How to plan a multi-stop Interrail train trip across Europe with kids

As some of you may know last year I took my boys on of the best adventures we have had so far, a multi-country interrail train trip around Europe. We managed to visit 5 different countries over the span of 3 weeks and travelled on multiple trains including high-speed, intercities, local trains and even a sleeper train and we had a blast, from start to finish. 

This wasn't my first experience of Interrailing, I had done it before having kids so I had some idea of the importance of checking if you needed reservations prior to boarding or checking in advance if there was even space on a sleeper train as these regularly sell out weeks beforehand. 

What is an Interrail Pass?

In a nutshell, it's a train ticket that allows you to travel on almost all trains in Europe, with access to 40 railway & ferry companies across 33 countries. If you plan to do a multi-country trip in Europe it's the most convenient and cost-efficient way to go about it. However some trains, especially high-speed and intercities require an additional seat reservation at an additional cost - this cost will be a lot less than a standard ticket and on our trip, these supplements ranged from €3 to €44 per person - although the €44 was for our private couchette on a sleeper train but to give a little more context our supplement for the Eurostar was €30, while Eurostar tickets normally cost around €150 for one way. Many of the trains however don't require any booking or reservations and you literally just jump on and show your ticket to the train guard when they come around. 

Who is an Interrail Pass for?

Anyone or any age, living in Europe can use an Interrail pass! Some people seem to think that Interrailing is just for students, but this simply isn't the case. They offer passes for all ages including children (under 12's get a free pass with a parent), Youth (12-27yrs),  Adults and Seniors (60+).  They also have 2nd and 1st class options.

Which pass should I pick? 

The main two options are a Global Pass (valid in 33 European countries) or a One Country Pass - so this all depends on your personal needs and if you plan on visiting 2 or more countries, the Global pass will be best suited. 

Secondly, you need a rough idea of how many travel days you require - a travel day allows you unlimited travel within that one day. The most popular Global pass is the 7 travel days within 1 month which is perfect for visiting around 6 destinations. The one we used was 10 travel days within 2 months, although we used 9 of those 10 travel days in 3 weeks - so it's all down to your personal needs. 

1. Research & familiarise yourself with the European Rail Network

One of the first things you want to do is download a PDF of the European Rail Network, there is one on the Interrail website and this will also include the Ferry routes included in the pass. This will give you an idea of connections and what routes are actually possible. I would also highly recommend checking out the website "Man in Seat 61" which offers a fantastic insight into different routes including photos of the different trains, times and expected costs. (if you not interrailing) 

2. Decided together what your Must-Visit destinations are

As this was very much a family trip, I made sure to involve my boys in the planning stages and try and fit in everyone's wishlist in terms of destinations, of course, you can't do it all so we wrote down what destinations were non-negotiable and which ones were flexible. As interrailing can be quite demanding on one physically (negotiating trains and stations with heavy luggage can be a lot at times) so ensuring everyone was happy with the final route was important to me. 

We knew we wanted to visit the Cinque Terre & Rome as well as any German city, this alone gave me a base to work from. I put together 3 different routes, took into account time spent on the trains, accommodation costs etc & slowly eliminated 2 of the routes before settling on our final one. 

3. Use the Interrail App and Website planner

Even if you are not Interrailing and simply looking at train times or routes, the Interrail website/app has a fantastic planner, providing up-to-date rail times, routes, transfers and how to buy tickets and seat reservations - this will be key in your planning. Bahn.com is also useful for train times, platforms and night jet tickets. 

4. Take advantage of Interrail discounts

Not only does Interrail give you access to thousands of train routes across Europe, but it also provides some pretty useful discounts with its travel partners - these include discounts for tours, attractions and accommodation. We made use of their 10% off at Meininger Hostels which was a nice extra saving. 

Our private family room in a hostel in Rome

5. Extra tips on booking budget-friendly accommodation

We stayed in a combination of backpackers and hostels, a self-catering apartment and budget-friendly hotels during our trip. My budget was £100 per night for all of us, preferably with breakfast, location was important as I didn't want to be pulling heavy luggage across a city with two children so it had to be central. Some places came in as low as £50 and others were £120 per night but on average came in on budget and doing plenty of research on each play before staying meant that we were really happy with all of our choices.

Firstly sign up to booking.com for free membership - it offers 10% off to members on tons of hotels & properties and use topcashback alongside your booking as you get around 4% cash back on every booking. I also used an app called Hopper for one of my bookings as it offered me a joining voucher and the best-discounted price. I also used Hostelworld website but it's always worth checking the price on Hostelworld as well as direct with the hostel as sometimes booking direct you get the best rate. 

I have heard about people having issues while interrailing and 99% of the time it was due to a lack of planning or making sure if a reservation was needed. Interrailing is a fantastic experience that I would recommend to everyone but do take your time to plan your route as much as you can before you go. 

* Disclaimer - Interrail provided us adult and youth pass (children under 12 are free) however every other element of the trip - accommodation, food, activities, supplements and reservations were covered by myself.