Before buying a card, I’d like to be sure that it will be interesting for me. I understand that I have to pay for reservation and cabin in night train, so is it really interesting? I don’t know how can I calculate what I have to add ?
I would like to travel from Paris to Turku (Finland). It seems the quicker way is to go to Koeln and Hamburg in a day and take the night train to Stockholm (with a cabin booking). Then, I’ll take ferry by night from Stockholm to Turku. Is it included ?
I never used interrail and I don’t understand everything.
Thanks in advance for your reply.
Nb : I have 50 years old and can’t take train. I want to go to Turku as quick as possible and with a night in a cabin on night train.
A pass is likely to be good value for a return trip. All questions welcome, we’ll gladly help. :)
The Paris - Cologne Eurostar has a 32€ reservation fee as said. There is also a (very limited) passholder quota so you have to book well in advance. When is your trip planned ?
Paris-Cologne by Eurostar €32 Cologne-Hamburg by ICE - no reservation needed, but optional Hamburg-Stockholm by Snälltåget Sleeper - €39. By Euronight will be more expensive Stockholm-Turku by Viking Lines ferry - 50% discount with rail pass
A pass is likely to be good value for a return trip. All questions welcome, we’ll gladly help. :)
The Paris - Cologne Eurostar has a 32€ reservation fee as said. There is also a (very limited) passholder quota so you have to book well in advance. When is your trip planned ?
Maybe it’s too late… Departure on 28th Feb and return on 17th March. How can I do to know if there’s still places for Passholders before buying my pass?
Snälltåget doesn't have a sleeper, only couchettes and seats. The cost is 699 SEK for a couchette between Germany and Stockholm. The cost for a couchette at SJ Euronight is 385 SEK.
Yeah it doesn’t work for me either right now, I get in an infinite loop... Does it work for someone else ?
Either wait a bit or book through B-Europe, it’s reliable (Belgian Railways website) but there’s the 4€ fee. You may enter any pass number when it asks for one, the reservation is tied to a person and not a number. I1111111 always works.
Snälltåget doesn't have a sleeper, only couchettes and seats.
Apologies. Bad wording on my part! Yes, I meant ‘night train’ (with couchette) rather than sleeping compartment. Thanks for the update on prices. Seat61 is maybe incorrect on this one.
Everyone helped me a lot but I have a last question… How to book a ferry (Stockholm-Turku) with 50% discount ? I tried different ways but I never saw a discount with interrail pass (Viking airlines, direct ferries).
Edit: It seems if you click all the way through that link, you find out that you just need to add the code EURAIL into the offer code. But when I do that, it doesn’t change the price for me! I don’t know about you.
It also clarifies that it’s the dreaded ‘up to’ 50% discount.
EDIT : yeah the discount doesn’t seem to work on night sailings. 133€ is quite expensive for a return journey but at least it saves you 2 nights in Stockolm or Turku...
Otherwise it might make sense to get the Travemünde (Germany) - Helsinki ferry one-way. That way you make a nice loop. There is some discount too I believe → doesn’t work and too expensive…
Viking Line remains your safest, fastest and easiest choice even without discount. It won’t be a particularly cheap trip I’m afraid.
when booking a seat is not required, are you sure to have a place the day you will travel? (Deutsche Bahn) or is it possible to book and pay a fee to secure a place? I can’t find how to do it if it’s possible.
Sometimes reservations are optional (IC/ICE trains), sometimes they are not possible at all (regional trains). You are always allowed to board but at busy times you might have to swap seats along the way or stand for a bit.
Cologne - Hamburg will be by ICE so you can secure a seat if you wish :
3€ per train through OBB (Austrian railways)
4.90€ per journey through DB incl. seat selection
Select seat reservation only, it’s the same process whether you’ve got a regular ticket or a pass.
another problem… on my way back, I’d like to book a train from Hambourg to Koln. I found one at 15h26-20h04 (OBB) but impossible to book a ticket ( “not available”) even if if tried on several websites.
I don’t think OBB can book this train. Use DB : 4.90€ per journey → for example you can get Copenhagen - Hamburg - Cologne for 4.90€ total, even with a night stop (add a 12h stopover for example).
