When 16-year-old climate change activist Greta Thunberg arrived in London as part of her awareness tour in April, the way she travelled was part of her message. After leaving her home in Stockholm, she went to Strasbourg and then Rome before going to the UK, all by train.
The journey was part of the flygskam, or “flight-shaming”, movement, which encourages the feeling of being embarrassed or ashamed to take the plane because of the environmental impact.
Thunberg has not flown since 2015 and is urging others to turn their backs on aviation for good.
But for families planning a summer holiday, just how practical and cost-effective is it to shun air travel? Leaving aside the obvious concerns of dragging young children across the continent for many multiples of the hours it takes to fly to traditional holiday destinations – let alone further afield – there are questions over how many bags can be taken, comfort, and the possibility of industrial action, technical problems or delays. Those in favour of avoiding airports would argue that the same things can occur when going by plane.
So is more ethical travel a realistic possibility for families?
Logistical problems
As a mother of four children aged from two to 11, Helen Hamston illustrates the views of many parents when she says the thought of a long-haul train journey in Europe fills her with horror.
“Being confined in a carriage with members of the public where my kids are on show would be highly stressful. My toddler doesn’t sit still for long, and how many snacks would I need to pack for that length of journey? Changing trains would be like a military operation and when everyone is tired and hungry it just doesn’t sound like much fun. At least a flight is over more quickly,” says Hamston, who runs Mummy’s Gin Fund, an online advice forum and buy-and-sell platform for parents.
It is a thought that will draw sympathy from many, and highlights the logistical problem of moving a young family from one destination to the next by rail. Hamston, who lives in Devon, says that for families with older children cross-country train journeys could be a great experience, but for now she is sticking with staycations.
Extra costs
With baggage charges, the cost of getting to and from an airport and inflated food costs along the way, even the most budget of flights can balloon in cost quickly.
There may be an expectation that, because of the amount of time it takes to get to your destination, rail, road and ferry would automatically be cheaper.
The reality is not so clear-cut – particularly if you have to travel at peak times within the confines of school holidays.
As a general rule the earlier you book – for most modes of travel – the cheaper the deal. Rail, ferry and airline companies use dynamic pricing, so shopping around in advance will usually pay off.
Being flexible on travel dates will also help. Fridays and weekends are notoriously busy days for rail travel, for example, so passengers will usually pay more compared with midweek tickets. A search conducted recently for a return trip from London to Bordeaux for a family of four at the end of July (travelling midweek) would cost about £500 by train (Eurostar and TGV) or around £400 to fly with a low-cost airline, including check-in bags.
While the train takes around six and a half hours, the flight is one hour 45 minutes. The return ferry crossing came in at £162 – a relative bargain, but petrol costs and probably an overnight stop would need to be included in the budget, not to mention the extra time taken.
For longer journeys, the cost of travelling by train or car can increase significantly.
Ethical issues
The push towards more ethical travel has brought results. An increasing number of people are becoming more concerned with how they travel, says Lucy Bishop from Manchester-based Travel Counsellors.
This extends from the destinations they choose to using local businesses when abroad. However, she has yet to see a considerable shift away from flying, she adds.
“For most families it comes down to the time constraints,” says Bishop. “But also cost and practicality mean they have to fly if they want to go abroad.
“A long train journey or road trip can be appealing for couples and singletons. They often view it as part of the holiday, making interesting stops en route. But travelling by train to popular family destinations, such as Greece, southern Spain and Portugal, just isn’t realistic if you have a big family and you’ve only got 10 days or two weeks.”
Yet with growing pressure and heightened concern around global heating – plus potentially higher taxes in future on flights, to counter carbon emissions, and the social effect of “flight shaming” – it is possible there will be a more substantial shift in the coming years in the way holidaymakers travel.
Muna Suleiman, campaigns officer at Friends of the Earth, urges families to be braver about their summer holiday plans and to ditch air travel.
“Take action to cut pollution by thinking twice before hopping on a plane for your holiday,” she says. “You might be surprised how many beautiful parts of the world you can reach by train and how relaxing the journey can be – even with children.”
Tips for success
Rail and road travel by the British on the continent is not a new trend – families have been taking the car to France, Germany, even Italy and northern Spain for years and Europe’s railway networks are a perennial favourite with gap-year students.
Making the most out of potential savings for rail travel involves planning ahead. Being able to buy tickets in advance online has made things much easier, more transparent and cheaper.
Mark Smith, founder of the train-travel website Seat61.com, provides tips on travelling by rail overseas. They include the rules on child fares in different countries and many of the ticketing pitfalls to look out for, such as how some booking websites don’t apply discounts on child fares so they can end up costing more than the adult ticket.
He says websites such as loco2.com (no fees) and thetrainline.com (3% booking fee) enable travellers to book train seats through to many destinations in Europe.
Tickets are typically released between 60 and 90 days ahead of travel. If a family can be flexible with dates, try different options such as days of the week and times of the day, as ticket cost can vary widely.
Smith recommends bargains such as Deutsche Bahn’s “Sparpreis London” fares from London to anywhere in Germany starting from €59.90 each way and Czech Railways, which offers Brussels to Prague fares from just €21.
Taking the slow road
Elisa Vertue, 41, lives in south-east London with husband James Wilson, 43, and children Maia, five, and Rudy, four, but is originally from Milan and takes regular trips home.
The family travel back to Italy at least twice a year, sometimes flying and at other times taking their motorhome. But Elisa and James, who run their own IT support business, say they are increasingly thinking about the impact on the environment.
In July this year the family is going to northern Croatia to meet Elisa’s sister and her family for a three-week holiday. Elisa had looked into flying and the price was reasonable for the short hop to Europe, but instead the family has decided to take their motorhome and will make two stops in Europe on both legs of the journey.
“When I thought about it, I didn’t want to fly,” says Elisa. “If we take the motorhome there will be less carbon emissions. We can also make the journey fun for the children. They will see a lot more of Europe as we will make stops in France and Austria.“
Elisa paid £123 for the Dover to Calais ferry crossing and £145 for the Eurotunnel on the return journey. The faster Eurotunnel train is her preferred option but it was fully booked on the outward date.
Elisa estimates it will take between two and a half and three full tanks of petrol to drive the 17 hours to Vrsar in Croatia. This could cost more than £250 for the 2.8 litre turbocharged motorhome, but they won’t need to pay for hotels on the journey or once they arrive.
“As a total holiday package, taking the motorhome works out cheaper as we won’t have accommodation costs once we get to Croatia,” says Elisa. “But our carbon footprint should also be lower as we’ve chosen not to fly.”
