Rail travel to 

   Europe: 

   general 

   information 

How to holiday abroad by train or ferry:

Holidays without flying . . .

Holidays & breaks from the UK without flying, by train or ferry...

   Home     Site map     Search site     Links     Railpasses     Buy train tickets     Buy ferry tickets    Book a hotel     What's new    About me    E-mail    Guestbook

Africa

Middle East

   Iran
  Israel
  Jordan
  Syria
  Turkey

Asia

America

Australasia

Australia
New Zealand

London to China & Japan by Trans-Siberian Railway

or silk route


London to India overland


London to Australia without flying


European & overseas Railpasses


Explore Europe with InterRail


Taking your car: Motorail


Non-flying Holidays by train


Ski holidays by train


London to Paris by Eurostar


The end of the real Orient Express?


The luxury Venice Simplon Orient Express


The scenic Swiss Glacier Express


Auckland-Wellington on The Overlander


NZ's most scenic train: The TranzAlpine


Canada's Rockies on the Rocky Mountaineer


Bridge over the River Kwai


Britain's most scenic train ride The West Highland Line


Scotland's cruise train The Royal Scotsman


Buy train tickets & passes online at the Seat 61 Rail Shop


Buy ferry tickets online at the Seat 61 Ferry Shop


Comments?  Feedback?  Need more help...? Email the Man in Seat Sixty-One..! 


Sign the guestbook


Important note about the information on this site.

Webhosting by Hostroute

Thank you for visiting my site...

 

 This year, take a holiday without the plane...

Holidays without flying:  Arriving in Greece by train + ferry from London...

Above:  Arriving in Greece by train+ferry from London, under blue skies and even bluer sea...

If you don't like flying or want to avoid flying for the sake of the environment, most big holiday companies can offer you nothing much more than a short break on Eurostar to Paris.  Which is crazy, because it's so easy to spend a week in Spain, Italy or Malta, or a fortnight in Morocco or Greece, without setting foot on a plane.  I know it's possible, because I've done all of those myself!  The journey becomes part of the holiday, an experience in its own right.  On this page you'll find ideas for holidaying abroad from the UK without flying.

Here are some suggestions:

  • Short breaks to Paris, Brussels, Bruges, Amsterdam, Dublin & Ireland.  A few days break by Eurostar or train+ferry.  Or stay in the UK and visit Edinburgh, Bath or York...  Or use the time-effective sleeper trains to the Highlands of Scotland or the Cornish coast...

  • Minicruises to Spain, Holland or Denmark.  Also good for a short break...

  • Holidays by train to France & other European countries, with travel by train rather than plane.

  • Skiing holidays by train to the French Alps, Switzerland, Austria or Andorra.

  • Escorted tours by train to Morocco, Spain, France, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, eastern Europe.  Several operators offer escorted tours to these countries with travel by train rather than plane, including Great Rail Journeys (www.greatrail.com), sister company Treyn Holidays, Planet Rail, Page & Moy, and Travelsphere.  A tour is an excellent choice if you prefer everything arranged for you and enjoy travelling with others.

  • Arrange your own holiday independently to Spain, Italy, Greece, Morocco, Malta, eastern Europe or Scandinavia...  There is no reason why you can't book a resort or hotel, then arrange train travel separately.  Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Malta, Morocco, Eastern Europe or Scandinavia can all be reached easily and affordably by train & ferry.  There are some ideas & help on this page.

  • Find a hotel to go with your train tickets...

  • Arrange a hire car  Fly-Drive?  Why not 'Rail-Drive'?!


Sponsored links:

 


 Short breaks...

Visit Paris, Lille, Brussels or Bruges by Eurostar...

The simplest non-flying holiday to Europe is a short break to the ever-popular French capital, or how about Lille, Brussels or Bruges (Bruges arguably being the most picturesque of these)?  A number of companies offer short breaks or longer holidays to these cities, combining Eurostar travel with hotel accommodation, including:

Visit Amsterdam by Eurostar...

How about a short break to Amsterdam, with some time in Brussels too?  Take a Friday night Eurostar to Brussels, and stay the night there.  On Saturday, explore the Grand Place before hopping on the hourly intercity train to Amsterdam (3 hours).  Spend Saturday night there, return around 16:30 on Sunday afternoon Amsterdam-Brussels-London. 

