What we learned from Travel Geeks: Europe: by road, rail and sea
Three experts in flight-free travel joined the National Geographic Traveller (UK) Travel Geeks panel on 1 November to share their experiences of travelling 鈥楨urope: by road, rail and sea鈥�.
Food by National Geographic Traveller (UK) editor, Glen Mutel steered the discussion quizzing the panel on everything from new and interesting routes to their all-time favourite flight-free trips.
Here鈥檚 some of the great advice they shared:
– When asked to recommend a good weekend destination for no-fly beginners, Helen Coffey, travel editor at The Independent said: 鈥淩otterdam (or anywhere in the Netherlands); Antwerp or Bruges in Belgium; the OG, Paris!鈥�
– Writer and videographer Richard Hammond told viewers to look out for new sleeper train services popping up across Europe, such as the EuroNight service between Stockholm and Hamburg (enabling travel by train between London and Stockholm within 24 hours), and the launch of Midnight Trains in 2024.
– Train and ferry trips 鈥減rovide great leisure time,鈥� said Richard. Helen loves nothing more than being 鈥渃ompletely uncontactable鈥� for short bursts at sea. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just about getting from hotspot to hotspot, it鈥檚 all about those in-between places,鈥� added freelance journalist, Rebecca Lowe.
– Overland travel doesn鈥檛 have to be expensive. Sign up for alerts on train ticket websites, try split ticketing and be flexible about your dates to get a better deal.
– Hostels aren鈥檛 just for young people 鈥� they鈥檙e great for anyone travelling on a budget.
– You don鈥檛 have to be a pro-cycler to attempt a trip like Rebecca鈥檚. 鈥淭he wonderful thing about going through Europe is you can start from outside your front door, and you can learn on the road鈥� 鈥� which is exactly what she did.
– Jumping into more terrestrial forms of travel like train, ferry, bus and bike imbues journeys with a newfound quality of delight, adventure, and the thrill of anticipation. And that goes right from the planning stages to the trip itself.
A recording of last night鈥檚 session is . and fill out our feedback survey for the chance to win one of 10 pairs of free Food Festival tickets.
Plus! Keep your eyes peeled for the next session of Travel Geeks, coming up soon鈥