ABOUT US

We know the way we explore the world right now isn’t sustainable. We also know what makes an incredible travel experience. Often it’s the things that you didn’t see coming – the sunset from your train window, or the spontaneous bottle of wine shared with new friends. It’s not always perfect, but it’s the way memories get made.

Travelling by train is the best alternative to flying that we currently have available. For example, travelling by Eurostar produces 90% less Co2 emissions than flying from London to Paris.

Stations are generally located in city centres, saving you travel time and reducing vehicle travel to and from airports.

It’s also romantic, atmospheric and relaxing – not just a means of transport, but part of an immersive travel experience.

We are committed to being a sustainable travel company, and as a result it is our mission to make rail holidays a really exciting alternative to flying. You can read more about our sustainability manifesto here.

With many years of industry experience, we think we’ve cracked what makes an extraordinary and truly sustainable travel experience.

• All our trips are independent to give you freedom and flexibility. For the most part, you’ll travel without a guide, but you’ll always be able to contact our expert team for help if you need it.
• We include all overland travel (usually by train, occasionally ferry or coach), comfortable independent accommodation and we offer optional activities.
• Our trips are mid-range, but we believe their luxury lies in the charm, human connection and truly special moments which we carefully curate.

We are particularly proud of our optional guided activities and tours, available to add to your trip. Our activities are carefully selected both for their value as an experience, and for the values of our partners who run them. Guides are a vital part of the travel world, so we always offer you the opportunity to meet local people and learn from their insights and perspective.

Since we are a team of experts who love to chat about travel, we are also very happy to offer upgrades or special activity requests – just ask us. Our extensive contact list means it’s pretty likely we will be able to accommodate your special interest! Please note though that we are sustainable as a priority – so we do not offer activities or services which contradict our values.

More questions? Just get in touch by emailing [email protected] or using the chat function on the website.

Tourism globally can do good. We know that it plays an important role in the world economy, and provides opportunities to empower local communities and preserve cultures. We do not believe that flying must stop completely – however, our current levels of air travel are unsustainable. Here’s a quick overview – or read more here.

Globally, 2-3% of all C02 emissions are produced as a result of aviation. In the UK, it’s 7-8%. Taking just 3 or more flights per year means you are in the top 1% of air passengers worldwide who create 50% of aviation emissions.

Sustainable aviation is still a long way off: the climate crisis is happening now, and we don’t have time to wait 30 years for it to become standard. While not many governments promote them, we already have alternatives which allow us to travel with lower emissions right now.

As part of the extremely privileged group who are able to travel regularly, we believe we have a duty to do so with care and respect for our world. Choosing to fly less and travel sustainably is one of the biggest single actions that you as an individual can take to promote not just climate action, but also social justice. We are here to provide options that make that choice both easy and inspiring.

While we recognise that the journey is not straightforward, we are guided by the three pillars of sustainable travel (Economic, Social and Environmental impact) in how we create our trips. This means we minimise our environmental impact, and maximise social and economic investment in our destinations. We also hope to go beyond this, and to create meaningful connections between people and places that positively impact the wellbeing of everyone involved.

Covid-19 has affected every aspect of the travel industry, from booking conditions to operations. Ultimately we don’t know what the future holds, but we hope that before long we will be able to start travelling more normally again. There are several ways our trips are well suited towards the post-covid era:

• Our trips are self guided, meaning you won’t stay in accommodation or share private vehicles with large groups of people.
• We focus on private and small group activities, many of which involve outdoor activities, for example city tours or visiting local producers. Activities can be adapted depending on Covid regulations, for example we can make an activity private, ensure you can sit outside where necessary etc.
• We don’t use any flights in our trips. You will travel by train, ferry, bus or occasionally taxi. In each case, providers must comply with Covid safety regulations at a national and local level. We monitor the level of public transport use across Europe and proactively ask for feedback about feelings of safety and comfort on board.
• Our flexible booking conditions allow you to reschedule your trip if necessary up to two weeks before travel.
• We are small and personal – we are more than happy to talk through any concerns you might have in booking a trip. Just email [email protected], or use the online chat function to talk with us.

The first reason for being a membership club is to help inspire lasting change in travel habits for our members. We know that many of our customers are looking to cut back on their flying. Having the support of a community which provides encouragement, inspiration and flight-free trips makes it much easier to maintain your commitment.

Secondly, because of our commitment to sustainable travel, we try to work directly with local suppliers wherever possible to ensure that they receive as much economic and social benefit as possible.

This way of working means that the number of passengers who can travel at any one time is limited to the number of spaces our suppliers have available.

A membership structure helps us to manage this in three ways:

1. We are able to see how many people each year are interested in booking a trip. This helps us to understand the level of demand we have to serve, and work with suppliers accordingly.
2. We are able to manage demand by offering priority booking to our members, those who are interested in our vision.
3. Travel is a seasonal business. While we aim to encourage off-peak travel where possible, we appreciate many people are restricted to certain times, or prefer to travel during summer. Being a membership organisation helps us to sustain ourselves and our suppliers through quieter times of years, while also offering additional perks and benefits to our loyal supporters.

We would love to chat to you and answer any questions you may have. You can email us at [email protected], use the form below, or message us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter – where you’ll also find regular updates and inspiration from us.