Disclosure: We were gifted a interrail mobile pass for the purpose of this post.
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Is Eurail The Same As Interrail?
Yes, basically the same but a slightly different name since Eurail is for those people who are not in Europe and Interrail are for those within Europe.
So if you are a non-European citizen buy a Eurail pass and if you are a European citizen buy an Interrail pass.
Interrail Paper Pass or Mobile Pass
The traditional paper pass could be difficult for buying tickets as you would have to select train reservations and wait to see if they were accepted. Then you would need to wait for the actual tickets to arrive, it took a lot of time planning, unless you went for quieter regional trains that you could book on the day.
With the Interrail Mobile pass you can use the Rail Planner App to create a journey, then use that journey to book online. The mobile ticket then shows up in your online mobile pass, meaning you can leave it later for quieter trains with no seat reservations. Everything is kept in one place in the app and seat reservation tickets can be saved to your phone in the files section.
But you no longer need to fill in a paper travel diary, instead you can travel paper-free on the new mobile pass. This makes for easy ticket inspection compared to the old paper ticket.
How Does the Interrail Mobile Pass Work
At first glance the Interrail mobile pass does seem a bit confusing. But once you get your head around how to set up your journey and add trains to your ticket it becomes much easier! Just remember to bring a charger with you for your mobile phone. That way your phone has enough battery to show your tickets!
Setting Up The Interrail Mobile Pass
First you need to set up the Interrail mobile pass. When you buy the pass you will get sent a code. If you are travelling with children you will need to add the children to your booking at the same time as you buy your own Interrail pass. They don’t need to pay for the Interrail pass if under 11 years old, but they do need a pass to add their ticket and seat reservations to. You CANNOT add kids passes to your own after you have bought your Interrail ticket, so definitely plan in advance!
When you have the code for your Interrail pass you need to download the Rail Planner App, if you haven’t already. Then add a new mobile pass on the app by filling in your last name and pass number. This adds the pass into the app under the ’my pass’ section. You will also need to add your start date when you activate your pass.
My Trip
Next you need to create your trip under ’My Trip’ in the Rail Planner App. You will need to duplicate the trip for everyone on the app. So for 1 adult and 2 children you will have the main trip, a ’copy’ of the trip and a ’copy of the copy’ of the trip! Connect the trips to the individual passes and activate the passes. On the day of the trip you simply swipe across the slider bar on the right to add that journey to your pass (don’t forget to do it for the copies for the other passes too). Then when you go to your pass a QR code mobile ticket will appear with the journeys shown below.
Note that you may want to add your trip to the Interrail mobile pass when you have good internet reception at your hotel. Train stations don’t always have the best wifi!
Booking Seat Reservations
The only thing that won’t show in the Rail Planner App are the seat reservations. Some of these can be booked through the Interrail website. However, others you will need to book through the country websites. If you click the ’seat reservations required’ part beside the train journey in your trip section of the app it will take you to where you need to book. Slower regional trains don’t often need a seat reservation, but the high-speed trains mostly need reservations. Reservation fees varies between rail services and this extra cost can make travel more expensive. For a more flexible way of travelling consider slower regional trains or not on the Western Europe trains, which are more expensive with reservation fees.
Some rail journeys, such as the Eurostar only have a limited amount of spaces available for passes. So although the train is not full you can’t book a seat reservation if they have a certain number of passes booked onboard already. Moral of the story is book well in advance! Also, note that to book the Eurostar you may need a ’pass number. This is found on the front of paper passes, but you can email customer support to get one supplied.
Seat reservations can add up, so if you have the time it can be better to book regional trains that are slower, but don’t require costly seat reservations.
Often the train’s ticket inspector won’t ask for your ticket, but just the seat reservation. The seat reservation QR code is also what you may need to enter through ticket barriers.
How Much Does An Interrail Pass Cost?
The Interrail cost is dependent on which pass you choose. The most popular choice is the Global Pass of 7 days within 1 month, which is £504 for an adult and £216 for a youth (12-27). Children 11 and under are free. Although you will need passes for 4+ and also under 4 if you wish to guarantee a seat rather than sitting on your lap.
You can also choose an Interrail one country pass, allowing you to travel for a certain amount of days in one single country. These can work out cheaper than a Global Pass if you are travelling in one single country.
As the passes are for a certain number of travel days you can have unlimited train travel within those days. Basically you can travel as far as you would like in a day and it only counts as 1 day.
Are Trains In Europe Safe?
Trains across Europe are all much safer than they used to be. Yes, you may want to keep your valuables and electronics in a bag beside you, but even petty theft is not common. Many people will have phones, tablets and laptops out to do work and charge them with the onboard charging ports.
If you are worried about luggage take a smaller carry on style suitcase or even a large rucksack that can fit on the rack above the seats. That way you can keep your luggage nearby whilst on the train.
Sleeper Trains In Europe
One of the more fun type of trains when travelling through Europe is an overnight train. You can book the couchette cabin of 4 beds, perfect for a family of 4. Or pay a little more for sleeper compartment with better beds and en-suite toilet. The idea of falling asleep on a train whilst it whisks you to your next destination is certainly a fun one.
We recently did the journey from Rome to Taormina on Sicily with the sleeper train. The coaches even go on a train ferry, arriving on the other side to go back on the tracks.
Other Fantastic Family Adventures
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