Interrail is an incredible way to explore Europe by train and even save money too – especially if there’s a sale on!
However, it can seem overwhelming if you haven’t done it before, and so we’ve made the ultimate guide for Interrail beginners that covers what it is, how it works and how much you can expect it to cost.
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Coming up in this guide
- What is an Interrail pass?
- What’s the difference between Interrail and Eurail?
- What are the different types of Interrail Pass?
- How long is an Interrail pass valid for?
- Where can I travel with an Interrail Global Pass?
- How much is an Interrail pass?
- Can you travel in first class?
- Are Interrail passes only for young people?
- Do children get a free Interrail pass?
The Basics
What is an Interrail Pass?
Interrailing is a way of travelling around Europe by train using a pre-paid pass. The Interrail Pass provides unlimited travel on most train networks throughout Europe at a single, fixed price. It grants access to 35 railway and ferry companies across 33 countries.
What’s the difference between Interrail and Eurail?
Interrail sells passes for European residents (that includes the UK), while Eurail sells passes for non-European residents. However, they both operate under the same company and offer the same train passes, so it’s easy to understand the confusion! But make sure you’re buying through the correct site for your residency.
What are the different types of Interrail Pass?
Interrail offers two types of passes: the One Country Pass and the Global Pass.
The One Country Pass is exactly that – it allows you to travel all around a single country by rail.
Whereas the Global Pass lets you travel across and between 33 countries – this is the option to buy if you want to visit different countries all in one trip.
How long is an Interrail Pass valid for?
You’ll need to decide how long you want the pass to last, which will depend on the duration of your trip and how many days you plan to spend travelling by train. There are lots of different durations available.
One Country Pass
Flexi Passes
For these passes, you can choose the specific number of days on which you want to travel, within a certain time frame. For example:
- 3 days within 1 month
- 4 days within 1 month
- 5 days within 1 month
- 6 days within 1 month
- 8 days within 1 month
Global Pass
There are two options for the Global Pass as you can either choose a Flexi or a Continuous pass.
Flexi passes
These types of passes allow you to choose an overall number of days to travel on within a certain time frame:
- 4 days within 1 month
- 5 days within 1 month
- 7 days within 1 month
- 10 days within 2 months
- 15 days within 2 months
Continuous passes
These passes allow you continuous Interrail travel for a specified number of consecutive days. For example, if you choose the ‘15 days in a row’ continuous pass, you can travel on every one of these 15 days until the pass expires:
- 15 days in a row
- 22 days in a row
- 1 month continuous
- 2 months continuous
- 3 months continuous
Where can I travel with an Interrail Global Pass?
These countries have railway companies that accept the Interrail Global Pass:
Austria, Belgium, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey.
How much is an Interrail Pass?
The cost of an Interrail Pass depends on whether you are buying a Global Pass or a One Country Pass for 3 days, what age you are, the number of travel days you choose and what class you want to travel in.
As a Youth (12-27), the passes start from as little as €119 for a One Country Pass for 3 days and from €212 for a Global Pass for 4 days within 1 month.
As an adult, this changes to starting at €119 for a One Country Pass and from €283 for a Global pass for 4 days within 1 month.
The price does get cheaper per day the more days you add, and interrail does have a couple of sales a year as well which can bring the price down as much as 25%.
Can you travel in first class?
Yes! Whilst the default pass is ‘2nd class’ there is an option to pay more for 1st class trains.
For an adult travelling on a 4 days within 1 month Global Pass this increases the price from €283 to €359 – so that’s €19 extra a day.
Again, the price gets better the longer you travel and if you can score a pass during a sale, you can bring the cost down even more.
What I will flag though is that not all first class trains are created equal, and so check what you’ll be offered on the routes you plan to take. The Man in Seat 61 is fantastic for giving an insight on this – just search for the journey you’re after.
Are Interrail Passes only for young people?
There’s a common misconception that Interrail Passes are just for young people, but it’s not true!
Actually, Interrail has Adult Passes for 28 to 59-year-olds and also Senior Passes for over 60s. Travelling as a young person is a bit cheaper as Youth Passes (12 to 27-year-olds) come with a discount. However, Senior Interrail Passes come with a slight discount too.
