For years, I counted myself among the Interrail sceptics. My early adventures were funded by hitchhiking, stretching a meagre budget to the Greek islands while passing service stations, not Renaissance piazzas. The maths of working for a month to buy a pass never appealed. Why would it, when budget airlines now whisk you from Crawley to Corfu for under £30?
The Budget Rail Revolution Changing Minds
The travel landscape is shifting. While low-cost airlines dominate, railways are fighting back. Spain's high-speed network offers Madrid to the Mediterranean for as little as £10. France's no-frills Ouigo network is expanding. Germany's Deutschlandticket provides a month of regional travel for just €58. In this context, Interrail long seemed an expensive relic.
My own first foray with the pass in June 2023 did little to convince. A Scandinavian itinerary was scuppered by multiple train cancellations, leaving me on rail-replacement buses and even hitchhiking across the Arctic from Kiruna to Narvik.
Why Interrail Now Makes Compelling Sense
The turning point came from experts Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries, authors of 'Europe by Rail'. They illuminated the pass's smart advantages. Crucially, your journey can start at any British station, travelling to an airport or to London St Pancras for Eurostar.
With an Interrail pass, a Eurostar supplement costs only £25-£30, a significant saving compared to standard fares. For Alpine trips, the value is stark: a single afternoon ticket in Switzerland last summer cost me £88. The current sale makes the entry-level 'four days in a month' Interrail pass around £186 – barely double that one fare – and it unlocks four days of travel across a month.
How to Capitalise on the 2025 Promotion
The key is the ongoing promotion. You have until 9am GMT on Wednesday 17 December 2025 to purchase passes at 25% off. They can be used any time within the following 11 months. That's why I'll be waking at 7am on the 17th.
I plan to buy four passes through retailer AllAboard, more than enough for my 2026 rail needs. The terms allow me to start using the last one as late as mid-November 2026, with a full refund option if plans change. For the budget-conscious, focusing on northern nations like Belgium, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland avoids the supplements levied on high-speed trains in France, Italy, and Spain.
The value is extraordinary. The top-tier, three-month continuous first-class pass costs £845 – under £10 per day. It's a transformative way to see a continent. The days of my hitchhiking youth are gone, and for European rail travellers in 2026, this sale is an opportunity too good to miss.
