Interrail

[tice_18]

Myself and some friends are thinking about going backpacking accross Europe next summer, using the Interrail.

We're not planning on doing Barcelona etc, more Eastern Europe and countries we've not been to.

We're looking for about 8-10 different spots, spending 2-3 days in each place, obviously we'll be pretty flexible though. Can anyone recommend any good places to go? Major cities or places off the radar, any suggestions greatly appreciated :thumbsup:

 

[Pubey]

Sound good. Jealous of people who went travelling and you don't have to go half way around the world. Poland is great. As is the Czech Republic.

 

[Davros]

I would recommend you watch the films Hostel 1 and 2, for some wonderful travel advice and tips :winking:

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Polish railways aren't great but Krackow is an excellent place to visit.Quite possibly the best value for money destination in Europe.
Check out Prague and Budapest too.Dubrovonik is well worth a visit.Belgrade less so.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

My inter-railing was more Western than Eastern Europe so can't help too much on destinations, but my one bit of advice is don't try and pack too much into your itinerary.

Work out what you think is doable then cull more destinations from it. You want to see Europe, not the inside of a train carriage. The actual travelling is quite tiring and you can basically write off any day you are moving because whilst the train journey may only take about 2 hours you'll need to pack, check out, actually get to the station, wait for your train (and you'll want to make sure you don't miss the only train and get stranded there), find accommodation at the other end (either the place you booked or anywhere with room - both take time) etc. Also check-out time is often unfeasibly early like 10am, which isn't good when you are hungover having only crawled into bed a few hours previously.

Enjoy, it's great fun.

 

[DTS]

I think Riga is worth a trip. Not much nightlife but the city itself is decent. Same with Budapest.

 

[SamuraiBlue]

When I did it, I thought Romania was the biggest letdown as we felt everyone was tring to rip us off. Bucharest was horrible but it was 12 years ago now, so it might have improved. Had to bribe the train conductor to let us on the train. Doubled his weekly salary in one go.

Worked our way down from Eastern Europe into Greece which was interesting and then on the ferry across to Italy. Great melons in Greece (actually the fruit) but don't do what I did and eat a whole one before getting on the ferry. Spent the way too long in the ferry toilet as a result which was grim.

Italy has loads of interesting places. Famous touristy places though, so maybe not what your looking for but you have to get back somehow, and it's nice to get back to well developed places after slumming it in eastern Europe.
Next went to Nice and did a day trip from there to Monaco where we walked around the grand prix circuit and watched the amazing cars go passed that famous hairpin corner for a few hours. Great memories. Finally Paris and the Eurostar home as a treat at the end of the month.

The Eurostar broke down after the Channel Tunnel and ironically was the only real train trouble we had the whole trip!

 

[BaileytheQuitter]

I did a similar thing last year, not actually interrailing, but I was working in Italy and traveled across much of central and some of the east. The spots I would recommend are Berlin, Vienna, Ljubjana, Lake Bled, Pula (or Split) and Prague.

Berlin- Berlin has a great blend of history and nightlife. There is just so much to see in the day (parts of the Berlin Wall, holocaust tributes etc.) and the city, as with many big cities in Europe, has an excellent free-tour which will take you around all the hot spots. The guy we had was from Ireland and we had a great laugh on the tour. I found how Berlin has dealt with the whole Nazi situation to be very well done, subtly not over done. The Generator hostel there was well priced (14Euro a night I think), is very modern and attracts a youngish crowd with it's nightly events and cheap bar, worth checking out if that is your kind of thing. Of course there is the German beer and food which is a key attraction.

Vienna- Again a city which was rich with history, art and museums. Unlike Berlin the architecture has a more historical feel and I found to be one of the most pleasant cities on our travels in terms of appearance and cleanliness. While we didn't check the nightlife out whilst there I am assured from my Austria friend, who studied there, that it can get quite lively. We spent our days chilling out on the man-made beach placed on the river where all the good looking young people (we didn't fit in, not with the good looking part anyway) seemed to gather. A good place to drink beer on a sunny afternoon. Not sure what you are specifically looking for but the Schronbrunn Palace is well worth checking out, and if I remember rightly it was free. Vienna is definitely worth the trip, Berlin's relaxed cousin.

Ljubljana- Slovenia was the highlight of my traveling. A place my friend and had never thought about going to, who ever really thinks about going to Slovenia? We started in the capital, Ljubljana, which is a refreshing break from the other capitals of Europe. Everything is practically in walking distance and if not a bus is only a euro for 80 minutes of travel. Central Ljubljana is beautiful, packed with bars and restaurants along a river. We spent our days with a bottle of wine sat in the central square near the river just sitting in the sun. Outside of the center there is definitely the city has a slightly Soviet Russian feel with large tower blocks etc. Although these places hold hidden treasures like monthly music festivals. If you go, look whether TrnFest is running. It is usually on throughout August and hosts live music every night, from Reggae to Dubstep. Again, I don't know what you're into, but it is a must if you visit. We were told about it by some local Slovenian girls who introduced us to the local drink named 'Beers Blood'.

