What Is Interrailing & The Interrail Pass

Interrailing Europe via train has become increasingly popular since the pandemic in 2020. In 2022 over 600,000 Interrail tickets were purchased, reaching a record high for the company. However, despite the boom in sales, I suspect the question ‘What is Interrail?’ continues to be asked. This blog post will give you a quick, but detailed, overview into what interrailing is and how the Interrail train pass works.

Interrailing Vs Eurail

First, I think it is important to decipher the difference between Interrail and Eurail, a common confusion. Simply put, Interrail is for European citizens, including UK, and Eurail is for Non-European citizens (e.g. USA).

The passes, countries and train networks are identical for both “brands”. Pricing is also similar however there might be a slightly different pricing structure based on location or promotion.

Ultimately, if you are European you should focus your research on the Interrail pass. If you are Non-European then you should explore the Eurail pass.

What is Interrailing?

Simply put, interrailing is the process of travelling Europe via a train pass. You buy this train pass from the Interrail Website. Interrail is a company that has been running since 1959, allowing individuals to travel Europe with a one-off ticket for unlimited travel in 13 different countries. However, now travellers can visit a remarkable 33 countries and over 30,000 destinations with the interrail pass.

So when people use the phrase ‘ I am going interrailing’, they mean they have bought a train ticket from Interrail and are travelling around Europe. A lot of the time, the Interrail pass is beneficial because it works out cheaper than buying train tickets individually.

Now, I am going to introduce you to the different types of train passes you can purchase.

Interrail Train Passes: Explained

Potentially one of the most confusing parts about interrailing, is the process of buying, understanding and using your pass. However, once you have got your head around it is a fairly simple process.

There are two main types of train pass, the interrail global pass or the one country pass.

To view the prices of the Interrail Global Passes click here

To view the prices of Interrail One Country Passes click here

How Do the Passes Work?

There are a few concepts associated with Interrail that are important to understand. Here are some key phrases to help you.

Travel days: Interrail works on a system called ‘travel days’. ‘Travel days’ are the specific days you use trains. For example, if you were to purchase a pass that allows 15 days of travel across 2 months, then you have 15 ‘travel days’.

On your travel days you have unlimited access to trains, however be aware that if you are on a sleeper train and you change trains after midnight, then your journey will cost you two ‘travel days’ despite it being the same journey.

What does this mean?

Say you were going from Prague to Berlin. Your train from Prague departs at 10:30pm and you arrive at Berlin the next day. As long as your train was a direct train and you had no changes of tickets along your journey then you will have only used one travel day. However, if the train is not direct and you change trains after midnight then you will be required to activate another ticket, meaning you will have used two travel days.

Activate your pass: You must activate your train pass, before you travel. Activating your interrail pass means setting the date to when you want your pass to become valid for travel. Only do this when you are certain on dates and/or you are ready to travel.

Steps to Activate Your Interrail Train Pass:

Mobile Pass

1. Download the Rail Planner app: this is where your digital pass will be stored.
2. Link your interrail pass: once purchased, link your pass to the app.
3. Activate your pass before your first trip: choose the start date of your trip or activate on the day you begin your travels.
4. Travel day activation: add your train trip to your route page, to do this search your train journey and add it to your ‘journey’. After this go to your journey and push the toggle green, this will activate that specific train ticket. Make sure to do this before leaving the station in case you loose signal.
5. Your ticket is ready to be used.

Physical Pass:

1. Activate at a station: visit a ticket desk at any European railway station and ask them to stamp your pass with the start date of your trip.
2. Fill in your details: you will be asked to write your name, passport number, and travel start date on the pass.
3. Enter travel details: on each travel day record the date and necessary details in the travel diary section.

Seat Reservations for Interrail Trains

Stuck on understanding if and when you need seat reservations for your trains? To put plainly, some trains require mandatory seat reservations, however others do not. Reservations guarantee you a seat on the train and for many long trips or overnight sleeper trains, are essential. To search for your trains and book seat reservations click here.

When I went interrailing I made sure to book seats for nearly all trains no matter if mandatory, or not. I have had previous experiences where people have been kicked of trains because they have been too full and they can’t sit down. So I would personally recommend buying reservations for every train, no matter what.

An Interrail Route Example

To help you jump start your planning, I have provided my 2024 Interrail Summer Route to hopefully inspire you.

Did I cover everything you need to know about Interrail? If not, leave a comment below, and I’ll get back to you ASAP—or maybe I’ll even write a blog post to answer your question!