This is my first ever interail trip and I planned it gradually. The main decisions were made quite early on, for example I bought the actual pass in January for a July start date, mainly so I would actually commit to it. I had for a while been considering possible places to visit and comparing flying and other options. I needed to focus on one option.
Once I had bought the pass and committed to interrailing, the next job was the route. This was the hardest part really. Where did I want to go? Where would be practical? I had hardly travelled in Europe so everywhere was fair game. I spent quite a few evenings and weekends looking at routes and options. This was really enjoyable as it felt like there were so many possibilities.
In the end, I went with a friends suggestion of Ljubljana (which looked super interesting) and connected it with Innsbruck for walking/hiking. Around that I added Vienna/Salzburg and on the way back, Bruges.
I booked the reservations I needed as soon as I decided. There are two overnight sleeper reservations and two Eurostar reservations.
I booked an Airbnb in Innsbruck first hoping family would join me there. I then booked hostels in the other places. In Vienna and Ljubljana I have booked capsule type beds which are basically an enclosed bed space – 1x2m.
In the other places I booked female dorm room beds. I looked at the cost of private rooms but I didn’t want to pay that much when the trip was going to be a month long. Also, as a solo traveler I wanted to at least have the option of meeting other easily and hostels seem like the place to do that.
It’s worth saying that I have slightly changed my accommodation as I have gone along – all accommodation was free cancellation up to a certain date. I cancelled the Airbnb in Innsbruck as family were not able to join. I booked into a hostel which save me almost 1,000Euros! I changed the number of nights in certain places too as family were joining me at different times instead.
I have spent some enjoyable time looking up trips and activities for each place. It seems like I am in Salzburg during the famous Salzburg Festival so I have bought a couple of concert tickets. In vienna I have booked a free walking tour for the first day, but also plan to visit Haus der Musik, the Hofburg palace and some other areas. Ljubljana sees me visiting Lake Bled, Velika Planina, Predjama Castle. In Innsbruck it’s mainly about the walking and mountains. Salzburg there’s the festival and Mozart related things and then Bruges has some nice walks too.
The Facebook group Interrailing for the older crowd’ has been amazing. Reading lots of questions, answers, tips and tricks. I joined this group even before I started planning. That meant I had quite a lot of knowledge even before I came to start planning.
I’ve enjoyed perusing and considering possibilities from this book too:
So my planning is ongoing (it’s early June as I write this). But my order of planning was basically:
-buy ticket
-plan route
-book necessary train reservations
-book accommodation
-plan how to spend time
Rachel’s Interrail Adventures 