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DiscoverEU is a European Union scheme offering a free interrail pass for young Europeans to travel around Europe by train after their 18th birthday.
The scheme has set application windows each year. Successful applicants will receive an interrail pass allowing them to travel across Europe for one month during the permitted travel window.
To date, there have been over 70,000 free interrail passes available to young Europeans through the scheme with application windows open twice per year. The total number of applications has been over 350,000.
As announced in February 2021, the scheme will now be funded by the Erasmus+ scheme which means applicants from non-EU countries will be permitted for the first time.
Note: Following Brexit, British citizens are no longer eligible for the DiscoverEU scheme.
Keep reading for more information on upcoming applications windows and how the program will change going forward.
DiscoverEU Free Interrail Pass Scheme
Starting in 2018, the European Union’s DiscoverEU started offering free interrail passes or equivalent fixed tickets to 18 year olds who are EU citizens or legally residing in the EU.
The program “seeks to offer all young people, regardless of their background and including young people with reduced mobility, a chance to travel abroad”.
Candidates will either receive a one month global interrail pass which allows travellers to visit more than 30 European countries, or alternatively they’ll receive fixed tickets for travel within 2 participating countries in the one month period (for regions that interrail doesn’t cover).
Passes are allocated to each country by quota according to their population, in the latest application round, the UK received 7.5% of the passes available, equating to about 1,500 passes.
The scheme is the brainchild of German politician Manfred Weber who is convinced that encouraging young people to travel will help break down cultural barriers and build a generation that is much more inclusive – I couldn’t agree more!
Continuing the Scheme with Erasmus+
DiscoverEU was initially a pilot due to end in 2020. However, the scheme was a huge success and in February 2021 it was announced that DiscoverEU would be extended and expanded by integrating it into the Erasmus+ program.
There will be a few changes as a result of the scheme becoming part of Erasmus+:
- The scheme will be open to citizens of non-EU countries for the first time. It is not yet clear how many passes will be distributed to non-EU citizens compared to EU citizens. See a full list of Erasmus+ countries below.
- There will be a more structured approach including a pre-departure meeting.
- Travellers will be encouraged to visit lesser-known destinations rather than tourist hotspots.
- Travellers will be encouraged to join meet-ups with others also on the scheme (something that had already started in the previous wave).
The full list of countries that participate in the Erasmus+ scheme is:
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Cyprus
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Netherlands
- North Macedonia
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Turkey
- United Kingdom (Until the end of 2020)
Note: UK citizens are eligible for the 2021 application round of DiscoverEU because the 2020 round was cancelled due to covid. However, they will not be eligible in future application rounds from 2022 onwards.
Eligibility Criteria
In order to be eligible for the scheme, you must meet the following criteria:
- Applicants must be the following age requirements:
- Round 1: Must be 18 as of 1st Jul 2018
- Round 2: Must be 18 as of 31st Dec 2018
- Round 3: Must be 18 as of 1st Jul 2019
- Round 4: Must be 18 as of 31st Dec 2019
- Round 5: Must have turned 18 between 1st July 2019 and 31st Dec 2021
- Be willing to become a #DiscoverEU ambassador – this involves documenting your travels on social media or in a presentation at your school.
- You must not have applied in previous application windows
In the past, applicants have been required to be EU citizens. Now that DiscoverEU will be part of Erasmus+, it is not yet clear what the specific citizenship requirements will be.
Application Windows
Round 1 [NOW CLOSED]: Offering 15,000 free interrail passes
- Applications open: 12th June 2018 – 26th Jun 2018
- Eligibility: Must be 18 as of 1st Jul 2018
- For travel dates: 9th July 2018 – 30th Sept 2018
Round 2 [NOW CLOSED]: Offering 12,000 free interrail passes
- Applications open: 29th Nov 2018 – 11th Dec 2018
- Eligibility: Must be 18 as of 31st Dec 2018
- For travel dates: 15th April 2019 – 31st Oct 2019
Round 3 [NOW CLOSED]: Offering 20,000 free interrail passes
- Applications open: 2nd May 2019 – 16th May 2019
- Eligibility: Must be 18 as of 1st Jul 2019
- For travel dates: 1st August 2019 – 31st January 2020
Round 4 [NOW CLOSED] : Offering 20,000 free interrail passes
- Applications open: 7th Nov 2019 – 28th Nov 2019
- Eligibility: Must be 18 as of 31st December 2019 (i.e. your birth year is any date in 2001)
- For travel dates: 1st April 2020 – 31st August 2021
Round 5 [NOW CLOSED]: Offering 60,000 free interrail passes
- Applications open: 12th Oct 2021 – 26th Oct 2021
- Eligibility: If your 18th birthday is between 1st July 2019 – 31st December 2021 (i.e. your date of birth is between 1st July 2001 – 31st December 2003)
- For travel dates: 1st March 2022 – 28th Feb 2022
How Do I Get a Free Interrail Pass?
