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Albany Western Australia - A seaside holiday destination for all
Albany Western Australia is a city of approximately 30,000 people in the south-west corner of Western Australia, approximately 409km from Perth . The city is nestled between three large hills, Mount Clarence, Mount Melville and Mount Adelaide,...
Cape Town - A Look at Africa's Most Beautiful City
As winter approaches in the northern hemisphere, summer beckons in the south. This is the time to take a few days off and follow the sun! The best place to catch the sun in the end of year holiday season is without doubt Cape Town. Cape Town's claim...
KANCHANABURI :The Perfect Getaway From Bangkok
One of Thailand's premier tourist attractions, Kanchanaburi, lies a mere two hours from the capital. This proximity means it is well within the time constraints of most people's itineraries and getting there could hardly be easier. Buses leave...
River Cruises Can be Such a Rich Experience
River Cruises Can be Such a Rich Experience River Cruises- Discovering Europe, Russia, China, America by Colin Hartness - http://www.whatcruises.com Exploring Europe can be such a unique experience with a River Cruise. You just unpack once on this...
Top 10 Tips Taking for Road Trips With Kids
Top 10 Tips Taking for Road Trips With Kids Like many other families, our family takes a number of road trips each year. We have three beautiful young daughters and people often say to me “How can you stand to take road trips with young kids?” In...
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Rail Breaks - Why many people are turning their backs on flying.
According to statistics supplied by Great Rail Journeys (GRJ) - one of the UK's premier holiday companies that specialise in rail - an amazing 40,000 Britons are taking package rail holidays every year. These figures would have been hard to believe some five to ten years ago when the phrase "British Rail" was synonymous with poor service and unreliable transport. However, as we will learn taking a holiday via train has become increasing popular amongst persons who prefer a more comfortable and yet adventurous way of travelling.
Traditional railway holidays were very much the norm in 50's Britain. Be it short breaks to cities such as London, York or Edinburgh or exciting trips across continental Europe many Briton's grew up with the rail package holiday. It is perhaps as a result of this that the back bone of the rail holiday industry in the UK is couples in their sixties and seventies reliving the vacations of their youth. Be it rushing to make tight connecting flights, crowed airports or a simple fear of flying - many travellers today simply don't want to get from a to b on an airplane. The very fact you have allocated more time out of your schedule to travel by rail ensures the whole experience can be a great deal calmer - which is one of the key reasons why it is popular with the elderly market
However, this trend is certainly changing slowly - with more younger travellers choosing rail over flying. One popular type of rail holiday is EuRail trips across Europe. Often associated with backpackers, the Eurailpass is one of the most convenient ways to see Europe as the ticket offers unlimited train travel throughout 18 countries on their network - including the whole of Scandinavia. With frequent departures on busy routes, it is often the case that the train is a faster option than flying when you consider the commuting time it takes to reach most European airports on the edge of busy cities. This is especially the case when using fast train services such as the German ICE, French TGV or indeed the Eurostar which connects France with London.
Perhaps one of the biggest drawbacks to
rail travel (at least outside the UK) is that it can be remarkably difficult to find information and actually book tickets. The large majority of travel agents no longer sell rail package deals and companies such as EuroStar have little information available once they get you as far as Paris or Brussels. In fact until very recently there were very few websites where anyone could gleam information about train journeys, times and bookings. Luckily there are a number of sites available now with a plethora of information such as Seat 61 which - despite being run as a hobby rather than a business - is a tremendous resource for anyone wanting to plan a foreign railway journey.
Domestically in the UK short weekend breaks on the train are becoming extremely popular. Be it a shopping trip to Glasgow or taking in a west end show in London, package deals which include two nights accommodation and rail tickets are becoming more available. Recently travel and rail companies Superbreak and GNER have teamed up to provide short break package deals to five UK cities - London, Leeds, York, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Prices are competitive and they provide a real alternative to driving to these destinations on crowded motorways.
Certainly this renaissance of rail travel is surprising to an extent. With the advent of budget airlines making air travel more accessible and price competitive many felt that this would be one competitor too many for the rail industry to remain an active part of the holiday market. However, it would appear that rail holidays have certainly found their niche and are likely to remain an active part of the UK travel market for years to come.
Released by Bigmouthmedia
About the Author
Robin works in Edinburgh for Bigmouthmedia, occasionally writing for TravelTips and carrying out bizarre experiments using stress balls and cups of water.
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| Holidays on the Net - Welcome |
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| Earth Calendar |
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| Federal Holidays Calendars from 1997 to 2010 |
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| Holiday - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
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| Holidays Around the World for K-12 |
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| Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators - Holiday Information |
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