InterRailing In Italy and Greece
Looking for accomodation
When interrailing you have a number of options for getting your accomodation. You can find accomodation as you travel or you can book in advance. We decided to book in advance and have our whole journey planned out before we left.The first place we booked was the Hotel Due Giardini in Milan. We got a double bed with private bathroom for €130 on the Sunday and €90 on the Monday. Next the Alloggi Agli Artisti in Venice.
For Milan we booked the Luna Rossa in Florence. The ratings for all characteristics in Hostel World were 100% which seemed to good to be true but we decided to go for this one anyway.
The hostel we went for in Rome is the Mi Casa tu Casa. Naples was to be our next destination and the Pensione Mancini was where we'd stay. We decided to end our trip in Athens at the Aristoteles Hotel.
8th February 2006
We were a bit concerned that Mi Casa Tu Casa in Rome might not have linen included in the room. The Hostel World description clearly says that linen is not included. We decided to email them just to verify. The idea of having to carry linen around with us did not appeal. I emailed them and got a response the next day. Linen is included. Hurray! We can save some space.With the hotels and hostels booked we were left with the following itinery.
| Date | Place | Hotel / Hostel / Flight | Price € (for 2) |
| 9th | Fly to Milan | ||
| 9th | Milan | Hotel Due Giardini | 130 |
| 10th | Milan | Hotel Due Giardini | 90 |
| 11th | Venice | Alloggi Agli Artisti | 90 |
| 12th | Venice | Alloggi Agli Artisti | 90 |
| 13th | Florence | Luna Rossa | 70 |
| 14th | Florence | Luna Rossa | 70 |
| 15th | Rome | Mi Casa Tu Casa | 80 |
| 16th | Rome | Mi Casa Tu Casa | 80 |
| 17th | Naples | Pensione Mancini | 55 |
| 18th | Ferry | ||
| 19th | Athens | Aristoteles Hotel | 36 |
| 20th | Athens | Aristoteles Hotel | 36 |
| 21st | Fly home | ||
| Total for accomodation | €827 |
11th February 2006
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Time to buy the actual tickets. I went to STA Travel in Kensington to get
them. I heard that they can get very busy so I made sure that I was there
just a few minutes after opening. I was seen straight away. To get the
tickets you need the passport details and date of birth of each traveller
- these details are added to the ticket to ensure that no one else can
use it. The ticket consists of a small booklet, the first page being the
official ticket and the rest of the pages being a log book in which you
need to note down all the trains that you travel on.
I still needed a rucksack to take with me. The £5 one that I got on Queensway was falling apart and clearly wouldn't last until April. A few minutes down the road from STA Travel is the Ellis Brigham Mountain Sport shop where I got a bright red 'North Face' 25 litre rucksack for £25. When I got home and looked closer at the tickets I spotted that the 'supplier name and date' stamp that was supposed to be in the top right hand corner was not visible. Worried that this might mean the ticket was not valid I trudged back to Kensington to get them to re-stamp the tickets. The moral is - make sure you study the ticket carefully before you leave the shop. The guy in STA Travel said that the ticket was still valid even without the stamp but I didn't want to take my chances with an Italian or Greek ticket inspector. |
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February - April 2006
The months preceding the trip were filled with plenty of planning. For each place it was necessary to investigate:- The train details between each place - train times and if an upgrade / reservation was needed.
- What to do in each place.
- How to get from the station to the hotel / hostel.
What to pack
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6th April 2006
A few days before the trip I emailed the hostels to confirm that I would be there. That way they would hopefully let us know if there were any last minute problems with the booking. I sent each of them an email in the following format.Hello,My girlfriend [insert name] and I have booked a [room type]
room on [date]. We will be taking the [time] train from [place] so we are
planning on arriving at your hostel at around [time].We look forward to staying with you,
[name]
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Places
Planning
Milan
Venice
Florence
Pisa
Rome
Naples
Bari/Patras
Athens
Hotels/Hostels
Hotel Due Giardini
Alloggi Agli Artisti
Luna Rossa
Mi Casa Tu Casa
Pensione Mancini
Aristoteles Hotel
Journeys
Milan -> Venice
Venice -> Florence
Florence -> Pisa
Pisa -> Florence
Florence -> Rome
Rome -> Naples
Naples -> Bari
Patras -> Athens
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