Are you 18 years old and ready to step out of your comfort zone? 👣 The next application round of DiscoverEU is open! 🚀 Apply now and get the opportunity to travel in Europe!
What is DiscoverEU?
DiscoverEU is linked to the Erasmus+ programme and offers young people aged 18 years the chance to explore Europe by train. This is a great way to learn about European cultural heritage and history, connect with people from all over the continent and develop important life skills along the way like independence, confidence and openness to other cultures.
Eligibility
To be eligible to apply, you must be:
- born on or between 1 July 2005 – 30 June 2006.
- a legal resident of an EU Member State or Iceland, Liechtenstein, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia or Turkey.
- Irish citizens who live outside of Ireland – anywhere in the world! – can apply as long as they are 18 years old on 1 July 2024.
What do successful applicants get?
- A free interrail travel pass to go interrailing across Europe for one month during the permitted travel window.
- A DiscoverEU European Youth Card for a wealth of discounts on cultural visits, learning activities, sports, local transportation, accommodation, and food.
- You can go solo or add up to 4 friends in your group provided they meet the eligibility conditions above.
- Successful applicants can travel for a minimum of 1 day and up to 30 days between 1 July 2024 and 30 September 2025.
- There are supports available for young people with specific needs – such as physical disabilities, autism, diabetes etc. – who can also apply for special assistance during their travel.
How Do I Apply?
You can apply for your travel pass during the two application rounds taking place each year. The first round of applications is current open from 16th April – 30th April 2024! Visit the link here and click on the Apply Now button to start the online application. Register your details, and you will then receive a follow-up email from Discover EU. Use this to confirm your email address and submit more detailed information.
If you want to travel in a group and be the group leader, you must apply first and then provide all your group members with your application code. Group members will have to use this code to join your group online. The code is only valid for one application round, so all group members must apply during the same application period.
To be selected, all group members must be 18 years old, submit their data and be eligible for DiscoverEU.
**All group members are only allowed to apply once. If you submit two applications or more, only the first application registered in the European Youth Portal will be considered. Any other application from you (individually or in group) will not be considered.
How many countries can I visit?
This depends on the option you choose:
- fixed option: limited to two countries or two cities within the same country
- flexible option: unlimited number of countries, but the number of travelling days is limited. With this option, you can be abroad for up to one month but can only use a certain number of days for actual travel (for example, seven days on a train).
See the EU flyer, Flexible and Fixed, for more information.
Fixed or Flexible Discover EU Interrailing Travel
Other Useful Info
- Please do not book any travel passes or flight tickets by yourself, as they will not be reimbursed! Travel passes will be booked, purchased and delivered by the contractor designated by the European Commission. Successful applicants from Ireland will be not only given a free train travel pass but they can also receive a free return flight ticket to a destination they wish – either on the mainland Europe or another island – Cyprus, Malta or Island.
- Check out useful information on Travelling To Europe – Eurodesk Ireland and Supports If Something Goes Wrong When Travelling – Eurodesk Ireland
- If you run into any issues abroad, there are Irish Embassies and Consulates abroad that can help.
And remember…HAVE FUN!!
If you have questions about DiscoverEU or other European travel opportunities, you can chat online to a trained Youth Information Officer or contact us on yicsligo.ncycs@gmail.com / 085 8041020 (WhatsApp) and we can get back to you.