As the nation (and indeed the world) marked David Attenborough’s 100th birthday earlier this month, we were reminded of the real impact each and every one of us can have on the planet, be it positive or negative. The way in which we choose to travel plays a huge part in this, and with soaring fuel prices and increasing global uncertainty to consider too, there has never been a better time to consider no-fly holidays. Domestic flights are one of the least carbon-efficient ways to travel, followed by long-haul international flights – even driving, provided you have two or more people in the car, is massively more efficient – and so cutting down on the number of flights you take is one of the easiest steps towards at least claiming a moral high ground in the face of climate change.
Alternatively, maybe you just hate flying (and airports) – or perhaps you’re feeling particularly intrepid after watching the latest BBC series of Race Across the World in which contestants traverse countries and continents without taking a single flight. Whatever your personal reason may be, the good news is that there is plenty of choice when it comes to holidays that don’t require flying. Better still, we have done the research – and the recces – for you and have rounded up our favourite no-fly holidays by road, sea and rail to help you plan your next adventure.
By road
If travelling by car, you of course have the entire UK at your disposal – from the wilds of Scotland to the near-tropical conditions of Cornwall in the summer – but why not venture further afield? The Eurotunnel is your first port of call for a road trip, as it whizzes you straight to Calais, from where Europe really is your oyster. With some well-placed stopovers, it is perfectly possible to get as far as Croatia or mainland Greece, but a journey of this length is certainly not for the faint-hearted.
Much more feasible is France, or northern Spain at a stretch. From Calais, you can easily reach Burgundy and the charming surrounds of the wine country in six hours or so, depending on traffic. With an early morning Eurotunnel, that means you can be at your holiday destination by about 4pm, with enough time to unpack, have a dip in the pool and then enjoy a relaxing pre-dinner drink on the terrace. If you’re new to cross-continent car holidays, that’s about as far as we’d suggest for your first trip, so the Loire Valley, Île de Ré and Alsace are all good options too.
If you’re a seasoned road-tripper, then you can of course go further. A recent tried-and-tested route taken by a member of the House & Garden team was Calais to Beaune, an overnight stop, and then another four-hour drive the next morning to reach heavenly Provence. It is the perfect length, as you then arrive in the sunny, wind-blown Provençal plains by lunchtime. Yes, you could get there in a single drive but it would be a gruelling nine hours or more and any traffic could make things rather hellish. On the way back, you could stop somewhere different to mix things up (Champagne is a lovely option for this route) while sticking to the formula of long first day drive and shorter second day. And the best thing about driving? You can load the car up with cases of wine, plaits of garlic and a small French pharmacy’s worth of savon de Marseille.
If you opt for the French car holiday (and you should, as it really is fantastic), there are two key things to remember. One, always pay for the toll roads – they’re expensive but boy are they worth it. Second, and as already suggested above, if you’re driving over two days, always try to do the bulk on the first day so your second drive is as short as it can be.
By sea
A ferry can take you pretty far, whether you travel by foot, with bikes or in the car. If you fancy Spain or the south of France but with less driving, the ferry drops you off a lot further than the Eurotunnel does – but the further you go, the higher the cost. For example, the 24-hour crossing from Portsmouth to Bilbao opens up a world of opportunity, from Asturias and the Basque Country all the way over to Portugal or Andalusia, but the journey is costly. Going to St Malo in Brittany means you can nip to Bordeaux easily in a day, or further still, then on to Barcelona, Biarritz or San Sebastian (one of the House & Garden team did this on their honeymoon, travelling from Portsmouth to St Malo overnight, down to Cap Ferret, on to San Sebastian then back to St Malo via the Ile de Ré and Brittany).
Beyond Europe, a ferry will get you to some pretty good islands that don’t allow cars. The Isles of Scilly, near Cornwall, for example, are paradisiacal but you can only go on foot or with a bike. Similarly, places like Herm in the channel islands offer expanses of empty sandy beaches (there are few locals and fewer places to stay) and quad bikes or tractors to transport your luggage.
By rail
The received wisdom of train travel on the continent has been: northern Europe good, southern Europe bad. However, the truth is that Italian and Spanish high-speed rail has long since upped its game to compete with the sleek – dare-we-say efficient – service you might stereotypically expect from Germany, France or the Netherlands. Start from London and take the Eurostar to either Paris or Amsterdam. The former will take you roughly two-and-a-half hours, and the latter just under four. Your options from here are essentially two-pronged, depending on which city you start from – or, of course, you can just stay in the French or Dutch capitals.
From Paris, the TGV will whisk you to any corner of France you choose in half a day or less, including Avignon, for the aforementioned Provençal holiday but without a car. Nantes and Brest beckon if you fancy a seaside trip to Brittany, or La Rochelle for the Bay of Biscay and the Île de Ré (hire a bike when you’re there to get around on its plentiful bicycle paths). Heading further south into Spain or Portugal from France will require at least an extra day, so consider picking a smaller city for an overnight stay – a couple of nights in the deeply charming university town of Montpellier would be our choice, before an onwards trip to Barcelona or the Costa Brava. Otherwise, you could go via Lyon and Turin to Milan, and to see the city’s sights the very next morning.
From Amsterdam, on the other hand, it’s a little over six hours on the high-speed train to Berlin Hauptbahnhof (in other words, catch a Eurostar in London at 8am and you will be in Berlin by early evening). Other German cities are closer, including historic Hamburg (under six hours) and Bremen (four-and-a-half hours). If you decide to turn south and head towards the Alps, spend the afternoon in Amsterdam itself then book the eight-hour sleeper train from Amsterdam Centraal to Munich Hauptbahnhof, which goes through the heart of western Germany’s industrial crucibles, via Dusseldorf, Cologne and Frankfurt. From Munich, it’s an hour and a little bit to palatial Salzburg across the Austrian border – perfect for a day trip – and even less to nearby Ulm and Augsburg.
Anything much further west than the German border with Poland becomes a little slower, but Vienna and Budapest are still very accessible, as is Prague, which is best reached by a four-ish-hour train from Berlin. Train holidays to France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and even northern Italy and Spain, are easily doable in three days, provided you enjoy the actual experience of being on the train, reading, chatting, eating and relaxing, as much as strolling city centres. Further afield, you should take a week and make a proper grand tour of it.
Train travel can undeniably be more expensive than budget flights, but booking savvily and long in advance mitigates the worst ticket prices, and the offering is different, anyway: a long train line with multiple stops means you can see lots of towns on the same trip, perhaps spending a night in each over the course of a week.
