Europe Rail Holidays

Yes. Many European countries are connected by direct international trains, including high-speed services linking major cities and regional trains crossing neighbouring borders. Where a direct service isn’t available, journeys can usually be combined with straightforward connections, making it easy to include several countries in one holiday.

There’s no fixed limit, but we recommend balancing the number of destinations with enough time to enjoy each one. Two or three countries can combine particularly well, while longer holidays can take you much further across Europe. We can add extra nights and overnight stops to make longer journeys more relaxed, or create a faster-paced itinerary if you prefer.

It depends on the train and country. Reservations are compulsory on many high-speed, international and sleeper trains, while other services allow more flexibility. When we arrange your rail holiday, we’ll include the reservations required for your itinerary and explain how each journey works.

Yes. Sleeper trains connect a growing number of European cities and can be a memorable way to cover longer distances while you sleep. Routes and accommodation vary considerably, from couchettes to private sleeping compartments, so we’ll recommend sleeper services where they work well within your itinerary.

Many European rail journeys involve a change of train, particularly when travelling longer distances or crossing borders. We plan itineraries with sensible connection times and provide details of the trains and stations involved. Where appropriate, we can also break longer journeys with an overnight stay, turning the journey itself into part of the holiday.