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By admin, November 20, 2009 10:39 am

To discover the real essence of Australia, train travel is the way to go. There’s no more relaxing or scenic way to enjoy the trip between Adelaide and Melbourne, Australia’s southern capitals, than on “The Overland”.
This historic train pioneered inter-capital rail travel way back in 1887, its name inspired by the historic “Overlanders” who traveled the route on horseback. A century on and the newly refurbished “Overland” is about relaxation, serene comfort, enjoying superb meals and being pampered by courteous and attentive staff.
Throughout this daytime interstate journey you can soak up a diverse range of landscapes from rugged scrubland to fields of golden crops, over vast open plains and through gently rolling hills dotted with vineyards and wheat fields.
The early part of the journey from Adelaide involves a climb through the Adelaide Hills to Mount Lofty with stunning views of the city and St Vincent’s Gulf. The building of this section of the railway provided a major challenge for engineers in the 19th century.
The first major town along the way is Murray Bridge and this provides a great photo opportunity as the train crosses Australia’s largest river, the Murray. This major waterway stretches over 1250km from its source in the Australian Alps to the Southern Ocean, just south of Murray Bridge. It is a major tourist attraction, provides 70% of Adelaide’s water and is the economic lifeline for numerous orchards and vineyards along its banks.
At Bordertown, the train crosses into Victoria and journeys through scenic undulating hills supporting wheat and sheep farms. In the distance to the south you may notice the spectacular Grampian Mountains. No visit to Victoria would be complete without exploring this majestic landscape. The main town of Hall’s Gap can be used as a base for bushwalking or visiting a number of the breathtaking scenic lookouts. Further south is another “must see” for visitors to Victoria – the world famous Great Ocean Road.
The major city on the journey to Melbourne is Geelong, Victoria’s second biggest city. It is also a major tourism venue and a convenient base for travel on the Great Ocean Road or to the eastern side of Port Philip Bay.
Just over 10 hours after leaving Adelaide, The Overland glides smoothly into Melbourne’s Southern Cross Station. This terminus in Spencer St, is right in the heart of the city and the convenient late afternoon arrival gives you time to freshen up at your accommodation, ready to enjoy the vibrant night life and trendy restaurants in Australia’s second largest city.
The Overland is operated by Great Southern Rail and runs a daylight service between Adelaide and Melbourne in both directions three times a week. Guests have the choice of 2 levels of service; Red Service or Red Premium Service. Both provide a high standard of comfort, while Red Premium provides more services including quality meals delivered to your seat and more personal space. The licensed Caf’e Carriage provides the chance to meet your fellow travelers and socialize in a comfortable environment.
This train is an important link for travelers from Melbourne to join other major Australian train services In Adelaide. “The Ghan” provides a spectacular outback journey to Darwin, stopping at places of interest along the way including Alice Springs (the centre for visits to Ayers Rock or Uluru and King’s Canyon) and Katherine for visits to the scenic Katherine Gorge).
The other major train stopping at Adelaide is the world famous “Indian Pacific”. You have the choice of boarding the train for its 2 day journey west to Perth on the Indian Ocean or traveling to Sydney on the east coast.

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By admin, November 20, 2009 1:58 am

Railway travel has always evoked romantic memories among the millions who avail of their services. And when the routes and the on-board services are top class, the experience can really be a pleasure. Amtrak has certainly tried to achieve this with over thirty routes in the US and Canada, making rail travel a very viable option for your next vacation. The great on board service and the excellent accommodation promises you and your family some great times together.

While air travel might be shorter in duration, the only sights that you see from “up there” are clouds and more clouds, while on a train, you see the rolling country side flowing past you, the various types of farm animals, the people and the sights while passing through town. It is the ideal choice for people afraid to fly. Somehow, there’s nothing quite like a train ride to set the tone for a perfect holiday.

Trains also offer something that virtually no plane can offer, especially on long distance journeys – accommodation that compares with good hotels and F&B services to match. You can avail of private suites if your budget allows it or there are semi private bunk beds where the entire family can snuggle in after a good meal in the dining car. The suites can accommodate up to four adults very comfortably and the swaying motion of the train is guaranteed to lull you to sleep.

Amtrak policy allows you to take on board five pieces of luggage – two of them with you in the suite/compartment and three in the baggage car. Baggage weighing more than fifty pounds will not be allowed in the compartment and will need to be checked in. Bicycles are allowed! Like in any public transport, baggage will need to go through security checks before being loaded, and they have their list of “banned” items as well, similar to air travel. Again like air travel, there are different classes of seating. Acela Express and Metroliner are costlier but offer larger seats and more facilities than the regular seating. This is not recommended for the budget traveller.

When travelling with young children, trains could be the ideal choice. While the duration will be longer than by air, the child has a lot of activities to participate while on board a train. Not the least of them being watching different cities and towns as they roll by, something no geography text book can show. They have the room to move about unlike in a plane, and this itself can be a boon for parents.

While planning your next holiday, think of train travel, it might not sound as glamorous as air travel, but think of the benefits that you and your family can enjoy at a far lower price and also think of the quality time that your family will be spending together. On the whole, you will find that train travel not only keeps the family together, but also develops bonds over the duration of the journey that no air travel can replicate.

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By admin, November 14, 2009 7:59 pm

The Eurostar is a passenger train that will get you to Paris from London very quickly but do not get this confused with the EuroTunnel, which is the train shuttle service that also allows cars and coaches to travel across the Channel.

