentation of the pass
when purchasing a rail ticket.
Along with your ticket you’ll be given a special form, which you’re supposed to fill in
with your journey details before you get on a train.
Kipping down
Inter Railers have these choices when it comes to finding a bed for the night...
Hostels and hotels: Preferred by many backpackers, hostels are a great place to meet
people. Sleep in a shared dorm, or bag yourself a group or double room. You’ll often
find that a one- or two-star hotel works out just as cheap as a hostel, if not cheaper.
Book your hotel or hostel in advance through our accommodation section, or try
to find one when you turn up. (In my experience, it’s possible to find a bed without
booking in advance around 75% of the time. For the other 25%, see ‘winging it’).
Top tip:
Write down the name of your hotel and the street it’s on when you go out. Trust me
on this one - we must have wandered round Paris for three hours one night looking
for the mysterious disappearing auberge de jeunesse...(‘I’m sure we’ve passed that
tall spiky thing before...’)
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Inter Rail Diaries: Beginner’s Guide to Inter Railing
Camping:
Like I say, campsites are everywhere. Buy a map that shows campsites and you’ll
never be stuck for somewhere to stay. Tourist information in any town will be able
to give you a list too, though the campsites they promote will probably be the more
posh/expensive ones.
Top tip:
Try putting up your tent before you go, to make sure you’ve got all the necessary
bits.
Sleeping on the train:
Before you get too comfy, make sure you won’t have to pay for the privilege. Actual
sleeper cabins with bunks are generally not covered by your Inter Rail ticket; if you
want to sleep in one of these, you’ll need to pay a supplement. However, most night
trains will have seats that you can sleep on for free; some tip back or unfold to make
a comfy-ish bed.
Top tip:
Pack your sleeping bag close to the surface of your backpack (it can get cold on
trains at night, wherever you are), along with something comfy to rest your head
on, a bottle of drinking water, toilet paper, a toothbrush and toothpaste and a bar of
soap. You’ll feel gross in the morning.
Winging it:
You haven’t booked in advance and you’ve arrived in a town where all the hostels
are full with no campsite for miles. Tut tut, I’d never find myself in a situation like
that, well-prepared type that I am...If this is the case, don’t panic. Kip down at the
station if it’s open all night, pitch your tent on a flat bit of ground (roundabout,
anyone?), or find yourself an all-night cafe and go for the world record in slowcoffee-drinking. None of these options are very sensible or very safe, but they’ve all
been tried at one time or another. Just not by me. Honest.
Top tip:
If you haven’t booked in advance, try to arrive at a new destination in the morning
to give yourself more time to look for somewhere to stay.
Safety
When travelling on trains, keep your
valuables in a money-belt around your
waist and under your clothes. Use a cablelock to secure your backpack to your seat or
the luggage rack.
What with all this criss-crossing of the
continent, you may not know when you’re
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Inter Rail Diaries: Beginner’s Guide to Inter Railing
about to cross a border, and those armed border police piling into your carriage
can come as a bit of a surprise. They’ll ask to see your passport, and they may check
through the contents of your rucksack thoroughly, so don’t be carrying anything
you shouldn’t.
About the Author: Jess Fitch
I spent my gap year volunteering as a teacher in Northern India.
I’ve since explored much of Europe by train, which is my favourite
way to travel. I love camping, discovering new veggie food, and
the little differences between countries - like crossing the border
into Spain and finding that the hot chocolate is suddenly so thick
you can literally stand your spoon in it. My favourite places are
beautiful but a bit scruffy and crumbly, like Naples.
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