Inter-railing

Ive often heard people mention having a ball while inter-railing around eastern Europe. Has anyone done it? Any tips on how to arrange it or is it just a case of flying over and buying a train ticket for 2-3weeks. Anything to look out for or avoid??
Any help appreciated!!

Great way to travel if you are prepared to rough it if necessary. Definitely something that everybody should try at least once in my opinion. On the other hand, in this era of low cost airlines it may be possible to fly from place to place on a shoestring. However travelling by train and seeing the changing landscapes from other than 30,000 feet up is part of the fun. Interrail tickets are for students or under 26s (?) or something like that. They used to cover most of Europe with some supplements payable (e.g. for certain trains - e.g . TGV - routes, ferries etc.). However these days Interrail tickets are zoned to different regions of Europe. In some cases buying an individual national rail ticket covering several day's travel might be a better bet. Eurrail tickets are the equivalent for non students or over 26s (?). As far as I know USIT can give you info on these schemes. Alternatively most Rough Guide or Lonely Planet books have a bit on them.

Rail tickets in Eastern Europe are so cheap it's unlikely to be financially worthwhile using an interrail ticket there.. better just buy tickets over there.

This certainly used to be the case - may have changed now .. but a few years ago to get the value from an interrail ticket in E.Europe you would have to have spent the entire month on the trains! ..

Of course in Western Europe where basic train fares are pricier interrail is a better deal (but then also remember in Western Europe more trains have supplements which you have to pay even with Inter Rail - your Interrail ticket won't get you on the TGV, AVE, ICE etc. I don't think)

Interrail

Interrail is no longer only for the under-26 group.
You can only buy the Interrail pass in the country in which you are normally resident.

Check the website at:
www.interrailnet.com/
Laoise

Done it some years ago.
Great experience but be prepared to rough it big-time. Also, arriving in a city late at night without any accomodation booked can be an 'interesting' experience. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone coming out of college looking to let off some steam.

Some of my memories are:

i) Drinking vodka with a group of Polish students at night in a train carraige somewhere in the middle of Italy.
ii) Trying to shave with cold water and no soap in the toilets of a train to Amsterdam.
iii) 'Roughing it' on a bench in Brussels on a mid-summers night.

> Also, arriving in a city late at night without any accomodation booked can be an 'interesting' experience.

Astute or seasoned inter-railers tend to choose overnighters on the train thus saving on a night's accommodation expenses and allowing one to arrive in new places with time to spare to check out accommodation and sights etc.