Train travel in Europe is fun, flexible and adventurous. At least when you know how to plan. Here I have created an overview guide on what to think about when you start planning your next train adventure in Europe. Some inspiration of how to find inspiration as well as tools that makes it easier and some budget hacks when planning.
Where to go?
The first questions I always ask myself before starting to plan my train journey are:
1. What do I want to experience on this trip?
2. How much time do I have?
3. What is my budget for this trip?
What do you want to experience?
To answer the first question a good idea is to think about what your interests are and what you usually prefer when travelling. Is your ideal trip to go to a big city, explore culture and eat food? Or are you more interested in a nature experience? Maybe the train ride itself is what you are looking forward to most?
I usually think about what I want to experience and which country I would like to explore and then either google, search instagram or pinterest for that experience for some inspiration.
For instance, say I want to go to a big city with good food. A country with great food is Italy, and then I search the different platforms for best inspiration. One example could be to google "best cities in Italy".
I will also share my Italy experiences on Rail Voyage, so keep an eye out. I have been travelling Italy 1-2 times a for more than 15 years. Quite the fan of the country!
Finally, do not forget to go back to the basics. I find a lot of inspiration at different travel magazines, such as Vagabond (Sweden) or Lonely Planet. Also airbnb, booking.com and different rail websites have a lot of inspiration. There is a lot of inspiration out there.
How much time do I have and where can I go within that time?
Regarding time for the travel, it really depends on where you live and how far you want to go. I like to use this map by Chronotrains to get an idea of how far I can travel by train. Just choose a city and see the time distance. For instance, if you are located in Berlin you can reach most parts of Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and Poland within 8 hours. Pretty cool!
I also like to use google maps to get a general idea of how to travel. In google maps you can filter out things, such as buses or minimise number of times you have to change train.
Where to go if I'm on a budget
Some countries and destinations are better than others if you are on a budget. For instance, if you want to go train travelling cheap, Germany is a good option as there are many trains where you don't need to book a seat reservation. However, countries that offer cheaper accommodation, food and drinks are for instance Czech Republic, Poland, Austria, Hungary and Slovenia. The more expensive ones are France, Norway, Belgium, Netherlands, Great Britain and Italy (at least when you travel in touristic areas).
Some general hacks if you want to travel cheaper:
1. Avoid travelling during peak season such as July-August, Christmas-New years and Easter.
2. If you're travelling in peak, go to less touristic areas. For instance, during July I went to Mosel in Germany. Check out my instagram for underrated places to get some inspiration
3. The price of seat reservations are usually the same, however if you're not travelling on a interrail pass, or want to explore popular routes (such as Paris-London or Paris-Lyon) in peak season, book tickets well in advance. Also book accommodation well in advance!
4. If you're booking tickets without an interrail pass, travel Tuesday-Thursday for best price
5. Book train tickets at the rail operator's website. For instance if you will travel in Sweden, book directly at the SJ website.
Good luck with your train exploring in Europe!
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