Do children get a free Interrail Pass?
For kids aged under 4 years old on the day you choose to start your trip, no Interrail Pass is needed. But if the train’s super packed, you might have to hold them on your lap.
Now, for the 4 to 11-year-olds, they can score a free Child Pass when you get your Adult Pass. In fact, up to two children can travel for free with one adult, who doesn’t necessarily have to be a family member but must be over 18. If more than two children are travelling with one adult, additional Youth Passes must be purchased.
The Interrail Sale
What passes are included in the Interrail sale?
This can change, but the sale tends to be on the following:
- Interrail Global Passes
- Selected One Country Passes
- Adult, Senior, Youth, Child and Family passes
- 1st and 2nd class passes
How much is an Interrail pass in the sale?
The discount can change based on the sale but expect 10-15% off for special one off sales, and up to 25% for major sales around events like Black Friday or anniversaries.
Are sale passes refundable?
Standard interrail passes have a fairly flexible policy and these can be the same for sales as well but make sure you check the terms and conditions before you book your sale pass.
You can also upgrade to ‘Plus’ when you get to the checkout, which will make your mobile pass 100% refundable. The price of this will depend on the pass you get, but you will likely pay around £22.
Is there currently an Interrail sale?
Interrail hosts several sales throughout the year. Check out our page below dedicated to Interrail sales, you’ll find all the details of any current sales over there.
Using your Interrail Pass
When do I have to activate my Interrail pass?
You can activate your Interrail Pass at any point from the day of purchase until 11 months later.
Does the Pass include seat reservation prices?
When travelling with an Interrail Pass, it’s important to note that some trains (and other modes of transport) require you to have a seat reservation, and the price of a seat reservation isn’t included in your Interrail Pass.
Sometimes seat reservations are free – you just simply have to make sure you get one – but at other points they can be quite pricey. To reserve a seat on the Eurostar, for instance, will cost you around €30 which isn’t that far off some of their sale rates!
To check how much your route could cost you in seat reservations, the Interrail website has a helpful list of extra fees.
While it’s an additional charge, going for a seat reservation ensures you a guaranteed spot and can come with extras like WiFi onboard.
If you’d rather not spend your money in this way, we’d recommend checking out the countries that don’t require seat reservations.
Where can I go on my Interrail trip?
There are countless fun routes to explore. What about taking the Mediterranean route and travelling through Southern Europe’s Spain, France and Italy? Or maybe head to Scandinavia and train your way up to the Arctic Circle!
Or how about an epic Christmas Market crawl across Europe, hitting up six countries along the way?!!
Can I use the Interrail Global Pass for travel around the UK?
If using a Global Pass, you can travel on one travel day to leave the country where you are a resident (outbound) and on one travel day to return (inbound).
You can use these journeys in your country at any point during the validity of your pass – they don’t have to be on the first and last day.
For UK residents, it’s important to note that Interrail actually categorises Great Britain as one country – and so that covers England, Wales and Scotland -and Northern Ireland is included as part of Ireland.
What this means is that it’s very unlikely that a Global Pass is the best pass for those living in England, Scotland and Wales that hope to travel there. You may find a Ranger and Rover ticket works better for you – especially if you have a railcard.
However it does mean that if you’re from Northern Ireland, you could use the Global Pass to get around the UK rail network!
Do Interrail Passes work for any other mode of transport?
An Interrail Pass isn’t just for train travel, you can also use it for travel on certain ferry routes. For example, you can sail with Blue Star Ferries from mainland Greece to islands like Santorini. Or take the Balearia Ferry from mainland Spain to destinations like Mallorca and Ibiza.
However, you may have to pay a supplementary fee for some of these routes. There are loads more routes available, for the full list check the Interrail site.
Save Money on Europe Train Travel With Interrail
If you’re looking to travel by train on your next holiday, an Interrail Pass is a great way to save money. Especially if you snap up a sweet discount in one of their Interrail sales!
Not only do you save cash, you’re also choosing a sustainable way to explore the continent – a nice little alternative to flying.
So ditch the planes and hop on trains for a more eco-friendly adventure that won’t break the bank.
