#and (don't tell mam) i may have visited a few gentlemen along the way

[coto524]

oi you lot. you like trains?

psssst – there's currently a sale for 20% off interrail and eurail passes, running until 23:59 CEST (utc+2) on thursday 18 july 2024

i spent about 5 weeks interrailing earlier this year and it was some of the best fun i've ever had! would wholeheartedly recommend, it's a lovely experience and i got to see so many friends for the first time in ages + made many many more!

🇪🇺 🇬🇧 european residents (including UK) can buy on interrail.eu

🌐 rest of world can buy on eurail.com

more info under the cut:

i bought a 1st class pass for 15 travel days within 2 months — i got the mobile pass, but you can pay extra for the classic paper diary

this is the pass i bought last time (also in a sale!) and it worked like a dream! 1st class costs more but i got it for a few reasons:

i generally didn't reserve seats unless required, and on most trains there were almost always plenty of seats in 1st class

i used the eurostar to/from london (reservation compulsory) - with a 2nd class pass you can only get standard seats, with a 1st class pass you can get standard or premier. didn't know exactly what train home i was getting, so wanted a little more flexibility

i wanted to treat myself lol (a lot of countries include food service to your seat + free access to the customer lounge)

when you buy a pass you don't need to use it immediately! (in fact, the passes in this sale aren't valid until september, to encourage "off-season" travel)

seat61.com is absolutely essential for planning purposes — everything from "how to get between these specific cities" to "where to find the left luggage lockers at this one station" to "ok, your train got cancelled, but don't panic, here's what to do". i owe this man SO much is2g

i stayed in hostels pretty much everywhere, except for one city where i stayed with friends, two nights where i was on sleeper trains, and one city where i went for a hotel that was honestly worse than the hostel would have been.

(hostels may be more or less familiar depending on where you're from, but they're usually not so bad and they cut down accommodation a LOT)

feel free to LMK if you have any questions, i'm happy to help anybody interested in giving it a go!