Adventures by rail: no-fly holidays through the heart of Europe

From reducing your carbon footprint to avoiding the stress of airport queues and security, there are plenty of good reasons to opt for a no-fly holiday by rail. Here, travel writer Teresa Machan talks to two couples who’ve come to realise that the journey itself is an enjoyable part of the adventure.

Rail adventure 1: London to Istanbul

Richard and Moira, from Hove, planned a 10-day rail trip from Paris to Istanbul. They had considered taking the luxurious Venice Simplon Orient-Express train, but the price put them off.

“We realised we’d have to find another way to do this classic route,” says Richard. “We’re pretty adventurous travellers so we decided to create our own itinerary.”

From London St Pancras International, their journey continued from Paris via Strasbourg, Munich, Salzburg, Vienna, Budapest, Bucharest and Sofia before finally pulling in at Istanbul’s Halkali station.

The holiday included overnight stays in Paris, Munich, Vienna and Bucharest, plus a night on each of the Sofia-Istanbul Express and Romania’s cheery, yellow-and-green overnight sleeper train, the Astra Trans Carpatic, between Bucharest and Arad. On the latter they booked a deluxe sleeper with a modern en suite shower, basin and loo.

For much of the planning, the pair used AI assistant Chat GPT. “It was useful for creating a spreadsheet of the journey and helped us to check we had enough connection time between trains,” says Richard. “I also asked Chat GPT to suggest unusual tours in each city and to locate places to stay that were close to stations.”

AI was a great tool for logistics. For supplementary tips, however, they used seat61.com. “It’s full of useful information. That was where we found out how to book the sleeper to Istanbul. The Sofia-Istanbul Express couldn’t be booked online like the others, but seat61.com provides a contact for a company that will book it on your behalf. It also warned that there’s no food on board, so we were able to stock up.”

The 376-mile Sofia-Istanbul Express journey between Bulgaria and Turkey crosses the Friendship Bridge over the Danube river and takes in views of rural farmland, trackside forest, river valleys and streams.

Travelling towards the former Iron Curtain countries, stations got bigger and rolling stock and engines older – except for the last stage of the journey. “This was on the very modern Metro Istanbul from Halkali to Sirkeci Station, where the Orient Express would have ended up,” says Richard. “There’s a museum there with memorabilia.”

Moira adds: “I noticed that – unlike stations in France, Italy and Germany which have numerous coffee and food choices, and especially pastries – further east the stations offer little to nothing in the way of refreshment, even though they’re vast.”

The stations may not have been as fancy, but the couple noted that people got friendlier the further east they travelled. “On the train to Istanbul, with the help of a young Romanian translator, we made friends with a group of Turkish teenagers,” Moira says. “People were fascinated by our journey.”

In Budapest the pair went to a so-called “ruin bar”. These cavernous, repurposed industrial spaces are filled with greenery, reclaimed furniture and feature lighting. “We also visited a shopping centre near the station known for its huge rooftop garden,” says Moira, “and ate at a great Indian street-food restaurant.”

Trains were punctual – except in Germany, where one might assume trains will be reliable. In Munich, following a delay and a missed connection, there was a silver lining in the form of an upgrade to a top suite at that night’s hotel. “We arrived so late and tired I think the receptionist felt sorry for us!” says Richard.

Any tips for potential rail travellers? “If we did it again, we would definitely stay overnight in Strasbourg and Salzburg,” says Richard. “It’s worth looking out for deals with Eurail. We booked something for Christmas that gave us 25% off and so we treated ourselves to an upgrade.”

“Be prepared for the unexpected,” Moira adds. “And in Eastern Europe, having seat reservations is a good idea.”

Rail adventure 2: the Balearics

For their first major rail adventure, Karen and Phil Rippon, from Dulwich, booked a month-long holiday to the Balearic Islands using a combination of trains and ferries. The holiday included 10 days in a villa on the island of Menorca, a couple of nights in Mallorca, and stays in three European cities.

The year before they’d booked a rail trip to coincide with the Paris Olympics. “Our small apartment was within the Pass Jeu (ticketed area) and we watched the opening ceremony in a cafe with lots of other nationalities. The atmosphere was brilliant,” says Karen.

They’ve also travelled to Croatia by train – taking the Eurostar to Paris and then travelling to Ancona in central Italy via Geneva, Milan and Bologna. From Ancona they took a direct ferry to Croatia’s second city of Split, where they stayed for 10 days.

The Balearics trip was the most complex. To book it they used a combination of rail, ferry and hotel websites. “Flying would’ve been quicker but nowhere near as much fun,” says Karen. “Breaking it into sections like this cost a bit more – but we saw so much more than if we had flown directly to Menorca.”

Travelling from London on Eurostar, they overnighted in Paris ahead of a train journey from Gare de Lyon to Barcelona Sants the following morning. The onward journey to Barcelona was booked on thetrainline.com.

“The most scenic part of the journey was along the coast from the southern French city of Montpellier to Barcelona. There was no restaurant car, but it had a well-stocked buffet car and trolley service,” says Karen.

The couple overnighted at a city-centre hotel and spent the next day in Barcelona before taking an overnight ferry (booked via Direct Ferries) to Ciutadella, in Menorca. There, they rented a villa and got around the island using the excellent local bus service. “We chose a place near the old town of Ciutadella and not far from beaches in Cala ’n Blanes,” says Karen.

The adventure continued with a two-night excursion to Mallorca. The couple sailed by ferry from Ciutadella to Alcúdia (a 75-minute crossing) and travelled to Palma by bus.

“We quite enjoyed piecing it all together,” says Phil. “I recommend booking well ahead as ferries get booked up quickly.”  

The most challenging part of the trip was getting luggage on and off the various forms of transport. “We experienced a few small delays, but these were insignificant compared with what we experience at airports. Rather than being a chore, the journey became part of the holiday.”

Top tips for travelling by rail

• Triple check your connection times and use online resources such eurail.com and seat61.com
• Don’t assume trains will sell food – even on long-distance or overnight journeys
• Some European countries require passengers to “validate” a ticket at machines on the railway concourse. This date- and time-stamps the ticket
• High-speed trains in Italy and some other European services require passengers to have a seat reservation booked in advance. There may be an additional fee for this
• Consider booking porterage to make the journey a little easier – although it’s not always on offer. Check wellcomrail.com for availability.