Rail + River/Rail + Road Holidays

You've heard of the idea of 'fly-drive'; we'd liked to introduce 'ride and row' (well, not literally) and 'ride and drive' holidays. Holidays using a combination of transport modes to give you the most eco-friendly and economically friendly option for your requirements.

Actually, that sounds a bit stuffy - really our focus is usually on what's most fun. What isn't fun is hassle. Hassle at the beginning of your vacation trying to get to the right terminus. Delays in getting to your destination. And driving for 24 hours on some of the world's hairiest motorways. Nope, none of these are our idea of fun. But you might find your idea of fun if you read on.

Maybe you like messing about in boats? You fancy the French canals, or chartering a yacht in the Med. Or perhaps you just like the grandesse of a river or Mediterranean cruise, a sedate potter up the Rhine or down the Rhone... So how are you going to get to your starting point? Hah! Bet you hadn't thought of that! It is a consideration, especially as boats don't always end up where they started.

The only sensible option is to take the train to your point of embarkation, and a different train home again from your point of disembarkation. A nice, straightforward, relaxing option, which allows you to save all your energy for splicing the main brace, or yo-heave-hoing on those oars.

What if you really, really need wheels (four of) on vacation? You want to tour the south of France, for example. But you really don't want to drive your car all the way there... Well, why don't you pop your car on the train and let the train do the bulk of the driving? There are 'motorail' options going in all sorts of useful directions across Europe. It's worth considering - it could save you a lot of nurofen and family arguments.

America isn't big on what it calls 'auto-train', but Australia has an extensive motorail network, so you would do well to consider it as an option as part of your fly-drive holiday.