  • Book a London-Brussels return ticket at www.eurostar.com;

  • Buy your Brussels-Amsterdam ticket at Brussels station, no reservation necessary.  It costs around 80 euros return.

  • See the hotels page to book a hotel separately

Visit Amsterdam by rail & sea...

Take the overnight train+ferry+train service from London (or any station in East Anglia) to Amsterdam via the overnight Harwich-Hoek ferry, sleeping in a comfortable cabin.  Spend a day or two in Amsterdam, then return overnight by train+ferry again.  See the Netherlands page to book a combined train+ferry ticket, then see the hotels page to book a hotel separately.

See Dublin & Ireland by train & ferry:  www.railtoursireland.com

New from 2008, an Irish tour company called Railtours Ireland (www.railtoursireland.com) offers short breaks from London to Dublin by train & ferry, with the option to add kissing the Blarney Stone, the Ring of Kerry, or visiting the Giant's causeway. No airport hassles, no ugly motorways.  As far as I know, they're the only company to offer the rail & sail alternative to flying.

  • The tour leaves London every weekday from March to October, aboard the 09:00 Virgin train direct from Euston station to Holyhead via the scenic North Wales coastline. At Holyhead you board the Irish Ferries cruise ferry & sail across the sea to Dublin Ferrryport, arriving around 5.25pm.  It's the scenic & painless way to reach Ireland!

  • The cost is 289 euros (£229) per person, including 2 nights three-star hotel accommodation in central Dublin (with the option of extra nights) an return rail & sail travel from London.

  • You can mix-and-match the London-Dublin tour with one or more 1-day tours from Dublin, for example to Cork, Blarney Castle & the Queenstown Story, or to Belfast & the Giant's Causeway, or around the Ring of Kerry.  These tours use a fast comfortable intercity train from Dublin, then a motorcoach to reach the sights of western & northern Ireland, then a fast intercity train back to Dublin.

  • For details, see www.railtoursireland.com.  To book from the UK, call free on 0800 328 2899To book from outside the UK, call +353 1 856 0045

Take a short break in the UK.  Edinburgh?  Bath?  York?

Choose a hotel and add reduced-rate rail travel, try www.superbreak.com.

Take the overnight sleeper for a short break in the Highlands of Scotland...

Use the overnight Caledonian Sleepers to spend a weekend or longer in Scotland, without flying!  See the Caledonian Sleepers page.

...or the 'Night Riviera' sleeper train to the Cornish coast.

You can also use the Night Riviera sleeper train to spend a weekend or longer in St Ives or elsewhere in Cornwall, without the 6-hour drive!  See the Sleeper to Cornwall page.

 Mini-cruises...

Several ferry companies offer mini-cruises, around trip from the UK on a comfortable cruise-ferry.  Some operators also offer longer holidays:

 Holidays by train...

If you want someone to organise a holiday to Europe by train for you, and are happy to travel on your own unescorted with departures on any date you like, this company offers various holidays to Europe with travel exclusively by train, no airports & no flights.  Seat61 gets some commission to support the site if you quote 'Seat61.com' when you call.

 

Companies offering

holidays by train

rather than plane:

 

020 7619 1080

Please quote 'seat61'

  French Travel Service - holidays by train to France
 

0844 84 888 43

Please quote 'seat61'

Erail, www.erail.co.uk, 020 7619 1080.  Please quote 'Seat61.com' when you call...

Erail has been started by experienced European rail ticketing agency www.europeanrail.com, to offer unescorted organised tours to Europe totally by train.  Tours include:

  • Italian Grand Tour, 9 days to Rome, Florence & Venice from around £553 per person.

  • Swiss Lakes & Mountains, 8 days to Geneva, Interlaken, Lucerne, Lake Maggiore, from around £730 per person.

  • Swiss Panorama, 7 days including the famous Glacier Express, from around £638 per person.

  • Highlights of Andalusia, 10 days to Seville, Cordoba, Granada, from around £675 per person.

  • 2-centre Swiss skiing, 11 days from £824.  They also do an 8-day Austrian week skiing.

