Aller jusqu'en Ukraine en train : Tolt nous raconte son voyage Interrail en plein Covid

Written by Sophie Renassia

Published on October 8, 2023, modified on April 29, 2025

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Tolt's journey, from travel youtuber to ambassador for no-fly adventures

In this episode, Benjamin Martinie himself (alias Tolt on his social networks @GlobeTolter), founder of HURRAIL! lent himself to the game. Aboard the mythical Train 16, he tells us about his train journey to Ukraine, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A travel youtuber for 10 years, Tolt hasn't always been a proponent of low-carbon travel. It was after years of air travel, a growing ecological awareness and too much cognitive dissonance that he decided in 2019 to give up flying, highlight other means of transport on his Youtube channel, and then create HOURRAIL!.

Today, he's taking us on board his eventful journey to Ukraine with the Interrail pass: from Paris to Lviv via Munich and Krakow, just before the borders close because of Covid.

Summary of the episode

• His relationship with the train over the years.
• His trip with friends, which didn't go as planned. Initially, Tolt wanted to return to Iran (after his 2015 “Don't go to Iran” video). But a little virus decided otherwise... So he changed course and headed for Ukraine, via Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland. The beginning of his trip to Ukraine, and his hurried return to Paris.
• His travel anecdotes, from the adrenalin rush in the Iranian desert to his experience of the Trans-Canada Highway in Canada, from Vancouver to Toronto.
• His dreams train journeys and his upcoming low-carbon trips.
• And other nuggets that we'll let you discover by clicking right here 👇

“The best way for me to do without a plane was to build projects around the train.”

Tolt's itinerary

• Paris - Munich: first stop in the Bavarian city.
• Munich - Brno: a stopover in the Czech Republic for an off-the-beaten-track experience.
• Brno - Katowice: plunge into Poland's industrial past.
• Katowice - Krakow: explore one of Poland's most beautiful cities.
• Krakow - Lviv: Arrival in Ukraine, just before the border closes.

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