INTERRAIL TRAVEL TIPS

One of the trips that will mark you for life. Make the decision to put your backpack on your shoulder and go explore Europe by train during the vacation months. This post is dedicated to all of you who are thinking about embarking on this adventure, Interrail travel tips based on own experience. We hope they help you!

Ten is a crowd

Let's be serious, if you don't agree when you go out, you won't agree when you have to visit a city or catch a train on time. You will have it much easier when booking trains, hostels, and you will also be more open to sharing the trip with foreign friends.

The fewer friends you travel with, the better, both for comfort and ease.

Do not over-plan the route

The best journey is the one you find along the way. It doesn't matter that you have planned the trip a month in advance or that in two days you have decided to put your backpack on your shoulders to tour Europe. No matter how much you try to plan the trip, you will always stay more days in a city that you love because it coincides with a festival, there is a party or you have met travel companions. There will be other cities from which you will flee as soon as you set foot on solid ground.

That's what Interrail is all about, living in the moment with every step through Europe.

Print plane tickets before starting the trip

Important especially if you travel with a low-cost company and decide to finish the Interrail by returning by plane. If when you arrive at the airport you do not have your printed ticket, they will loot you money that you may not have nor will they trust you with the appearance of beggars that you will have at that point.

Visit a city for at least two days

Two are still short even for some of the European capitals like Paris or Berlin, where you will need at least four days to get to at least enjoy them day and night. Surely you will leave a thousand things to visit along the way, but think about the amount of experiences that you have carried with you during the month that you have been around.

You will feel the satisfaction of having crossed through at least four different countries

The less weight in the backpack, the better

When thinking about traveling for a month we quickly tend to put tons of clothes in our backpack as if there were a tomorrow. Don't get confused! You are going to wear two pants at most along with five t-shirts, each for one day of the week.

ORA sweater, no more, will be enough to protect you from the cold. Slippers, flip flops and a bikini in case you take a bath during the trip

Towel? That of the decathlon. A good method to save on hygiene products is to divide it into several backpacks so that one carries the shampoo and another the bar soap, which always takes up less space. If you need something along the way, you can buy it in any European city.

Postcards were always the best gift

Don't load your backpack with gifts that make you walk more and more crestfallen. Send a postcard from each city where you are and you will save yourself from thinking about what to buy for friends and families. You will look like gentlemen with a simple gift but in this technological world that is almost non-existent. You will give them joy.

Travel at night better than during the day

The best way to travel during the Interrail is by booking the trains that travel at night. We recommend traveling at night, especially long distances between European cities. The best website to book your train tickets is the German one. You can consult it in the following link.

You will end up more tired but you will take advantage of double the time in the cities

Collect train tickets when you arrive at each destination

You will avoid unnecessary queues and waste less time. You will be too lazy to take them as soon as you arrive, we know, since you will have an immense desire to go out and explore the city.

You will be sure to have room on the next trip, hopefully in your own cabin, and you will be able to better plan your place in the city

Letters and pipes on the train, essential

Be aware: you are going to spend hours and hours stuck on a train. A good repertoire of music, cards and pipes will be essential to pass the time. Try to find places that can be opened in the shape of a bed and if you have only one compartment for yourselves, all the better. During the trip, check for first class seats because many times they will let you cut through if there are few passengers.

If you buy bread with nuts and sausage you can also take advantage of it to indulge in small whims between town and town.

Do not lose your sleeping bag at any time

As much as we don't want to admit it, you won't always find haunted and hygienic places in Europe. Better safe than sorry: bring your sleeping bag to avoid sleeping with bedbugs and save you from trouble if you end up stranded on the street at some point during the trip. It will also serve as shelter in cities with cooler temperatures. Don't forget it!

Eat from the hostel breakfast

We Spaniards have always been like this. Get a good pack of disposable bags to store the breakfast sandwiches that you will use for lunch. Eye! There are many hostels that have realized the trick and put security guards so that you do not violate the rule. With a good breakfast you will function throughout the day. And to eat without spending a penny?

The one euro hamburgers are present in all European cities and are perfect to feed you only for a month, then you will never taste them again in your life.

The more food and sausages you bring from Spain, the better. For this reason, we recommend that you take advantage of half of the bag for the delicious sausage at home.

Accommodation: the more people, the cheaper

On the Interrail you are not looking for comfort, but to discover Europe in the most economical way. It's the perfect trip to meet wandering travelers. You will sleep in rooms for 8 and 16 people and you will even be able to meet local people who will accommodate you in their homes. A unique experience! It is also a perfect opportunity to practice CouchSurfing

Booking.com

Lizard soap, your faithful ally

Something really essential;) The low weight in the backpack requires a good lizard soap that will be your ally during the trip. The perfect time to wash clothes will be during the night you stay in the hostels. Recommendation: take clothes that you can get rid of at the end of the trip since you will end up with a small mass of loot.

Monuments, parks and cafes, perfect for sheltering from the heat

If you are going to travel in summer, be clear: you are going to be hot. The best thing you can do is go visit the city very early and at noon look for a good refuge in a church, cathedral, mausoleum... We assure you that they are the coolest places. You can also have a good coffee quietly during the hours when the sun is hardest. Alternative?lThe parks are perfect to continue enjoying the typical Spanish nap.

Your tickets for monuments here!

Napoleon is everywhere

Wherever you go you will find it: Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Krakow, Prague...it is everywhere. Stay tuned!

And if the interrail does not convince you, either because you do not have many free days to do it, or because you prefer to travel by other faster means of transport, or simply because you already know most of the cities through which it passes, we have 5 alternative routes through Europe for those addicted to traveling from city to city.

Have we left out any recommendations? Tell us with the tag #funplan and send us your photos ;)