Interrail tips - My backpack

Essential Interrail travel tips – do’s and don’ts! What to pack? What to do in certain situations? Where to go to? How to use the Interrail Pass?

What did I learn from Interrail?

During my many Interrail adventures I’ve learned a lot about traveling. In all my travels I haved only had positive experiences, which made me love traveling even more. But, even the best traveler can’t think of everything! Did you know that you should always bring a toilet paper roll with you when traveling in the Balkan area? Or that a sleeping mask and earpluggs are an absolute must? I have compiled a list of Interrail tips for you, that does not include the basic common sense type do’s and don’ts. Instead this list is based on first-hand experience, and simply notes down my essentials! Enjoy traveling as their rates also cheaper compared to other means of transport.

Interrail tips – do’s!

* Do explore your itinerary carefully with either the Interrail App or the Deutsche Bahn App. Know where you want to go to, and when you have to make transfers. You can also edit your itinerary to build in more transfer time, or to take some slower trains to save up on reservation costs
* Do prepare for adventure! Interrail is fun, exciting and thrilling.
* Do travel solo if you like. It’s a great period to get to know yourself.
* Do travel to the far ends of Europe. Southern Spain, Eastern Turkey and Northern Finland are all equally stunning.
* Do fill in all your train travel information in your travel diary, minutes before you board a train. If you do not fill in this required information you might get fined!
* Do take a toilet paper roll with you when you’re traveling in the Balkan area. Most of the time I did not encounter any sanitary equipment for the ‘must-visits’.
* Do take a small head-pillow, earpluggs, blanket and a sleeping mask with you. You’ll thank me for that once you travel on a Night Train and could sleep all night long, compared to your roomies that woke up at each and every intermediate stop, burst of light or sounds of fellow passengers.
* Do travel in any season of the year! Europe is beautiful, regardless of the weather or season.
* Do check out my travel experiences to get you inspired!
* Do chat with fellow travelers, go on an adventure with them and let the locals guide you.

Interrail tips – don’ts!

* Don’t fill in all your train travel information in your travel diary yet! This is especially the case if you do not travel on a global pass, since you’re limited to a number of travel days. Whenever you want to change plans, or take other trains than you thought, you don’t want to cross out information in the travel diary. Also if applicable, never fill in your exact travel days untill the day of departure. Once filled in you cannot change this anymore and you will loose a travel day!
* Don’t expect that all your travel will go smoothly. Occasionally you will run into delayed trains, missed connections or even incorrect information! But don’t worry, Interrail is flexible so simply hop on the next train. Part of Interrail is adapting to situations you cannot have under control. It’s part of the thrill.
* Don’t op on any train you don’t recognize or expect! You either end up in the wrong destination, or you board a train that’s not valid with your Interrail pass! Here you can find a list of all trains valid with your Interrail pass.
* Don’t take too many luggage. You do not want to cary piles of stocking with you to each and every destination. In the unlikely scenario that you’re short on something, just buy it!
* Don’t travel during the summer break! Interrail is booming business then, trains can become full and sleeping accomodation prices are sky rocketing!
Don’t store you’re valuables in your backpack when you are not physically present. Keep aware of your environment at all times, just in case.

Interrail tips - Dare to travel, for example to Japan
Interrail tips – Dare to travel, for example to Japan

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