Europe is covered by a fast and efficient rail network making it the best way to travel.
Train travel puts the excitement back into travel. It connects you to your surroundings in a way that flying over a country never can, and you can wander from car to car, grab a meal at the dining car or even catch up on some sleep on a sleeper train. Train travel is easy, it’s affordable and it is far more sustainable than burning up jet or car fuel. You can grab a sleeper train, watch the scenery flash past on a high-speed train, or travel like a local and get off in places you have never heard of just for the adventure.
Here are five reasons to get off the plane and onto the train when you visit Europe:
1. Take the path less travelled
Not all destinations have an airport. When you travel by train you can watch the country unfold before you, revealing little-known towns and stops along the way. You might be headed from Paris to Madrid but fall in love with the countryside around Lyon, just jump off and explore for yourself. Or you can stop off at Figueres in Spain and visit the museum that Salvador Dali built for himself before he died. Train travel gives you access to the quirky and the offbeat.
2. Travel like a local
Europeans also love their trains and you will find locals on board every step of the way. As you travel a country by rail you have time to get in touch with the culture, the food and the language as you sample destinations like a huge smorgasbord. One of the most scenic journeys is a Grand Train Tour of Switzerland where you can climb through incredible Alpine scenery or stop off in lakeside towns like Lucerne.
3. Walk to almost anywhere
Airports tend to be far from the action but a city’s central train station means you can often walk to the heart of town. Get dropped off in Waterloo or Kings Cross-St Pancras stations in London and you can be having a welcome pint in an English pub, or strolling through the greenery of Regents Park in no time at all.
4. Train travel is green travel
Sustainability is at the heart of rail travel because trains are efficient, they are responsible for fewer greenhouse gases than cars or planes– and they are moving tens of thousands of people an hour around the continent. Why not head to the Netherlands where you can bike around Amsterdam’s beautiful canals in search of the world-famous chips and mayo?
5. Rail Plus has a deal for you
One of the biggest benefits or rail travel is its affordability. With the European summer on the way. Rail Plus is offering its 12 destinations, 12 amazing deals packages to save you money. Keep an eye on the website for weekly deals across the whole of Europe as well as destination guides and itinerary suggestions.
Make your next European holiday a getaway where you discover more, for less, because you have put #trainsbeforeplanes.
For more information and to book head to Rail Plus’s 12 destinations, 12 amazing deals.
READ: Rail Plus has quadrupled Japan Rail Pass commissions
READ: Eurostar heads to Amsterdam
Why do you love travelling by train?
Written by Paul Chai, KarryOn contributor
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