Everything you need to know about Interrail and Eurail Passes

Slow travel can be great value travel if you explore Europe using Interrail or Eurail Passes. These are in fact the same thing, but they have different names depending on whether you’re buying one in the UK and Europe (Interrail), or from any other country (Eurail). Launched in 1959, it became the most popular way for European twenty-somethings to travel for decades, with many having Interrailing stories to share. Keeping up with the times, when more and more people are seeking flight-free travel, however, Interrail has gone multi-generational, with both Senior and Youth Passes available. So you can jump on board, whatever your age.

Slow travel in Scotland is even more exciting when you traverse it by train.

What sort of Interrail/Eurail Passes are there?

They come in all shapes and sizes, the most popular one being the Interrail/Eurail Global Pass, which allows you to travel throughout the UK and Europe for a month, with seven travel days included. If you only have time to visit one country, then it might be worth considering a One Country Pass. For more information, see their Passes guide.

Can I use Interrail/Eurail Passes on Eurostar?

Yes you can, if you have a Global Pass, but you have to pay an additional reservation fee which, at time of writing, is between €35 and €43 one-way. This is still very good value, especially if you’re travelling in peak season when Eurostar’s ticket prices can zoom up as quickly as they zoom you under the English Channel. For more information, see Eurostar, and then make the most of its journeys to Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt and beyond.

Should I get a pass or point-to-point ticket?

This usually comes down to price. If you’ve been able to book your train tickets well in advance, then you may have got a great price on a straightforward point-to-point ticket. See our blog, How to book cheap train tickets, for more tips on this. Also, it’s worth signing up for InterrailEurail’s newsletters, because they often have special offers, especially in the buildup to Christmas, when they make brilliant gifts. This really is the gift that keeps on giving.

Do you really get limitless train travel?

Not totally, because your pass limits you to a certain amount of travel days within the period of the pass that you’ve bought. Unless you buy a Continuous Pass, which means you can go when and as often as you like. There are lots of options. Importantly, you also have to pay an additional reservation fee for high-speed trains or sleeper trains but they aren’t astronomical. And there are always plenty of slow trains which don’t require reservations.

Do children travel free on Interrail/Eurail Passes?

If you buy an Interrail/Eurail Pass, you get two Child Passes for free, which apply to children from four to 11 years old. Children under four travel free, but reservations are needed on some trains, such as high-speed and sleeper trains, if you want a separate seat for them.

Can I buy Interrail/Eurail Passes through The Natural Adventure?

Sorry, no, we don’t do any travel bookings. Just go to the Interail/Eurail site and go through your options there, or Rail Europe is also an excellent English language train booking platform, where you can buy both point-to-point train tickets, but also a panoply of passes. Once you’ve bought it, you can plan your journey on their website or app.

How can I use Interrail/Eurail Passes on a walking or cycling holiday?

First things first, check out all our natural adventures that you can take on by train. The best way to do this is by using our search filter to find tours that are reachable by rail, by scrolling down to ‘themes’. Or just follow the high-speed track here. Then, have fun getting your head around the European and UK network and see which adventures you can combine during your pass period. Here are some multi-country holiday ideas if you want to get a Global Pass and take on some seriously cross-border beauties.

Spain and France

Both of these countries have superb train connections, one of the most efficient and exciting journeys is the direct train between Paris and Barcelona, which takes just under seven hours. And when you can combine some of our spectacular adventures in both countries, you’ll be totally rocking and railing it. Starting in Barcelona, for example, you can go hiking or cycling in and around Montserrat and the eponymous massif. Then, take a train from Barcelona to Marseille in France, which takes around 5h, and go for some coastal walking, taking in the region’s ravishing Calanques de Cassis on a five day holiday. Leaving you plenty of time for more train-hopping and adventure seeking.

For more information, see all of our French and Spanish holidays that are reachable by rail.

Spain’s AVE trains stand for Alta Velocidad Española, which translates as Spanish high-speed. They stick to their word.

