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On what basis will you choose your next holiday trip?
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Eurotrip
What are you planning to do for the several weeks’ holidays that you have pencilled in for next summer? Ryanair to Agadir for 2 weeks mindless sun-burning on the silky sands of Morocco? A lengthy cruise through the Caribbean islands?
Or maybe a couple of weeks spiritual self-discovery in the Far East?
For those with neither the patience, the cash nor the Buddhist tendencies respectively, there is another option: InterRailing.
A favourite of budget-conscious and adventurous students since it’s foundation in 1972, InterRailing is a holiday like no other. The basic principle of the scheme is that a single special ticket allows you to travel by train wherever and whenever throughout Europe for a fixed period of time; various types of tickets being available according to age (cheaper when under 26 years old), time span (tickets can last from 5 days up until 1 month) and planned geographical range (i.e. how many countries you want to visit). InterRailers are then free to use their pass however they like; some may choose the gung-ho, visit-as-many-countries-as-is-physically-possible option; while others may prefer to spend more quality time in a select number of cities.
And that brings us nicely to the first and glaringly obvious advantage of this holiday: choice. The recent inclusion of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the InterRailing family brings to 30 the number of nations which can be visited using the pass; and although bouncing between 30 European countries within the space of one month is perhaps only possible if your name is Phileas Fogg, it is at least a theoretical option. As is of course selecting just 3 or 4 destinations to spend a more substantial length of time in each. When “yours truly” went InterRailing a number of years ago he managed to take in the sights and sounds of Prague, Krakow, Budapest, Vienna, Munich, Berlin and Amsterdam (in that order) within the space of 22 days. Not many people can claim to have visited the chillingly memorable Auschwitz as well assampled some traditionally liberal Dutch produce during the same holiday, but InterRailing makes this a possibility.
Of course this sort of willy-nilly nation-hopping isn’t for everybody, and it does have some downsides. For example, many people claim that by sprinting through a city just to be able to mark it off your “Where have you been?” Facebook application means missing out on the real culture of the city, which can never be fully absorbed through just a fleeting visit. This is of course true, but the beauty of InterRailing is that if a certain city particularly tickles your fancy, you are completely free to prolong your stay to discover in more detail its history, culture and cheap bars. And on the flipside you might want to hotfoot away from a city where there seems to be more American tourists than local residents hanging about (mid-summer Florence and Venice come to mind).
Another advantage of InterRailing is that it can be a stepping-stone to future travels. Being the literal “voyage of discovery” that it is, you might find that you fall in love with Munich but have to follow your travel partners and vamoose to Venice after 2 days. Why not hop an Easyjet flight back to the Bavarian capital the next time you have a week’s break? You’re not going there as a stab in the dark; you know that you will enjoy it. In this respect InterRailing is just like a giant cheeseboard; after sampling a slice of everything you come back for a block of what most appealed to your taste buds. That plus some of the hostels in which you will end up staying might smell like gone-off gorgonzola, but we’ll return to this later.
Another thing to expect from InterRailing is something which you wouldn’t usually look for in a holiday; stress. Painting the town red in 6 European capitals within 3 weeks certainly sounds attractive, but it can be a logistical, organisational and tautological nightmare. Not only do you have to constantly think ahead to the next destination and confirm that some suitably shoddy accommodation is booked for your arrival, but you also have to navigate train timetables in strange Eastern European languages to ensure that you board the express to Budapest and not Bucharest (which is entirely possible). First-class trains are also generally to be avoided, as the InterRail pass does not cover posh transport; surcharges will have to be paid. All in all, the moral of this paragraph is to take along an organisationally-minded travel companion who can give himself a headache thinking about the night train to Berlin while you give yourself a headache drinking one too many weissbiers.
However, the clincher for many people thinking of holidaying in this recession-ridden era is of course money; so how do the fares of InterRailing compare to other budget holidays? Wouldn’t you be better off jetting your way from city to city on discount Ryanair flights? The truth is that InterRailing works out as a very cheap holiday, especially taking into consideration the wealth of experiences and choices that are on offer. For a one month pass to go anywhere in Europe at any time, the cost is a less-than-whopping €409. Which might equate to 5 or 6 budget flights booked long enough in advance, but gives you so much more in terms of flexibility and comfort (have you been on one of Michael O’ Leary’s planes recently?). The catch? This price applies only to youths, with the price for an adult shooting up to much less affordable €929. Fortunately the euphemism “youth” designates anyone under the age of 25, and quite frankly anybody older is generally not attracted to the stress, dirt and craziness of a month-long train journey around the continent.
Finally, the cheese-scented hostel mentioned earlier? After forking out for the train ticket, many less-than-wealthy youths are often tempted to opt for the cheapest hostel possible in each city. Which is, along with surviving on 2 cheeseburgers from McDonalds per day, an admirably self-sacrificial way to economise. However, let’s just say that when it comes to accommodation unfortunately you smell what you pay for, so don’t be too hasty in reserving your spot in that 24-bed dormitory room in Prague.