Where in the world am I? Eurail Travel planning

 

Hi there, I’m Dr. Mary Travelbest. I’m in San Diego now, sharing my best travel ideas and working on another book for you to enjoy: 5 Steps to Solo Travel, Part C. I’m about to launch on a 90-day trip around the world.

 

Listener Story Spotlight

I want to tell you about a listener named Kristen. Kristen loves to travel. She recently received a Fullbright Scholarship and took a trip with her husband and sons to a foreign country, Portugal, for several months. She’s full of great travel ideas and will be helpful as I continue to travel and make my adventures more mobile. She’s encouraging me to keep going in my travels and is a professor in Southern California.

Quick fire FAQ:

The FAQ for today is: 

Do you find that air travel dries your sinuses? Do you get dry and scratchy throats afterward?

Yes, it happens. Let’s talk about how to rid yourself of this in advance. 

 

How to avoid the dryness of airline flights?

The answer:

 

My solution is Saline Nasal Spray.

I bought the 1.5-oz size for $4.00, which will last my entire trip. Before you get dry sinuses, squirt some in each nostril and then relax as it goes to work. What are the ingredients? Water, sodium chloride, disodium phosphate, benzyl alcohol, sodium phosphate, and benzalkonium chloride. Water and salt.

There are three ways to use it: Squeeze twice in each nostril, and it delivers a spray, a stream, and a drop upside down. Take your pick.

60-second confidence challenge

 

Advice for Active Seniors :

 “There is no shame in prioritizing and slowing down vs. overdoing. Most injuries happen when people are rushing. “Go slower, arrive sooner” is a helpful mantra.”  (Ellen McCabe)

If you like today’s Confidence Challenge, Chapter 2 of my book dives deeper

buy it on Amazon or https://www.5stepstosolotravel.com

 

See Book A for addressing all of these items.

 

Today’s destination is Eurail Travel Planning

I said:

You are traveling in Europe in the Summer of 2025. You arrive in Athens, Greece, then go to Krakow, Warsaw, Poland, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, and end in Edinburgh, Scotland, where you leave the EU. You will travel for five weeks. How many days will you want to use the Eurail pass for trains and ferries? Plan the trip, including seat fees and senior discounts with these countries, and suggest other places that would be a good stopping point or worth seeing. I am a solo woman in my prime. Include a mention of the low-cost airlines that I should take when not on the train or ferry.

 

Answer:

 

1  Where a Eurail day genuinely saves you money

Below is every leg: (a) scenic or pricey at full fare and (b) covered or discounted by the pass if the trip is a low-fare train, like under $10.regional hop, we skip the past day and just pay cash—why burn powder you might need later?

 

 1  Day 3 Athens → Kalabaka  €3 IC seat 

Sunset over Meteora cliffs—worth the four-hour train.

 2  Day 5 Kalabaka → Thessaloníki  free (regional) No supplement, but one more travel day.

 3  Day 9 Krakow → Oświęcim (return) free (regional) Auschwitz day trip; counts once.

 4  Day 11 Krakow → Warsaw (EIP)  ~PLN 35 ≈ €8 

High‑speed, mandatory seat.

 5  Day 13 Warsaw → Gdańsk or Toruń (optional)  PLN 3 ≈ €0.70 Use if you “dive” north.

 6  Day 16 Tallinn → Helsinki ferry  deck = free; cabin = ‑20 % 

Tallink Silja

It counts oas ne travel day.

 7  Day 17 Helsinki → Tampere & back  €0–€6 VR seat 

Eurail

Pendolino; book in app.

 8  Day 19 Helsinki o/night ferry → Stockholm  deck = free; cabin –20 % Same Tallink perk.

 9  Day 21 Stockholm → Uppsala (return)  €0 (regional) Same‑day out‑and‑back.

 10  Day 22 Stockholm → Gothenburg  ≈ €7 SJ seat 

Eurail Community

3 h X2000.

 11  Day 23 Gothenburg → Oslo  free No reservations.

 12  Day 25 Oslo → Bergen  ≈ NOK 50 ≈ €4 seat Bergensbanen panorama.

 13  Day 26 Bergen → Flåm train + Nærøyfjord boat  boat covered A rail‑and‑fjord combo.

 14  Day 30 Copenhagen → Roskilde day‑trip  ≈ €9 seat 

Eurail

Vikings have & an easy return.

 15  Day 32 Edinburgh → Inverness  £0–£5 seat UK still in the Eurail network.

 

* Fees are 2ᵈ ‑class, summer 2025 published rates.

 

Total Eurail travel days = 15 – the cap of the 15‑days‑in‑2‑months Senior Global Pass 

2  What about the long, awkward gaps?

Why wrestle with two‑day rail marathons when a 90‑minute hop costs less than your hostel?

 

Segment Suggested airline(s) Typical July fare if bought 3 mo ahead

Thessaloníki ✈ Krakow Ryanair, Aegean €55–€85

Warsaw ✈ Tallinn airBaltic, LOT, Ryanair €45–€90

Bergen ✈ Copenhagen Norwegian, SAS €65–€110

Copenhagen ✈ Edinburgh easyJet, Ryanair, Norwegian €40–€80

 

Question: could you train Thessaloníki→Krakow via Budapest? Yes—but it burns 2‑3 pass days plus €30‑€45 in night‑train supplements. The low‑cost flight is simply cheaper and quicker.

 

3  Five‑week skeleton itinerary

 

Week Base & ideas Safety‑first extras for a 65‑yr‑old solo traveler

 1 Athens 3 d – dawn Acropolis, Plaka food walk → train to Meteora 2 d (monastery sunsets) → Thessaloníki 2 d for Byzantine walls & waterfront. Central hotels near Syntagma & Aristotelous squares; use the eat taxi app after dark.

 2 Fly to Krakow 3 d (+ Auschwitz) → Warsaw 2 d → optional day to Toruń or Gdańsk. Women‑only dorms at Greg & Tom (Krakow) and OkiDoki (Warsaw); trains arrive before dusk.

 3 Fly to Tallinn 2 d → ferry to Helsinki 3 d with day‑trip to Tampere—Telliskivi creative city, Suomenlinna flat walks; Bolt taxis for late returns.

 4 Night ferry to Stockholm 3 d (+ Uppsala) → train to Gothenburg 2 d → rail to Oslo 2 d. Stockholm hostel “City Backpackers” has curtained bunks; carry Rail Planner live‑trip link to share location.

 5 Oslo‑Bergen rail & fjords 3 d → Fly to Copenhagen 3 d (+ Roskilde) → Fly to Edinburgh; finish with Highlands loop 4 d (Inverness, Aviemore hikes) before departure. Fjord cruise boats have good handrails; Scottish B&Bs offer single rooms beside stations.

 

4  Is the pass still worth it?

That’s $200-250 saved, plus the flexibility to reroute if wildfires, strikes, or your whims intervene.

 

5  Quick checklist before you lock it in

Buy the Senior Global Pass (15 days/2 months) before prices rise.

 

Book the four trains with limited seats (EIP Poland, X2000 Sweden, Bergensbanen, Copenhagen reservations) as soon as reservations open—usually 60–90 days in advance.

 

Use the Rail Planner app to activate travel days on the morning you board; keep two blanks until the very end in case you shuffle plans.

 

Flights: watch Friday flash sales on Ryanair/Norwegian; they routinely drop