Tips for rail-tripping around Europe on a budget

I’ve always loved to travel by train, and an InterRail adventure travelling from one corner or Europe to another has been on my travel wishlist for years. Unfortunately I never seemed to manage to find a couple of months to spare to actually make it happen. But rather than putting it off forever, I decided to start a bit smaller, picking a shorter route to give me a taster this summer. Our ten-day trip – from Paris to Vienna via Strasbourg and the Alps – didn’t disappoint and I’m already planning my next (three or four) rail routes around different parts of Europe. But what did I learn along the way that I wish I’d have known before I started planning? Here are my top tips if you’re thinking of doing your own budget European rail adventure and aren’t sure where to start – from route planning to rail passes, scenic trips to packing tips.

Trams running through the centre of Vienna

Don’t try to see too much

One of the joys of Europe rail travel is how simple it can be – the huge network of train lines and relatively small distances make it easy to whizz between cities and countries. If you’re in Munich you could be in Zurich, Prague, Vienna or Verona within five hours. The only problem is that it makes it really tempting to try and see too much. Although it’s a rail trip, you do probably want to see more than the inside of a train carriage! When I was planning my trip, I allowed three nights for big cities, two for smaller ones and had just one single-night stopover. That way we had enough time to explore each place properly and didn’t feel like we were constantly packing and unpacking. It also helped keep costs down as we didn’t need a train ticket every day. Make sure you check the train schedules carefully too – just because two destinations look close on the map, it doesn’t mean it’ll be a quick train journey. On indirect routes with lots of changes you can end up spending the whole day travelling. Useful sites to help with route planning are the Deutsche Bahn website, with schedules for trains running all across Europe, and the Raildude forum.

The Charles Bridge in Prague at sunset

Take the scenic route

When you’re planning a route, the train company websites will usually show you the quickest way to get from place to place. But sometimes there’s another route that might take a bit longer, but the view out of the window makes it well worth the extra travel time. Like the route from Zurich to Milan – the quickest way (and the way you’re offered when you search on the rail company websites) would be the four-hour direct EuroCity train. But you could also take the slower route via Chur and Tirano, which follows the route of the Bernina Express scenic train. It takes around double the time, but is one of the world’s most spectacular rail journeys, running through stunning mountain scenery. Europe has a whole range of scenic train journeys to choose from – like the Black Forest Railway in Germany, the Golden Pass Line from Montreaux to Lucerne in Switzerland, or the Bergen to Oslo line in Norway. A good source of information on taking the scenic route is Seat 61, which shows different options for journeys between the major European cities.

Views from the train between Bergen and Myrdal in Norway

Think beyond the big city stops

The big cities – Paris, Rome, Berlin – tend to be top of the list when people are planning a European rail route. But the network of regional trains means that you don’t have to stick to the famous (and most expensive) stops. There are a whole host of smaller cities, towns and even villages you can visit by train. You could stay up in the mountains like we did in ski resorts like St Anton or Zermatt, you could visit the Cinque Terre cliffside towns in Italy, or you could stop off in tiny Scottish villages with request stops along the West Highland Railway. The wide network of train routes also means it’s easy to base yourself somewhere smaller and cheaper and take day trips out – like in the South of France where you can stay in Nice and travel by train to pricey places like St Tropez and Monte Carlo. You could even stay just outside the big cities to take advantage of lower-priced accommodation and travel in during the day.

Along the route of the Glacier and Bernina Express scenic trains in Switzerland

Look into rail passes…

If you want to make train travel as easy as possible, you can’t beat a rail pass. They’re especially good if you want to be flexible and choose your route as you go, and if you’re under 26. There are a lot of different pass options though and it can be a bit fiddly to get your head around. The first big distinction is based on where you live – if you’re an EU resident you need an InterRail pass, and if you’re outside the EU you need a Eurail pass. The options vary slightly between the two but are basically divided between a Global Pass, which covers the whole region, and individual country passes (Eurail also offers regional passes). Both are available for a set number of travel days within a month (good if you don’t plan to move on every day), and the Global Pass is also available for a continuous period. Prices vary a lot and there are big discounts if you are 25 or under, and smaller discounts for over 60s. In addition to the pass, you’ll also have to make a reservation and pay an extra fee if you travel on high-speed or night trains. Though you can get around this by travelling on slower, local services. As well as InterRail/Eurail there are also other passes or railcards offered in some countries or regions which give reduced cost rail travel, like the Swiss Pass.

Great views of the Matterhorn on the train between Zermatt and Gornergrat

… but don’t assume they’ll be cheapest

Although a rail pass can be a good deal, it’s not necessarily the cheapest option, especially if you’re over 25 or not planning on moving about too much. If you’ve decided on your route and are happy to book your train tickets in advance you can often save over the cost of a rail pass. Usually the earlier you book, the lower the price – with tickets normally on sale 90 days in advance. For example my summer rail trip covered three countries, with four travel days out of seven. Buying individual tickets in advance cost €208 per person, whereas an InterRail Global Pass (for five travel days within 10 days) would have cost €239 for adults, not including reservation fees. So booking the individual tickets saved me €30. But if I was 26 or under then it would have been cheaper than the individual tickets at €184. You can usually find the cheapest advance prices through the relevant local train operator – see Seat 61 for details of which to use.

Looking out on Carbis Bay from the train between St Erth and St Ives in Cornwall

Pack a picnic kit

Long-distance European trains usually have a restaurant car or trolley on board. But they vary hugely – from restaurant-style dining to a packet of crisps if you’re lucky – and on local trains there’s often nothing at all. So we usually packed a picnic to eat on board, to save buying food and to make sure we didn’t go hungry (or thirsty – there was usually a bottle of wine included too!). Most train stations have a small shop, but there’s usually a bigger supermarket nearby, so you can easily stock up on bread, cheese, ham and snacks. It’s useful to pack a basic picnic kit with a small cool bag, cutlery, corkscrew and plastic glasses. As we were self-catering we took some small Tupperware containers so we could use up any leftovers and make things like pasta salad – the containers stacked up together when empty so didn’t take much space. The cool bag also comes in useful if you want to transport things like cheese or chocolate home with you.

So those are my top European rail trip tips – have you done a train trip around Europe and do you have any tips for trip-planning or money-saving?