Are you dreaming of a trip to Europe to discover as many countries as you can, but are hesitant due to the expected cost or complexity of air flight connections? And yet, there is a solution to these worries of yours. Instead of multiple, extremely expensive flights that will likely have many delays and complicate your plans, you can travel across Europe with a single train ticket, for an entire month or more, for less than $200!

This is the Interrail pass that can be used by European citizens while non-EU citizens can use a Eurail pass, which is available at the same price as the Interrail pass. This train ticket provides unlimited travel to 33 countries within the European region, including the European Union (EU) and non-EU countries such as Turkey and Serbia. Overall, it entitles its holders to board any train of their choice for a number of days (as per your choice) within a specific time frame (e.g. 4 days within a 1 month time frame).

Photo: unsplash.com/christianlue

In particular, the holders of the specific pass are allowed to board and disembark trains as many times as they want, within a predetermined time period, according to the applicable fare rules they have chosen. More details on prices and travel day options can be found here .

This is an excellent option, both in terms of convenience and cost-effectiveness, for all those who want to discover the beauties of more than one country in Europe. You can travel with a single pass to as many countries as you choose, without having to book separate tickets for each separate trip. 

Using the pass is very easy! You must validate to activate the paper ticket officially before your first journey by obtaining a stamp indicating the "start and end date" of the pass. This way you can explore the whole of Europe by train, from North to South, East to West and Central, with the only limitation being that you complete your train journeys within the default number of travel days of your pass.

Photo: unsplash.com/christianlue

There are more: if you are a young traveler, aged 12 to 27, you get a 25% discount on the fare, regardless of the lifetime of the pass. So you could be entitled to at least 4 days of unlimited train travel within Europe for just $188.

The only thing to note is that you may need to book a seat on some high-demand routes in advance to ensure your boarding, like on night trains.

These are the 33 European countries participating in the Eurail and Interrail scheme: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech , Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece (including islands), Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales), Hungary, Italy, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey.