Getting between
Every leg,
and where
to buy it.
29 legs: eighteen day trains, two night trains, eight coaches (one overnight) and one ferry. Where to buy them, what to buy first, and what to do when one fails.
Where to look, where to buy
Deutsche Bahn's journey planner (int.bahn.de) shows almost every train in Europe, including many it cannot sell you: use it to see what exists. Then buy from the company that runs the train. Every leg on our route pages links to it. Resellers such as Trainline and Omio are convenient and usually add a fee.
When booking opens
Most railways sell 30 to 90 days ahead — PKP Intercity's domestic trains 30, its international ones 60 — and some up to six months. The cheap fares go first. Europe's timetables change once a year in December: the 2026 ones run until 12 December 2026, and fares for the new timetable often appear late.
Nights on board
| Szlak | Leg | What | When | Fare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karpacki | Budapest → Brașov | Night train, EuroNight Ister | 1 a night — 19:10 → 07:57 | €39–84 |
| Zachodni | Kraków → Praha | Night train, EuroNight Chopin (ČD / PKP) | 1 a night — 20:49 → 07:51 | €29–45 |
| Atlantycki | Donostia → Porto | Night coach, FlixBus (night) · ALSA (day) | 1 night coach — 22:40 → 07:35, Portuguese time — and 1 day coach | €45–100 |
A night on board is a bed and a leg at once: on a tight budget, the biggest single saving there is. Kraków–Wien has a night train too (20:57 → 05:25), though the day train suits the Adriatycki better.
Coaches
Eight legs are coaches, because on those corridors the coach is the honest answer. FlixBus, Lux Express and ALSA sell online. In the Balkans, buy at the bus station, ideally the day before; a bag in the hold can cost a euro or two, and timetables change with the season.
The ferry
Tallinn–Helsinki: three companies, a dozen sailings a day, two hours. Foot passengers can usually buy on the day, except on summer Fridays. Split's island ferries (Jadrolinija) sell at the kiosk by the port.
Passes
An Interrail pass pays off when you take many long, expensive trains on dates you have not fixed. On these routes several legs are coaches or the ferry, which a pass does not cover (or only discounts), and night trains, the Eurostar and many fast trains still need a paid reservation on top. Add up your route's fares first — every route page gives the total — and then compare.
When it goes wrong
In the EU, a train an hour late entitles you to 25% of the fare back, two hours late to 50%, on the ticket you hold. Only a through ticket protects a connection: with separate tickets a missed connection is your problem, so leave an hour or more between them, and more at borders. Coach passengers have fewer rights. Keep the ticket and ask for the delay to be confirmed.
The five routes → Where to check: every operator → What a day costs →