Traveling from Cologne to Dublin was possible without flying - even in a single day. As part of the project "Children in the Climate Crisis," Elena Päffgen and Simon Hauser tested this for the project meeting in Ireland in April 2026. Their day began on the Eurostar to Paris, departing Cologne Central Station at 08:39.
A quick note on train tickets: This time they were traveling with Interrail passes, which could sometimes be cheaper than booking tickets individually. However, the Interrail reservations for second class on Eurostar trains were very limited and often sold out shortly after release, as was the case for them, which was why they purchased first class passes. For their journey, this was still cheaper than booking second class tickets for each part individually. On Eurostar, seat reservations were mandatory even with an Interrail pass and cost about €20-40 extra per person. For most other European trains, reservations were either not mandatory or significantly cheaper.
They arrive in Brussels at 10:35. To change to the next Eurostar to London, which travels through the Channel Tunnel, they first have to go through a security check similar to an airport. In first class on the Eurostar to London, a meal is included depending on the time of day, in our case lunch (a vegetarian option is available), including coffee or tea. They arrive punctually and very comfortably at St. Pancras station in London at 12:57. From there, they walk about 15 minutes to Euston station, where the train to Crewe departs at 13:42. In many trains operated by Avanti West Coast, the restaurant service in first class is fully included in the ticket, surprisingly, this also applies to Interrail tickets. They settle in for a leisurely teatime and enjoy the passing spring landscape.
The transfer in Crewe went smoothly, from 15:35 their train continued to Holyhead in Wales. Crewe station is architecturally notable and one of the most important hubs for rail traffic in the United Kingdom. Once they reached Wales, the more relaxed part of the journey began, no more high-speed trains, but all the more scenic views. For long stretches, the line ran close to the coast, in some sections even directly along the beach. Among other sights, they saw Conwy Castle, a large offshore wind farm, the historic Menai Suspension Bridge, and the mountains of Snowdonia National Park to the south. The train stopped in many smaller towns, including the one with the longest name in Europe. They arrived punctually in Holyhead at 18:00, located at the far western end of the island of Anglesey.
A note on booking ferries as a foot passenger: Originally, they had planned to take the ferry to Dublin at 19:30, but during booking they discovered that it only accepted motorized passengers. Since they had already made their Eurostar reservations, they had to switch to the next ferry at 22:15. While the Channel Tunnel was the main bottleneck of this journey, they had to check in advance which ferries actually accepted foot passengers, as this was not always immediately clear in the timetables. By the way, with an Interrail pass, they received a 30% discount on ferry tickets, both with Irish Ferries and Stena Line.
They used the remaining time before departure of the ferry to eat pizza. The pizza seller kindly let them leave their luggage at the pizza place and they set off on a spontaneous short hike to the cliffs near North Stack Lighthouse, where they enjoyed a great view of the sunset. They returned to the ferry terminal just in time for boarding. On the ferry, they wound down the day and got a bit of sleep, as they only arrived in Dublin at 01:45. From the ferry terminal in Dublin, a double-decker bus ran even at night, taking them to their hotel in the heart of the city.
