Booking

When do I need to book?
I’ve seen a holiday I like: how do I find out what space is available?
How do I make a booking?
What happens next?
Can I book with my local travel agent?

General Information

When is the best time to go?
How many people go on one of your holidays?
Is it a holiday for rail enthusiasts?
What’s the difference between a First Class and a Standard Class tour?
On occasions travel is on Sundays or public holidays – can I expect extended journey times and disruption as in the UK?
What is the dress code?
Can you book me individual rail tickets?
Do you organize rail holidays in the UK?

Special Requirements

What do GRJ do about special requests for diets or rooms?
We’d like to travel back later/travel out earlier and extend our holiday.
What about other special requests?
Can I make this a surprise holiday for someone?

Mobility & Suitability

I’m not sure if this is the right holiday for me.
Will I have to carry my luggage?
Do you accept children on your holidays?
Is there an upper age limit?
Does my hotel have a swimming pool/hair-dryer/tea & coffee making facilities?

Money Matters

How do I pay my deposit?
How do I pay my balance?
Which credit/debit cards do you accept?
Is there a charge for using a credit card?
May I pay by instalments?

Your Holiday Documents

What information will I get before I leave?

Before you leave

What currency will I need?
What type of suitcase should we bring?
Do you have any advice on what to pack?
What about Visa and Passport requirements?

Getting there

What time will we need to meet?
What do we do if we are delayed getting to Waterloo/Heathrow?
What if we need to stay in London the night before?

Flights and flying

What upgrades are available on flights, and what do you get for your money?
Approximately how long are the flights on my holiday?
We’d like to fly from our local airport.
We’d like to extend our holiday and fly back later/fly out earlier.

Booking

When do I need to book?
Each tour has a set number of departures with a limited group size. Many tours fill quickly so it is always advisable to book early to get your preferred choice of dates. A completed booking form and deposit are needed to fully reserve the holiday.

I’ve seen a holiday I like: how do I find out what space is available?
This website is regularly updated with booking availability and additional departure dates - click on 'Availability and Booking' on your chosen holiday. Alternatively, you can contact our office on 01904 521936 to check the availability of your holiday.

How do I make a booking?
There are three ways to book a holiday:

• Directly from this website by clicking on ‘Book Now’ on your chosen holiday page.
• By telephoning our reservations staff on the number shown with your chosen holiday on the website or in our brochure. They will be happy to complete a booking form for you and take your credit card details.
• By telephoning our reservations staff to make a provisional booking. We will hold this for 7 days enabling you to post or fax your booking form to us with a cheque or credit card details.

What happens next?
Once we have received your booking form and your deposit, you will receive confirmation from us within two weeks. Your confirmation will show the remaining balance and the date when it has to be paid. You may choose to receive this by post or email.

Can I book with my local Travel Agent?
No. We only sell directly to the public.

General Information

When is the best time to go?
It depends entirely on your destination, and what sort of weather you like. If you prefer to avoid the hottest part of the year, then try not to travel in July and August - though northern Europe is generally cooler than southern Europe. The Alps also tend to stay a little cooler over the summer, thanks to their altitude. On the other hand, the closer to the main summer season you go, the better the chances of getting some sun!

If you are travelling to countries in the Southern Hemisphere, don't forget that the period from February to April is their autumn, and September to November is spring.

How many people go on one of your holidays?
The maximum number varies from tour to tour, but it is usually between 30 and 45, except for our Short Breaks where we have around 25 people. The majority of our tours travel with a full complement and it is very rare that we have to cancel due to lack of numbers.

Is it a holiday for rail enthusiasts?
Our customers book with us because they appreciate the comfort and relaxation of travelling by train and look upon the journey as part of their holiday. We don't gear our tours specifically to rail enthusiasts, but many of our resorts are chosen for their excellent railway services, and enthusiasts will find much to interest them.

What’s the difference between a First Class and a Standard Class tour?
First Class is always more spacious and includes meals and drinks on Eurostar, on some trains within Spain and certain other journeys as noted in the itinerary. Standard Class accommodation in Europe is usually still more comfortable than you may be used to in the UK.

The "First Class" and "Standard Class" symbols refer to the class of rail travel which you will primarily use. In all other senses, we treat our groups equally. So your standard of hotel, your excursion programme and the quality of service you receive from our staff remains the same.

