Before you go
What to sort
before the
first train.
Documents, money, phones, health, safety, and the order to book in. The same for all five szlaki, with the exceptions named.
Documents
Nineteen of the twenty-one countries on these routes are in the Schengen area: no checks at the borders between them, though spot checks happen, so carry your passport or EU identity card. The two that are not — Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, on the Adriatycki — check passports at every border.
If you are not an EU citizen: since October 2025 the EU's Entry/Exit System takes your fingerprints and a photo the first time you enter the Schengen area, and counts your days — most visitors may stay 90 days in any 180. ETIAS, a paid online authorisation for visitors who need no visa, is planned but had no start date in October 2026. Whether you need a visa depends on your passport: check the EU's official site, travel-europe.europa.eu, not a forum.
| Country | Currency | Schengen | EU roaming | Clock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | euro | yes | yes | CET |
| Belgium | euro | yes | yes | CET |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | convertible mark (KM) | no | no | CET |
| Bulgaria | euro (since 1 Jan 2026) | yes | yes | EET |
| Croatia | euro (since 2023) | yes | yes | CET |
| Czechia | koruna (CZK) | yes | yes | CET |
| Estonia | euro | yes | yes | EET |
| Finland | euro | yes | yes | EET |
| France | euro | yes | yes | CET |
| Germany | euro | yes | yes | CET |
| Hungary | forint (HUF) | yes | yes | CET |
| Latvia | euro | yes | yes | EET |
| Lithuania | euro | yes | yes | EET |
| Montenegro | euro (not in the EU) | no | no | CET |
| Netherlands | euro | yes | yes | CET |
| Poland | złoty (PLN) | yes | yes | CET |
| Portugal | euro | yes | yes | WET |
| Romania | leu (RON) | yes | yes | EET |
| Slovakia | euro | yes | yes | CET |
| Slovenia | euro | yes | yes | CET |
| Spain | euro | yes | yes | CET |
CET is Central European Time; EET is an hour ahead of it, WET an hour behind.
Money
Cards and phones pay for almost everything, including most trains and many coaches. Take cash from a bank's own machine rather than a standalone one, and when a machine or a card terminal offers to charge you in your home currency, refuse: paying in the local currency is almost always cheaper. Cash still matters in Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Balkan coaches and in small places.
Phone
EU roaming ('roam like at home') covers nineteen of the twenty-one countries. It does not cover Bosnia and Herzegovina or Montenegro: buy a local SIM or an eSIM there, or check your plan first. Download offline maps before the first long day.
Health and insurance
EU and EEA citizens should carry the European Health Insurance Card; it covers state healthcare in EU countries on the same terms as locals, and UK residents' GHIC does much the same. It does not cover getting you home, and it does not apply in Bosnia and Herzegovina or Montenegro. Buy travel insurance anyway.
Safety
112 works in every country on these routes; in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, 122 is also the police and 124 an ambulance. The usual city rules hold: pickpockets work the Paris metro, Lisboa's tram 28 and crowded night stations; keep a copy of your passport somewhere other than your passport; tell one person at home which city you are in each evening.
The order to book in
- 01
The first two nights.
Then stop: the rest are easier to choose from inside the country.
- 02
Anything that runs once a day or sells out.
The night trains (Kraków–Praha, Budapest–Brașov), the Eurostar, Warszawa–Vilnius in summer, the Tallinn ferry on summer Fridays.
- 03
Beds in the dear and the busy places.
Amsterdam, Helsinki and Paris always; the Adriatic coast and Donostia in July and August.
- 04
The rest as you go.
And check each leg on the operator's own site the day before you take it.
Trains, coaches and ferries → Where to check → Going on your own →