Rail Holiday – Your Perfect Holiday for 2019
Traveling is one of life’s greatest joys, but planning your next trip can become a bit of a logistical nightmare. It can be difficult deciding where to go, choosing somewhere that pleases everyone in your travel group, and that also fits within your budget. Whenever anyone asks me what my favourite type of travel is, I always tell them it’s traveling by train. You can see so much of a place on a train, get much more comfort than a bus, can walk around and use the bathrooms and it’s a wonderful way to get quickly between destinations. Unlike flying, you don’t have to spend a ton of time going through security, checking in early and you can usually show up right before the departure and get on the train. If you’re trying to pick your next holiday for 2019, read on to see why a train trip may be the perfect vacation.
1. Curated Holidays
When you think of train travel, you probably think of looking up train itineraries in foreign languages, trying to figure out how to purchase them, and a lot of unnecessary added stress. Maybe you, like me, love train travel but do not enjoy all the extra work that goes into planning a segmented holiday. You should consider www.tailormaderail.com which is a company that curates the perfect rail holidays for you, allowing you to relax and get ready for your adventure without all the hard planning. While they have a number of inspirational and exciting sample itineraries, the best part about Tailor Made Rail is that they can plan a special trip for you and your family. They search train itineraries, plan the routes, purchase the tickets and also find tried and tested hostels in each destination to ensure that you will be comfortable at every stop.
2. No Chance of Lost Baggage
Every single time I check my luggage onto a plane, I worry that I’m going to be caught short without my suitcase on the other end. It can be stressful and while I’ve been fortunate enough not to experience this, plenty of my friends have had their holidays almost ruined by lost luggage. When you’re traveling by train, your luggage is always with you. That means that you know it’s going to make it to your final destination. You can also be sure that your luggage will be handled gently, I’ve heard of many of my friends and family members having their suitcases ripped open and searched in airports, or things damaged by rough handling by airport ground staff. With a train holiday, you don’t need to worry about any of these things, ensuring more peace of mind and a relaxing vacation!
3. A Relaxing Holiday
While renting a car can be a great way to get around, in many parts of the world it can be quite stressful driving. In most cities throughout Europe, for example, parking is scarce and/or expensive, many of the streets are very narrow, and in some countries they may also drive on the opposite side of the road to what you’re used to, increasing the risk of you being in an accident. There’s also the fact that whenever you rent a car, they seem to add on a number of extra charges that make the car rental considerably more expensive than you were anticipating. With a train holiday it’s just a matter of showing up before your train and hopping on – it could not be easier. Because no one is driving it means that all of your travel group can really engage with each other – if you want you can even bring some cards along to play on the train, for some extra bonding time. Some people also suffer from carsickness when they’re in cars for a long period or time or on winding roads, but most people don’t have that problem on a train – which is great if someone in your group or family has a sensitive stomach! There’s nothing quite like looking out a train window and watching the world go by.
4. Eco Friendly Travel Option
Chances are you are becoming aware of things such as global warming, the amount of pollution we have in our seas, and even carbon emissions. It’s widely known that planes have a very large environmental impact, with some more dedicated environmentalists forging all plane travel due to the impact on our environment. While I’m not about to give up plane travel myself personally, I do look for ways that I can minimise my own impact on our planet. According to stats from GreenTraveller, traveling by train versus traveling by airplane can reduce your carbon footprint by around 75-90%. That means you can travel around Europe guilt-free, knowing that you’re doing your best to minimise your environmental impact.
5. Skip the Airports
While most people love traveling and don’t mind a flight or two, I don’t know anyone who relishes their time in airports. The checkin lines are always too long when you’re running late. If your baggage is overweight, you can expect considerable surprise fees at the desk. Even though weight might not be such a priority when traveling by train, I still suggest getting some good quality packing cubes to help you pack for your train trip.
Airport security varies from inconvenient to downright annoying – especially if you have to take off your coat, belt, shoes and separate numerous items of your luggage. It can also be quite a stressful time if you underestimated how much time you needed for the checkin process and find yourself running through the airport to your gate, hoping you make it on time. Airports also tend to be quite large, so located very far out of most cities. This means you have to travel for quite some time to just arrive at the airport before you can even begin the check in process. There’s also ample time spent waiting – waiting in line, waiting to board, waiting for take off and then waiting to disembark the plane. This can stretch a simple hour flight, into a three or four hour ordeal.
In comparison, train travel is a breeze. You show up before your train, simply hop on and board! Often train stations are located in a much more central part of the city, making it easier for both departure and arrival and reducing travel time. For a trip between two relatively close destinations, train travel can actually wind up being faster! It’s also only going to get even faster and more accessible, with new train routes opening throughout the world all the time. There are so many good reasons why train travel might be better than traveling by plane, check out this post to learn more.
Traveling by train is romantic – it’s a wonderful way to see a different perspective of the countries you’re visiting as you tend to see a lot more nature and countryside than you would from a plane or a car. It’s better for the environment than plane travel and can wind up considerably more relaxing than renting a car. If you’re interested in a train holiday, but a little apprehensive about planning your train trip, why not consider a curated train journey to ensure the perfect holiday.