“What is it like travelling in a group?”

Fully escorted holidays 

We see an escorted holiday as an opportunity for you to truly unwind. With your Tour Manager taking care of the journey ahead, you can simply relax and enjoy the moment, without having to plan any further than the next sight, attraction or excursion.

Travelling with Great Rail Journeys is a social experience. The companionship of fellow travellers makes each journey fun. People from all walks of life come together for the joy of the journey and the whole holiday. Friendships and future travelling partners are waiting to be discovered.

The group experience 

Great Rail Journeys' holidays boast a sociable group atmosphere where you can meet people from all walks of life, who are also looking forward to discovering new cultures and destinations. Often you will leave our holidays with lifelong friends as well as plenty of shared memories and experiences. One couple even got married after a chance meeting during one of our rail tours!  

Safety and security 

By travelling with Great Rail Journeys in a group you avoid many of the pitfalls that independent travellers experience and travel woes such as missed connections. A Tour Manager is also on hand to come to our customers' aid on any rare occasions that they experience ill health or injury during their holiday.

How big are the groups? 

The average size of our groups is between 30 and 35 people although groups can be of up to 40 people. Each holiday normally has space for 15 couples or groups of 2 (or more) friends travelling together, as well as 4 or 5 single travellers. Our holidays for single travellers and our short breaks usually have slightly smaller groups of around 25 people.

What are the other customers like? 

On our rail tours you will meet people from all walks of life which makes it difficult to generalise about our customers. However many of the people on our tours fall within the ages of 45 and 75, share a youthful outlook on life and are reasonably well travelled. The groups are warm and sociable, and often there is a sense of camaraderie between the group.

There are free days and a lot of time for independent travel in all our itineraries. Often guests gather in the evening to share their tales of sights seen and trips accomplished. Every group develops its own 'personality' and often a true sense of fellowship develops, which adds to the overall experience and makes each rail tour unique.

Our holidays are for people with a passion for travel rather than rail buffs, and while some rail enthusiasts do travel with us, people are more more likely to chat about the day's events or typical common interests - current affairs or travel; culture or history; gardening or food.