Inter-railing......the good, the bad and the ugly!

Hi there

My partner and I are hoping to go inter-railing around Europe in the not so distant future and are looking for some advice on destinations. So far I have decided I really want to go to Berlin, Prague, Amsterdam and Salzburg. Other possibilities are Warsaw, Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna, Florence, Venice, Milan and Bern.....we only have 3-4 weeks to do it in which is rather tight. I would really appreciate any advice on any must-see cities, places to avoid, or just generally how you have found the inter-rail experience. Also can you recommend where to start/end, how many destinations you would recommend to do and hostels you loved?

Some background info: we're both from the UK, live in Scotland, in our early twenties, have previously backpacked around the world this year and would be on a moderate budget :) We love culture, art, bars, booze and architecture.

Thank you in advance for all your help, I really appreciate it!

all train times are on bahn.de= the grman rials. DO realise that esp. NIGHTtrains always needs reserv, also for just-aseat, cost ranges 3-114 euro. IF you can readgerman the forum on interrailers.net is FAR the better, done by I-R for I-R. and the new style I-R is either for 22 or 1 month consecutive (from U better to use cheap airline to fly in/out, so use singles and make no difficlt round-circle-trip. for ONLY East-Eur I-R is NOT good value, local tix tend to be even cheaper, certainly if you only use it for a few long-dist trips

Wow, great plans!
I'd suggest flying in to Berlin, then on to Wroclaw (Ive heard it's amazing, never been there though), onto Prague, Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna, Salzburg, Venice, Florence and Rome to fly home again. And of course visit little towns on your way, that's the best experience to my idea!

I think this trip will gather all of your wishes and interests, very diverse cities!
Enjoy!! :-)

Sounds like a great trip. You've done the backpacker thing before, it sounds like, but I just have a couple of general tips:

-- Don't forget about small towns and villages. You mention mostly major cities, most of which I have visited and are mostly very worthwhile to visit. However, don't be afraid to get away from the big cities, see the countryside and village life. You might end up finding that more rewarding than the big city experience.

-- How many destinations you visit will really depend on your traveling style. Some people like to linger for weeks in one country and really get to know the place. Others stop for a day in a city, and then move on. I'd recommend somewhere in between. You don't want to go to cities like Rome, Amsterdam or Venice and stay less than two or three days. But some (like Bratislava), can be done in a day. (I visited enroute from Prague to Budapest, and just used Bratislava as a one-day layover to break up the trip.)

-- You might want to depart without a set itinerary, and then just wing it as you go. I've done that in the heart of the summer season, and usually have no problems. It's a bit easier to do during shoulder or off season. Best thing to do is to book using www.hostelworld.com or other such service a day or two before you arrive in a new town. Maybe have reservations in really busy cities in advance, but otherwise you could have the freedom to stay and linger when you want, and pack up and leave when you want.

-- Warsaw is a nice enough town, but since you're already in Poland, it would be a crime not to see Krakow. It's one of the more beautiful cities in Europe. Touristy, no doubt, but still worth a visit.

-- In the Czech Republic, I'd highly recommend you check out Ceske Krumlov, which is one of the more beautiful villages in Europe. While you're there, you can also check out nearby Ceske Budejovice, a quiet but pleasant town that is the home of the original Budweiser beer.

Hope this helps. Have fun planning!

Dave

3# Wroclaws nice but amazing might be over doing it, worth a day if your in the area but not much more on this kind of trip.
On the Vienna-Italy leg look at going through Slovenia, Bled espescialy is very nice and might provide a nice couple of days in the mountains compared to the big city stuff your also doing see bled website its also got a nice hostel