InterRail does not distinguish between different zones anymore. Since April 2007, the new InterRail product offer consists of the Global Pass (valid in all participating European countries) and the One-Country Pass. This has replaced the old system of Passes by zone.

You can buy an InterRail Pass if you are a European resident. You are considered to be a European resident if you have been staying in Europe for more than 6 months on the first day of validity of your InterRail Pass.

Your Passport, travel ID or residency card should show this. Train staff will check your ID for confirmation, so we recommend that you bring this on your trip. The number of the passport or ID card that you carry on your trip, should be identical to the one that you use when booking (the number will be printed on your pass).

For non-European residents, there is the Eurail Pass. You can check out www.eurail.com for more information. Eurail and InterRail travelers can travel together on the same trains.

Country of Residence
You can buy an InterRail pass if your country of residence for at least 6 months has been:

1. one of the Inter Rail community members:
Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom;

2. one of these other countries:
Aland Islands, Albania, Andorra, Belarus, Cyprus, Estonia, Faeroer Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Iceland, Isle of Man, Jersey, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Russia, San Marino, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Ukraine, Vatican.

Yes you can, you can use an InterRail Pass and your friend can use a Eurail Pass. They don’t have exactly the same product range, but it should be possible to find a Eurail pass that is similar to your InterRail pass. You can check out the available Eurail passes on www.eurail.com.

No, you may buy InterRail, no matter how old you are. InterRail has three levels of prices related to age groups: 

- Youth, up to 26 years old
- Adult & over 26 years old
- Child, up to 12 years old

With a 1-month continuous Global Pass, you can board the train on any of the days during one month. The number of travel days you have, depends on the length of the month in which you start to use your Pass. July has 31 days, then you can use the Pass also for 31 days. February has 28 days, then you can use the Pass also just for 28 days.

Examples:

If you start traveling on the first day of the month it is easy: you can travel during the complete calendar month. Your Pass is valid from 1 July until 31 July or from 1 February until 28 February (or 29 February in a leap year).

If for instance your 1-month pass starts at 12 July, it will be valid until 11 August. If your Pass starts at 12 February, then it will be valid until 11 March. You can board the train during any day in this period.

Take a look at the number of days of the months at this Calendar page.

Passes may be purchased maximum three months before the first day of validity.

There are two types of InterRail Global Passes: those with a flexible validity and those with a continuous validity.

Do you have a 5- or 10-day flexible (Flexi) InterRail Global Pass? Then you can travel on 5 or 10 separate days of your choice, anytime between midnight of one day to the next, within the Pass’s period of validity. You can choose from two validities: 5 travel days within 10 days (the cheapest Pass) or 10 travel days within 22 days.

When you have a 5- or 10-day InterRail Pass, it's important that you write down the date of each journey in the Travel Calendar printed on the Pass before boarding the train. Otherwise you risk getting a fine!

If you have a 22-day or 1-month continuous InterRail Global Pass, you can travel as often if you want within the InterRail Pass's overall period of validity.

The difference between the two types of validities can be compared to the difference between a monthly subscription to the gym (you can come any day during a one month period), or a 10-time-subscription to the gym (you can join 10 lessons during a certain validity period).

No, the InterRail pass is a personal pass. When you buy the pass, you have to show your identity card or passport. During your trip, the pass is only valid if shown with a valid passport and/or identity card.
So don't forget to take your ID with you when travelling.

The Eurodomino scheme has been discontinued. A new InterRail Pass offer has been introduced on 1 April 2007.

The former EuroDomino pass offer, which offered travel within one or two European countries is now integrated in the InterRail product offer. InterRail now offers the One Country Passes instead of the Zone-Passes. There is also an InterRail Global Pass which is valid in all the participating InterRail countries.

InterRailNet.com accepts the following credit and debit cards: Visa, Mastercard, Amex, JCB, Visa Delta, Visa Electron, Solo and CartaSi. Furthermore real-time bank transfer is possible with GiroPay (Germany), iDeal (The Netherlands) and EPS (Austria). All payments will be handled in a fully secure way!

Yes, your payment is secure. When our registration/order form asks users to enter sensitive information (such as credit card number), that information is encrypted and is protected with the best encryption software in the industry, SSL (Secure Sockets Layer). The site employs SSL via a digital certificate issued by Thawte.

Solo is a debit card used in the United Kingdom. It's possible to pay your Interrail Pass online with Solo if you are a UK resident and if you order in British Pounds.

You should follow these steps:

1. Select British Pounds (£) as your preferred currency at the Global Pass or One Country Pass page of your choice.

2. In the shopping cart, select United Kingdom as your Country of Residence.

3. On the page with Payment methods, choose Solo (you will see the purple Solo logo behind this option).

4:  On the next page, fill in your Card No., Expiration Date and Issue No*.

