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Last year, flight-free travel officially went from being ‘fringe to familiar’ – with journeys by rail, boat and bus becoming a more mainstream choice for travellers of all ages.
There's a good reason for this. As the world becomes more fast-paced, travellers are craving longer, more meaningful trips, which whisk you away – physically and mentally – from the grind. Rather than jumping on a budget flight and cramming your holiday into a long weekend, slow travel offers the opportunity to truly switch off.
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Going flight-free enables you to relish in a slower pace of living, while taking in incredible landscapes as you glide through entire countries or sail along coastlines. Then there’s the benefit of no bag-drop queues, security procedures and or hours spent tied to your seat. When going flight-free, the journey instantly becomes more relaxed, fun and liberating – what’s not to love?
Plus, with between 100,000 and 130,000 flights departing from airports across the world each day, travellers are becoming increasingly aware of the environmental impact of aviation (it now counts for approximately four percent of global greenhouse gas emissions). That might seem like a small amount, until you realise that only around eleven percent of the world ever takes an aeroplane, with only around 1 percent flying frequently.
So, if you’re considering joining the flight-free holiday club this year, we’ve compiled six key tips to help make the journey stress-free, fun and an adventure you’ll never forget.
Karen Edwards is a freelance editor and writer from London specialising in responsible tourism. Read her guides on how to be a responsible tourist, the best sustainable travel destinations and five countries that need more travellers in 2026.
Start small and familiar
New to flight-free travel? For those in the UK, the experts at Flight Free UK recommend starting simple, by picking a destination within the UK or western Europe. Not only will this enable you to get used to the various methods of overland travel, but you’ll feel comfortable along the way – knowing you're safe and close to home. If you want to venture further afield, opt for a destination you already know and love. It’ll offer reassurance that this won’t be a hard journey to navigate, with a familiar setting waiting for you on arrival. Experiment with train travel, jumping on a ferry and even the odd international bus, and you’ll soon feel more confident about branching out on longer journeys - and that’s when the adventure really begins.
Consult the experts
An increasing number of trusted operators are creating fun and diverse overland trips. Byway are renowned for their adventurous and far-reaching itineraries that combine train (and, sometimes, boat travel) to everywhere from Scotland and France to Romania and Denmark, with thoughtful stops along the way. Crucially, all routes can be tailored to your needs, with options for families, couples and solo adventurers. Eurail and Interrail offer flexible passes with a designated number of travel days, meaning you can choose when you want to stop and explore. The Man in Seat 61 details flight-free routes to almost any country in the world – sharing tricks on making specific journeys easy to navigate. It also offers the lowdown on new train timetables, the most efficient rail and ferry routes and even the best cabin seats to book.
Embrace the journey, not just the destination
On the face of it, dedicating two days to travelling overland when you could fly to your destination in a few hours might seem a bit silly. However, the benefits of flight-free travel outweigh the convenience by a mile. For a start, some of the best overland routes – particularly by rail – plod through small towns and villages you may never have known existed if you flew. So, why not stop off for a wander? Simply taking the time soak in what you see, stopping for coffees whenever you fancy and trickling through museums, parks and markets in different locations will make your journey deeply rewarding. Plus, you’re more likely to be ticking off several regions in one trip.
Mindshift into slow mode
The pure joy of a calming, slow travel experience can be as healing as it is adventurous. Flexible rail passes enable travellers to break up their journey with a stopover in one or more places. They also often cover other modes of transport, such as boat crossings to islands or bus journeys between regions not served by railways. Byway’s Sailing to Sicily odyssey, for example, pootles through bustling Paris, cool Milan and the serenity of Lake Lugano, before crossing the Tyrrhenian Sea from Naples to Milazzo on the island’s north coast.
Prioritise quality trips over quantity
Ever wonder why even the most idyllic beach holidays never end up feeling as relaxing as you needed? It’s because short trips, where you don’t have time to truly switch off, can trigger hormones like cortisol that keep your body feeling anxious and stressed. A huge positive of going flight-free is that, by nature, overland journeys need more time – allowing you more days to wind down properly. This is proven to induce better sleep, bring on lighter moods and even improve memory. This mindful way of travelling will help to focus the mind on the present, leading to a more fulfilling and centred experience. It’s why fewer but longer trips over the year – prioritising quality breaks over quantity – are the future.
Indulge on a sleeper train
According to the Energy Saving Trust, train travel emits around 14 grams of CO₂ per passenger mile, compared with the 285 grams emitted by air travel – which is why taking a sleeper train is the best choice you can make for the planet. Book at least three months in advance and you could save on costs, especially as a night spent trundling along between destinations is a night saved in a hotel. The Caledonian Sleeper, for example, is perhaps one of the most convenient and comfortable ways to travel to Scotland. It typically leaves Euston in the early evening and rolls into Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Fort William, Glasgow or Inverness at 8am, often to the backdrop of a blood orange Scottish sunrise. The European Sleeper connects Brussels to Prague with stops in Rotterdam and Amsterdam – while a new Switzerland to Sweden via Denmark sleeper is due to launch in the spring. Combine these with the Eurostar and a journey across western Europe becomes surprisingly easy.
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Go flight-free anywhere in the world
Bear in mind, if you do end up flying long-haul, it doesn’t mean you can’t embrace going flight-free elsewhere on the trip. In eastern Europe, crisscross through the Baltics in just two days by taking the train and bus from Vilnius (Lithuania) to Tallinn (Estonia) via Riga (Latvia). The 1930s-designed South African Blue Train – which rolls from Pretoria to Cape Town – is known for its sunset views over South Africa’s lesser-seen interior. The Ghan follows in the tracks of Australia’s first cameleers – crossing from Adelaide in the south to Darwin in the north via the continent's sizzling Red Centre.
Nab some extra time off
If your work requires continental travel, speak to your boss about the Sustainable Travel Leave (STL) scheme initiated by climate champions, Possible. The workplace policy enables sustainability-conscious companies to reward employees who choose to travel overland with extra holiday allowance. For businesses, it means Scope 3 emissions (the indirect emissions created across a company’s value chain) are finally being addressed — and even better, 74 percent of participating employers say they’ve seen increased motivation and wellbeing among workers. So, you might just get lucky.
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