Simon Calder travel advice: This is the best day to buy an unlimited Interrail train pass for Europe
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Thursday 18 July is the optimum day to buy an Interrail unlimited travel pass for use between September 2024 and next summer.
Until 11.59pm, a 20 per cent discount on normal prices applies to all Interrail “Global Passes” that allow travel in 33 countries, from the far north of Scandinavia to the southern tips of Spain and Italy.
The pan-European unlimited rail travel deal is available with a discount of 20 per cent for anyone who begins their trips on or after 1 September 2024. You can begin any time up to 11 months after the issue date – so if you buy one today, you could start as late as 17 June 2025.
Prices range from £193 for four days in a month second class to £826 for three months continuous in first class. With a three-month continuous pass you could travel right through the summer of 2025 until mid-September, at a cost of under £9 per day.
Further discounts apply to travellers under 28 or over 59.
You can buy through a range of retailers, including myinterrail.co.uk/sale – run by the UK Rail Delivery Group – or direct from interrail.eu.
Only two days of journeys within the UK are permitted, and these must be in conjunction with trips abroad – ie to or from airports, ferry ports or London St Pancras International, the Eurostar hub.
Reduced-rate seats are available on Eurostar between London, Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam.
In some European countries – notably France, Spain and Italy – national rail operators demand a supplement for travel on express trains, even if they are the only practical trains available. Typically you might have to buy a series of €10 (£9) supplements for TGV expresses in France, even if they are only for short distances at low speed.
In addition, a penalty of €35 (£30) applies if you travel on on a French Intercité train without paying ahead for a reservation.
Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and Switzerland are much better at allowing Interrailers to use the fastest trains without penalty.
If you are focused on Luxembourg, Interrail is pointless since all public transport is free in the Grand Duchy.
Read more: Interrail at 50
