An Unforgettable Family Train Vacation in Europe: Four Countries, Eight Cities and Many Trains
Have you ever wanted to plan a customized train vacation to Europe but don’t quite know where to begin? Here at Railbookers, our main goal is to make sure that you can travel through Europe your way, on your terms. You should have the vacation of a lifetime. Everything should be planned to your exact specifications. And we do absolutely everything to ensure that. There are plenty of reasons to customize your train vacation. For starters, it gives you flexibility and control over what you’ll be doing and how much time you’ll spend doing it. Customized train vacations also allow you to travel to multiple destinations, add on exciting excursions, take a luxury or iconic train and choose your restaurants and hotels, and combine already set itineraries. Or, enjoy one in reverse, take a river cruise, and add on a getaway to the beginning, middle, or end of your trip. The best way to make the most of any train vacation is to understand which destinations you want to visit, what makes each destination on your itinerary special, which route is the most scenic, and what kind of sightseeing you’d like to do or what foods you’d like to sample, and what you’d like to skip altogether. What if planning and booking a multi-country European train vacation was easy to do? Well, we’ll let you in on a little secret … it is!
Last summer Elizabeth Russell-Jones and her family booked a customized train vacation to London, Paris, Zermatt, St. Moritz, Lake Como, La Spezia, and Venice with Railbookers. Needless to say, they experienced the European train vacation of their dreams. Their mantra before they left? "We will never be the same because of the things we will see and do." This mantra proved to be correct.
One Family's Train Vacation Journey Through Europe
What were your thoughts when you began planning your trip?
I became aware of Railbookers while reading a positive review from a traveler on TripAdvisor. When I first visited the Railbookers site, I submitted a question online. The next day, an Inside Sales Supervisor, Kelly Cronin, emailed me and our planning started. Kelly was VERY patient with me as I explained our desire to travel as a family. She listened to my ideas and then offered additional options as we started to build our family’s “trip of a lifetime” together. Our trip was a success before we even left home. With Kelly’s excitement, insight, and energy, I felt very confident that we had made the right choice by planning our trip with Railbookers.
How did you prepare your luggage for your trip?
Traveling can be quite challenging when you're trying to maneuver around Europe with large luggage. We each had a one-wheeled, carry-on suitcase and a small backpack that we could strap to the carry-on. We always managed to get our luggage on and were strategic to get space on the trains before people brought their very large steamer trunks onboard. We were happy that we chose to travel light as opposed to backpacks since our travels were during the hottest weeks of the year and we were able to manage the carry-ons down cobblestone streets.
What was your experience onboard the train(s) like during your vacation?
The goal for our trip was to rest and recoup while seeing beautiful scenery and visiting new places. Since my husband travels internationally for work, I didn’t want him to have to drive and manage directions while trying to take a breather from everyday work. So taking the train was a great opportunity for my husband and for us to rest while visiting new cities and seeing those beautiful views we wanted while on our vacation. Our 14-year-old daughter also said it was a great time to catch up on sleep, read her summer assignment, and when finished she would arrive in a new place.
What was the best part of your Eurostar journey from London to Paris?
This is how the whole trip started. We try to visit England once a year since my husband is from England. I have always wanted to take the Eurostar to Paris. When I mentioned this to Kelly, our dreams started to become a reality. The Eurostar was prompt and easy. It felt like boarding an airline since Eurostar asks that you arrive one hour in advance before going through security and passport control. It was fun to leave London, travel through small villages, go under the Channel Tunnel, and then arrive in a new country—right in the middle of a new city!
What about through Switzerland?
The trains were immaculate, comfortable, ALWAYS on-time, and provided good service. The scenery during our journeys was like being a part of the Discovery Channel. The views were spectacular!
We will never be the same after the trip that Railbookers helped us plan. It was so wonderful.
Which destination stands out the most? On the train? Where did you create the most memories with your family?