* If your card has an issue number, it will be at the bottom of the card and will be clearly labelled e.g. with the words "Iss" or "Issue".

 For more info about Solo, visit www.solocard.co.uk.

You will receive a confirmation of your order by email. In this confirmation email you will find your order number, which you can use for all communication with InterRailnet.com.

No, that’s not possible. We use secure shipping only. This means that someone will have to sign for receipt of the package.

No, standard shipping to your home is free within Europe! Only for express shipping a fee is requested.

Standard shipping costs: FREE (delivery of your order within 5 business days)
Express shipping cost: 35 EUR / 25 GBP (delivery of your order within 2 business days)

Due to European law all prices are equal as from April 1st 2007, no matter what your country of residence is.

That depends. Reservations are generally not mandatory, although they are recommended for busy times and routings. Reservations are required for most high-speed trains such as the TGV, sleeper trains, or, if you want a couchette during an overnight journey. Reservations can be made at the larger European train stations for some euros.

No, for some special trains (high-speed / scenic / night trains etc.) and some particular routes, you will have to pay a special price or a supplement or a reservation fee. See also the overview of supplements.

If your pass gets lost or stolen, it cannot be re-issued or refunded. A refund may only be obtained if the pass is returned before the first date of validity.

A travel day is considered any travel between 12 midnight to 12 midnight of the following day (i.e. a 24 hour period). However, for Flexi Pass holders a good tip to know is the 7 pm rule. If you board a direct, overnight train after 7 pm, only the following day of travel is counted. On your InterRail Flexi Pass, you would write the day of arrival on the travel calender of your pass prior to boarding the overnight train.

Morocco used to be an InterRail country, but as from April 1st they are not joining the InterRail community any longer.

Although most high-speed trains require reservations and/or supplements, it's often possible to avoid paying these supplements when you research alternative routes! This means that you'll use domestic trains which are slower, but it normally means also that your travel is free from those extra costs.

To find trains which require no reservations, we recommend you follow the following steps:
1. Go to http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en
2. Enter your place of origin and destination
3. In the field 'means of transport' change 'standard search' to 'local trains only'
4. Uncheck the box 'Prefer fast connections'
5. Click 'go'
6. In the screen with the train connections click on 'details for all' in the lower left corner
7. You will now see all local train connections, which generally speaking require no reservation. If a train still would require a reservation, it will be listed as 'compulsary reservation'.

Eurostar is a private train company and not included in the InterRailPass. However you can get a discount if your InterRailPass is valid in either the country of departure or the country of arrival..

Example fares:

From Brussels (Belgium) to London
Pass holder fare (Standard Class): single ticket €75, return ticket €150
Pass holder fare (Leisure Select Class, with meal & drink): single ticket €135, return €270.
Youth: single ticket from €60, return from €75

From Lille (France) to London
Pass holder fare (Standard Class): single ticket €60, return ticket €120
Pass holder fare (Leisure Select Class, with meal & drink): single ticket €112.50, return €225.
Youth: return ticket from €60

It is not possible to book tickets with InterRail discount online. The 'passholder fare' can be purchased from Eurostar terminals. All tickets and fare types are subject to availability. Prices may change, check www.eurostar.com for the latest fares or call Eurostar at +44 (0) 1233 617 575.

The best way to find up-to-date information in the (rare) case of a strike of a railway company is on the homepage of the specific railway. You can find links to the railway companies in each country in the section Railway Information.

It is different per situation and country how strikes are handled by the railway company. Sometimes alternative ways of transport will be offered, like extra buses.

You can find a link to national timetables on the page Timetables. Or consult for example this Route Planner for Europe: http://fahrplan.oebb.at/bin/oebb.w02/query.exe/en

You have to take your identity card and/or your passport.

First class compartments are more spacious and quieter, with fewer seats per compartment or train car. The seats are larger and sometimes more plush. There is more room for luggage and it will generally be less crowded since most Europeans using the train will travel in second class. Some train systems only offer second class.

There are no weight limitations on baggage (except for a few trains such as the Eurostar or some of the special Hotel Trains). You are really limited by what you can easily carry and board. Most trains have an overhead storage rack along with luggage areas at the end of the car. Baggage is the sole responsibility of the traveler as the railroads will assume no responsibility in case of loss or theft. We recommend that you travel light!

Reservations are in general recommended. In general the reservations for boats can only be made at the ticket window of the certain shipping line company.

The ferry that is included in the InterRail Global Pass and the InterRail Greece Plus Pass is operated by Superfast Ferries and Bluestar Ferries. It connects Patras - Igoumenitsa in Greece with Ancona and Bari in Italy. You'll only need to pay fuel surcharge (4 EUR / 2,8 GBP) and port taxes.
In some months you would also need to pay seasonal surcharge:
June and September: 10 EUR / 7 GBP
July and August: 20 EUR / 14 GBP.