Once applications open, you’ll need to follow the below process to submit an application. This may vary for each application window.
Step 1 – Application Form
Once applications for the free interrail scheme open, you need to visit the European Youth Portal where there will be a user friendly application process.
You’ll also need to provide your date of birth, your nationality and your email address. At this point you can also specify if you wish to travel independently or with a group of friends.
If travelling with friends, you can create a new group application or join an existing group application using a joining code which will be provided to the person creating the group.
There are a maximum of 5 persons per group application – the application will be treated as one application.
Step 2 – Personal Details
You’ll receive an email with a link to the next step of the process. You’ll need to provide further personal details such as gender, occupation, disability information, etc. At this point you’ll also need to provide either your passport or national ID number.
Step 3 – EU Quiz Questions
Next you’ll need to answer 6 quiz questions about the EU such as ‘When will the next European Parliament elections take place?’.
If you look carefully there will likely be helpful hints on the page itself or you can refer to google. If you’re joining a group of friends, only the person who created the group will need to answer these questions.
Step 4 – Trip Details
The final part of the application requires that you share initial details on your travel plans. Questions may be along the lines of:
- In which time period would you like to start your travel?
- Where will you be starting your trip?
- How many countries do you plan to visit? (options are between one and four)
- Will this be your first time travelling without parents?
- How many times did you travel abroad in the last 12 months?
TOP TIP: Join the DiscoverEU Facebook Group where you can find helpful information, interviews from those who have previously travelled with DiscoverEU and meet others on the scheme.
Successful Applications
If successful, you’ll be contacted by the EU or one of their contracted agencies to confirm your travel plans. You’ll have two options:
- Option 1: Flexible travel **recommended**
You’ll receive a global 30 day interrail pass, this is usually one of the flexible passes which allows 7 travel days within the 30 day window.
This is the best option as it allows you to remain flexible as to where you go and when. You will need to make any required train reservations yourself but this is very simple through the interrail app or at a train station.
- Option 2: Fixed travel
This is much more complex and will remove a lot of the freedom you get on an interrail adventure, it is also limited to a maximum of 2 countries.
You’ll provide exact dates and times of the journeys you’d like to take over the course of one month, up to the value of €260.
This option would be useful if your trip includes Cyprus or Malta which will require flights or if you plan to visit countries not in the Interrail scheme such as Estonia or Latvia.
For both the fixed and flexible travel options, you can travel for up to one month. You are required to begin your journey in an EU member state and visit at least one other EU member state during your trip.
UPDATE: Some readers have highlighted that it’s possible to have combined fixed/flex tickets if your plans allow, speak with the contractor arranging your booking or drop me a comment below for more info.
FAQ’s
No, British citizens can no longer participate in the DiscoverEU program because the UK is no longer an EU member state. Although the UK left the EU at the beginning of 2021, British citizens were accepted into the 2021 application window because the 2020 round had been cancelled and the budget was transferred.
A global pass allows rail travel within Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Macedonia, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Turkey and Great Britain. The pass also allows travel on some trains passing through Monaco and Liechtenstein as well as ferry crossings between Greece and Italy.
How Long Do I Have to Use My Free Interrail Pass?
There are set travel dates for each round of applications, these are outlined at the beginning of this article. Your trip will need to last between 1 and 30 days.
The European Youth Portal has a huge number of FAQ’s from queries about the programme to technical issues encountered during application – find it here.
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