Interrail isn't worth it

[blackfive460]

Also, unless things have changed recently, you can only make a booking with an Interrail ticket over the 'phone or in person.

Passholder fares are available online through SNCB at:
https://www.b-europe.com/EN/Booking/Pass#TravelWish

 

[Groningen]

Well; that Eurostar supplement is than still a bargain compared with the ferry. Say about 10 euro and than i am not talking about the time saving. With the earliest departure from the Netherlands i was in London around 19 hours (in the evening).

 

[morrisobrien]

You can make an Interrail booking on the Eurostar site.Just google "travel with Eurostar using your Interrail pass".

 

[Gerald Fiennes]

Things in France are not that bad: for intercity (ie. all TGVs plus some other lines), reservation charges are either 10 EUR (quota controlled) or 20 EUR (non controlled). They used not to have the latter fares, but now seemed to have added them to make the country a bit more attractive to Interail/Eurail users. I would guess that the problem at Gare de l'Est indicated above has arisen because the trains are completely sold out (which happens quite a bit at holidays/Fridays/Sundays).
The reservations can be booked on line, via ouigo.fr and you can even download the ouigo app and get them sent to your phone. Pretty straightforward and I have used IR France a fair bit over the past 18 months. ES can be booked online via the the B-Europe (ie. SNCB/NMBS) site but not via Eurostar's site in UK in my experience
The only messy bit is international TGVs to Spain, Italy, Switzerland and Germany where a higher supplement is charged and can't be booked on line that I can find -- so you need to do it at an SNCF station in France or a UK Continental Rail Travel Agency (eg Ffestiniog Travel). There are lines with non TGV services that you can use without supplement, from Strasbourg to Offenburg, Strasbourg/Metz to Saarbrucken, Mulhouse to Basel, Bellegarde to Geneve and Nice-Ventimiglia (local train only) (plus one or two other smaller links such as Freiburg im B. to Muhouse) which are cheaper but obviously takes longer. In general, the staff at the guichet in France can locate the Pass (ie. Interrail) fares quite easily on their computers and the issuing process is pretty easy... once you have got to the head of the queue.

 

[dutchflyer]

Eurostar is a special case. Even safeguarded rail staff who qualify for 'free' travel have to pay a fee there, I believe it's connected to the cost of doing the security checks.

€* has just joined the IR-scheme a year or 2 ago-before that they had some ''passholder fares'' which were more expensive as their cheapest advances. But then you did not have to use a ''travel day'' for it.
The high extra is for the TUNNEL charges, incl. also these checks. (as said-pressed on by the combined ferries of the time).
However, a coach fare-which may well be via the tunnel (though mostly ferry) f.e. AMS-LON is tipical 25/30€ if booked advance-always slightly cheaper as the lowest EZ airfare.
Sadly, more and more countries now have obligatory REServation for most IC-trips, like also on PKP in PL (though its often free), FI/VR, NSB/NO, CFR/RO. Some other countires do not really force you to, but have their own tickets sold with RES and do not indicate which seats are REServed-so its always a ''musical chairs'' lotto. Yes, it has been said so many times, FR and ES are the worst for it.
NBut-as a continental passholder I treated myself to 1st this time and thus spent 2 happy days on UK-trains, such as Virgin, LNER, GWR and got treated with 3 meals/day and lounge access.

 

[blackfive460]

You can make an Interrail booking on the Eurostar site.Just google "travel with Eurostar using your Interrail pass".

When I've tried to use E* for passholder fares it has always failed at the payment stage telling me I have to 'phone them but the other reason for using SNCB is that it's cheaper!

 

[Capybara]

When I've tried to use E* for passholder fares it has always failed at the payment stage telling me I have to 'phone them but the other reason for using SNCB is that it's cheaper!

Back in July I reported this to them after I'd tried and failed to book on line. In the end I went in to St Pancras to book. I pointed it out and the person taking the booking said she knew about it as I was the second person that day to have mentioned it. She said she would be passing this on to whoever was in charge and I'm sure she did, but I guess it wasn't acted upon.

 

[Francis]

For Eurostar. For non-UK people the UK is better than Germany - it's valid on every single domestic train without reservations or additional costs other than the Cally and possibly the Night Riviera. In Germany it's not valid on open access operators, in the UK it is.

As for SNCF, my dislike for them is well-known but I personally believe they should do the honourable thing and withdraw from the scheme.

It's a case of booking early enough to get the 10€ seats. In September I did Strasbourg to Rennes and later Quimper to Paris Montparnasse for 10€ each. However my day trip from Strasbourg to Reims [TGV to Champagne-Ardennes] cost me €20 each way because I booked only two days in advance.