If you do not wish to take your car abroad or do not like flying, the Eurostar is a great alternative with less hassle and no luggage weight restrictions, plus you arrive in the heart of the city of Paris from the UK in only around two and half hours.

 The Eurostar used to depart from Waterloo station, but it now departs from the historical Victorian St Pancras International Station in London and goes through to the just as historical Gare du Nord Train Station in Paris France.

St Pancras station has been renovated to its former glory, even with a replica of the original station clock in place and is the starting point of your holiday to France, so be sure to leave time to experience this fantastic building with its incredible feature of a glass and steel train shed that was actually the largest enclosed space in the world when built and enjoy a drink underneath this structure at the longest Champagne bar in Europe.

There are also numerous shops and cafes at the St Pancras International station along with free WiFi connection plus in the departure lounge there are facilities for recharging electrical items such as laptops and certain carriages on the Eurostar also have power sockets for plugging in items such as a mobile phone or games like the Nintendo DS.  However, as of 2008 there is no WiFi access on the train itself and you are charged for this facility in the Gare du Nord station in Paris.

When it comes to booking your tickets for the Eurostar you can have these sent to an address in the UK, Belgium or in France, or you can arrange to collect these from the ticket office just prior to departure, but by booking early, which you can do up to four months in advance, you are likely to get a good deal and choose the seats you want.

Yes, you can actually choose exactly what seats you would like, not just whether you would like First Class with drink and meal included or Second Class that is known as Standard.

The way the seats are laid out is also different between the carriages with some being airline style, whilst others are positioned so that you can look at each other.  Some even have tables, and this is great if travelling with family or friends, plus is easier if you are with young children as they have space to play.  Also, if you are travelling with young children, then you may wish to be near to either the front or rear of the train, as this is where the baby changing facilities are located and of course you can also choose the option of a window seat to admire the French countryside prior to your arrival in Paris.

It is obviously a good idea to look at one of the detailed plans that are available to choose where you would like to be seated, yet do bear in mind that if you are not booking through Eurostar and going to one of the many online firms, then you may not be able to choose specific seating.

Eurostar runs every day except for the 25th December and because they run virtually every hour, you can choose the time of day or night for travel, but some off-peak times are quite a bit cheaper than others.  Also children under the age of four are free providing they do not take up a seat and there is a discounted price for children up to the age of eleven. 

But instead of going to Paris you can also utilise the Eurostar to get to Brussels and this journey normally stops at the city of Lille, which is the capital of the Nord-Pas de Calais region in France.  Also, in the summer on set days Eurostar run a direct service from London to Avignon in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur region and on set days during the ski season they run a service directly to the French Alps for those that like skiing in France.

Now we know this is probably a silly point to make, but do not forget your passport as you do still have to go through passport control, although check in is a lot quicker than when you are flying and you do keep your luggage with you at all times, so even though there are no weight restrictions on a suitcase, you need to make sure you can lift it!

The Gare du Nord train station in Paris is also a main connection point for other destinations in Europe such as Germany, so it is an extremely busy train station, but if you are thinking of staying in Paris, then upon departing, you can either go through the main concourse and onto the streets of Paris and take a walk or go to the taxi stand just outside the station.  Alternatively if you go downstairs you will be at the Metro station ready to take you to another part of Paris.

So through the wonders of engineering and technology, the journey between London and Paris is a convenient and comfortable way to travel, whether it is for business or for pleasure and a memorable holiday in France.

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By admin, November 7, 2009 10:45 pm

Most people fancy the idea of traveling around the world, sketching a memorable picture of all the enticing, alluring and scintillating locations they wish to visit but always deter from actually doing so in reality, owing to mounting travel expenses. However, traveling can be expensive. There are costs that need to be incurred and without working, it is hard to keep your bank balance up. It takes a lot of work and good budgeting. In order to travel long term, you need to find ways to travel cheaply and save money.

To kick start your journey of a cheap budget vacation to destinations all over the world with minimal costs, look for tour operators who offer attractive packages to varied locations. Since tour operators muster various discounts while booking in bulk with certain airlines and hotel resorts, it is recommended you get your holiday booked through them as well. It will be relatively cheaper than booking the entire holiday yourself. Make sure you are an early bird and buy these packages well in advance from the date of departure as they tend to be cheaper then.

Another alluring opportunity to travel cheap around the world is to participate in a home exchange. This could be made possible by surfing online and does not require a travel agent but is still a cheap and a one in a life time chance to see countries that you would be only dreaming of otherwise. A home exchange program is primarily characterized with tow families interchanging homes for a holiday period, provided both the families have agreed unanimously on this program. Most attractively, it does not involve any hotel costs and the food and beverage expense is not tantamount since most of the times you cook at home. A home exchange program is an ideal way to sneak a glance around the world, its inhabitants, dig at their culture and encapsulate all your experiences in your memory book at an affordable cost.

For most of us travel begins with an extensive hunt for cheap and discounted international flights to get you to your holiday destination. Once you’ve reached your destination, you can then book low cost regional airlines within the country or region. Train travel, far cheaper than air travel though, is also a thrilling experience, a one of a kind opportunity to watch the country side cruising by like slices of life in motion. Single train journeys are invariably more expensive than train passes, however they still do a seamless job of making train travel a reality. Distant towns and villages can be accessed very often by buses that are an excellent and cheap substitute to other forms of public transport.

There are many ways to travel around the world cheaply. It simply requires good planning and budgeting. Not all tips work and each area and you need to be versatile and flexible. If you use these tips where they best apply, you will maximize the use of your money and save a lot so you can travel longer. Those like me who travel long term do it by good research and proper planning.