Exploring cultures and communities – the slow way

Train fares are getting cheaper. As retailer Loco2 launches split tickets in the British market, travellers on longer journeys across the continent are discovering that judicious use of an Interrail pass can undercut the cost of a regular return ticket. Interrail may make sense even for just one round trip.

article summary —

The cost of many rail journeys across Europe has fallen in 2019 because of changes in the rules and validity of Interrail passes. Consider the case of a Dutch business traveller making a longish journey across Europe. A first-class return ticket for the 10-hour ride from Amsterdam to the Swiss city of Lugano can be booked for under €100. But availability at that lead-in price is scarce, so tickets would need to be bought some months in advance.

Our hypothetical traveller may only book less than a week in advance, by which time the return first-class fare will typically be about €320. If she or he needs real flexibility and cannot commit to specific trains, the return fare from Amsterdam to Lugano soars to over €700 return. But the new three-day Interrail pass allows unlimited travel across 30 countries on any three days in a one-month period and costs just €291 (first class) for an adult — with handsome reductions for travellers under 28 or over 59.


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About the authors

hidden europe

and manage hidden europe, a Berlin-based editorial bureau that supplies text and images to media across Europe. Together they edit hidden europe magazine. Nicky and Susanne are dedicated slow travellers. They delight in discovering the exotic in the everyday.

This article was published in hidden europe 58.