Summer sorted: Interrail winter discount can be used until next autumn

“Interrail is now embedded into the travel culture of some families.” So says Susanne Kries, co-author – with Nicky Gardner – of Europe by Rail.

I had asked the authors for their thoughts on what I believe is by far the best winter discount in the travel realm.

Here’s the deal: buy an Interrail pass by 17 December, and you get a straight 25 per cent off. You then have 11 months to start using the thing.

This ticket enables you to catch unlimited trains in many northern European countries: Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Scandinavia and almost all of eastern Europe. With some care, you can also travel for no additional cost in France, Spain and Italy – though many express trains require a reservation and a further payment. Hop aboard a French intercity train without paying a supplement, and the ticket collector may barely conceal their glee when fining you €35/£29 for the transgression.

Accordingly, I recommend using an Interrail pass only in one of the no-surcharge nations. But the new promotion represents excellent value for those who want a low-cost, high-reward travel itinerary for next summer.

With a one-quarter saving, the cheapest “Global Pass” (allowing travel in 33 countries) for an adult between 28 and 59 costs €213 (£178). This buys any four days of travel within one month.

You might conclude that almost £45 per day is not the travel bargain of the century. Yet, if you use Interrail wisely, it can be.

On a journey following the final route of the Orient Express, for example, I used Interrail from Newcastle to Munich on day one; you can use the ticket on one journey in the UK to an international gateway (and one journey back).

I started with a trip from Newcastle to Manchester airport, where a £15 Ryanair flight took me to Vienna. I then meandered to Munich. The supreme flexibility of Interrail allowed me an exploration of Linz along the way.

In Munich, I switched to a one-day Bayern Ticket, price €29 (£24), to explore Bavaria more widely (and enjoy free city transport) without using up a day of my Interrail pass. The regional ticket extended across the state border to Ulm, where I spent the night.

Next day, I was back on the high-speed trains, accelerating to Stuttgart and making a side-trip to Frankfurt, just because I could. This was also the day…