Travel: Holidays by Rail

Holidays come in many different forms but travelling by rail can elevate the experience of the actual journey, here Lisa de Silva explores the adventures that rail travel can offer 

Taking a rail travel holiday is a wonderful way to explore the world. Combining convenience, comfort, authenticity and sustainability, holidays by train offer endless benefits and opportunities for adventure. 

Whether you’re looking for a scenic ride through mountain landscapes and picturesque valleys or a flexible way to explore central Europe, it’s hard to beat the advantages of rail travel. 

THE GROWTH OF RAIL TRAVEL HOLIDAYS

Holidays by train are booming. This has been fuelled by a growing appetite for slow travel and more authentic experiences, alongside our desire to travel more sustainably. This demand has dovetailed with the introduction of new routes, more sleeper services, greater competition between rail companies and innovative ticketing products that allow for cross-border itineraries. In fact, rail holidays are now so popular that interrail-style tickets, originally designed for young backpackers, now have most appeal for the over-50s market. 

FIVE BENEFITS OF RAIL TRAVEL HOLIDAYS

1. Sense of Adventure & Authenticity 

On a train travel holiday, the journey becomes part of the experience, providing an authentic way to discover and explore other regions and countries. It also offers opportunities to chat to fellow travellers and locals, learning more about a region’s culture, traditions and lifestyles. 

2. Convenient & Comfortable Travel 

Travelling by train cuts out all the stress of the airport experience. There is no limit on luggage or liquids, no queues for security or passport control, no need to arrive super early and once onboard, there’s plenty of legroom. You can even get up and walk about as and when you wish. Similarly, travelling by train is far more relaxing than driving, which requires high levels of concentration and patience, particularly when navigating and contending with traffic jams and diversions. 

To add to the comfort, many train seat configurations provide tables, there are power sockets and Wi-Fi, and travellers can also enjoy a mealin the dining car or bring their own picnic onboard to enjoy along the way. Moreover, train stations are usually located in city centres, and it is often possible to walk directly from the train to your hotel or destination, cutting out expensive airport transfers or the stress of finding somewhere to park. 

3. Panoramic Views

A highlight of train travel is a scenery of ever-changing landscapes as you sit back, relax and watch the world go by. From stunning mountain passes, spectacular switchbacks, epic river crossings and dense forests, to small villages and tracks that hug the coastline, the views are a treat and fantastic way to get to see a country. 

4. Flexible Itineraries

Rail travel also offers the scope to customise journeys to suit your own itinerary in terms of destinations and timings. Providing the flexibilityto change your journey, break your journey and amend the timings of your journey, travellers enjoy the freedom and spontaneity to create a unique route tailored to their demands. In Europe alone, there is a rail network of over 240,000km of track, allowing you to design a multi-destination trip to include even the most remote places. 

5. Cost-effective & Sustainable Travel

While train travel can be expensive, forward planning, taking off-peak journeys and making use of railcards, can all help to minimise the cost. As a result of fierce competition between rail companies, there is now a range of interrail-style tickets which allow for multi-destination and cross-border itineraries, offering great value for money. It is also comforting to know that train travel, particularly as it becomes increasingly electrified, is a sustainable and low carbon way to travel. 

TYPES OF RAIL TRAVEL HOLIDAYS

Rail travel often evokes the Golden Age of Travel, full of luxury, glamour and adventure and it is still possible to experience this. In fact, taking a trip on the Venice Simplon-Orient Express, Canada’s Rocky Mountaineer, Peru’s Andean Explorer or South Africa’s Rovos Rail, is a mainstay of many bucket lists. These tourist trains, while expensive, offer old world elegance and a memorable travel experience. 

Less luxurious and hugely cheaper are escorted rail holidays. These tend to be small group trips with your guide taking care of all the ticketing, visa, accommodation and activity requirements. This type of trip comes into its own on railways such as the Trans-Siberian Express, where language barriers, border crossings and visas can be complicated. 

Despite this, rail travel is easily accessible to plan and book for the independent traveller, particularly with the benefit of the internet and Eurostar providing a high-speed connection to Europe. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once proclaimed, “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.”