Any views on rail holidays?

I don't know if you saw my post re the two programs on channel 4. They look so interesting and calming

I would love to do it

JaneJudge I did. It was one to Switzerland I was thinking about. Some early starts and long days on a train. We're still not sure.

We love rail holidays. We use the same 'carry on' wheeled cases as when we fly. Smaller cases, less to carry. We have got a lot better at packing and knowing what to take and what to leave at home. It can be done.

What Marmin says……….smaller cases, capsule wardrobe and small quantities of toiletries.

Several experiences of fairly long rail journeys. The Rocky Mountaineer Vancouver to Banff. We were really looking forward to this part of our Canadian holiday. In fact it was quite monotonous, we didn't see anything exciting like bears. Part of the package was an overnight stop in a hotel in Kamloops and we were glad to get off it by then for a break. The train was often going at a very slow pace stuck behind goods trains. The duration was almost two days, far more boring than I thought it would be.

Two shorter journeys, New York to Savannah by Amtrak, left NY mid afternoon and arrived about 6 in the morning. Enjoyed that experience, saw a lot it didn't get dark till we got past Washington.

Paris to Verona, left early evening arrived somewhere between 6 and 7 am. Again like the last one I enjoyed it, we had a sleeper cabin in both of the last two mentioned and had an evening meal in their dining carriage. Yes there was a certain amount of lugging luggage on and off. I'm not sure I'd want to do a continuous rail journey of say 7 days or so, although I do like trains and having watched the Nordic train journey on Channel 4, I think it would be nice to do something like that.

I did the journey from London to Salzburg in the summer. We stopped overnight in Zurich. It was a wonderful experience and one I would do again, though maybe into Italy this time.
Because it was summer we didn't need much luggage, it really wasn't a problem but I'm mot sure about longer journeys...

We did the California Zephyr from San Francisco to Chicago, a fairly leisurely 3 day + trip, very varied scenery, we got off half way hired a car and spent 4 days in the Colorado mountains then on to Chicago.
Not expensive either

Nearly every year, we go to the south of France by rail. Eurostar to France, an overnight hotel near to Gare to Lyon and then four hours or so down to the coast. We’ve done this for years nd it’s always been great. It is getting busier now though…but isn’t travel everywhere.

I would never do a rail holiday to Switerland again. The territory of Switzerland consistsof parallel ranges of mountains with parallel valleys (obviously) and we spent hours everyday travelling up valleys and down vlleys to get to our destination.

We went on the Glacier Express, it was superb, but it took 4.5 hours to get there and 30 minutes from the other end to our hotel. Makee sure your hotel is near the station.

Lugging your luggage is not easy if you have any kind of disability. For example, we have stopped doing railholidays because of DH's heart problems. he cannot walk fast and certainly cannot pull a suitcase.

We went on other rail holidays to the pyrenees, which were very good and the train was only use dto get from London to Perpignon. After that we had only coach journeys.

If it is the case lugging that is a problem, then consider a river cruise. We wnt on the RHine and Moselle lst year. Our case was picked up at our joining point, at a motorway service station on the M4 and after that, the only time we saw it was when it was in our rooms at the various hotels we stayed in on the journey there and back

We’ve only done one rail journey holiday, to Switzerland last year. It involved an overnight stop in Strasbourg on the way there and one in Basel on the way back. For the rest we stayed in one hotel and had daily trips out by rail to different places (including one on the Glacier Express).

The Swiss scenery was gorgeous and destinations were fine. Travel light is excellent advice, though, for extra payment it was possible to have luggage delivered straight to the Swiss hotel so only an overnight bag would be needed for the two other stops.

I wasn’t very mobile as it was just before my hip replacement op. I would have got more out of it had I been able to walk more, but I did enjoy what I could do.

I think you just have to pick your holiday carefully.

We did quite a few rail journeys when we were younger and fitter, which meant we were helping those who weren’t, this wasn’t a problem, unless as sometimes happened we were changing platforms or trains and time was limited.

We did enjoy the holidays on the whole.

I loved the Rocky Mountaineer.

Thanks for helpful responses. Will think about it. We've done every possible river cruise, some twice, so really want a change.

Many years ago, DH and I did a rail journey around Europe. We went to France, Spain, Austria, Switzerland and Germany. We did 2 days in each country.

The booking process was fantastic. At the time, Leeds railway station had an international booking desk.

We presented the clerk with a list of hotels we wanted, and he told us to go for a coffee and to come by in an hour.

After an hour we went back and all our tickets were ready.

It was amazing, and wouldn't happen today.

Gosh. That sounds great. Very impressive booking office.

Another one who loved the Rocky Mountaineer. Banff to Vancouver

I did a rail holiday in Switzerland about 10 years ago and, to be honest, would probably not do it again now. My husband had mobility impairments and found it more of a struggle than he'd anticipated. I think now I'm 10 years older with a dodgy hip and creaky knees, I'd have similar difficulties. I'd also agree with what M0nica said above - there's an awful lot of trains up the mountain, trains down to the valley and, as you get more tired, all the mountains and valleys start to look a bit alike!

I'm not advertising and have no connection with the company except as a satisfied customer but, if you like railways, have a look at Inside Track railway holidays. They're a small and specialised company who offer something a bit "different": railway travel, railway and industrial history; scenic locations, excellent hotels and, once you've arrived at the starting point, no hauling of luggage. They offer coach transfers between hotels and stations and between places of interest where trains aren't practical or practicable. Yes, they're not cheap but you do get what you pay for. 🙂
There are holidays in Britain and in mainland Europe and I've been on many, both with my husband and, since his death, either alone or with a woman friend. (Feel free to PM me if there's anything else I can tell you).
railwayholidays.com/

I want to do the Royal Scotsman sleeper train, having been looking on line wow ££££ 🙀

We did a Great Rail Journeys trip that sounds similar to yours MaizieD.
We took advantage of the offer to send our suitcases on ahead to the hôtel, so we just had a small one for the overnight in Strasbourg.
We really enjoyed it, especially the trip through the ice cave with all the ice sculptures up the Jungfraujoch and the lake trip on the Brienzerzee.
There was a couple on the trip with a rollator, but apart from getting on and off cable cars, they didn’t seem to have many problems.

I have been on several with Mr M. Absolutely love them. River cruises are great too.