I thought the Thalys was pricey for what it is, especially since Sunday engineering work sent us on the old route from Paris Nord to Amiens Ville, and again between Brussels and Liege.

 

[scarby]

I'm going to do my second Interrail flexi-pass this summer and I find to to be great but with some serious frustrations.

In the main this being that Interrail isn't even valid at all on some open access long distance operators.

One is MTR Express, Gothenburg-Stockholm.

Another, which I could readily want to use, is Flixtrain in Germany. Oh, great, there's a Flixtrain from Cologne to Munster at 15.01 - very handy as I'm actually planning to go on that precise route at that time. Interesting for railfans too as it's loco-hauled with older coaching stock.

But no, Interrail not valid.

A serious minus if you can't even use the pass on some inter-city services, in this case not even a modern high-speed express.

It's not as if the flexi-pass is ultra cheap per day - then to discover some trains are out of bounds.

 

[farci]

This thread in Flyertalk discusses Germany and best value tickets. The general consenus is that passes like Interail have limited given open access operation in many countries

Make the most out of your rail travel in Germany

 

[Bletchleyite]

One is MTR Express, Gothenburg-Stockholm.

Another, which I could readily want to use, is Flixtrain in Germany. Oh, great, there's a Flixtrain from Cologne to Munster at 15.01 - very handy as I'm actually planning to go on that precise route at that time. Interesting for railfans too as it's loco-hauled with older coaching stock.

I don't know about the former, but Flix operate one train pair - it's hardly difficult to avoid it.

 

[Mag_seven]

The general consenus is that passes like Interail have limited given open access operation in many countries

The problem with Open Access operators is of course you are tied down to their trains and they run a small no of services compared to the established operator on which InterRail is valid - how does that mean that InterRail is limited?

 

[gordonthemoron]

I managed to do most of Eastern Europe, Turkey, Scandinavia and the Baltic states for about 6 months in 2012 for not much at all (barring a cockup in Norway) without Interrail

 

[Taunton]

Interesting for railfans too as it's loco-hauled with older coaching stock.

When I did InterRail in university days, alas notably long ago, a principal interest was not so much this as the various girls doing the same, commonly two together, who also would not have a clue at the various stations, and often had bought the Cook's timetable but had no idea how to use it. It was one of the very few occasions in life where the ability to open it instantly at the relevant table without using the index was received in awe, rather than a "what a geek" sigh.

Locos took a back seat ...

 

[farci]

The problem with Open Access operators is of course you are tied down to their trains and they run a small no of services compared to the established operator on which InterRail is valid - how does that mean that InterRail is limited?

When there was one national rail operator in each country it was simple to plan around local restrictions. Now you first have to check which operators accept the card, hence the OP's frustration. See this list

 

[JonathanP]

FlixTrain runs a grand total of 6 trains per day, whilst Deutsche Bahn run hundreds. They are slower and considerably less comfortable than the ICEs running on the same route. The only advantage they have is that they are cheaper(irrelevant when using an Interrail), or are determined to avoid changing trains even if makes the journey longer. So in this case I wouldn't call it a "serious" problem, at least not for the tourists that are the main target of the product.

BTW, if you think FlixTrain is "modern" you will be sadly dissapointed when you get to see it. They mostly use ex-East German coaches without air conditioning, and in some cases carpets.

You could of course ask FlixBus if they plan on joining Interrail, though as they are trying to flog their own InterFlix pass it's probably unlikely!

 

[Bletchleyite]

You could of course ask FlixBus if they plan on joining Interrail, though as they are trying to flog their own InterFlix pass it's probably unlikely!

Like "air passes" that's not even a pass, it's a bundle of 5 single journeys at a fixed price. A "pass" to me allows unlimited journeys.

You also have to wait 48 hours to book!

 

[scarby]

BTW, if you think FlixTrain is "modern" you will be sadly dissapointed when you get to see it. They mostly use ex-East German coaches without air conditioning, and in some cases carpets.

Well... precisely some of the reasons to want to travel on it.

 

[43096]

Well... precisely some of the reasons to want to travel on it.

Not to mention MRCE Tauri and Railpool Vectrons.

 

[ooo]

In the main this being that Interrail isn't even valid at all on some open access long distance operators

It is however valid on both Leo express and regiojet in the Czech Republic

 

[30907]

It is however valid on both Leo express and regiojet in the Czech Republic

But, ironically, AFAIK not on franchised regional services there; that should change in 2020 IIRC.
The other country where IR has hit-and-miss validity for regional trains is Poland

 

[Oscar]

I have generally found Interrail to be poorer value than the cheapest available point-to-point booked train only ('Advance'-like) tickets when booked months advance, even when making long journeys. However, if the aim is not to get places but to spend time on trains (meaning more intensive use of the pass), or, when many long journeys, if flexibility is important or if cheapest Advance-type fares are not available for several legs, Interrail can be good value (especially for youth and seniors).