  • Call 020 7619 1080 to enquire or book. Please quote 'Seat 61' when you call.

French Travel Service (FTS), www.f-t-s.co.uk, 0844 84 888 43. Please quote 'Seat61.com' when you call...

A well-known firm established over 45 years ago and originally part of French Railways, the French Travel Service is now a family business offering affordable holidays all over France (even Corsica!) with travel by train instead of plane.

  • Train+hotel deals for all parts of France, including Cannes, Nice, Monaco, Lourdes, Bergerac, Strasbourg or the French Alps.

  • Train+ferry+hotel tour to Nice & Corsica.

Hiking, walking, sea kayaking, canoeing & family activity holidays in Scotland:  Wilderness Scotland...

Award-winning company Wilderness Scotland for small group walking, sea kyaking, canoeing, hiking  & family activity holidays.  National Geographic list Wilderness Scotland as one of the 'Best Adventure Travel Companies on Earth'.  They're the only Scottish company to hold AITO's 5-star Responsible Tourism award and were recently named Best Green Tour Operator at the World Travel Awards.  Although they don't package rail travel with their holidays, it's easy to reach Scotland on daytime trains or the overnight Caledonian Sleepers, see the Caledonian Sleepers page

 Escorted tours by train...

If you want a holiday in Europe with travel by train rather than plane, but would prefer to travel with a group of fellow travellers, a tour manager and all the legwork done for you, several companies offer escorted tours from the UK to Italy, Switzerland, Spain, France, eastern Europe and even Morocco by train, with regular departures from London by Eurostar, no airport hassles and no whole days spent in cramped coach seats on motorways.  Seat61 gets some commission to support the site if you book your holiday through these links or phone numbers, at no extra expense to you.
 

Companies offering

escorted tours by train

rather than plane:

 

01904 527120

   

0845 402 2069

 

01347 811 810

Please quote 'seat61'

   
 

   
 

Great Rail Journeys, www.greatrail.com, 01904 527120 ...

Great Rail Journeys are the original train-travel holiday specialists.  They run five-star inclusive tours from the UK to many European countries, with 1st class train travel and 5-star hotels. Check the tour details online, then call 01904 527120 to book or use their online booking form.  Tours include:

Treyn Holidays, www.treynholidays.co.uk, 0845 402 2069...

Treyn Holidays run regular tours to a number of European countries using overland travel from the UK by Eurostar and high-speed TGV, with mid-range prices & 3* hotels.  For example:

  • 9-day tour from London to Bologna, Florence, Venice & Rome, by train from London from £795 per person

  • 8-day tour combining Mont Blanc with the fantastic Glacier Express across Switzerland, by train from London from £695

  • 10-day tour to Vienna, Prague & Berlin, by train from London from £795.

  • 6-day Rhine cruise from £615, by train from London.

  • See www.treynholidays.co.uk for more options...

Planet Rail, www.planetrail.co.uk, 01347 811 810  (please quote 'Seat61.com' when you call)...

Planet Rail offer tailor-made holidays by first class rail for both groups and individuals. A family-run business, destinations include Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Russia and France.  See www.planetrail.co.uk or call 01347 811810 to speak to one of their team. Please quote 'Seat 61' when you call.  Tailor-made holidays include:

  • Venice by rail – 7 day holiday with first class rail and 4* hotels from around £975

  • Grand Tour of Italy – 12 day holiday by first class rail to Rome, Florence and Venice from around £1,495

  • Glacier Express & Scenic Switzerland – 8 day holiday by first class rail from around £1,095     

  •  French Hotel Barges – 7 day holidays by first class rail, including meals & excursions from £995

Page & Moy holidays, www.pageandmoy.com...

Well-established firm Page & Moy offer tours to Italy, France, Switzerland & Germany, including some tours with train travel rather than plane.  A 6-day trip to Albi, Carcassonne & the Dordogne in France costs from £729 per person, a 10-day trip to the great cities of Italy costs from £1,434 per person, with travel to & from the UK by train. Book online at www.pageandmoy.com Booking tip:  On the Page & Moy home page, search for holidays with 'holiday type' set to 'Rail holidays'.

Travelsphere holidays, www.travelsphere.com...

