Travelling by rail

Our holidays include train journeys, wherever possible, as a more relaxing way to reach our destination. Long distance trains offer comfortable seats and more leg-room. You can get up and walk around whenever you like. There are opportunities to talk to fellow travellers when you feel like it or time to read a book when you do not. And while all travel impacts on the environment, rail travel is one of the more ecologically-responsible modes of transport.

Our journeys through the most scenic parts of the world are usually taken by day, and what you see from your seat is as much part of the holiday as arriving at the destination. We also feature trains that have an additional viewing car with extra large windows, a glass dome, or even an open-air section, so you can really appreciate the landscape. On some holidays our train is also our hotel, offering on-board dining in an elegant restaurant car before whisking us through the night to our next destination. It may be a traditionally-styled 'Palace on Wheels' or a sleek sleeper train. Each one is different and each holiday is unique.

For further information about the trains used in our European holidays click here.

For further information about the trains used in our Worldwide holidays click here.

For further information about St Pancras International and Ebbsfleet International click here.

Seating arrangements

We make our holiday arrangements and book our train seats over a year in advance. Booking this far in advance means that the train operators are not usually in a position to confirm individual seat requests. Often they simply don't know the format and configuration of the train so far ahead of the date of travel. This means that, whilst our booking is in place, it is impossible to guarantee individual requests, such as a forward-facing seat or to be seated with friends, although we will do our best to accommodate your requests. Your Tour Manager will endeavour to ensure that individual requests are respected whenever possible.

Trains are increasingly 100% non-smoking, but seats in non-smoking carriages cannot be guaranteed.

Great Rail Flights

Our Worldwide holidays by rail all involve air travel. For the majority of our Worldwide holidays, the flight 'out-and-back' is a convenient way to experience faraway destinations by rail. However, some holidays - such as those in Russia, Morocco and Greece - depart from London by train then return home using air travel. We choose scheduled airlines for our flight arrangements, and generally use British Airways or the national carrier of our host country. Wherever schedules permit, we choose convenient daytime departures. Our prices include seats in Economy Class, though many customers ask us to upgrade their flight booking. Flight upgrades are subject to availability and supplement costs are detailed on each tour page. We can also offer add-on flights from regional airports.

GRJ Hotels

We look for the perfect combination of location, facilities and value in the villages, towns and cities along our routes. We also look for hotels with character and style, service and warmth of welcome. Consequently there is no specific star rating or hotel chain that is the 'typical' GRJ hotel. Of course all our hotels provide rooms with ensuite facilities. The names and, where applicable, star ratings of hotels are shown in the individual hotel descriptions. Some hotels have rooms with specific features, such as ocean/lake view, or can offer larger suites. Where such upgrades are available, the cost is shown on the holiday page.

Flexible Arrangements

We are happy to make additional arrangements for you such as rail travel from your local station to London (or to Holyhead or Edinburgh for customers on our holidays to Ireland or Scotland), overnight stays at hotels in central London and London Heathrow and even tickets for a West End show. Where possible, we offer you the opportunity to upgrade to superior rooms at the hotels featured on your chosen holiday and give you the option of extending your time abroad by booking either an earlier departure date or a later return date. You may also wish to combine two or more tours to fully immerse yourself in the destination - this proves popular especially on our America and Canada programmes, where our tours in either the East or the West can be combined with a Coast to Coast tour.

See 'Things You Should Know' or contact us for details.

Single travellers

Great Rail Journeys are ideal for single travellers. There is always someone to talk to - if you want to - and our Tour Managers work hard to involve all passengers in arranged activities. On train journeys, our Tour Managers ensure single travellers are looked after as completely as all our customers. Although we have to pass on the extra cost for single occupancy of a hotel room or sleeper cabin, we try to keep such charges to the minimum.

Peace of mind with our Insurance

Good travel insurance is vital and is a requirement for all our holidays. You may find that you need to cancel your holiday after you have booked it (you should be reminded that all holiday deposits are non-refundable, but they may be claimed back via your holiday insurance policy). You may have a fall or become ill while on holiday and lost or stolen personal items may also be an issue whilst travelling - even on the best-organised holidays. See 'Things You Should Know' for further information about travel insurance and also a summary of the costs, cover and conditions of the particular policy we offer.

Professional and fully-protected

We are tour operator members of ABTA, the Association of British Travel Agents, and adhere to its strict code of conduct. Our ABTA number is V2170. For holidays by air, we are fully-bonded with the Civil Aviation Authority (ATOL licence number 3278) and you can be confident that, in the unlikely event of our insolvency, all monies paid to us in advance for a booking will be refunded or, if necessary, arrangements made for repatriation if you are already abroad. If you book a holiday with us that does not include air travel, our bonding with ABTA protects any monies paid to us.

Great Rail Journeys is also a member of the Association of Independent Tour Operators. AITO exists to promote the wide range of holidays available from the best of Britain's specialist companies. Click here for details of the AITO Quality Charter.

.