Drive, coach or train your way to these unforgettable adventures

No fly zones! Fed up with the hell of flying (and striking pilots)? Drive, coach or train your way to these unforgettable adventures

  • There are alternatives to getting to a European holiday destination without flying
  • Driving to Florence in Italy, taking the Eurotunnel, takes 14 hours and 37 minutes
  • Travellers can take a direct train to Amsterdam in just three hours, 55 minutes 
  • A coach journey to German capital Berlin costs just £54 but takes over 24 hours 

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are in trouble for taking too many flights on private jets — and for lecturing the rest of us about ‘saving the planet’.

Of course, we all love a cheap, fast flight, but there are slower alternatives to getting to a holiday destination without racing through the skies at 37,000 ft.

How about relaxing on a train, saving money on a coach trip or enjoying the flexibility of piling into the family car and stopping whenever you fancy? Here’s our guide to travelling to popular holiday destinations without the horrors of waiting at a departure gate.

Fancy Florence: 867 miles

Driving to Florence, pictured, in Italy taking the Eurotunnel takes 14 hours and 37 minutes

By car: The shortest route from Folkestone to Florence (via A26, A1) will take you 14 hours 37 minutes. From Calais, skirt north of Paris to Reims, through Switzerland and down past the Italian Lakes to Florence. With this scenery, it’s worth taking your time. Eurotunnel: £86. Tolls: £54.84. Swiss Vignette (road tax): £32.92. Fuel: £152.36. Total cost: £326.12

By coach: The bus departs London Victoria at 7.30am and gets you into Florence 27 hours later at 11.35am. Total cost: £73

By train: Starting from London St Pancras, it will take you 12 hours and 11 minutes with changes in Paris and Turin. Total cost: £191.30

Nip to Amsterdam: 267 miles

To travel from the UK to Amsterdam, pictured, there is a direct Eurostar train that takes just three hours, 55 minutes 

By car: From Calais, drive up the coast to Dunkirk, then into Belgium, past Ghent and Antwerp, and arrive in Amsterdam after just four hours 44 minutes. Eurotunnel: £86. Vignettes: £31.57. Fuel: £43.49. Total cost: £161.06

By coach: Hop on the bus at Victoria at 9am for a direct 11-hour trip. Total cost: £22.

By train: Direct Eurostar trains take just three hours 55 minutes. Total cost: £89.

It’s nice in Nice: 804 miles

Catch the train to the south of France by taking the Eurostar to Paris and changing on to the TGV fast train to Nice 

By car: The fastest route will take 12 hours 10 minutes. From Calais, head to Reims, then south to Dijon. Then it’s a gentle meander through Provence before sweeping along the coast to Nice. Eurotunnel: £86. Tolls: £99.31. Fuel: £134.72. Total cost: £320.03

By coach: A coach from Victoria, with one change at Lyon, takes 24 hours 50 minutes. Total cost: £26.84.

By train: An almost direct route through beautiful countryside starting from London St Pancras, with just one change in Paris to catch the TGV fast train to Nice. Total cost: £217.

Fun in Faro: 1,388 miles

To reach Faro in the Algarve, the coach is a gruelling 47-hour trip with changes in Paris and Castelo Branco in Portugal

By car: Driving from Folkestone to Faro in the Algarve will take you 22 hours 10 minutes. But there are plenty of glorious pit stops along the way, from Bordeaux to Merida. Eurotunnel: £86. Tolls: £98.99. Fuel: £241.24. Total cost: £426.23

By coach: Depart Victoria station at 8pm for a gruelling 47-hour trip to Faro with changes in Paris and Castelo Branco in Portugal. Total cost: £109

By train: A complicated 34-hour trip. Take the Eurostar to Brussels, then pick up the train to Port-Bou on the Spanish border and jump on a local train to Seville via Barcelona. Finally, there’s a fourth train to Faro. Total cost: £420

Berlin break: 619 miles

Zip into Berlin in style by driving from Folkestone. After taking the Eurotunnel, head from Calais into Belgium then cross the border into Germany to Berlin

By car: The fastest route from the Eurotunnel in Folkestone will take you ten hours 23 minutes. From Calais, head north-east into Belgium, then cross the border into Germany to Berlin, via Hanover. Eurotunnel: £86. Vignettes: £31.57. Fuel: £106.07. Total cost: £223.64

By coach: Leaves Victoria at 8am and arrives in Berlin 24 hours 45 minutes later (with a change in Paris). Total cost: £54.

By train: Hop on the Eurostar at St Pancras, change trains at Brussels and Cologne and you will arrive nine hours and ten minutes later. Total cost: £122.

Try Athens: 1,892 miles

The bus from Victoria to Athens (with one change in Prague) takes a stomach-churning 50 hours

By car: This epic 29 hours 19 minutes road trip will take you through eight European countries: Belgium, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia and Greece. Eurotunnel: £86. Tolls: £64.33. Vignettes: £53.40. Fuel: £338.87. Total cost: £542.60

By coach: The bus from Victoria to Athens (with one change in Prague) takes a stomach-churning 50 hours. Total cost: £115.79

By train: It will take you a complicated two days and seven hours to get to Athens via Brussels, Frankfurt and Vienna. Then you’ll need a coach trip to Budapest and a train to Sofia, and Thessaloniki, before arriving in Athens. Total cost: £170

  • Prices based on a single trip, departing October 4. Car journeys begin from Eurotunnel Folkestone, coach trips are from London Victoria, and trains from the Eurostar at London St Pancras.

 

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