Inter-railing in Europe

[pauliwauli2]

Has anyone done this? Did you go with anyone or go alone? I'm thinking about doing it in summer 2010 but haven't really heard about it from anyone who has done it before.

How easy is it to sort out accommodation etc?

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[coccinelle]

Doing it on your own takes time but it's tailor-made to what you want and your budget. Sort out your route and your dates then by using sites like tripadvisor find your accomodation. You'll be needing places near a railway station so make sure it's the right one as many cities have more than one. By booking early you can get good deals and by booking through booking.com or venere.com there's nothing to pay until you arrive. I suggest going for B&Bs (these are usually small hotels but no restaurant) as they're cheaper and more convivial. HTH

[Lil O'lady]

http://www.seat61.com does a good overview of all the train routes you might need. it also helps you decide whether you need by an interrail ass, or pay as you go. European rail services are brilliant. You can get a good map of the european rail network from ThomasCook (use amazon or similar).
The further east you go, the more it deteriorates - i'd say Vienna to Budapest is about as far as I'd go by rail for fun, as rolling stock and concepts of customer service drift away byond there.

[sitges]

I have done this some time ago and usually with a Eurorail pass. I found that this is very expensive and most of the time it is cheaper to pay for each leg of the trip unless you are going really long distances. The last few times I have traveled like this, I have found that if you purchase you ticket the day before you usually do not have any problem getting a seat. I would make my room reservations ahead of time and perhaps the first leg of the journey. then I would wait and purchase the next leg of the trip when I got to the first stop. You should know by then when you want to travel and where and then you have the ticket in hand when it is time to go.
However, Don't over look the bus on short hops and often they are cheaper and faster then the train. Good luck and have fun.