European Rail Travel - Buying InterRail in London

I'll be traveling to London in late June/early July and I might be missing my flight back home (bad planning:D). So I was thinking what to do in that case.. One option is to buy new flight which is pretty expensive.

Other option is to buy InterRail for 155 GBP and take either trip back home or 5 days ride around the Europe. My question is: Am I able to buy InterRail directly at St. Pancras (or somewhere close to that station)?

I also know that for Eurostar I need to buy additional passholder ticket - do you think I have chances to buy one just few hours prior to departure (I know they are limited).

If it's not possible to buy InterRail at St. Pancras, can I do that in Paris? I would buy full fare Eurostar ticket and then InterRail while transfering there.

Thanks!

Do you need validity in the UK? If so buy it outside the UK (also if you need validity in France buy in France, etc). I have heard of - and experienced in Germany - problems buying an InterRail valid in the country of purchase even with a foreign passport.

I believe there is a travel agency in St Pancras that might deal with these things, though. Suggest Googling to find their details and contacting them with your full requirement.

Don't know about passholder fares but Eurostar is *always* expensive near to the time of travel. If you want to cross the Channel cheaply and you have plenty of time, a foot passenger ticket on a ferry is likely to be the cheapest option by a significant margin - and if you're in a hurry, flying on a low-cost may be cheaper than your overall plan. It's not always expensive to buy easyJet tickets the day before or on the day of the flight. And if you're flying a low-cost and your ticket cost more than the change fee you can change it.

Neil

Well, here's the deal:
- If I miss my EasyJet flight to Vienna (boarding begins 16:15) I have only two air options on that day: British Airways and Austrian. If I'd book them now for today it would be 333 GBP for BA (but yesterday it was 780 GBP) and Austrian is sold out. I suggest that Friday (when I'll travel) will be even more expensive.
- One-way Eurostar for today is 179 GBP (passholder fare 50 GBP if available). InterRail is 155 GBP. That makes total of 334 GBP. Plus 25 EUR for couchette on night train to Munich. I would arrive at approximately same time as next day's EasyJet for approximately same price (if we count accomodation into that price).

And with InterRail I can make small stop at Monaco or Zurrich what seems interesting option for me :) So I'll see how I'll decide on that day.

Anyway, thank you very much for your help, it is very appreciated :)

Are you sure that they will sell you an Interrail in the UK?

Things may well have changed (I haven't bought an Interrail ticket since 2001), but it used to be the case that one could only buy Interrail tickets in one's country of residence - and I distinctly remember being asked for proof when buying Interrail tickets in the UK (I am a UK resident, but not a UK national)

To answer my own question... the current rules don't seem to say anything about not being able to buy the ticket outside one's country of residence, only about not being able to buy one for use inside one's country of residence. Which I guess is a much more sensible rule for the 21st century....

The old rule did make sense back in the early days, before we had on-demand printing, when Interrails were printed in huge batches with the name of the issuing railway company on the front page, and when one bought them from one's local train station. If it had "British Rail" printed on it you could not use it in the UK, if it had "SNCF" printed on it you could not use it in France, and so on.

In the very very early days (before my time) there were, apparently, no restrictions on where one could buy them, so people living in border regions would nip across the border and buy Interrails that were then valid in their own country, and I gather Luxembourg did a booming trade in cross-border Interrail sales because it is so tiny. So, in order to stop this cross-border Interrail buying, they introduced the restriction I mentioned earlier. It was certainly in force when I went on my first Interrail trip in 1975 (armed with a letter from my parents to confirm I was allowed to travel!), I don't know when it was abolished.

To answer my own question... the current rules don't seem to say anything about not being able to buy the ticket outside one's country of residence, only about not being able to buy one for use inside one's country of residence. Which I guess is a much more sensible rule for the 21st century....

The old rule did make sense back in the early days, before we had on-demand printing, when Interrails were printed in huge batches with the name of the issuing railway company on the front page, and when one bought them from one's local train station. If it had "British Rail" printed on it you could not use it in the UK, if it had "SNCF" printed on it you could not use it in France, and so on.

In the very very early days (before my time) there were, apparently, no restrictions on where one could buy them, so people living in border regions would nip across the border and buy Interrails that were then valid in their own country, and I gather Luxembourg did a booming trade in cross-border Interrail sales because it is so tiny. So, in order to stop this cross-border Interrail buying, they introduced the restriction I mentioned earlier. It was certainly in force when I went on my first Interrail trip in 1975 (armed with a letter from my parents to confirm I was allowed to travel!), I don't know when it was abolished.

Aviatrix - (This isn't a wind-up!) You are a fountain of useful knowledge, but are you sure about that?

Aviatrix - (This isn't a wind-up!) You are a fountain of useful knowledge, but are you sure about that?

I am sure that Interrails had to be bought in one's country of residence in the 1970s/1980s.

The "people nipping across the border" story was very much common knowledge among Interrailers back then. I have no proof that it was true, but it's what everybody was saying. Are you saying it was just a myth?

As an alternative, Ryanair flies from London to Bratislava, could that work for you?

That would be even better than Vienna, but could be timing issue (if I miss my 1645 flight from Gatwick, it might be problem to get on 1815 flight from Luton). But I'll keep that in mind, thanks :)

I am sure that Interrails had to be bought in one's country of residence in the 1970s/1980s.

The "people nipping across the border" story was very much common knowledge among Interrailers back then. I have no proof that it was true, but it's what everybody was saying. Are you saying it was just a myth?

ISTR it was still the case in the late 80s. It wasn't long before I did my first InterRail (aged 17, so 1992) that they brought the restriction in!

I bought the ticket from Wasteels on London Victoria station, I think, possibly even on the day of departure - I have recollections of arriving too late, and seeing the Dover Western Docks boat train already boarding!

That would be even better than Vienna, but could be timing issue (if I miss my 1645 flight from Gatwick, it might be problem to get on 1815 flight from Luton). But I'll keep that in mind, thanks :)

Depending how likely you are to miss it, and if the extra hour and a half would cause you to definitely not miss that, it might well make sense to forget the easyJet flight and book the Ryanair one anyway.

Neil