To Train or Bus Through Europe?
Interrail, Eurorail, Flixbus, Ferries, and more.
As some of you know, I’m planning a journey through Europe to promote sustainable slow travel and its therapeutic effects.
… or maybe I’ll go insane (more insane?) and take a gas-guzzling flight back to Castellon, Spain.
No, I won’t. I’m too stubborn for that. Plus, feeling connected to our earth has gotten me through a lot lately. This is a quest to heal, not destroy.
Flying unnecessarily would be like blowing cigarette smoke into my yoga instructor’s face. Driving would be blowing vape clouds into her face. Busing would be exhaling morning-after-drinking breath, and using the train would be like a Listerine-scented puff.
By the way, if you own some mouthwash company, I’ll gladly replace Listerine with your brand. Affiliates would help with this trip. Don’t like affiliates? Well…
Flying is tempting, though. It’s often cheaper than trains in Europe. Especially when you’re like me and fly to the south of Spain in the middle of summer wearing a snowboarding jacket stuffed with socks and underwear so you don’t have to pay Ryan Air’s ridiculous fees for a carry-on bag.
I would never affiliate with Ryan Air.
Yet, if you mix coaches, trains, Blablacar (a ride-sharing service), and electric moped/Vespa rentals (I found monthly rentals for as low as 114 €/month), semi-sustainable travel can be more affordable than flying.
If you’re a European resident, you can get an Interrail pass.
If you live outside of Europe, you can get a Eurail pass.
However, keep in mind that this is not all you’ll pay. You’ll also need to pay reservation fees up to € 50, although it’s often cheaper and not always necessary.
Plus, ferries aren’t included.
Here are some ferry prices I looked up for my trip.
Tallinn to Stockholm: Starting from 219 € with the 20% from Interrail.
Tallinn to Helsinki: 22-44 €
Gdnask to Karlskrona: 72-92 €
It’s also important to note that Interrail and Eurail don’t advertise certain deals in specific countries. For instance, in the past year, I have paid NOTHING for Renfe trains (not including the high-speed ones) in Spain. I pay for an Abono, which costs 10 €, and with that, I get unlimited train rides for four months. Plus, if I use it more than sixteen times, I get the €10 BACK!
Knowing all that, I also started looking at Flix Bus, which has connections all over Europe and even shows up on Google Maps when the train options are slower or non-existent.
Here are some of the Flix Bus prices I looked up for my trip.
Mont Pellier to Venice: 88 € - 160 €
The prices varied quite a bit, just like with trains. If I were to do the opposite of slow travel and hop from destination to destination to take an Instagram pic and do a city instead of experience a city, the continuous Interrail pass would be the best. But that’s not my goal.
Although I like to plan as a guideline and make things as inexpensive as possible, the benefits of slow travel come from tapping into the constant flux of the universe. Sure, I’ll have to rush and overnight in a few cities, but the idea is to spend time, work, and live—this isn’t a holiday.
It’s about experiencing the people, not checking places off a list. To do that, I need to be open to changing my plans, whether hopping on a train, bus, Blablacar, Vespa, bicycle, horse, donkey, or hitching a ride in what would hopefully be a full car.
That’s why I’m a planster, which I’ll explain in my next post.
Thank you for being here. Together, we can grow a community for the inescapably foreign.
You can also support this trip by doing what I’m doing to afford this trip—Home Exchange.
HomeExchange is an online platform that connects people from all over the world to exchange their homes without money (and taxes) changing hands. Plus, there’s a point system, so you don’t need to exchange homes at the same time.
If you want to use Home Exchange and support this journey simultaneously, you can use this link.
Born Without Borders will never be ridden with affiliates. I’m only including companies that I need for this journey, with or without a referral link.
Stick around.
What’s your favourite mode of transport?
Which countries do you want me to visit?
And here’s the big question—Can I stay with you? I bring food, beer, nomadic workout equipment, and love.
This “It’s about experiencing the people, not checking places off a list” is the whole reason why I travel too.
Anything that smells “bucket list” to me is a big no haha, and as you say it’s not a holiday… this type of travelling is a lifestyle design of sorts!
So excited to get to tag along, did you decide where the first stop is?
I'm team train! There could be some deals locally for train like you said, and if you have the time to travel slowly and spontaneously. Check out Deutschlandticket if you're traveling in Germany, it allows unlimited train ride (except for fast speed trains) for 49€ a month. It's a subscription model though so you got to cancel quickly after it starts ;) I'm envious, this kind of slow traveling and living like the locals is my favorite kind!