I'm going Interrailing!

Well done! I am so envious. I did it as a student and stayed in youth hostels.
Good luck!

Our daughter has just returned from 3 months Interrailing in Europe, she booked Hostels along the way.
Some hostels were better than others so do your homework before you go.
She also booked a few of her train journeys well in advance
( mostly because it was getting close to Christmas). But the trains are very prompt and you have to book a seat in advance, so make sure you are savvy with Internet train bookings.
She also had a huge rucksack to lug around.

I wish you luck and hope you have a great time.

Good for you. We did a 2 week trip, incl 6 days travel, with Interrail two years ago, with my 87 year old brother and us both in our 70s. Montreux in Switzerland, Verona and Goritzia in Italy, Lake Bled and Ljubljana in Slovenia, Graz and Innsbruck in Austria, Zurick in Switzerland, and home.

Where are you planning to go?

Wow! Sounds amazing. I don’t know anything about this so must look into it.

Look forward to reading all about it.

Schnackie I tip from MzOops is to take a large wrap with you and some pegs, most of the hostel beds are bunk beds, she strung the wrap lengthwise across the side edge to give her some privacy, she used large sarong types. She use the pegs to dry her undies near to the light in the bunk each night.

Attach everything to your rucksack with Carabiners and tuck them in.

Attach your phone to a lanyard around your neck ( a long one) she was jostled quite badly in Slovenia, by men and women and felt them trying to tug on her phone which was attached to her and tucked into the front of her jacket.

Apart from that she didn’t have any trouble.

If you need help and don’t speak the language ( Google translate is good ) always ask a young person, older people tend not to speak very much English.

DD1 and family did this last summer. They had a great time.

My wife has a brother and sister in the US, to visit them in N Carolina we started in San Francisco and took the California Zephyr train east, we didn’t rush we took 4 days in the Colorado mountains, then on to Chicago.

A fantastic trip and cost no more than a beach holiday, next year we are doing something similar in India, different for sure!

Thanks so much for the encouragement and great advice and tips! Train travel is so much more relaxing and enjoyable than flying these days. I will get a lanyard for my phone, and will be taking clothes pegs for various uses. I'm going to start a notebook and plan as much as I possible can. I'll check back here for any more tips that appear.

I’ll chat to my daughter over Christmas and see what other tips she has.
She is going over to Europe again in the Spring, she also took advantage of the cheaper tickets.

One thing she did was to get me to photograph her credit cards, passport, write down important telephone numbers and passwords, also her bank details and passwords and keep here for safe keeping, in case her phone was lost, stolen or broken.

Prepare to be very security conscious in hostels. You can’t leave anything lying around even if you just pop to the loo.

All Hostels our daughter used have lockers, she carried a small rucksack with her at all time with essentials in, as you say, even when she nipped to the loo.

Passports and money were kept in a bum bag around her waist and tucked under her jacket.

We’ll done and happy travelling 🎒 🚊

More good advice. I stayed in a hostel in Paris a couple of years ago, and found that I needed my own padlock (which they had for sale, so I bought that and have kept it) for the cupboard you have for your belongings. I will definitely keep passport, money, cards, phone, on my person even when popping to the loo. I am finding myself excited at the planning process as I don't have many hobbies or social activities this winter.

Great way to travel. We did Croatia and Bosnia last year by train from Leeds. It was wonderful. Just done a trip on The Ghan in Australia and that too was memorable.
Don’t lose sight of your luggage, have it close by at all times plus a cross body bag for passport etc. Some small hotels are just as cheap as hostels so be prepared to go for them. Have a great time

I recommend reading the advice on The Man in Seat 61 website. Everything you need to know about European rail travel is on there. It's a bit more complicated than it used to be with a requirement to make seat reservations before travelling on many trains but The Man in Seat 61 explains it all.

Yes, the Man in Seat 61 website is excellent. Full of good advice. I had a query last year and he replied almost at once

Wow! Fabulous, you’ve made me want to do it!!

We used to go to Europe rpevery year by train. The children loved it and didn’t fly until they were 14/16. I still like train travel.
We used to go to Italy mostly and I was usually awake as the sun rose so Woukd go in the corridor and watch the sun rise over the snow topped Swiss alps. It was beautiful. .so peaceful.
Hope you have a lovely time.

There are usually left luggage lockers in most stations in Europe which are handy if you want to wander round without the heavy backpack.

silverlining48

There are usually left luggage lockers in most stations in Europe which are handy if you want to wander round without the heavy backpack.

Our daughter always went to the Hostel as soon as she arrived, better to do it in the daylight, choose her bed and she could lock her rucksack up and take the smaller one for sight seeing.

Though useful to know if breaking a journey for a few hours.