One of our favorite memories is Zermatt. Kelly helped us plan a trip to Gornergrat via the funicular where we enjoyed lunch and a beautiful panoramic view of the Matterhorn. We loved our hotel because when we opened our patio door, we could hear the bells of the cows on the side of the mountain, smell the fresh air, and see the glacier.
Our trip to St. Moritz was a surprise. We had planned to rest and do laundry since it was in the middle of our journey. However, it turned out that the mountain behind us had free gondola and funicular rides to the top. We shared the rides with countless mountain bikers. Since I am a mountain biker, it was amazing to be around so many people both young and old enjoying my favorite sport! It was one of my favorite memories.
What are three things you think other travelers would love about your trip?
The Bernina Express! If you only have a short time to travel in Switzerland, take this train ride. The views and the overall experience was breathtaking! If you plan it correctly, you can even sit in the last few cars that are totally open. There are no doors, windows, or ceilings. There is fresh air all around you.
Our travel was stress-free and organized and took us away from day to day decisions. Our trip was much easier than we expected. The itinerary was very-well planned by Kelly and had absolutely no challenges. It was easy to navigate the stations and hotels.
Is there anything that surprised you during the different journeys? Is there anything you wish you’d known beforehand?
The Italian railways were not what we expected. The standards and cleanliness was substantially different in Switzerland. Traveling in late July/early August proved to be a busy time for tourism.
Do you have any tips or advice to offer someone thinking about taking the same customized train vacation?
Do it! Determine carefully your budget and the cities you would like to visit. This is really important since you know what kind of trip that you have been dreaming about. Make sure to enjoy unique things within the cities you visit. Yes, museums and cathedrals are wonderful but don’t forget about taking a cooking class or wine tasting. If you don’t know what you might like, a Rail Expert can help you discover ideas. Kelly helped us book a number of excursions like food tasting, a walking tour, and a gondola ride in Venice.
What did you and your family think of your hotel accommodations that were booked?
Our hotels were in the BEST possible locations. The hotels in Switzerland were excellent and clean. The hotels were perfectly located to museums and new adventures and at perfect price points that had been pre-determined.
Tell us more about some of the highlights of this dream train vacation.
Our teenage daughter’s favorite memory was taking a cooking class in Paris. The class was fun family time and it got us out of the heat and the crowds and we left with the eclairs that we made! The City Pass in Paris was a mistake for us since we were not in the city long enough to enjoy its benefits. We did, however, enjoy the hop-on, hop-off bus to get our bearings on the city, and we were able to sit on the top floor to see the Eiffel Tower! We really enjoyed visiting the Louis Vuitton Museum, which is a modern art museum in an architecturally interesting building located in a beautiful park outside the main city of Paris. The museum was clean and not crowded and got us out of the busy city. In addition to the interesting artwork, we could enjoy the views of the Eiffel Tower and the city from outside on the top floor of the museum.
An unusual highlight of our trip was doing our laundry in Como halfway through our journey. What a luxury it was to drop off our clothes and pick them up clean and folded. As you can imagine, this made Momma VERY happy. While in LaSpezia, we worked with our concierge to find the ferry to view the Cinque Terre. The view from the ferry was breathtaking and exciting! We decided to get off the ferry and have lunch in Monterosso. Our daughter enjoyed her first opportunity to swim in the Mediterranean Sea and our lunch was delicious with perfect views of the sea. In Venice, Kelly reserved a boat from our hotel to the airport. I must say, this was such a fun ending to our incredible trip!
When you came home, what did you tell your friends about the trip you just took? Would you recommend Railbookers to them?
We recommended Railbookers to two families before we even left for our trip based on our experience working with Kelly. When we came home, many friends and family asked how we managed to put a “trip of a lifetime” together in less than three months and we were excited to share our knowledge of Railbookers. This trip enabled us to visit four countries, eight cities, and travel onboard multiple trains while experiencing so many new and fun adventures.
