Cheap hollidays

[andyinluton]

So if a direct service was introduced, London to Barcelona could be as little as 9 hours?

Yes we used Eurostar down to Lyon & Cannes for the Euros (football for the uneducated) takes some beating something like a 7am train & get there just after lunch, Barcelona is not much further. If they bring back motorail as well & put the van on the train it would be an excellent way to start a holiday.

 

[Amarillo]

That's where leadership fails us currently. Prices should help people make the most sustainable decision.

An Independent article on aviation fuel tax (or lack of it).

Opinion: It's about time airlines paid the price for their role in climate destruction

The climate column: Rules on taxing flights haven’t been updated since the Second World War, but now the climate crisis is a greater threat than fascism and we need to act now

www.independent.co.uk

 

[Amarillo]

Yes we used Eurostar down to Lille & Cannes for the Euros (football for the uneducated) takes some beating something like a 7am train & get there just after lunch, Barcelona is not much further. If they bring back motorail as well & put the van on the train it would be an excellent way to start a holiday.

I have done several long train journeys and found them all enjoyable.

At the age of 14 I travelled from Newhaven to Chamonix to join a friend and his family. It involved crossing Paris.

In 1995 I travelled between Shanghai and Urumqi over 4 days with a24 hour break in Xi’an.

In 2002 I went from London to Bayonne with my bike and returned from Cebere having cycled the length of the Pyrenees.

If only rail fares were competitively priced...

 

[WelshGas]

That's where leadership fails us currently. Prices should help people make the most sustainable decision.

You have great faith in the general public.

 

[WelshGas]

So if a direct service was introduced, London to Barcelona could be as little as 9 hours?

Don’t forget Eurostar Check in times.

 

[WelshGas]

I have done several long train journeys and found them all enjoyable.

At the age of 14 I travelled from Newhaven to Chamonix to join a friend and his family. It involved crossing Paris.

In 1995 I travelled between Shanghai and Urumqi over 4 days with a24 hour break in Xi’an.

In 2002 I went from London to Bayonne with my bike and returned from Cebere having cycled the length of the Pyrenees.

If only rail fares were competitively priced...

Travelling solo is a dream. Unfortunately most people have family members to take care of.
How about regaling us with your epic train trips with your family?

 

[andyinluton]

Don’t forget Eurostar Check in times.

45 minutes before departure.
Although some of the journey times for St Pancras to Barcelona are shown as over 24 hours the only difference is the time waiting between trains. A bit of timetable rescheduling could get the London to Paris train arriving 1/2 hour before the Paris to Barcelona one departed & the journey time is massively reduced.

 

[Amarillo]

Travelling solo is a dream. Unfortunately most people have family members to take care of.
How about retailing us with your epic train trips with your family?

I plan send our tandem on Eurostar in advance to Paris, then join it with Ben and Jack and cycle home following the Avenue Verte. Four days will suffice, staying in Versailles, Gournay-en-Bray, Newhaven and East Grinstead. It is a trip I have led four times already, once within 48 hours. I’ll post a ride report if you like. The four day Easter weekend 2022 is a possibility.

We overnighted once on a ferry between Brindisi and Igoumenitsa with our two boys and I don’t suppose that’s too much different to overnighting on a train for a similar length of time.

 

[66tim99]

Yes we used Eurostar down to Lille & Cannes for the Euros (football for the uneducated) takes some beating something like a 7am train & get there just after lunch, Barcelona is not much further. If they bring back motorail as well & put the van on the train it would be an excellent way to start a holiday.

I've taken the train to Bourg in the Alps twice. Nice experience (although better when you don't need to transfer in Paris) taking a similar time(12hr) to flying and transferring by bus(10hr) in the winter. But you can stretch your legs, go and have a beer in the bar with amazing windows and impressive 180mph views, and feel pleased at your choice as you head into the mountains at about 60mph with a queue of traffic at a standstill next to you. But (expensive) tickets are like hens teeth in the school holidays... seems there just aren't enough trains to meet demand. There needs to be an increase in capacity and reduction in price, possibly pump-primed by a tax on aviation fuel.

 

[Amarillo]

There needs to be an increase in capacity and reduction in price, possibly pump-primed by a tax on aviation fuel.

Oooo! You mischievous minx!

 

[WelshGas]

I've taken the train to Bourg in the Alps twice. Nice experience (although better when you don't need to transfer in Paris) taking a similar time(12hr) to flying and transferring by bus(10hr) in the winter. But you can stretch your legs, go and have a beer in the bar with amazing windows and impressive 180mph views, and feel pleased at your choice as you head into the mountains at about 60mph with a queue of traffic at a standstill next to you. But (expensive) tickets are like hens teeth in the school holidays... seems there just aren't enough trains to meet demand. There needs to be an increase in capacity and reduction in price, possibly pump-primed by a tax on aviation fuel.

Travelling with a family or Solo?

 

[WelshGas]

Oooo! You mischievous minx!

Increase in capacity. Isn’t that what HS2 will do?

 

[willwander]

Increase in capacity. Isn’t that what HS2 will do?

Don’t fancy a holiday in Birmingham

 

[66tim99]

Travelling with a family or Solo?
Small family - Me the Mrs and our then (last time on the train) 9 year old. Met a family out there who had torn their hair out driving and getting stuck in traffic for hours. But they had very kindly cooked for the week and put the frozen food in the roof box so...driving has its advantages. I honestly don’t think flying to the Paradiski area (Les Arcs, Peisey-Vallandry , La Plagne etc) has any advantages other than price. Slog to an airport, hang about for 2 hours, fly to Lyon, transfer to a bus and sit in traffic for (last time, in the holidays, 6) hours. I swore never again ... I’ll drive the Cali (when I get it!) or take the train. But it seems the tour companies block book the train tickets and add a nice premium for their clients, so you have to be bang on it when bookings open...

 

[GrannyJen]

I have to say as someone who travelled the world as a writer, often crossing an ocean once a week, my personal joy at a sudden development of a fear of flying in 2012 is today unlimited.

I have always loved trains and the forced acceptance that I can now only go where I can take a train, take my Cali or sail on a boat has been a complete blessing.

 

[Amarillo]

I have to say as someone who travelled the world as a writer, often crossing an ocean once a week, my personal joy at a sudden development of a fear of flying in 2012 is today unlimited.

I have always loved trains and the forced acceptance that I can now only go where I can take a train, take my Cali or sail on a boat has been a complete blessing.

The Shanghai Consul General before the current one travelled to her new post by train:
London to Paris
Paris to Berlin
Berlin to Moscow
Moscow to Beijing
Beijing to Shanghai

Quite a trip, and one I’d love to do, though I’d love to do it by Cali even more.

 

[blondebier]

So if sensible you could do London to Paris one day, have a day in Paris then catch the train to Spain the next day, having used the Eurostar to the South of France a few times its a very civilised way to travel.

It certainly sounds appealing and I'm sure a fair few people would love to travel this way if they had the time and could afford it.

However, I'm not sure it's compatible with the demand for "cheap holidays".

Cheap flights are always going to win.

As will "going green", as long as someone else picks up the tab. Most people love the idea of an environmentally friendly alternative, but very few would pay more for it.

Will the pandemic have killed off cheap flights? We'll have wait and see.

 

[NessL]

Don’t fancy a holiday in Birmingham

Have you ever holidayed in Birmingham? It’s great!