I am planning my first Interrail trip for June. I will be traveling with my 10 year old daughter. I planned to start the trip by flying to Thessaloniki and then continuing the journey along the route Skopje–Belgrade–Budapest–Krakow–Warsaw.
However, after doing some research, it seems that Greece, Macedonia, and Serbia might not be the best options due to the lack of train connections. I have tried to find routes from various sources but with little success.
Do you have any good tips for this route, or should I completely rethink my travel plan? 🤔
Best answer by thibcabe
Sure, that trip is doable but you'll mostly rely on buses until Belgrade.
Belgrade-Budapest can be done by train now (although a bus is much faster). Link:
From Budapest onwards it is easy by train.
You could rearrange the trip and go from Budapest towards home/Helsinki. The Baltics are now well connected!
Or start in Bucharest and take a night train across the country, stopping overnight in Transylvania or not.
Thank you for your response! 🤗 I checked and realized that we could fly to Dubrovnik instead, and from there it seems possible to take a bus via Budva to Bar. I found out that there might be a train connection between Bar and Belgrade in June 🤔 From Belgrade, there appear to be good train connections to Budapest and onwards.If I have understood correctly, the Global Pass does not include free bus travel, which is why I am trying to prioritize train connections as much as possible.
We will have some scheduling challenges, which means we will have to fly from Warsaw to Helsinki 😅
It’s a great part of the world, but trains network is thin at the best of times, and even more so at the moment. Very few international trains to/ from Serbia, and none from Thessaloniki.
You could do it, but you’d need some buses in the first part.
Trains (where they exist!) are so cheap in Eastern Europe that an Interrail pass is usually not good value.
Bar-Belgrade runs but reservations for the couchettes/berths are unavailable online. You must visit a ticket office. Last-minute availability is not guaranteed in June/summer.
Trains (where they exist!) are so cheap in Eastern Europe that an Interrail pass is usually not good value.
Bar-Belgrade runs but reservations for the couchettes/berths are unavailable online. You must visit a ticket office. Last-minute availability is not guaranteed in June/summer.
There might be a trick with a travel agent, more in the link above.
You should be able to pre-order tickets and/or reservations by e-mail to info@zpcg.me, which you then have to collect at a ticket office in Montenegro.