Travelsphere offer tours to Italy, France, Switzerland, Spain & Germany, also including some tours with train travel rather than plane.  A 9-day tour to Lake Garda in Italy costs from £994 per person by train, a 10-day tour to Perpignan, Barcelona & Costa Brava in Spain costs from £824 per person, also by train.  Book online at www.travelsphere.com (Booking tip:  On the www.travelsphere.com home page, search for holidays with 'holiday type' set to 'Rail holidays').

 Put together your own holiday...

Why not go independent?!  Nothing stops you deciding where you want to go, booking a hotel and a train ticket or two, and heading off independently.  It can seem daunting if you've always booked a package holiday, but it's really easy to book train travel from London to anywhere in Europe and choose your accommodation separately.  None of the big package tour companies offer an overland option instead of a flight for their packages to Morocco, Greece, Malta and so on, so booking independently is the way to go.  Here are some ideas:

Holidays to Italy by train:

  • Choose whether to stay in one place (for example, the coastal villages of Cinque Terre, the wonderful Naples/Pompeii/Sorrento/Capri area, or Sicily) or to travel around seeing the great cities such as Rome, Florence, Venice, Verona, Naples.

  • Find a hotel or guesthouse at www.venere.com, a company specialising in accommodation in Italy with a very wide choice of guesthouses and hotels in all price ranges.  Also try www.laterooms.com.

  • It's easy to travel from London to anywhere in Italy by train.  Plan and book your train travel to Italy following the steps shown on the London to Italy page.

  • If you need transport between cities once in Italy, just use www.trenitalia.it (Italian Railways official site) to check train times and fares.  You can book online, or simply buy your ticket at the station when you get to Italy.  It's not difficult..!

  • Feel free to stop off in Paris on the way if you like..!  It makes no difference to the cost.

Holidays to Spain by train:

  • Choose your holiday location:  For beaches, there's the Costa del Sol around Malaga or the Costa Brava near Barcelona, or even Ibiza or Majorca.  For culture, try Madrid, Cordoba, Seville or Granada.  You can reach Ibiza or Majorca by ferry from Barcelona.  You can even reach Tenerife and the Canary Islands by sea, though this is a voyage taking three nights from Cadiz.

  • Find accommodation.  Browse the Spain page on www.venere.com or www.laterooms.com.

  • It's easy to travel from London to anywhere in Spain by train.  Plan and book your train travel to Spain following the steps shown on the London to Spain page.

  • If you need train travel between cities within Spain, just use www.renfe.es (Spanish Railways official site) to check train times and fares, and book online.

  • Feel free to stop off in Paris on the way if you like..!  It makes no difference to the cost.

Holidays to Marrakech & Morocco by train...

Morocco is fantastic, and getting there by train is easy.  You can step ashore in Morocco just 48 hours after leaving London's St Pancras station.  The journey is an experience in itself, and you can stop off on the way to see something of Spain, too.  Far more to write home about than a cramped charter flight!

  • The London to Morocco page explains how to plan and book train travel from London to Tangier and Marrakech.  It takes 48 hours, including a free day in Madrid on the way, with comfortable sleepers available for both nights.  Why not travel down over the weekend?

  • If you want to stop off longer in Madrid, try www.venere.com or www.laterooms.com to book accommodation.

  • Once in Tangier, the Continental Hotel is the recommended (historic, comfortable and remarkably affordable) option in Tangier, contact details are shown on the London to Morocco page.

  • Train tickets from Tangier to Casablanca and Marrakech can easily be bought when you get to Tangier.

  • After spending a few days in Marrakech, why not hire a car for a few days (www.holidayautos.com) and drive over the spectacular Tizi n Tichka Pass in the High Atlas mountains to the amazing mud-built village of Aït ben Haddou, Ouarzazate, Todra Gorge and the Gorge du Dadès?

Holidays to Greece by train + ferry...

Greece is a wonderful, relaxing destination, especially with no airports and planes to stress you out on the way.  You can travel by train and ferry, stepping ashore in Corfu or mainland Greece just 48 hours after leaving London.  The journey is an experience, and you can stop off on the way to see something of Italy if you like.

