Ayman Ilham
Member
So I have finally decided to take the plunge into this Interrail thing, starting off with a basic 4-day pass to test the waters. I reserved a cheapo hotel in Dusseldorf near the Hauptbahnhof for 3 nights in mid-June (not too early not too late) this year as after some research, I found this was the best place (in terms of both price and location) to use as a base for the places I want to visit. First travel day will be much lighter than I initially planned, as I've decided to fly Ryanair to Cologne/Bonn from Manchester instead of going down to London to get Eurostar (which would've arguably been more fun) due to my desired departures being fully booked. Thus, it'll just involve two Northern trains from my local station to Manchester Airport, followed by a short hop from Cologne/Bonn Airport (flight scheduled to arrive 1720) to either Cologne Hbf or Messe-Deutz to spend an hour or two taking in the city centre, before hopping on an ICE (or just whatever train comes first) to Dusseldorf to check into my hotel before 9pm. I was thinking of not using a travel day for these short train journeys and thus, saving a travel day to use more extensively later in the month, but that would only mean added costs for extra flights, reservations and accommodations so probably not the best idea budget-wise. The following days are where the real fun begins, on the other hand.
I have a rough itinerary sorted for Switzerland as follows:
Option A: Covers two major cities on my bucket list (Berlin and Amsterdam).
Option B: Takes some potentially more interesting routes between Rhine-Ruhr and the Benelux.
I have a rough itinerary sorted for Switzerland as follows:
- 0627 Dusseldorf HBF to Basel SBB 1047 [DB ICE] Consider alternatives in case this train is cancelled
- 1206 Basel SBB to Zurich HBF 1300 [SBB IC] Alternatively take a different train to Bern and then go to Zurich afterwards
- Explore Zurich, Bern and/or Lucerne but return to Basel by 6pm. Alternatively, consider returning by a more scenic route from Zurich via Stuttgart
- 1913 Basel SBB to Dusseldorf BF 2335 [DB ICE] Consider the 1713 and 1813 ICE departures northwards in case the 1913 is cancelled
Option A: Covers two major cities on my bucket list (Berlin and Amsterdam).
- 0611 Dusseldorf HBF to Frankfurt HBF 0748 [DB ICE] Maybe consider a later train if more rest required
- 0902 Frankfurt HBF to Berlin HBF 1254 [DB ICE] Alternatively, consider Stuttgart and Ulm, Nuremburg or Heidelberg
- Explore Berlin and Brandenburg Region [DB S RB RE] or wherever I decide to go instead
- 1545 Berlin HBF to Dusseldorf HBF 2015 [DB ICE] Consider returning a more interesting way depending on which services are less delayed
- 0626 Dusseldorf HBF to Arnhem Centraal 0813 [DB RE]
- 0832 Arnhem Centraal to Amsterdam Centraal 0907 [NS IC]
- Explore Amsterdam
and maybe Rotterdam if there is time - 1208 Amsterdam Centraal to Cologne HBF 1521 [NS ICE]*
- 1124 Amsterdam Centraal to Arnhem Centraal 1228 [NS IC]
- Use Regional Express trains to get to Cologne via Duisburg if it's more reliable than ICE
- 1538 Cologne HBF to Cologne/Bonn Airport 1550 [DB RB] latest train to the airport before things get too tight
Option B: Takes some potentially more interesting routes between Rhine-Ruhr and the Benelux.
- 0626 Dusseldorf HBF to Arnhem Centraal 0813 [DB RE]
- 0832 Arnhem Centraal to Utrecht Centraal 0907 [NS IC]
- 0918 Utrecht Centraal to Rotterdam Centraal 0955 [NS IC]
- 1111 Rotterdam Centraal to Brussels Midi/Zuid 1305 [IC Direct]
- 1322 Brussels Midi/Zuid to Luxembourg 1615 [NMBS IC]
- 1733 Luxembourg to Koblenz HBF 1956 [CFL RE]
- 2016 Koblenz HBF to Dusseldorf HBF 2158 [NX RRX]
0513 Dusseldorf HBF to Berlin HBF 1016 [DB ICE]1141 Berlin HBF to Cologne HBF 1540 [DB ICE]1552 Cologne HBF to Cologne/Bonn Airport 1605 [NX RRX]- 0611 (or 0709) Dusseldorf HBF to Frankfurt HBF 0748 (or 0848)
- Explore Frankfurt and surrounding areas like Mainz and Heidelberg [DB S RB RE]
- 1209 (or 1226) Frankfurt HBF to Cologne MDtz 1315 (or HBF 1333) [DB ICE]
- Start leaving Cologne city centre for Cologne/Bonn Airport around 3pm [DB S]
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