A travel day lasts one full calendar day, from 00:00 to 23:59. On each travel day, you have access to the train networks where your Interrail Pass is valid. With your Interrail Pass, you will have 7 travel days that you can use within your Pass’ 1-month validity period. In addition, there are a few things to note when planning your travel days:
- Inbound & outbound travel: You can only use 2 of your total travel days to take trains in (or through) your homecountry. These are called Inbound/Outbound journeys, and you will be asked to activate these on top of a regular travel day whenever you schedule a train in your own country.
- Night trains & travel days: When travelling on a night train, you only need to use a single travel day: your day of departure. Even though most night trains leave on one calendar day and arrive at the next, you'rerarely required to use two travel days for this train. If you change trains after midnight, though, a second travel day will be required for this. If you're using the night train to get home, a second travel day might also be required. For more information on this, please check out this article.
Getting the Most out of your Travel Days
Use your travel days wisely, as you only have 7 of them! We advise using your travel days mainly for longer or multiple-train journeys. Your Interrail trips do not need to go from points A-B, and B-C, so you can cover short distances in between major destinations through other means of transport as well.
If you only want to travel a short distance, you can save a travel day by buying a separate train or bus ticket. You might be able to find a nice discount for this by going through the EYCA and Interrail-related discount offerings in the Benefits Portal.The EYCA discounts can be found in the DiscoverEU Travel App under ‘More’.For the Benefits Portal, please visit this link.You can also take advantage of the night trains: if you board a direct night train, only the departure day needs to be counted as a travel day. For more information on this, please check out this article.
Planning your Travel Days
On average, it will only take 1 travel day to go from one European city to the next. For instance, you can use 1 travel day to get from Berlin to Paris and another travel day to go from Paris to Barcelona. You can start and end your journey in any of the participating European countries. You do not need to start and finish your trip at the same station.
Your Interrail Global Pass will be valid for 2 journeys in your country of residence. You can use one journey to leave your country, and the other to come back home.
For inspiration on itineraries, why not have a look at the DiscoverEU route suggestions! You can find these in the More section of the DiscoverEU App, from where you open the Travel Guides section. Note that many itineraries are based on different departure and arrival destinations. It is your responsibility to make sure that your total trip is covered by the travel days and validity period of your Pass. Any additional travel expenses beyond this are not refunded by the DiscoverEU Programme.