On occasions travel is on Sundays or public holidays – can I expect extended journey times and disruption as in the UK?
No. Other than in the UK, principal trains throughout the world run to the same schedules every day of the week. The infrastructure in place ensures that engineering works, including major renewals and upgrading, generally have little impact on train running.

What is the dress code?
Wear what you are comfortable in, remembering that the more outfits you bring the heavier your cases will be! Where more formal wear is required (the river and sea cruises and holidays featuring 'hotel-on-wheels' trains for instance), we will inform you of this with your holiday documentation.

Can you book me individual rail tickets?
We only deal with our pre-booked group itineraries however our partner company, railselect.com, arranges independent, tailor-made holidays by rail around Europe. Visit their website www.railselect.com or call 01904 521921 for more information.

Do you organise rail holidays in the UK?
Yes! We are delighted to introduce our Edinburgh, the Highlands & Islands holiday, new for 2008. As an alternative, why not try The Emerald Isle, our popular holiday to Ireland?

Special requirements

What do GRJ do about special requests for diets or rooms?
Any requests for special diets or room allocations must be requested in writing on your booking form. We pass rooming and dietary requirements on to those hoteliers and suppliers affected, who will do their best to help.

We’d like to travel back later/travel out earlier and extend our holiday.
We can usually arrange for you to travel out a day or so earlier or return later but are only able to add nights to the beginning or end of the holiday. Details can be found in the “add-ons” page on this website.

What about other special requests?
We do our best to provide a holiday that will suit your individual needs. Please do not hesitate to call the office to discuss any special requirements you may have, or enclose a covering letter with your booking form.

Can I make this a surprise holiday for someone?
We will be happy to help you arrange a surprise holiday! Please note that we are not able to send out your documents in plain envelopes, so if you live at the same address as the person you wish to surprise, please supply us with an alternative address so that the Great Rail Journeys' envelopes don't give the game away! Any requests of this nature should be made either on your booking form or in a covering letter. Do make sure to give us a telephone number which it is “safe” to call, and remember to let us know when the secret is out!

Mobility and Suitability

I’m not sure if this is the right holiday for me…
We are conscious that our holidays are not suitable for everyone. Please read the section 'Things You Should Know' advising you of what to expect on your journey and do not hesitate to contact our office on 01904 521936 if you have any further questions.

Will I have to carry my luggage?
We try to arrange porterage, but on occasions, yes, you will and we suggest a suitable case size in 'Things You Should Know'. We have teamed up with First Luggage who can arrange transport of your luggage from your home to destination. We will send details of this service to our customers about 10 weeks prior to departure. Prices start at £80 per case for a one-way service.

Do you accept children on your holidays?
Of course – though we feel it only fair to make it known that our clientele is generally drawn from a more mature age group and children may not necessarily enjoy the long train journeys and the types of activity that we organise.

Is there an upper age limit?
What is important is not your age but your ability to manage the tour. If you have read 'Things You Should Know' and you think you would be able to manage the tour, we will be glad to have you on board. Can you beat our current champion of 97 years?

Does my hotel have a swimming pool/hair-dryer/tea & coffee making facilities?
If you have any specific questions about facilities at your hotel, then contact us by telephone or email us. Tea & coffee making facilities are not normally found in European hotels – it seems to be a British peculiarity – although they are quite often to be found in hotels in the US and Canada.

Money Matters

How do I pay my deposit?
If you book online or by telephone, have your debit/credit card details ready. Alternatively, if you complete the booking form at the back of the brochure, please enclose a cheque or enter your credit or debit card details at the bottom of the form.

How do I pay my balance?
Your confirmation includes a payment counterfoil, which you may return to us with your cheque, credit card details or proof of bank transfer (details on counterfoil).

Which credit/debit cards do you accept?
Visa, MasterCard, Maestro (Switch) and Delta.

Is there a charge for using a credit card?
We do not charge for payment with a debit card. However, if you choose to make payment by credit card then a surcharge of 1.5% is added to your balance.
For more information, please read our Booking Conditions, section 3 “Payment”

May I pay by instalments?
We do not accept payment by instalments.

Your Holiday Documents

What information will I get before I leave?
About ten weeks before your holiday you will receive:

• Departures and return times.
• Information about your holiday including weather information and tips on what to pack.
• Eurostar terminal guide (if applicable)
• A UK rail travel request form, which you can complete if you wish us to book your UK rail tickets.
• A leaflet about hotels in London bookable through us, should you wish to stay the night before or after your holiday.
• Details of our 'Luggage in advance' scheme.
• A reminder about your balance due date.

About 2 weeks before departure, you will receive an itinerary and your final travel documents. Check these immediately and contact us if anything is not clear.

Before you go

What currency will I need?
This obviously depends on where you are going. As you know, many European countries now use the Euro (€) - those we visit are (currently) France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Ireland, Greece and Finland.

Switzerland use the Swiss Franc, Norway use the Norwegian Krone and Turkey use the Turkish Lira as they are not members of the European Union, while Sweden (Swedish Krona) is similar to the UK in that they are members of the EU but do not use the Euro.

The EU expansion countries will keep their own respective national currencies, for the time being at least. These countries include Poland (Polish Zloty), Hungary (Forint), Estonia (Estonian Kroon) and the Czech Republic (Czech Koruna).

Outside Europe, the situation is a lot simpler as most countries use their own national currency; including Australia (Australian dollar), New Zealand (New Zealand dollar), India (Indian Rupee), China (Chinese Renminbi), Japan (Japanese Yen), Morocco (Moroccan Dirham), Russia (Ruble), Canada (Canadian Dollar) and USA (United States Dollar).

What type of suitcase should we bring?
Remember that, although we organise porterage as often as we can, you may still need to carry your own case on and off trains, and find somewhere to stow it once on board. With that in mind, we suggest the following dimensions as ideal: 24"/60cm x 15"/40cm and weighing about 34lb/15kg. This seems quite small, especially for longer holidays, so here are some packing tips:

Do you have any advice on what to pack?

• Take a smaller suitcase each rather than a larger one between you. It is easier to find space on a luggage rack for two small cases than one large one.
• Suitcases with wheels are very, very useful.
• Remember that many of our hotels offer laundry service – perhaps you can take fewer clothes and have them cleaned.
• Most hotels have irons available, so don’t worry about clothes being folded a few times.
• With some exceptions (eg. cruises where more formal attire is expected), you may wear what you are comfortable with at all times.

What about Visa and Passport requirements?
Most of our clients hold UK passports: any advice we give will be for UK passport holders. If you hold a passport for another country, or have special circumstances (for example, a criminal record), it is wise to contact the embassy of all countries you will be passing through. Visa requirements can change without us being notified, so we are unable to provide definitive information. Entry requirements for the United States, in particular, have recently been changing quite rapidly.

Getting there

What time will we need to meet?
We will tell you a meeting time on your tour itinerary, but typically it is around 45 minutes before the departure of your Eurostar, or at least 3 hours before your flight's takeoff time.

What if we need to stay in London the night before?
We can book hotels in central London or at Heathrow and arrange these through Superbreak Mini Holidays. Details will be sent 10 weeks before departure. We have a number of hotels on allocation and can confirm these over the phone. If you click on the 'add ons' tab with the 'Things you should know' section of the website, you will find more information on the hotels available to you. Alternatively, you can contact us on 01904 521936 for more details.

Flights and Flying

What upgrades are available on flights, and what do you get for your money?
This depends on the holiday, and on the airline used. Here is a brief summary of what is available for different holidays and what the upgrade entails. These prices are approximate and all upgrades are subject to availability.

Approximately how long are the flights on my holiday?

Please note that the above times are approximate and should only be used as a guideline.

We’d like to fly from our local airport.
We can usually organise add-on flights from your local airport to Heathrow. Prices are subject to availability, and will be quoted on request.

We’d like to extend our holiday and fly back later/fly out earlier.
Not normally a problem. Let us know in good time and we should be able to book your flights as requested but you would normally have to fly one way with the group. We can also book extra nights in the hotels we use at the start or end of a holiday. Please note, though, that you will need to arrange your own transfer to the airport if you are not taking the transport we arrange for the group. Also, make sure you have insurance to cover the extended length of your stay.