Harriet Barter recently told Exeposé Lifestyle why Inter-Railing is an amazing way to travel, especially for students. Here, Online Editor Liam Trim shares his 18 top-tips for avoiding calamity on the continent, based on his experience in the summer of 2012.
1) Do NOT rely on a ‘pocket towel’
This tip is number one for a reason – it’s something you must remember before you leave the UK and it’s very, very important.
It’s vital that during preparation for Inter-Railing you identify essential items to take. It’s also important you travel light. Therefore, you might be tempted to buy a snazzy space saving gadget, such as a pocket towel. Whilst I would not want to say all pocket towels are a waste of time, I can confidently say that they can be disastrously rubbish. A friend of mine had been advised by a family friend, a travel veteran apparently, that pocket towels were wonderful little things. They stayed dry, they kept you dry and they folded away to handkerchief size. Perfect for Inter-Railing right?
Wrong. By the end of our trip my friend had been restricted to drying herself with a tiny, shrivelled damp rag for days. Not something you need to be worrying about in strange surroundings. Also, my ordinary towel was still going strong and hardly took up any space in my bag.
2) Travel with a friend who has a fetish for organisation
Sitting down with the initial idea to go Inter-Railing is great. You’ve never been to a bunch of cool, cultured European cities and you want to tick them all off your wish list in one summer. Better yet, you want to go with your mates. Which hopefully means a fun filled few weeks, rather than seven days by an overcrowded pool with your bickering relatives.
But after everyone has committed to go, there’s a fair bit of daunting organisation to be done. This isn’t a package holiday that comes neatly wrapped from a travel agent. There’s plenty of advice and help online but in the end you have to build your Inter-Railing experience yourselves, from flights to trains, from destinations to accommodation. Anyone who has ever struggled with Ikea furniture knows that self-assembly can be stressful.
So it helps to go with a friend who actually enjoys the little details of precise planning. Sure, someone who is too controlling could kill the vibe of an enjoyable trip but I was certainly very grateful to head off with a trustworthy friend to guard the paperwork and a step-by-step colour coded Excel spreadsheet.
Find a balance between fun and ‘going with the flow’ and you’ll be fine!
3) Go with people you actually like
News of a group holiday can spread like wildfire amongst a group of mates. But unfortunately chances are that Inter-Railing would not work practically if you wanted to take every single one of your Facebook friends. It’s also true that some personalities may not get on in a cupboard sized hostel room, even if they click so well on a night out at Arena.
Remember that Inter-Railing is an expensive and perhaps once in a lifetime experience, so be careful when planning your trip. Don’t go with someone simply out of politeness but also be open minded about travelling with friends you don’t know as well, because they may want exactly the same experience as you. Luckily I went with two close friends and had a great time, but don’t worry if balancing friends at the planning stage is hard, you’ll get there if you really want to go!
4) Check and double-check hostel bookings BEFORE you travel
When I went Inter-Railing I was in charge of hostel bookings. Initially I was daunted by my task – how did I go about finding affordable accommodation (that wasn’t disgusting) in strange places I had never visited? Thankfully, there are loads of ratings online which are a great help. When we left the UK I felt reasonably confident about the choices I’d made.
But at our first stop in Paris my efforts unravelled. I had somehow booked the wrong dates. The hostel thought we were arriving the following night and staying longer that we actually were. We had nowhere to stay. I had screwed up my only job. As the frustratingly chilled French woman at the hostel said…”Oo la la Liam, you are in the shit”.
I should have checked the details of the hostel bookings more thoroughly than I did. But things did not turn out too badly, as it turns out people can be nice! The hostel helped us find a hotel and this was pretty much the sole cock-up of the entire trip.
So even when things go wrong, try not to panic!
5) Read hostel ratings – they might actually help
This tip comes courtesy of a friend who had to flee a hostel in Budapest because it was so bad. Crazy men knocking in the night and dirty, foul smelling rooms are not ideal when you’re exhausted from travelling. So make sure you at least TRY to avoid disaster by cross referencing a few different ratings from previous visitors to the hostel you’re considering.
