14 interrailing tips you need to know before travelling

Welcome back to the second post in my interrailing series. Today I am sharing my interrailing tips, and there are quite a few! Most of the interrailing tips that I’m sharing are ones that I couldn’t really find on the internet. Obviously, some of these are dependent on which countries you visit but I hope they are useful to you.

Bring Euros in cash

I brought €40 of cash with me and I thought that I wouldn’t really need it. This was going to be an emergency cash backup. But a lot of places like you to pay in cash, for example, souvenir shops. I ended up having to get out an extra €50. This costs more abroad than it would in your home country. I feel like it’s better to bring too much cash than not enough. In Prague, the hostel asked me to pay in cash which was a bit annoying because it’s a different currency so I didn’t have any.

Use packing cubes

I saw this on TikTok’s interrailing tips, and so I bought some off Amazon. To be honest, I didn’t know how useful they were going to be, but they were amazing. They make life so much easier and I now use them even if I’m just going on a weekend away and want a separate pouch for clothes.

Use the interrail app

One thing you have to bare in mind is that the Interrail app and the website aren’t really linked which makes it very confusing. But, if you buy an interrail pass then you will need to have the journeys that you are taking in the app. Then on the day of travel, you need to activate it. No one explained this to me, and so we were almost caught out. Luckily the train driver let us off, but in some countries, they earn a commission and so would charge you.

Wear/bring shoes you are comfortable in

When I was looking for interrailing tips before I went away, most people said to wear walking shoes. I do already own walking shoes, but I brought my Converse with me as they are what I am most comfortable in. Definitely do not go out and buy walking shoes for the trip. I like wearing my walking shoes, but I wear Converse every day and they worked well for me.

My friend wore her walking shoes, and they were comfortable but it does leave your feet very hot. Another reason why I didn’t bring mine, is because I wear two pairs of socks to not get blisters. I didn’t want to bring double the amount of socks!

Bring a combination lock

Bringing a lock with you is definitely top of the packing list. They have lockers in the dorm room which is where I kept my passport. One of the hostels we stayed at had lockers big enough for the backpack, but most were smaller. The first hostel we stayed in provided a lock, but nowhere else did and some charge you if you want to rent one. I would recommend a combination lock over a key because you might lose the key! It’s one extra thing to remember, whereas you just need to know the code.

Flip-flops are a must

After a day of sightseeing, you want to have another pair of shoes to wear in the evening. If you are staying at a hostel, flip-flops are even more important. They are great shoes to wear in the shower rooms. The best thing is that they are light so don’t weigh down your backpack.

Buy seat reservations even if they are not required

There are seat reservations that are optional, but I would definitely recommend buying them anyway. On our train to Prague, it was absolutely packed! There were compartments for the reserved seats, it looked a bit like the train to Hogwarts. Luckily we had reserved seats, but there were people in ours so that was a bit awkward. Also, the reserved area had air conditioning, whereas the rest of the train was so stuffy.

Bring a pack of cards

I feel like this is travelling advice 101, but they are such a great thing to bring. We played card games on the train, in the park, at the hostel – literally everywhere. At the hostel, they are a great way of making new friends. In Vienna, we played card games with two French people we met. The language of cards (and also that they had great English)! Our favourite games were starfish, speed and crazy eights.

Continue reading: 14 interrailing tips you need to know before travelling

Get a travel money card or use Revolut

I went with the Post Office travel card which was really good. It has lots of currencies to which you can add money when you are abroad. Also, because it is a physical card it means that you can withdraw cash from it. The money doesn’t need to all be spent at the end of the trip because it can just convert to wherever you use it. I have started using mine in the UK to get it down to 0.

Another option is Revolut. I like Revolut because you don’t need a pin to pay, so it can sometimes be easier on transport. At the end of the trip, you can change the currency back to your country. You can exchange money for free during the week, but not at weekends so bare that in mind. I think Revolut is great, but I wouldn’t have it as the only option because you can’t withdraw cash. Also when we were in Paris, paying for transport tickets was only possible by inserting your card. If you want to use Revolut, I would recommend getting a physical version as well.

Sign up to Revolut using my link

Bring a bum bag

I was quite worried about having my phone, passport and money stolen. I know that bum bags aren’t exactly the picture of fashion, and currently people prefer to wear them across their chests. But, a bum bag made me feel so much more reassured. Mine had 4 pockets and I managed to fit in so much stuff – including my epipen which was a must.

Buy 24-hour transport tickets

It depends on how long you are staying for, but 24/48 hour tickets are so much more worth your money. At first, we bought single tickets but quickly realised we would be saving money. I would say to make sure you buy the right one. That probably seems a bit obvious, but we bought the wrong ones quite a few times.

Make use of the free Wifi

This isn’t an interrailing tip that you need to know before travelling, but just something to bare in mind. We didn’t really want to pay extra to connect to mobile data so instead went to specific places if we needed it during the day. I think that almost all of our hostels had free Wifi which was good.

Places with free Wifi:

• Supermarkets – Spar, Super U in France
• Post Office
• Some train stations – I found that if there wasn’t any Wifi at the station, then there normally was on board
• Museums

Take a laundry pod with you

Even though we only went for 16 days, I brought a laundry capsule with me just in case. I am so glad that I did because I ran out of clothes! People say don’t overpack, but if you don’t bring enough clothes you will need to do a wash. The washer and dryer cost €4 each which we also needed cash for. It seems a bit pricey, but this was cheaper than what it cost me to do laundry in my first year of university.

Airbnb is sometimes cheaper than a hostel

In Paris, an Airbnb was cheaper than staying in a hostel. Plus you get a kitchen so can make your own food, which makes it even cheaper. Another important thing to look for at an Airbnb is a smoke detector, carbon monoxide alarm, and vape detector. If you read my previous interrailing post, you’ll know that we couldn’t get into the Airbnb we booked. That was already annoying because the Airbnb was €270 for 3 nights compared to staying in an Ibis hotel at €462 for 3 nights. I’m sure that the Airbnb we picked was a fluke, so I would still recommend choosing them over a hotel.

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I feel like I could have gone on forever, haha! I hope these interrailing tips were useful.

Caroline ♡