The countries of Eastern Europe offer a rich combination of possibilities of holidays by train, enabling you to experience the historical threads, cultural differences and similarities, wealth of scenery from forested mountains to fertile plains, from pretty lakes to magnificent cities, from the comfort of your railway carriage. Expressions Holidays offers you tailor-made, luxury rail holidays to Germany, Austria, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia. We offer you a mixture of city combinations, but also single-centre stays and scenic journeys. Our rail holidays are tailor-made for individuals and are not set group departures. If you are a group of friends or family, we can, of course, put together a tour for your own party. With Expressions Holidays your rail holiday to central and eastern Europe can be by train all the way, from London and back to London. An alternative is to fly out and back and travel by train in between points. If you want to visit and explore country regions, then we recommend that you combine rail travel with the use of a hire-car which we can book for you. We feature suggested itineraries that you can book as they are or adapt. You choose your date of departure and the class of travel. We will put together a tailor-made price based on best available train fares and hotel rates. We will offer you upgrade options and we can arrange local entrances, sightseeing, guides and opera and concert tickets too. The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express also travels into central and eastern Europe on selected dates throughout the year. Perhaps combine a journey on this iconic train with one of our tailor-made rail holidays in central and eastern Europe.
Rail holidays to central and eastern Europe
Rail travel to central and eastern Europe starts with Eurostar from London to Brussels and then an onward journey into Germany via Cologne, or from London to Paris and then an onward journey via Switzerland. You can then tour from city to city, country to country. Our suggested touring holidays offer a range of tours for individuals throughout central and eastern Europe.
Rail touring holidays within central and eastern Europe
If you don’t want to travel by train all the way there and back, the best option is to fly one or both ways. All our suggested touring holidays by train of central and eastern Europe can be done by flying to the first main point and back at the end.
Our hotels in central and eastern Europe
Expressions Holidays has put together a personal selection of hotels in all the destinations in Eastern Europe we are offering you. Our hotels are selected to provide exceptionally high standards of character, comfort and service. Many of our hotels are among the most highly acclaimed in each country we feature. Others are full of charm and character or provide rest and relaxation amid an atmosphere of luxury and style. Star ratings are an important indicator of facilities and price, but, just as important as a star rating is character and ambience. We believe that whatever the official star rating of our hotels, each hotel has unique qualities and a sincere individuality of its own.
Train travel to Eastern Europe
A rail holiday to Eastern Europe starts with the Eurostar from London St. Pancras, Ebbsfleet or Ashford stations probably to Brussels if you are heading for Germany or Paris if you are taking a route through Switzerland. Eurostar offers almost hourly departures every day, allowing you to travel, non-stop, from the centre of London to the centre of Brussels in just over 2 hours and Paris in just over 2 hours. Some trains stop at the Ebbsfleet and Ashford stations in Kent, and parking is plentiful at both stations. You may wish to stay for a night or two in Brussels – we can arrange overnight accommodation for you in characterful, high-quality, central hotels on request. Nightjet trains are owned by the OBB Austrian Railways and operate overnight sleeper services from various European cities to Austria and on to Budapest. There is a choice of single, double and triple compartments, offering a standard (small wash basin) and a deluxe (with own shower and WC, wash basin, shower gel and towels). The compartment can be locked by the passenger, and an intercom system allows direct contact with the train team. There is a food service on board that provides hot and cold food and beverages. The Nightjet runs to Vienna (and on to Budapest) from Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg, Munich, Venice, Rome, Florence, Verona, Milan and Zurich. Railjet trains are owned and operated by the OBB Austrian Railways and connect numerous European cities with all of Austria, with a top speed of 230 kms per hour. Two Railjets run between Vienna and Salzburg every hour. Every two hours there is a Railjet from Prague to Graz via Vienna. Twice a day Railjet travels from Vienna to Venice. Railjet also offers a service from Zurich via Innsbruck, Salzburg and Linz to Vienna in about 8 hours. From December 2018 Bratislava is also included in the network. These trains are modern, efficient, comfortable, with first and second class, and have an excellent restaurant on board. ICE are German high-speed trains covering long distance journeys, for example from Berlin to Munich (a journey time of just under 4 hours). ICE offers comfortable seating with good legroom, free wifi, quiet zones, socket at your seat and on-board catering with meals, drinks and snacks. Other long-distance trains might be the IC (Intercity) and the EC (EuroCity) connecting German cities to ones in neighbouring countries. The EuroCity might be operated by more than one nationality of the route, so a journey from Berlin to Prague might be operated by a Czech EuroCity although a service continuing to Budapest might be operated by the Hungarian EuroCity.
Venice Simplon-Orient-Express to central and eastern Europe
Venice Simplon-Orient-Express travels into central and eastern Europe as follows: Paris to Prague 7 July 2024 Paris to Budapest 2 October 2024 Budapest to Paris 5 October 2024 Contact us for prices combined with additional travel and hotel requirements.
Our rail holidays to central and eastern Europe include
● Travel arrangements with trains as required● Sample touring itineraries to book as they are or adapt
● Flexible durations and multi-centre stays
● Accommodation in personally-selected 4-or 5-star hotels
● Additional travel arrangements such as flights, transfers, car-hire to combine with rail travel
Included in all our holidays
● Concierge service● Handcrafted helpful hints and local information provided with all our holidays
● Personal service by your sales consultant who looks after all aspects of your holiday
● Full financial protection with our ATOL (3076) for all holidays including a flight and our ABTOT for all non-air holidays