  • The London to Greece page explains how to plan and book train+ferry travel from London to Corfu, Athens, Crete or Rhodes.  The fastest and cheapest way is by train to Bari or Venice in Italy then ferry to Greece, a wonderful journey.

  • Try www.laterooms.com for accommodation in Greece.

  • Use www.ferries.gr to find and book ferries to and from the Greek Islands.

Tour Eastern Europe by train...

See the London to Prague page, London to Austria page, London to Hungary or London to Poland page for train travel from the UK to Krakow, Salzburg, Vienna, Budapest or Prague.  Then simply use http://bahn.hafas.de to find train times between these cities.  Railpasses are available (see the railpass page) but you will probably find normal tickets, buying as you go, the cheapest and simplest option.

Holidays by ferry to the Norwegian Fjords...

  • Take a ferry across the North Sea to Norway, see the London to Norway page (runs until September 2008).  For an unforgettable voyage along the Norwegian coastline, book a trip on the coastal steamers of Hurtigruten Line.

Skiing holidays to Switzerland, Austria or the French Alps...

See the new Skiing holidays by train page.  Many holiday companies offer skiing holidays that incorporate Eurostar Ski Train or Rail Europe Snow Train travel between London & the French Alps, or can offer holidays without flights, allowing you to arrange your own travel to the skiing resort by train.

 

 

Find a hotel to go with your train tickets..

You can easily book hotels to go with your train tickets at www.hotelscombined.com, just use the search box below.  It's not a hotel booking website, but a free search tool which checks all the main hotel booking sites for you (Laterooms, Expedia, hotels.com, AsiaRooms, Opodo, Travelocity and many others) to find the cheapest hotel rates on the net.  I find it saves me hours going round in circles checking umpteen different sites for the same hotels.  Set up in 2005, it's an amazing system and probably the best place to start for booking any hotel online in any country, worldwide.

 

Search all major hotel

booking websites at once...

Hotel reservations? Find the right hotel first. Compare here.

Powered by Hotelscombined.com

 

 Car hire

You must have heard the term 'Fly-Drive' often enough, so why not 'Rail-Drive'?  I travelled to Marrakech by train and ferry, then hired a car for 3 days and drove south over the High Atlas mountains, perhaps the most amazing 3 days car hire I've ever paid for!  Rather than search multiple websites this search engine compares different hire companies' prices.

 

 

It's provided by carhiresearch.co.uk

and it compares prices from a number

of well-known car hire companies:

and others...


 

 Travel insurance & health card

Get travel insurance..

Never go abroad without travel insurance from a reliable insurer, with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover.  It should also cover loss of cash (up to a limit) and belongings, and cancellation. An annual multi-trip policy is usually cheaper than several single-trip policies even for just 2 or 3 trips a year (I have an annual policy myself).  Here are some suggested insurers.  Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy through these links.

  If you live in the UK, get quotes from Direct Line or Columbus Direct.

I've used Direct Line myself and on one occasion, successfully claimed back the cost of non-refundable Eurostar & trainhotel tickets to Spain when we cancelled the trip because my mother fell ill.  Feedback from using insurance for rail & ferry travel is always welcome!

      If you live in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or the EU, see Columbus Direct Australia.

  If you live in the USA or Canada, see Travel Guard USA.

Get an EU health card...

If you're a UK citizen travelling in Europe, you should apply for a free European Health Insurance Card, which entitles you to free or reduced rate health care if you become ill or get injured in many European countries, under a reciprocal arrangement with the NHS.  This replaced the old E111 forms as from January 2006.  The EHIC card is available from www.ehic.org.uk.  It doesn't remove the need for travel insurance, though.

Get an international SIM card...

Mobile phones can cost a fortune to use abroad, but if you buy a global SIM card for your mobile phone from a company such as www.Go-Sim.com you can slash the cost by up to 85%.  It cuts call costs in 175 countries worldwide, and you can receive incoming calls and texts for free in 75 countries.  It's pay-as-you-go, so no nasty bills when you get home.  It also allows cheap data access for laptops & PDAs.  A Go-Sim account and any credit on it doesn't expire if it's not used between trips, unlike some others, so a Go-Sim phone number becomes your 'global phone number' for life.


Back to home page