Loco

Inter-railing is the bread and butter of low carbon travel. It is a timeless classic that never fails to impress. Armed with a big fat guidebook to Europe and a love for the cradling motion of an Italian night-train, you can't really go wrong. What you can do is discover more than you ever hoped for by using a bit of imagination and tapping into your sense of adventure. There are thousands of places to read about inter-railing around Western Europe, and whilst it is fun, there is so much more to discover (for so much less cash) if you head East.

If you watched the recent Michael Palin series about travelling around Eastern Europe where he met old women who still kiss pictures of Stalin every day in an eerie yet endearing fashion, then prepare to have your illusions shattered. The new generation of young people in Eastern Europe are more down with the kids than a dwarf at a dubstep night.

A world of possibilities

Once you have a rail-pass, a world of possibilities open up before you, but in order to start exploring Europe, you need to get there first. You can take the luxurious/convenient/expensive option and get on the Eurostar, or you can take the cheap and cheerful option and take the ferry across the channel. Your inter-rail pass should get you a discount on both, but you have to be on the ball to actually get the discount.

Remember that you'll already need to have the rail-pass in your possession to get the discount, so get that bit first! Eurostar tickets vary in price quite a lot, but the cheapest you'll be able to get it (before the discount) is £60 return. Ferries can be as cheap as £5 return from Dover to Calais.

When you're on the continent, your rail-pass will give you a free ride on most trains, but you'll need to reserve certain night-trains and fast inter-city services (the average reservation fee being about £30). The sooner you head East, the cheaper the reservations become. If you're planning an extended trip then you should consider getting a shorter rail-pass (e.g. 'five in ten day' - see below) to get past the expensive West, and then buying full tickets from then on. As always, planning ahead helps, but it's hard to get full fare information online, especially for Eastern European countries.

A suggested itinerary

There are so many options that I feel rather foolish writing this, but assuming you start your journey by venturing towards Paris or Brussels, here are some ideas for you crazy kids:

• From Paris get on a night-train to Munich, and from there you're within easy reach of Prague and a whole host of excellent nights out and vibrant cultural experiences
• From Brussels head towards Amsterdam and then straight on to Berlin. From there (or Frankfurt an der Oder) you can reach the great Tri-city on the Baltic coast in Poland: Gdansk, Gdynia and Sopot
• Another option from Paris is to head to Vienna and then on to the picturesque but ever-so-chic Llubliana. You can then make your way down the Croatian coast before heading in land toward Sarajevo and Sofia in Bulgaria

That's quite enough of me feeling silly. It's time for some cold, hard questions to be answered:

• What's that picture to the left of?

It's the palace of the people in Bucharest. It was built by an evil dictator but is now the Parliament. He knocked down half the city to build it. It's mental and well-worth a visit.

• Won't I get murdered by everyone if I go on a night-train in Eastern Europe?

Of course you won't, don't be silly. Lots of people talk about being gassed in your couchette whilst you sleep, or evil gypsies robbing you at every turn, but if you keep your wits about you, you should be fine.

• What one piece of advice would you offer to somebody inter-railing around Europe?

The Deutsche Bahn online timetable is your friend. Get on the case in an internet cafe and plan any stage of the journey you want by using it's magical searching goodness. Also, don't forget to tell your fellow travellers how bloody marvelous Loco2 is.

• I don't believe all of this crazy nonsense. I want to read about people who have actually done it. Where on earth could I possibly do that?

Well, it's funny you should ask, because I know just the place. It's called the Loco2 blog, and it's rather good. Checkety check the European rail section.