Flight free vacations travel guide
Fallen out of love with flying? You’re not the only one. From the moment you enter the airport it’s a painful experience. Slow-moving check-in queues, liquid bans, irritating weight limits, security checks, delays, the joy of trying to find space in the overhead lockers. And that’s before we get on to the carbon footprint of air travel. So why bother?
Going flight free isn’t just more eco-friendly and less of a hassle. It restores a sense of romance and adventure to travel.![]()
When you treat the journey to your destination as part of the vacation, getting there becomes far more relaxed and pleasant. In this guide we’ll show you how easy it can be to travel around Europe – and beyond – from the UK, with expert advice from our responsible tourism partners and inspiring itinerary ideas. The sky’s the limit when you stay on the ground.
Read our flight free vacations travel guide for more details.
Flight free vacations are…
eco-friendly, fun and easier to organise than you might think.
Flight free vacations aren’t…
about ‘shaming’, but fast and cheap aren’t always best.
Our Flight free Vacations
Flight free England to Iceland vacation
Amazing opportunity to travel flight free to Iceland
From
£4980
15 days
ex flights
Normandy cycling vacation, Bayeux & beaches
Explore a rich history cycling Normandy's beaches
From
£1085 to £1590
6 days
return by train
Amalfi coast family vacation in Italy
Pompeii, Mt Vesuvius and the dramatic Amalfi Coast
From
US $2099 to US $2249
8 days
ex flights
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania small group tour
Explore the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
From
£2875 to £3165
14 days
ex flights
Bath, Devon & Cornwall escorted rail tour
Visit Bath, Devon & Cornwall by train
From
£2295 to £2455
6 days
ex flights
Côtes du Rhône cycling vacation in France
Soak up Provençal history cycling in Côtes du Rhône
From
£1145 to £2420
8 days
return by train
What do flight free vacations entail?
Aha, you cry, the clue is in the name! And you’d be right. But it’s not quite as simple as cutting out the flights; it’s also about thinking how you can still get to where you want to go without flying. These are vacations where you reach your destination by road, rail or boat rather than going by air.
Now, we’re not expecting this travel guide to convince you never to fly again. But if you’re reading this, then the chances are that you’re already thinking about at least reducing the amount you fly, quite possibly for environmental reasons. While this might seem a bit odd and counterproductive for a travel company – we actually think it would be great if everyone flew less.
So we hope this guide will do three things: 1) assure you that flying less is a great thing to accomplish; 2) show you that going flight free doesn’t mean limiting your travel ambitions; 3) give you some practical advice on where and how to get started.
Now, we’re not expecting this travel guide to convince you never to fly again. But if you’re reading this, then the chances are that you’re already thinking about at least reducing the amount you fly, quite possibly for environmental reasons. While this might seem a bit odd and counterproductive for a travel company – we actually think it would be great if everyone flew less.
So we hope this guide will do three things: 1) assure you that flying less is a great thing to accomplish; 2) show you that going flight free doesn’t mean limiting your travel ambitions; 3) give you some practical advice on where and how to get started.
Getting ahead of yourself
Our flight free vacations are for the most part to destinations across Europe that can be reached within 72 hours at a leisurely pace. After all, if you’re committing to going flight free, why rush it? But as you’ll see when reading about long-haul rail journeys, there’s nothing to stop the more ambitious among you from setting your sights a little higher. If you’re confident with getting around Spain by rail, who’s to say you can’t add on a boat transfer to the Balearics or Morocco? Or if you’re comfortable with taking the iconic Trans Mongolian Railway then why not continue on past Beijing?
How our responsible tour operators can help
Many of the vacations on our website offer discounts to travelers who can prove that they’ve arrived by train, as part of their own commitments to sustainability. We also have travel partners, several of whom you’ll hear from in this guide, that go one step further. They can help you get to your vacation by rail, road or boat with expert advice you can rely on, and in some cases they’ll make all the booking arrangements for you. You can opt for Grand Tour-like train odysseys around the great European capitals with an Interrailing vacation, or a well off-the-beaten-track adventure to Georgia, Iran, or even the Arctic that will have you regaling dinner parties for years to come.Our top Flight free Vacation
Flight free England to Iceland vacation
Amazing opportunity to travel flight free to Iceland
From
£4980
15 days
ex flights
Tailor made:
This trip can be tailor made throughout the year to suit your requirements
This trip can be tailor made throughout the year to suit your requirements
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about Flight free or need help finding a vacation to suit you we're very happy to help.
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Flight free family vacations
The more kids you have, the less economical flying starts to look. Flight free vacations can be fab for families: you can easily get younger kids deep into France and beyond, breaking up the journey with a hotel stay here and there. They can wander (adult in tow) safely up and down the train corridors to their hearts’ content. Kids aged nine and upwards should be fine traveling longer distances, and watching scenery drift by over a few games of cards is a much preferable way to spend time together as a family instead of sitting bored in the departures lounge at the airport.Very moreish
Yes, it’s almost always cheaper and faster to fly. But this guide aims to show you that it’s rarely the best way to travel. Going flight free is more comfortable, more relaxing, more adventurous, more scenic, more fun and more romantic. It is for those who want to savour the journey just as much as the vacation itself.More about Flight free
Thinking about going flight free? You might be surprised at how far you can get and how easy it is to get there.
Flight free vacations to Spain are easy, with rail connections from the UK through Paris, or by sea to Northern Spain.
Our flight free vacations to Portugal can get you from the UK to Lisbon in 24 hours by train.
Flight free vacations to Sweden offer plenty of options for stopovers in Europe along the way.
Flight free rail vacations allow you to get your cultural fix by visiting several European cities in a short space of time.
With long-haul flight free vacations, it’s always about the journey rather than the destination.
We’ve put together some tips and advice for flight free vacations from our specialist tour operators.
We explore some of the key issues around responsible travel on flight free vacations.
Our best flight free vacations give travelers the chance to do just that: travel without flying.