Italy and Austria

There are so many adventure combos in these two countries, but one of our favourites is combining the coast and winelands of Italy, with the lakelands of Austria. Starting off in Salzburg, go cycling in the Salzkammergut region of Austria, just outside Salzburg. And follow this with a coastal cool-down, cycling in the Italian region of Marche on a centre-based holiday, based by the sea in Gabicce Mare. It’s a long train journey of nearly 10h in between, but you have an Interrail Pass so you can pick a variety of pretty places to stop off at en route. You don’t have to do them back to back, of course. There is no shortage of Austrian and Italian towns and cities that are on the train lines in between the two.

You could also just get a One Country Pass for Italy and combine two holidays in two very different parts of the country. Such as Walking in Umbria, around Orvieto and Lake Bolsena on a short break, followed by a week of walking on the Via Francigena on Sicily, between Palermo and Agrigento. And yes, you can take the train to Sicily, on an iconic journey where they shunt the train carriage onto the ferry.

For more information, see all of our Italian and Austrian holidays that are reachable by rail.

Shunting the sleeper train onto the ferry to reach the Italian island of Sicily.

England and Scotland

The Interrail/Eurail Passes in Great Britain open up a magnificent opportunity for coastal, Cornish and Caledonian explorers. You could start in the south, walking the St Ives to Penzance section of the South West Coast Path, where both start and end points are accessible by rail. Then use your big British bad boy of a pass to go all the way up to Scotland, taking your time of course, as that’s a long journey. The finale of your Interrail natural adventure could be a more gentle section of the Fife Coastal Path, all of which are reachable by rail. There are also two sleeper trains between these two countries, one between Penzance and London and the other between London and Scotland, and you can use your pass on them, but you have to pay a supplement for the cabin. It can be worth it though.

For more information, see all of our United Kingdom holidays that are reachable by rail.

The Cornwall coast railway line to St. Ives. Perfect for walking on England’s South West Coast Path.

Germany and Switzerland

With two of the most efficient rail networks in Europe, there are plenty of opportunities to combine cycling or trekking adventures in Germany and Switzerland. As well as giving you the chance to experience some of the most stunning rail journeys through the Alps. There are many colossal combos to choose from, but here’s one that’s a perfect recipe for German-Swiss bliss. Starting in Germany, raise a toast to the Moselle Wine Trail, or Moselsteig, on a week of walking and wineries between Trier and Koblenz, which takes through the prettiest of Palatinate villages, and along the foothills of the Eifel Mountains. Then take the train from Koblenz to Interlaken in Switzerland, for the icing on the Alpine cake, with a walking holiday on the St James Way, all the way to Romont. You’ll definitely want to spend a few days in Interlaken first just to take it all in, and we can help build all of that into your tour.

For more information, see all of our Swiss and German holidays that are reachable by rail.

Use your Interrail/Eurail Passes on the the Glacier Express panoramic train, with a reservation supplement.

Denmark and Sweden

As well as the iconic holiday Cycling around the Øresund Strait, which takes you through both Denmark and Sweden, you could take two separate walking holidays in each country, exploring some of their natural havens in more depth. Starting in Sweden, for example, head to the western Bohuslän Archipelago by train to Gothenburg, where thousands of islands and idyllic islets are perfect for a week of hiking and adventuring. You can then take the Öresund train from Gothenburg to Copenhagen to enjoy just about any of our Denmark walking tours, as transport is so efficient here.

For more information, see all of our Danish and Swedish holidays that are reachable by rail.

The iconic Öresund (Øresund) Bridge carries trains between Copenhagen in Denmark and Malmö in Sweden.

We hope that this has encouraged you to have a UK or European train adventure, with some exciting walking or cycling holidays sprinkled throughout. This really is our version of ‘doing Europe’ while avoiding crammed capitals, pokey hostels and, the worst yet, high-stress and high-carbon air travel. We’re totally here for train travel at The Natural Adventure, and have gone a bit loco with our train travel inspo, as you can see in this collection of train blogs.