6) Do NOT take things you ‘might’ need
Luxuries are not really possible when travelling light. Neither are bulky sleeping bags you don’t need which your friend ends up carrying for the whole trip…
7) Learn what landmarks actually look like
If you have a vague idea of what a famous landmark looks like, it’s probably best to consult a map for further info. I learnt from experience that heading towards what I thought was The Louvre, based on a hunch from our vantage point on the Eiffel Tower, can end with your friends being rather irritated at you after walking for what feels like miles in the wrong direction.
8) Make use of universal languages
There are quite a few universal languages that can help you when you don’t speak a word of the local lingo. Food, song, art and sign language can all bring people of different nationalities together. In our case the most useful universal language proved to be football, as we won over some owners of a bar in Milan by enthusiastically praising their team Inter. Cheap wine, great service and a quiet table just 30 seconds from our hostel – not a bad return from just a little football knowledge and flattery.
9) Stay with relatives, friends of friends, forgotten pen pals…
…anyone who can save you money! Staying with a relative who lives abroad is not only cheaper than a hostel but it can provide you with a friendly, English speaking guide to local sights. It may not be possible but it’s worth looking into. You may also end up seeing things you wouldn’t have considered looking at otherwise and some homely hospitality mid-trip certainly recharged our batteries.
10) Do NOT let kindly old men help you purchase tickets
A smiling Italian man lurking by the ticket machines of the Milanese underground system may seem harmless (alright maybe I was just really naive) but there’s a chance he’s after your money. Fear of tricksters can just result in us Brits being very rude whilst abroad. But nevertheless, hide your confusion and struggle onwards, don’t be a doormat!
11) Sometimes steak just means steak…
…no fries, no salad, just a huge plate with a huge piece of meat. Actually no, there was a slice of lemon, too. Don’t assume European menus function in the same way as ours, check out what other diners are doing and follow suit. Nothing but a giant steak for dinner isn’t as awesome as it sounds.
12) Catch up on sleep on the trains, but don’t miss your stop!
This one is pretty simple. European trains can be surprisingly comfortable and you’ll need to sleep on them at points. But if you have to get off before the last stop make sure one of your party stays awake to keep an eye out.
13) Leave money for essentials: namely water and hangover-cure breakfasts
Water is expensive. Do not underestimate its power to drain your budget. Hangovers are painful and can sometimes only be defeated by a hearty breakfast. I’m very glad I had some Euros left to buy a much needed omelette on our final day in Amsterdam.
14) Take lots of photos…but not too many!
Having a good stock of photos when you get back will help you appreciate how absolutely brilliant Inter-Railing was, when the tiredness and the desire to be home has finally vacated your bones. However, don’t spend all your time clicking away on your phone or camera. Enjoy the moments as they happen as well.
15) Do things you wouldn’t normally do
I’m glad I can say I’ve had a stein of beer in Munich, even though it wasn’t the most enjoyable drink of my life. I’m glad I tried what the waiter called “5 star KFC” in Amsterdam, even if the meal didn’t exactly warrant a 5 star billing. I’m glad I went to the sex museum because it was a damn good laugh. On a normal day, or a normal holiday, I simply would not have done any of these things. But random trips to places like the BMW museum (yup it was great!) make Inter-Railing the unpredictable and unforgettable experience that it is.
16) Don’t get changed in a tiny shower and then accidentally turn said shower on
Imagine a shower with a saloon door. Imagine getting changed in this shower to maintain your modesty in front of your two friends, just inches away. Imagine a sudden stream of water. Imagine the resulting laughs.
17) Don’t forget your Inter-Railing pass!
Sounds obvious right? Even your super-organised friend is capable of this infantile error though. Worst case scenario, you can get your pass sent out to you by loving parents, or you can buy your pass at your first destination. Both of these things happened on my trip (although, I’d like to add, I was at fault for neither of them).
18) Photos just aren’t allowed in the red light district…
…even if your curiosity is entirely innocent, you may inadvertently anger the locals.
Liam Trim, Online Editor
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