I have some work in Kongsburg (near Oslo) on 4th July. I’d like to do all the travel by train. I have a family in Utrecht (en route nearly). So this would require leaving home in Welwyn Garden on 2nd July, staying with family in Utrecht and then on 3rd doing the Utrecht to Kongburg larger 2nd half of the journey. Returning on 5th with hopefully everything in reverse. Would buying some kind of pass enable a fare reduction ?
I'm a novice with many questions
Userlevel 1
Interrail pass, because you're going to travel between a few countries.
Thanks Roberto. Would the Interail pass cover most of the costs including Eurostar but excluding presumably all seat reservations? Thanks for your time - Veryan
Would the Interail pass cover most of the costs including Eurostar but excluding presumably all seat reservations?
Exactly.
Here's an introduction to Interrail:
https://www.seat61.com/how-to-use-an-interrail-pass.htm
Here's an overview of where best to book reservations:
https://www.seat61.com/interrail-and-eurail-reservations.htm
That’s so helpful….THANK YOU!!! Would this be the appropriate pass...see below (I’m 73) Do the countries I pass through by train (France Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden) count as transitionary or does it have to be an “Interrail 7 country Pass Senior”
A one country pass for Norway is just valid in Norway, not in any other country or to get to Norway or back.
If you’d like to travel in any other country, too, you’d need a global pass. But I don’t think your planned trip will work very well; it’s a 24 hour journey to Oslo. I’d recommend a ferry from Kiel.
One country is just that; valid in only 1 country.
for international travel you need a global pass.
You need a Global Pass (+ seat reservations). One-country passes do not include travel outside the selected country.
Please note that you cannot do Utrecht - Oslo in a day : it is simply a too long journey.
If possible leave earlier and spend a night in Copenhagen or on the Hamburg - Stockholm night train. It'll be a cool experience.
For example :
- get to Hamburg during the day : departure from Utrecht at midday, dinner in Hamburg
- EN Hamburg Hbf - Stockholm C 22:03 - 09:57
- X2000 Stockholm C - Oslo S 10:51 - 16:10
- Oslo S - Kongsberg 16:49 - 18:13
It is a detour but it'd allow you to sleep longer. Otherwise get off in Malmö at 4am...
Thanks for the advice Al_G and thibcabe. So maybe I won’t stop over in Utrecht but try and combine the days together as one, long journey….a challenge!! the journey would look like:
So I would still need a Global Pass...and maybe a couchette between Hamburg and Malmo?
Yes Global Pass + mandatory reservations whenever required. Have a look at https://www.seat61.com/interrail-and-eurail-reservations.htm
It is possible to do London - Hamburg in a day for sure. The Brussels - Cologne train is notoriously unreliable so I’d suggest going via Amsterdam. For example :
- Eurostar London St. Pancras - Amsterdam Centraal 08:16 - 13:15
- IC Amsterdam Centraal - Osnabrück Hbf 13:59 - 16:51
- ICE Osnabrück Hbf - Hamburg Hbf 17:23 - 19:14
Have dinner near the station. Then either SJ night train via Stockholm as shown above or :
- Snälltåget Hamburg Hbf - Malmö C 23:59 - 07:25
- R Malmö C - Göteborg C 08:12 - 11:20
- IC Göteborg C - Oslo S 12:15 - 16:02
- Oslo S - Kongsberg 16:49 - 18:13 or later
And for example on the way back : travel via Stockholm or take a ferry across to Denmark.
That is so helpful ‘thibcabe’. Thank you so much. Your advice on certain unreliable routes is also very useful.
But if say the Eurostar is late getting in to A’dam and connections are missed, what are the options to travel on later trains using a previous reservation? If rebooking has to be done then is it wise to get some form of travel insurance?
But if say the Eurostar is late getting in to A’dam and connections are missed, what are the options to travel on later trains using a previous reservation? If rebooking has to be done then is it wise to get some form of travel insurance?
- For the journey to Hamburg, reservations are only mandatory between Amsterdam and Bad Bentheim (and only in summer).
- If you miss a connection because of a delay, then the railways are obliged to offer an alternative free of charge and if that requires reservation, then they should take care of that.
- If you're only delayed a bit, then changing at Rotterdam to Amersfoort may be a bit faster. In Amersfoort, you can then pick up the train to Osnabrück.
- There are certainly later options to get to Hamburg, basically every 2 hours. Check bahn.com or the DB Navigator app.
Thanks to all those above this message who have been helping me….you are a godsend. Particularly as the companies themselves no longer have much of a public - company interface. I have another question unfortunately. So in the context of travelling to Oslo from here in Welwyn Garden City (not far from St Pancras International). I will be travelling on 2nd and 3rd July. On the 4th - I play a concert, on the 5th and 6th - I travel home. Does this mean I can buy the following 4 - day pass:
Yes exactly a 4 days pass should be enough. If you want more flexibility (you suddenly decide to stop in Utrecht or so) get a 5 days pass, it's only slightly more expensive.
