How to use your Interrail paper Pass

Travel in your own country

Interrail Passes are designed to offer you the best of rail travel abroad. Therefore, you cannot use an Interrail One Country Pass to travel in your own country (your country of residence). 

The Interrail Global Pass allows up to 2 journeys in your home country: 1 to leave your country of residence and 1 to return to your country of residence, with multiple train transfers included (you can use the outbound or inbound journey at any point in your trip). 

Outbound and inbound travel

Your Interrail Pass comes with the My Trip section printed on the Pass Cover, which includes data fields for your outbound and inbound journeys. If you have an Interrail Global Pass and wish to travel from and to your country of residence, you need to record these journeys and the dates on which you take them. This will entitle you to use your Interrail Global Pass in your country of residence; once to leave the country, and once to travel back home. Outbound and inbound journeys can consist of multiple legs or transfers.

As with all journeys you take with your Interrail Pass, you need to enter the details of your outbound and inbound journeys in the My Trip section on your Pass Cover. If you have a flexi Pass, you need to enter the same dates in your Travel Calendar (this will be further explained in the block below).

Good to know: it doesn't matter when and in what order you use your outbound and inbound journey, you can use them at any point during your trip.

If you need more than one outbound and inbound journey to travel through your country of residence, you can always buy additional point-to-point tickets from your country’s rail carrier.

In order to travel in your country of residence, it must be 1 of the 33 Interrail member countries included in the Pass. You can only travel with the railway companies included in the Interrail Pass.

Simplifying Interrail's outbound/inbound rule for a seamless travel experience

Your Interrail Global Pass (valid in 33 countries) is your ticket to freedom and flexibility outside your home country.

With the inbound/outbound rule, you can use your Global Pass for one outbound trip to cross the border for an unforgettable adventure with Interrail.
 

Once you’ve finished exploring Europe by train, you can return by rail with one inbound trip back to your home country at any time.
 

Explore Europe on your terms.

• You can also use your outbound or inbound rule to reach an airport or ferry port in your home country if you want to start Interrail far away from home.
• You’re not obliged to use your inbound or outbound trips—you can use them on your terms based on your plans and budget.
• You can return to your home country before you’ve used all your travel days. However, once you've returned to your home station and the respective travel day ends, the domestic train magic fades away, too (meaning you need to buy a regular ticket to cross the border again).
• Stopovers are allowed on your last travel day, but be sure to write your final destination on the Pass Cover—especially if you have a connection in your home country.
• You can leave your home country by night train with your Interrail Pass, but you cannot use the last day of validity to return home (unless the arrival day of the night train still falls within the validity of your Pass). Read the following guidelines for more info.

Pro Tips:

You can still use your Global Pass once your holiday ends if you have unused travel days (while your Pass is valid). You will need to purchase a regular train ticket to cross the border again, but once you cross the border, you can use your Pass to its full potential once more.

Using travel days

A travel day lasts 24 hours from midnight to midnight. On a travel day you have access to the train networks where your Interrail Pass is valid. Travel days on your Pass run from midnight to midnight CET. Click here for more information.
 

Flexi Pass or continuous Pass?

If you’re travelling with a flexi Pass, you can travel on each day during the overall validity of your Pass. The number of travel days depend on the Pass you choose. So if you're travelling with a Global Pass 5 days within 15 days you have 5 travel days which you can use within a 15-day period. Decide on the go when to use your travel days.

If you have a continuous Pass (only available with the Interrail Global Pass) you can travel on every single day within the validity of your Pass.
 

Fill in the travel calendar

If you have a flexi Pass, remember to fill in the date of each travel day in the travel calendar, which is printed on your Interrail Pass. Do this before you board your first train of the day. Not doing so is the same as travelling without a ticket, so watch out – you could end up with a fine!

Make sure you enter the date correctly into the travel calendar. If you make a mistake you'll have to enter the correct date in the next travel day box and consequently lose a travel day!

Recording your journey details 

Before you board each new train, bus, or ferry; you must record the details in My Trip. 

You can find the My Trip section on your Pass Cover. Ticket inspectors will ask to see your My Trip section with your Interrail Pass. If you run out of space on your Pass Cover, you can download additional My Trip lines to continue travelling.