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TRANSPORT - NO FLY ZONE: PLAN AND BOOK YOUR TRAVEL WITH OUR HELP Information and links for rail, coach, hire car and ferry services.
Air travel is the fastest growing cause of global warming. So ditch the jet set and plan your holidays with our guide to getting there by train, by coach and by sea.
If you do choose to fly, click here for eco-friendly tips. TAKE THE TRAIN Get on the right track and travel by rail. The advantages? You can stretch your legs and enjoy the view. And there’s no jet lag.
Is it eco-friendly? Compared with flying, you bet!
For mainland UK journeys you can plan your trip, check train times and fares and buy tickets onThe Trainline. Another useful website is National Rail although you can’t buy tickets there.
In Northern Ireland Translink runs NI Railways which is integrated with the company’s bus services so you can reach every corner of every County in a couple of hours.
For trains to Europe from the UK the starting point is the channel tunnel with fast trains from London and Kent by Eurostar. Or if you want to take your car you can go by Eurotunnel with journeys between Folkestone and Calais taking 35 minutes. Book with them direct or with Cheap4Ferries.com. Across Europe the network of high speed trains is rapidly expanding. In July 2007 this was been given a massive boost with the news that seven countries have joined forces in a venture called Railteam. It will mean faster journeys, for instance from London to Frankfurt in less than 5 hours, and lower fares. This will step up the competition with the budget airlines and bring significant environmental benefits.
Rail Europe is a subsidiary of French Railways and a major supplier of schedules and tickets for travel to France and many other countries.
For worldwide information and inspiration it’s hard to beat The Man on seat 61 for a brilliant insider’s guide to rail travel. For an extensive guide to train travel in North America visit USA by Rail.
GO BY COACH Be a coach potato!
So says National Express which operates the largest coach network in the UK. Joking aside, this is a great way to travel across most parts of the country. It can be much cheaper than the train but can also be a bit cramped and slower.
Plus it’s eco-friendly - compared with flying.
For low cost inter city travel Megabus runs a smaller but growing network across mainland Britain.
Scottish Citylink is Scotland's leading express coach service to 200 towns and cities.
In Northern Ireland Ulsterbus connects all the main towns and villages.
For European coach bookings try Eurolines which is owned by National Express - just click on "Europe" on its Home Page. This groups together 32 independent coach companies which operate Europe's largest regular coach network connecting over 500 destinations covering the whole of the continent including Athens and Moscow and even destinations in Morocco. Leading car rental firm Holiday Autos has launched a new range of hybrid cars which are available for pick up in the UK, France, Sweden, and Ireland.
The hybrids on offer vary by country and can be bio-ethanol, or combine an electrical motor and a petrol engine. They include the Toyota Prius, Ford Focus, Ford Focus C-Max, Volvo S40, Volvo V50 and Saab 9-5.
Prices for a hybrid car start from £23 per day, based on a seven-day car rental of a Ford Focus in France.
SET SAIL
Ahoy me hearties! Find your sea legs with extensive services within the UK and to several foreign destinations, near and far.
Compared with flying, this can be a much more eco-friendly way to travel.
International ferry services
Brittany Ferries sail from Portsmouth, Poole and Plymouth to Cherbourg, Caen, Roscoff, St Malo in France and Santander in northern Spain. Book with them direct or with Cheap4Ferries.com
Condor Ferries sail from Poole, Weymouth and Portsmouth to St Malo and Cherbourg in France, to Guernsey and Jersey in the Channel Islands. Book with them direct or with Cheap4Ferries.com
DFDS Seaways offer sea crossings from Newcastle to Stavanger, Haugesund and Bergen in Norway, to Amsterdam in Holland and from Harwich to Esbjerg in Denmark. Book with them direct or with Cheap4Ferries.com
Irish Ferries operate between Wales and Ireland, with services from Holyhead to Dublin and Pembroke to Rosslare. It also sails from Ireland to France between Rosslare and Cherbourg or Roscoff. Book with them direct or with Cheap4Ferries.com
Norfolkline operates regular cross channel ferries between Dover and Dunkirk in France and Irish Sea ferry services from Liverpool to both Belfast and Dublin. Book with them direct or with Cheap4Ferries.com
P&O Ferries sails from Dover to Calais in France, from Hull to Rotterdam in Holland and Zeebrugge in Belgium, and from Portsmouth to Bilbao in Spain. Across the Irish Sea P&O operates between Liverpool and Dublin and Scotland-Ireland services between Larne and Troon or Cairnryan.
SeaFrance runs frequent services between Dover and Calais in France.
Speed Ferries offers fast sailings between Dover and Boulogne in France. Book with them direct or with Cheap4Ferries.com
Stena Line sails between Harwich and Hook of Holland, Fishguard and Rosslare, Fleetwood and Larne, Holyhead and Dun Laoghaire or Dublin Port, and between Stranraer and Belfast. Book with them direct or with Cheap4Ferries.com
Superfast Ferries links Scotland and Belgium with direct sailings between Rosyth and Zeebrugge. Book with them direct or with Cheap4Ferries.com
Other ferry services
Caledonian MacBrayne sails to twenty-two islands and four peninsulas on Scotland's West Coast. From Arran in the south to Lewis in the north, its network covers some of the most beautiful and dramatic places in Scotland.
Hovertravel runs a hovercraft service across the Solent from Southsea to Ryde on the Isle of Wight.
Isle of Man Steam Packet Company operates between the Isle of Man and Liverpool, Heysham, Belfast and Dublin. Book with them direct or with Cheap4Ferries.com
Isle of Sark Shipping Company runs a year round Channel Islands service between Guernsey and Sark.
Isle of Scilly Steamship Group provides a ferry service between Penzance and the Isles of Scilly.
John O'Groats Ferries operates a daily link from John O' Groats in the Far North of Scotland to Orkney throughout the summer.
Lundy Company sails between Lundy Island and Bideford or Ilfracombe in Devon.
NorthLink Ferries sails up to three times each day from Scrabster near Thurso to Stromness in Orkney and nightly from Aberdeen to Lerwick in Shetland - with four of these sailings going via Orkney's capital, Kirkwall.
Red Funnel sails year round from Southampton to East Cowes and West Cowes on the Isle of Wight. Book with them direct or with Cheap4Ferries.com
Wightlink operates a round-the-clock service between the English mainland and the Isle of Wight on three routes across the Solent between Portsmouth and Fishbourne or Ryde and between Lymington and Yarmouth. Book with them direct or with Cheap4Ferries.com
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