DIY: How do I book an Interrail pass?
Adrian Cuj
If you’re planning your own trip, you can buy your Interrail pass directly through the official Interrail website. Before booking, you'll need to choose the right pass type based on your age and the right number of travel days depending on your itinerary.
If you book with Byway, we handle all of the ticket-purchasing complexity behind the scenes, so you can leave the logistics to us and enjoy a seamless journey. But if you're planning your own DIY adventure, our guide will help you book your own Interrail pass.
Frank van Hulst
Interrail or Eurail?
As of September 2026, Eurail has been retired and folded into Interrail. It's now one brand, sold as Interrail worldwide, regardless of where you live. If you bought a Eurail pass before the switch, nothing about your trip changes. Both use the same app, now called the Interrail Rail Planner, and the setup and terminology are identical.
How does the Interrail pass work?
An Interrail pass acts as a ‘main’ ticket for all your journeys, so you don’t need lots of separate tickets. You have one QR code in the Rail Planner app (or on paper if you go for a paper pass). You create a trip in the app, add your ‘journeys’ (individual train journeys), and then activate them each morning before you travel. For journeys with seat reservations, you use your pass in conjunction with your reservation and on journeys without, the pass is your ticket. On days you're not on the move, the pass stays dormant, and no travel day gets used up.
Most Byway trips will use an Interrail pass, and our team provides expert support and workshops on setting up your pass.
How many days should I get on my Interrail pass?
Passes come in set durations (four, five, seven, ten days, etc.), so the first job is to work out the pass required for your itinerary. Count up how many days of your trip actually involve a train journey, factoring in whether each one needs a seat reservation alongside the pass day or not. A trip with six travel days, for instance, means either stepping up to a seven-day pass or buying a full-fare ticket for one of those days outright, since six-day passes don't exist.
It's also worth checking whether a pass day is the better option for any low-mileage legs of your route. Sometimes a short hop is cheaper to buy as a standard train ticket than to use a travel day on your pass. As a rule of thumb, if a point-to-point ticket is heading towards £50 or more per person, a pass day will usually work out better value.
When you book with Byway, we will always plan your journey optimised for the best-value combination of Interrail pass and standard train tickets.
Can I use my Interrail pass in my country of residence?
Every pass includes one inbound and one outbound travel day for your country of residence. Each of these days can be used on any number of trains in your country of residence. For example, a UK citizen could travel from Manchester to London on the first day of an Interrail pass, either continuing to Europe that same day or the following day. You can’t, however, spend more than the two inbound and outbound travel days of your pass travelling solely within your country of residence.
Where do I book my Interrail pass?
To book your Interrail pass yourself, book directly through the Interrail site. If you book with Byway, we calculate your route and book the most cost-effective pass for your itinerary.
Read the DIY slow travel blog series
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Or, if you'd rather leave the logistics to the experts, book with Byway and we’ll handle everything for you. Each booking includes all transport, hotels and personal trip guide, all wrapped up with ABTA-protection, free disruption replanning and in-trip support from our experts while you’re away.
You can watch the video tutorial 'How to choose the right Interrail Pass' here, or sign up below for our full DIY video course delivered straight into your inbox.
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