Plane Bored? Then Take Off Another Way On Your Holiday!
Fuel price rises and airlines’ growing adeptness in finding new ways to squeeze extra money from their passengers have all left big dents in our holiday purses, and led to a growing number of travellers seeking alternative ways of reaching their destination, and even changing their plans so that a no-fly holiday is more feasible.
And when you consider that we are all going to come under increasing pressure to fly less often for the environment’s sake, maybe 2010 could be the year for a renaissance in the old maxim of the journey being just as important as the destination.
As Bill Smallwood, managing director of rail specialist French Travel Service, points out: “When people say flying only takes two hours to get to the Med, they don’t factor in the two-hour check-in time at the airport and a lengthy transfer at the other end.”
Many beach resorts have a railway station, meaning the train delivers you direct to your final destination, and there’s no need to book the train to London separately. Eurostar offers connecting fares from more than 200 stations in the UK. And those used to first or business class airline travel don’t need to make any compromise: Eurostar’s Business Premier Class gives lounge access, a 10-minute check-in time and even the option of chauffeur transfer to the station in some locations.
By using domestic services and the TGV, you can access popular French resorts such as La Rochelle, on the Atlantic coast. It has superb beaches and is a top-class surf destination, and the journey takes just over seven hours from London via Paris.
Coastal France is extraordinarily varied, with beaches on the English Channel, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. The northern beaches are particularly easy to get to by sea: Condor Ferries sails from the UK to St Malo all year round with a summer Sunday service from Portsmouth to Cherbourg. Ferry bookings are increasing significantly on these longer routes as travellers seek to stretch their budgets.
Ferries too link many popular destinations, without the need for an overland trek, and you can make this journey a precursor to the relaxing break to come, especially if you’re heading for the beaches of the Channel Islands and northern France. More people travelled by ferry than ever before last year, and the Passenger Shipping Association predicts the number will rise again in 2010. “Taking a ferry means no stressful check-in queues, no worries about baggage allowance and plenty of room onboard to relax and get into the holiday mood,” says PSA director Bill Gibbons.
You can, of course, find plenty of impressive beaches without leaving British shores, but if you’re one of those who doesn’t feel as though they’re on holiday until they’ve crossed an expanse of water, the Channel Islands are an alternative, especially as they are blessed with warmer weather, and enough of their own quirky customs to make you feel you’re in a different country.
Condor Ferries depart from Weymouth, Poole and Portsmouth, fast ferries take two hours 10 minutes to Guernsey, and three hours 25 minutes to Jersey. A return to Jersey from Poole costs from 100 pounds for a foot passenger in July and 420 pounds for a family fare with a car.
For better odds of good weather, there are also the Isles of Scilly, 30 miles off the Cornish coast. They have their own unique climate, milder and with more sunshine than the UK. The archipelago has five inhabited islands, each with stunning beaches, plus more than a hundred other tiny islands to explore. The tourist board highlights Pentle Bay on the island of Tresco for a romantic beach walk, Great Bay on St Martin’s for swimming, and Great Par on Bryher for family beach fun.
Italy’s beaches take slightly longer to reach by rail, but more holidaymakers are choosing to reach them by train. Among the most popular beach resorts accessible by rail are Rimini on the Adriatic Sea, San Remo in Liguria and Viareggio or Forte dei Marmi on the Tuscan coast. Italian trains are so clean and comfortable that they often come as a revelation to British travellers! That’s probably due in no small part to the fact that the country has a very proud train-building industry, which even manufactured the tilting ‘Pendolino’ trains for Richard Branson’s Virgin Trains West Coast franchise.
A typical journey might be by overnight sleeper from Paris to Milan, then a further three-and-a-half to four-hour onward connection to Rimini.
Finally, both Belgium and Holland’s attractive sandy shores along the English Channel are easily accessible without heading to the airport. Noordwijk aan Zee in south Holland hosts the European Sand Sculptures Festival every September. The resort is just an hour’s drive from the Hook of Holland. There are also many attractive beaches and resorts within striking distance of Ostend, which is directly connected to the UK by ferry from Ramsgate.
So if you find flying a drag, and would prefer to keep your feet closer to the ground, you can still take off to some exciting destinations. See what deals are available and what they can offer you today, and start along the road to becoming a more eco-friendly holidaymaker.
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There are a range of cheap holidays on offer to everyone and with holidays to Majorca widely available now is the time to book.Tags: cheap holidays, holidays to Majorca