You may buy the pass on myinterrail.co.uk (genuine reseller) : it tends to be a few £ cheaper.
Hi,
I’m just about t complete the itinerary for the first part of the journey from Welwyn Garden City London to Kongsberg and on good advice I’m going to buy a couchette from Hamburg Hbf to Kopenhagen the date is 23.30 from Hamburg getting in to Kopenhagen at 6.34. This train does not seem to be giving the option to buy a couchette (shared cabin). Being completely new to this experience can anyone give advice as to what I might be doing wrong ? Many thanks...versy
The 23:30 - 06:34 is a regular EuroCity train with seating carriages. It’s not a night train per se.
Here is the formation for the other direction : https://www.vagonweb.cz/razeni/vlak.php?zeme=DB&kategorie=EC&cislo=1195&nazev=&rok=2024
I’d suggest taking the Snälltåget service : Hamburg Hbf 23:59 - Malmö C 07:25. You’ll be able to get a proper couchette for 499 SEK (44€/38£). At the moment you must write an email to buy passholder reservations, see https://www.snalltaget.se/en/interrail
Hi,
I am booking my second trip now to Norway and there seems to be a problem with the Eurail computer recognising my 2nd of a 4-day travel itinerary.. I’m wondering if it is because the machine will not recognise this 2nd day’s travel because I’ve booked the later (last) 2 days before booking the reservations for the 2nd day. The Itinerary goes:
21st August - Welwyn Garden - Kings Cross
London St Pancras - Brussels Midi
Brussels Midi - Hamburg
Hamburg - Malmo
22nd - Malmo - Bergen
23rd - off
24th - off
25th - Bergen - Malmo
26th Malmo - Hamburg - Brussels - London - Welwyn Garden
It would be great to get your advice on this,
Attached is a PDF of the screenshot
Is the reservation tool perhaps still linked to the other pass for July?
Not a big issue per se. Try booking elsewhere (less fees, seat maps, etc.): Rail Europe, DB, Entur for Norway,...
Follow this guide: https://www.seat61.com/interrail-and-eurail-reservations.htm
(Btw it might make sense to exchange the 2 4-day passes for a 10 days within 2 months one.)
Hi Thibcabe, thank you very much for the valuable advice. In the meantime I wrote to Öresundstågs bokningssupport, and they replied this morning with the following:
Hi Veryan
Thank you for your email.
You can travel that journey and do not need to book a seat on the Öresundståg from Malmö Centralstation to Göteborg Centralstation. You show your Eurorail pass at ticket control.
Have a great weekend!
Kind regards,
Nina
Öresundstågs bokningssupport
TELEFON: 0771-77 77 11
E-POST: bokningssupporten@oresundstag.se
WEBB: www.oresundstag.se
TELEFON: 0771-77 77 11
E-POST: bokningssupporten@oresundstag.se
WEBB: www.oresundstag.se
Yes indeed no reservations possible for that leg. But that wasn't your question/issue…
Yes, I know! I’m still basically trying to get the day of the 22nd August validated as a travel day on my Global Railpass. I’m just looking online doing a search using the simple question “How to validate a date on your Global Railpass”. In the past this automatically happens when I type in the information in order to book the seat reservation. In this instance it is:
….and what is a major concern is that the Interail/Eurail central computer (if there is such a machine!) therefore probably will not recognise this date (22nd) as a valid day of travel on my Global railpass. I clearly see I have only 3 days being used on the pass so I’m genuinely entitltled to have another day….which would have to be 22nd August.
Perhaps there may be a confusion created (in myself as well!!) by me making the bookings for the seat reservations on my old desktop at home, whereas the planning is done on the Eurail app on my smartphone. It’s just feels easier to do payments and have dialogues (like this) on my desktop. There may not be a communication with my smartphone as, although the Eurostar seat reservations are paid for and sent to me with invoices etc, there is still orange-coloured writing on the ‘My Trip’ part of the Eurail smartphone app for these journeys saying ‘Seat reservations required’. It would good to know if the data on my smartphone is being updated when I make payments for seat reservations on my desktop.
Sorry about all this….I feel very stupid and ignorant….but I’m trying to learn.
The website and app are totally separate. Reservations are a totally separate thing too.
On Rail Planner you have to log each train you'd like to take (whether it requires reservations or not). This can be done at any point prior to boarding.
You'll activate the pass before travelling (by adding passport number, etc.). We usually suggest to do that on the day you leave.
Have a look at: https://www.seat61.com/how-to-use-an-interrail-pass.htm
Probably better explained than by myself (English isn't my mother tongue after all haha).
For Oslo-Bergen, book on entur.no. It's cheaper than via Interrail.
That’s great rvborgt, I did what you advised and I now have a seat reservation via Entur which did require a phonecall to an office in Trondheim….many thanks - versy
Reservations can really be bought on their website (you can select you have a pass) and also via the chat on their website.
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