 

[childwallblues]

A few weeks ago I used the 1749 TER service from Strasbourg to Metz. It was a Sybic 26148 and coaches from the Grand Est pool and ran via Reding and Morhange arriving at Metz at 1918. Strasbourg of course has plenty of loco hauled services and makes the IR worthwhile

 

[mikey9]

I just had the same discussion with myself - we are doing a Family interrail (2 Adults and 1 U12 (who is free) plus 1 12 year old) from Inverness to Sicily over 16 days (flying back).

I have most of the bookings done and encountered much of the hassles above however - cost wise - it will still likely be cheaper overall with the 10 days in 2 months passes I have.

Paris Gare de L'est to Munich - I tried SNCF and DB online sites (and a few others) but no option for interrail pass fares. I gave up doing it myself and rang DB - (from Seat61.com)"If you live in the UK you can buy German train tickets direct from Deutsche Bahn on their special UK telesales line, 08718 80 80 66. Lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday, no booking fee. Normal national UK phone rates apply." This worked a treat - and the operator couldn't have been more helpful - reservations arrived by post in 2 days.

One of the biggest savings (hassle and significant costs) is Inverness to London and onwards to Paris Return which is done on our departure and arrival back days. The best advance costs to Paris for all 4 of us was over £400 without an interrail. LNER is free (on the chieftain - off at KX, step next door for the Eurostar....)

We have no reservations from Munich through Austria and to Switzerland and onwards to Italy keeping it flexible then Italy reservations for the fast trains at 10E each (yes - ouch).
We even have the sleeper booked Rome to Sicily (at berth supplement costs - which isn't much different to advance purchase).

Hey - once in a lifetime - with the kids at this age - to see Paris, Munich, Switzerland, Venice, Pompeii and a week in Sicily......what is it worth?

 

[philjo]

One of the advantages of interrail ticket is the flexibility if you need to change your travel plans at short notice. I am going to Slovenia in a couple of months and I think the interrail ticket is still the best option.
point to point tickets may be cheaper overall but for example if there is a need to change route at short notice (e.g. weather related problems somewhere in Germany or a strike in Belgium) then I can easily come back via Paris instead of Brussels - just needing to get any required supplement as required for any French trains & the interail supplement on eurostar can be amended as well. there are some services - e.g. the Vienna to Cologne sleeper where you don't save much with the interrail but I may just book a normal sleeper ticket and save one of the interrail boxes for another day as I would not be doing any other travel on that day.

 

[Polarbear]

Having spent the last week travelling around Scandinavia on an Inter Rail, I can confirm it’s not valid on MTR between Stockholm & Gothenburg. There are a few other operators that the IR isn’t valid on in Sweden, and compulsory reservation on “Snabtag” services is a pain, but relatively easy to book at short notice.

Seat reservations are encouraged in this part of the world & without one, you can play seat hopscotch as you continually get moved as people claim the seat you’re sat in as reserved.

For Sweden, I’d consider point to point tickets on a return visit, but for Denmark & Norway, I’m happy to have the freedom the IR provides.

 

[superjohn]

With Interrail tickets being X days in a month there is also the possibility for a bit of mix and match. On very long journeys that will take most of a full day it is usually best to go with advances rather than use an Interrail day. On the other hand if you are spending a whole day riding various trains or need flexibility to jump on anything interesting that turns up, Interrail is ideally suited and best value.

I suspect a lot of Interrail users on here are ‚bashing‘ and prefer the flexibility for that reason. For more traditional Interrail users (ie. Students exploring Europe during the summer) advances may well be better value. Bargain advances are a more recent innovation which many foreign travellers may not be as familiar with as Interrail.

 

[Mag_seven]

A bit of a downside with Interrail is that there appears to be a quota on the number of reservations with Interrail that can be made on any particular train as myself and another forum member discovered when trying to book some seats yesterday evening for travel in August.

 

[cactustwirly]

A bit of a downside with Interrail is that there appears to be a quota on the number of reservations with Interrail that can be made on any particular train as myself and another forum member discovered when trying to book some seats yesterday evening for travel in August.

What website are you using to make the reservations?

 

[superalbs]

A bit of a downside with Interrail is that there appears to be a quota on the number of reservations with Interrail that can be made on any particular train as myself and another forum member discovered when trying to book some seats yesterday evening for travel in August.

Only in some countries, which are best avoided because of this reason.