Europe
» Rome & Venice: 7 Days 6 Nights
» Budapest: 5 Days & 4 Nights
» Paris & Istanbul: 10 Days & 9 Nights
» Vienna & Prague: 6 Days & 5 Nights
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» Marrakech Express in Spring
Rome & Venice: 7 days & 6 nights
Friday - Sunday: Flight London Gatwick to Rome. Stay three nights. Room category dependent on your hotel choice. Breakfast included. Optional sightseeing available.
Monday - Tuesday: Italian State Railways (1st Class) to Venice. Stay two nights. Room category dependent on your hotel choice. Breakfast included. Time in Venice at leisure - optional sightseeing available.
Wednesday: One night Venice Simplon-Orient-Express to London. Double compartment including all table d'hote meals.
Thursday: Arrive London Victoria around 5.30pm.
2010 Departure dates: September 17; October 08,15,22,29.
The above itinerary is also available with two nights in Rome and the Orient-Express from Rome to Venice, departing on October 15.
It is also possible to depart London on the Orient -Express for Venice and, after two nights, rejoin the train for Rome.
Departures on: October 14.
Wednesday - Friday: Fly London Heathrow to Budapest. Stay three nights. Room category dependent on your hotel choice.
Saturday: One night Venice Simplon-Orient-Express to London. Double compartment including all table d'hote meals.
Sunday: Arrive London
2010 Departure dates: September 15.
Paris & Istanbul: 10 days & 9 nights
Thursday: Eurostar (Leisure Select Class) to Paris. One night Paris at Le Meurice Hotel. Superior room. Breakfast included.
Friday: One night Venice Simplon-Orient-Express to Budapest. Double compartment including all table d'hote meals.
Saturday: One night Budapest at Hilton Hotel (or similar). Double room. Breakfast included. Dinner at local restaurant.
Sunday: Budapest sightseeing tour. One night Venice Simplon-Orient-Express to Bucharest. Double compartment including all table d'hote meals.
Monday: Visit to Peles Castle. One night Bucharest. Athenee Palace Hilton. Double room. Breakfast included. Bucharest orientation tour.
Tuesday: One night Venice Simplon-Orient-Express to Istanbul. Double compartment including all table d'hote meals. Visit to Varna on the Black Sea during the journey.
Wednesday - Friday: Three nights Istanbul at Ciragan Palace Hotel. Superior room with side Bosphorus view. Breakfast included. Full-city tour with lunch.
Saturday: Flight to London Heathrow.
2010 Departure dates: August 26
Vienna & Prague: 6 days & 5 nights
Tuesday: Fly London Heathrow to Vienna. Stay two nights. Room category dependent on your hotel choice. Breakfast included.
Wednesday: Day at leisure.
Thursday: Day journey on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express to Prague. Double compartment including table d'hote meals. Two nights in Prague. Room category dependent on your hotel choice. Breakfast included.
Friday: A tour of the Castle District is included this morning with your fellow travellers.
Saturday: One night Venice Simplon-Orient-Express to London. Double compartment including table d'hote meals.
Sunday: Arrive London.
2010 Departure dates: October 05.
Day 1: Lunchtime departure from London St. Pancras via the Channel Tunnel and Brussels to Aachen for an overnight stay.
Day 2: Free morning to explore the traffic free city centre before taking a train to Cologne. Then we head south west into the Eiffel region at Gerolstein.
Day 3: The dominant scenery in Gerolstein is upland agriculture land and foresr. The journey is an hour each way and provides an interesting reminder of a typical branch line of the "old days". There will be sufficient time to either expore Gerolstein or use your InterRail Pass for a trip on the main line.
Day 4: A relaxing morning journey via Trier will bring you to Cochem. There is time for an optional river cruise to Koblenz where you can catch the main train back to Cochem.
Day 5: The circular tour starts by heading back to Trier and then continuing along the scenic river valley towards Saarbrucken where you will have a two hour break. You will then head back to Bingen on the Rhine and meet up with the old paddle streamer "Goethe" for a cruise through the Rhine Girge past the Loreley Rock to St. Goar. Finally, you will join a train abd return to Cochem via Koblenz.
Day 6: Head to the capital city for a three night stay. A city transport pass for zones A, B and C will be included for thewhole of your stay. Your InterRail is also valid if you wish to travel further.
Day 9: Morning, you will reach Dresden. The afternoon is free to explore the city.
Day 10: Free day.
Day 11: A full day excursion by standard gauge train to Annaberg Bucholz and then coach transfer to the Pressnitztalbahn.
Day 12: You will take one of the paddle streamers to Bad Schandau where you will find that the sole tram roite from this small town is worked by vintage trams. After a resturn trip through a pleasant wooded valley, you will cross the Elbe by ferry and return to Dresden by train.
Day 13: Travel to the cathedral city of Cologne on a fast train and enjoy a leisurely evening.
Day 14: You will reach Wuppertal by main line train and ride the whole length of the route before returning to Cologne.