And if you do Ljubljana then you have to do Lake Bled- Just a 45 minute bus journey from the capital is the beautiful lake Bled. It really is stunning. Please Google it. We stayed in a great hostel called Castle Hostel 1004 which was the best hostel we stayed in during the whole summer. It has an excellent beer/BBQ area and each night was packed full of backpackers getting drunk and sharing stories. We bumped into a couple of lads (who turned out to be Orient fans!) who ended up driving us throughout Europe. A great place to drink and meet people. The Lake itself is stunning, deep blue waters which are safe to swim in. Would recommend a run around the lake followed by a swim after a nights drinking- just the tonic. Elsewhere near there are gorges etc. which are nice to check out. For me, the best place I have been to in Europe. Highly recommend.

Nearly done. Pula- Pula is in Croatia. Now, we were told that Split is a better place to visit but we couldn't get that far down in the time we had. Pula however was a great place to stay. We bunked up in a hostel on the beach which, Like lake Bled, seemed to house a great group of backpackers. Spent our days swimming and exploring the rocky coastline. If you are feeling brave you can jump from the rocks on the cliff. Aside from being on the coast the city has a nice feel and retains remains from the Roman era. A few good nightclubs and seaside bars which are good fun to try out on a summers evening.

Lastly, Prague- Doubt I can say much about Prague than you have probably heard before. A great place which is still relatively cheap to go, drink and get up to no good into the early morning. Of all the places I went Prague was also perhaps the most beautiful, the central square has some fantastic old buildings. Anyway, bars, clubs, stripclubs, absinthe, good cheap food. You should go.

If you have bothered to read this I hope you find some of it useful. Good luck and happy travels, sure you'll love it wherever you go.

 

[tice_18]

Thankyou to all for some great advice, we've culled our original list and the plan at the moment looks like flying to Berlin, spending a couple of days there, a day travel to Krakow, 2 days there (and one to Auschwitz), then a day allocated for the travel to Prague, 2 days in Prague, onto Vienna, 2 days there, then on to Budapest, 2 days there and then flying home :)

Still in the very early stages of planning, and any more advice is more than welcomed!

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Having said I haven't been to Eastern Europe, I've actually been to all of those places except Berlin (which I suppose at least part of was sort of Western Europe during the Cold War)!

You'll have a great time. I really like Budapest. One of my mates got seconded out there. Can't remember if he was Buda or Pest but everything seemed quite central. It definitely had a good nightlife. We were out until the early hours every night and my mate was getting progressively later and later into work in the mornings. I did feel a bit guilty by the end of the week when we were still going strong at 4am again and he had to be in for work for 9....

Don't plan anything for the evening you do Auschwitz as you may not feel like doing much.

I've got to sort myself out some Eastern European long weekends.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Thankyou to all for some great advice, we've culled our original list and the plan at the moment looks like flying to Berlin, spending a couple of days there, a day travel to Krakow, 2 days there (and one to Auschwitz), then a day allocated for the travel to Prague, 2 days in Prague, onto Vienna, 2 days there, then on to Budapest, 2 days there and then flying home :)

Still in the very early stages of planning, and any more advice is more than welcomed!

Berlin is a good choice.Make sure you go on the excellent (3 hour free)walking tour there.Also try and see some footy (as I did)in a couple of your chosen destinations,Wisla in Krakow and Rapid in Vienna.
The train ride between Berlin and Krakow(some 12 hours IIRC)is one you'll remember.:whistling:

 

[Benfleet A1]

Taking in Belgrade is a must when travelling in Eastern Europe. Very friendly people, dirt cheap for drink, smokes and food, great nightlife (Silicon Valley is a must and full of beautiful women) and it's also the safest city I have ever had the pleasure of setting foot in. And as for taking in some football, can you think of a more passionate and intense derby than Red Star v Partizan.

 

[sammyboy]

Krakow in Poland is a must in my oppinion along with Budapest.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

My inter-railing was more Western than Eastern Europe so can't help too much on destinations, but my one bit of advice is don't try and pack too much into your itinerary.

Work out what you think is doable then cull more destinations from it. You want to see Europe, not the inside of a train carriage. The actual travelling is quite tiring and you can basically write off any day you are moving because whilst the train journey may only take about 2 hours you'll need to pack, check out, actually get to the station, wait for your train (and you'll want to make sure you don't miss the only train and get stranded there), find accommodation at the other end (either the place you booked or anywhere with room - both take time) etc. Also check-out time is often unfeasibly early like 10am, which isn't good when you are hungover having only crawled into bed a few hours previously.

Enjoy, it's great fun.

On the contrary.The whole point of Inter-railing in my day(mid-70's)was to catch a night train to some far flung destination in Northern/Southern Europe so that you'd save money on youth hostels etc and wake up early the next morning, relatively refreshed(after a coffee or two and breakfast),ready to begin a day's sightseeing in some city that you'd only heard about on the news or read about in books.Stash your rucksack in the left luggage office at the station(or carry it with you).Spend the day seeing the sights and then catch another night train somewhere else.Those were the days.:cricko: