Bonjour, JFC-ers!

As international sporting events go, today marks the start of a pretty major one — the 2024 Paris Olympics!

This year's event has not gone without its fair share of headlines in the run-up, from the "will-they-won't-they" of swimming events in the River Seine, to controversial athletes, and arson attacks on the French rail system ahead of the opening ceremony.

Thankfully, there's a spot of light relief in the form of Snoop Dogg, who was an unexpected hit for is commentary during the Tokyo Olympics. Tonight, he'll carry the Olympic torch along its final stretch through Saint-Denis as it heads towards the Olympic Cauldron at the Jardin du Trocadéro Stadium.

Happy sports-ing, and safe travels,

Good news, readers, you’ve come to the right place!

Yes, we’re all about finding excellent flights here at JFC, but my colleagues and I make no secret of our fondness for rail travel, either! Last year’s Trans-European Race from London to Istanbul reignited my love of interrailling, which I had first done at 17 — so much so that I’m counting down the days (22, in case you were wondering) until we do it all again.

Considering we’re thoroughly in the midst of planning our trips this year and giving tips to first-timers, your questions are perfectly timed, readers! I’ve gathered top tips from our team, sifted through our existing articles, and even dived back into the group chat archives to see what nuggets of wisdom I could find to help you hit the rails with confidence! Here goes…

1. Stay Flexible

After long days or night sitting on trains, you will need to get stretching and practise those yoga poses. But we’re more talking about your plans! 

Having a route in mind before you go is ideal — you can plan out every connection in advance if you want to, or just play it by ear. Either way, those plans will probably change at some point, and you’ll have to roll with the punches. 

As flight finder Andreia says, “You can have a general plan or a list of countries you want to visit, but if you're willing to explore alternative routes, you may end up finding new cities you never thought of exploring before.” 

And it’s so true — for Andreia, Tristan, and Danni, it was the Serbian town of Novi Sad that gave them a pleasant surprise last year. For my team of racers, it was the cute little mountain town of Villach, near the Austria/Slovenia border. Even though they were just stopovers on our way to the next city, they offered up a slice of real life, away from the beaten tourist track.

That said, you want to give yourself enough flexibility for things to go wrong, too. Last summer, we had protests on the line in France, major flooding in Central Europe, hours of waiting at border crossings… So, you’ll probably come across one or two delays or cancellations! Always try to schedule in a buffer to avoid missing connections, and check out alternative routes so that you have a back-up plan.

2. Be Spontaneous

You should stay flexible with accommodation, too. We found that there’s generally plenty to go around in the major cities, so short notice bookings are rarely a problem. You may end up somewhere a little quirky, though.

For example, we managed to grab a 4-bed room in a pod hostel in Sofia called Green Cube for only €13 per person per night. It was cheap, clean, comfy, and close enough to the main train station to be convenient. It did come with a rather unique green glow, however, and I can only describe the experience inside my little pod as what I imagine it’d be like inside a cartoon alien’s womb.

3. Make reservations… sparingly!

If you have an Interrail or Eurail pass, your train tickets across Europe are paid for — woo-hoo! However, some routes require you to reserve a seat too, the cost of which can be anywhere from €5 to €70 depending on the train. 

Before you panic, I’ve only seen that super expensive reservation price on one sleeper train in Western Europe. High-speed trains in countries like Germany, the Netherlands, and France usually charge €15-€20 per seat, but you can usually get around that by taking a slower (more scenic) route. 

When it comes to sleeper trains, you’ll always need to make a reservation—but beware, the beds tend to sell out quickly, and you may find yourself left with only an upright seat to sleep on. This is where you have to balance that flexibility with planning, especially since some of those sleeper trains can only be booked in person or via email. As always, The Man in Seat 61 has all the info you’ll need.

But if you’re looking to save on cash, don't buy reservations unless you're sure they’re necessary. The Interrail Rail Planner app is handy for finding your route options, and it does tell you whether you have to pay for a seat — but it's not always super clear. 

When Andreia & co. decided to take the famous Bernina Express, they read a bunch of stuff saying they’d have to pay anywhere from €50 to €200. In the end, they decided to go straight to the departure point at Chur and check there, and it turned out the Interrail pass was all they needed. 

4. Don’t be afraid of buses

Okay, I know we’re here to talk about trains, but let me just throw in the concept of a long-distance bus. Why? Well, some of the most exciting, under-explored places in Europe are easier to reach by bus, that’s why! 

I’ve already purchased my Interrail pass for this year’s race to Tirana, knowing full well that there are no trains in or out of our final destination. In our experience, this was mostly the case when crossing international borders in the Balkans, though there are a few exceptions that always sell out fast (*cough* Sofia–Istanbul sleeper *cough*). 

But there’s almost always a bus that’ll get you there. Most of them were comfortable enough, and some even handed out snacks! Don’t believe what they tell you when you book, though — the onboard Wi-Fi never works, and the toilet will be locked for the duration of the journey. Don’t worry, they (usually) make a comfort stop or two.

JFC Tech Guru Richard does have one caveat when it comes to those buses, however: “I wouldn't recommend night buses to anyone except my worst enemy”. After our bleary-eyed 4am arrival in Belgrade with no sleep and an achy lower back, it’s certainly an experience I wouldn’t rush to recommend…

5. Make as much of each day as you can

From day one of our trip, we fell into a rhythm that let us get a taste of as many places as possible. We were on a tight schedule, of course, but it’s an approach I’d recommend, especially for saving a little cash and avoiding spending your whole day gazing wistfully out a window, eating train picnics.

Essentially, each travel day should work something like this: 

This way, we were able to break up our days, work on trains, then get out and stretch our legs for a few hours before heading off again. It let us check out places like Strasbourg, Innsbruck, Villach, Ljubljana, and Belgrade without spending so much time or money in each one, and we definitely made the most of each Travel Day we used on our Interrail passes.

Bonus tips from the team

We could keep going with more and more little titbits we learnt along the way, but part of the fun is discovering it all yourself! That said, if you have any specific questions you’d like the team to answer, just hit ‘Reply’ and we’ll get back to you. 

Have an amazing trip, interrailers, and don’t forget to send us a few pics!

Hello! So, it looks like the routes have been updated slightly since I booked, and somehow it seems even more confusing now. I think if you are looking for the basic route with the classic viewpoint of Machu Picchu (like this), then it's circuit 1, sometimes called 'classic photo ticket' by tour operators. This summary does an OK job at explaining the other routes.

I'm not sure if it will be the same now, but when I visited this February, it seemed as if the routes kind of all merged together at some point. At the beginning, you start on one path, then reach a cross road with various routes sign posted. But as you worked your way around, the sign posts appear less and less, and there seem to be several unmarked path options for you to veer off along.

So realistically, I'm not sure which path I ended up on, but it all seemed very relaxed, and everywhere I wondered revealed a cool structure or viewpoint. Overall, I can't imagine you'd be disappointed with any of the routes!

Unfortunately, I did not notice any wheelchair-specific paths in Machu Picchu.

There were various routes you can take to the site itself and some of them did not have any stairs, however the paths were a little uneven, so I think accessibility would depend on what kind of wheelchair you have.

I have seen some companies online offer specialist wheelchair tours, so it is definitely possible, but it might be worth reaching out to one as they would know the best routes and viewpoints. This page on the Machu Picchu ticket site gives an overview of which routes might be suitable for visitors with different accessibility needs.

Hi Fiona!

Thanks so much for your response, and I'm glad you enjoyed reading it.

You're right, it probably is a lot busier now - the crowds around the entrance were quite something. I also loved the fact I could eat my dinner next to the incoming trains in Aguas Caliantes, very picturesque!

Your travels sound truly inspirational, the thought of eating an Easter egg, on Easter, in Easter Island made me chuckle. Have fun in China, and please do let us know if you have any Guangzhou travel tips after your back.

Happy travels, Lauren