Day 15: You will retrace your steps via Aachen and Brussels to arrive in London in the early afternoon.
2010 Departure Dates: Thursday 9th September - Thursday 23rd September 2010
Day 1: Take the First Class Leisure Select seats on Eurostar leaving London St. Pancras at lunch time. After one change in Brussels we make our way to Luxemburg.
Day 2: We make our way to Wilderswil for a stay of 6 nights.
Day 3 - 7 : With a first class Swiss Pass you are free to explore with unlimited travel on trains, city, and post buses and trams.
Day 8: After a coach transfer to Interlaken we join our train for Luzern where we board the Voralpen Express. Rapperswil is our destination and we will be staying in this town for 4 nights.
Day 9 - 11: Day trip to St Moritz on New Year's Eve and on the return journey, we will feast in the dining car of the 1800 train departure from St Moritz.
2010 Departure Dates: Tuesday 22 December - Sunday 3 January 2011
Day 1: London to Madrid
We depart St Pancras International by Eurostar for Paris (First Class). After crossing Paris by coach, we join the overnight Francisco de Goya sleeper train for the journey to Madrid.
Day 2-3: Discovering Madrid
On arrival in Madrid we transfer to the Hotel Nacional for a two-night stay. Sightseeing on Day 2 includes the Plaza Mayor, the Prado Museum and the magnificent Royal Palace (entry fee not included). Day 3 is free for you to explore the vibrant Spanish capital and discover its superb selection of truly great art museums, stunning architecture, lively plazas and mighty boulevards.
Day 4-5: By train to RondaWe travel south by train to the beautiful town of Ronda, set in the heart of Andalucia, for a two-night stay at the Hotel Maestranza. On day 5 we take a sightseeing tour which includes a visit to the oldest bullring in Spain, the Mondragon Palace and Puente Nuevo, the bridgeover Ronda's famous gorge. The afternoon is free to explore.
Day 6: Morocco
Our journey continues to Tarifa, where we board the ferry and cross the Straits of Gibraltar to Tangier. We enjoy lunch here at a restaurant overlooking the beach before transferring to the station and joining the train to Rabat. We arrive in the evening after a scenic journey along the wild coastline, past primative settlements set amongst rich farmland. Our base for the two nights in Rabat is the Hotel Farah.
Day 7: Casablanca and Rabat
We travel to Casablanca by coach this morning to enjoy a fascinating tour of the city. We also visit the second largest mosque in the world. After lunch overlooking, the Atlantic we return to explore Rabat and visit the old medina, the Royal Palace of Hassan II and the Kasbah des Qudaia.
Day 8-9: MarrakechOn day 8 we depart Rabat by train and travel onwards the Atlas Mountains and the captivating city of Marrakech for our three night stay at the fabulous Es Saadi Hotel. Here we visit the magical Djemaa El Fna Square, an ancient meeting point for entertainers, dancers, acrobats, snake charmers and traders. On day 9 we take a sightseeing tour of Marrakech viewing the city's ramparts, minarets and tranquil gardens and visiting the vibrant souks of the medina. This evening we sample Moroccan cuisine and enjoy some traditional entertainment.
Day 10: The Atlas Mountains
We learn about the Berber people today during a fascinating excursion to the lush, green Ourika Valley, nestled between the majestic Atlas Mountains. The day includes a visit to a typical Berber home where we enjoy a cup of traditional mint tea, and a tour of the local market where you have the opportunity to buy Berber handicrafts.
Day 11: North to Fez
Today we travel through remote regions, major cities and rural landscapes before arriving in Fez. On aarival, we transfer to the Hotel Crown Palace Fes, located in the new town area of a three-night stay.
Day 12-13: Fez, Roman Volubilis and MeknesOn day 12 we enjoy a fascinating full day sightseeing tour of the old guilds, fortifications, souks and spice market of Fez, founded approximately in 809AD. Our full day excursion on day 13 takes us first to the imperial city of Meknes, built as important sights before moving on to Volubilis, a UNESCO World Heritage site and Morocco's most impressive Roman ruins.
Day 14-15 Fez to Seville
We leave Fez by train and travel north to Tangier on day 14 where we board the ferry to Tarifa. On arrival, we transfer by coach to the Hotel Tryp Macarena in Seville for a two-night stay. Our morning sightseeing tour on day 15 includes Seville's Royal Palace, the delightful Plaza de Espana, created for the 1929 Fair of the Americas, and the narrow, winding streets of the pretty Santa Cruz area. We finish our tour in front of the spectacular cathedral, which is lavishly decorated in gold and its bell tower, La Giralda, dominates the city skyline. The afternoon is free to explore at your leisure.
Day 16 - 17: Seville to London
We leave Seville by train to Madrid. Here we join the overnight sleeper service for the journey to Paris, in two-berth sleepers. There is a restaurant car on board. In Paris we transfer on Day 17 to the Eurostar (First Class) for St Pancras International.