Add-ons

Door to door luggage
Travelling to London
UK rail connections
London Hotels
Paris
Mercure Terminus Nord, Paris
Cologne
The Four Points Hotel or Grand City Hotel Cologne Centre, Cologne
Hotel im Wasserturm, Cologne

Joining your holiday

London has so many attractions, activities and entertainment options... the theatres, the museums, the parks and the shops are all waiting to be explored! So why not begin your holiday by arriving there a day or more prior to the start of your tour? We can arrange so much - including travel to and from London and overnight hotels - to help you get the most out of your time and begin your tour in real style.

Door to door luggage

If you would like to avoid carrying your cases from home, across London, and all the way to your holiday destination, Great Rail Journeys is pleased to recommend the services of both "Carry My Luggage" and "The Baggage Man". Both independent companies offer a cost-effective and reliable door-to-door luggage collection and delivery service. Your case will be collected from home a few days prior to the holiday departure so that it can be waiting for you at your main hotel. On the way home, you can leave your case behind in the hotel to be collected and returned home. The services are available either one-way or return. Further details of these services are available on request.

Travelling to London

We appreciate that many of our customers travel from a variety of places in the UK to London, some more distant than others. As our tours generally commence at St Pancras International during the morning of the first day, it is often more convenient to make your way to London the previous day, so you are fresh and rested before joining your tour. Let us make it easy for you by booking rail tickets to London and an overnight hotel near St Pancras International.

UK rail connections

We can book UK rail tickets from your local station to London to join your holiday. As you are connecting with an international departure, we strongly recommend that you book a fully flexible ticket to ensure that should the departure times for your holiday change, your rail ticket can allow for these changes. Detailed below are our specially negotiated Standard Class off-peak return prices to London, based on your county of departure. Prices to non-London joining point (ie Edinburgh, Torquay and Holyhead) and prices for First Class travel are also available - please ask us for a quotation.

Departure Stations in:	Return Fare:
Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Surrey, Warwickshire & Coventry	£24
Essex, Kent	£26
Cambridgeshire, Hampshire, Sussex	£29
Leicestershire, Rutland, Wiltshire, West Midlands & Worchester	£35
Shropshire, Staffordshire, Suffolk	£37
Derbyshire, Dorset, Norfolk, Nottinghamshire, Powys, Suffolk (incl. Bristol)	£43
Cheshire, Clwyd, Lincolnshire, S. Yorkshire	£46
Gloucestershire, Gtr Manchester, Gwynedd (excl. Anglesey), Lancashire, Merseyside	£51
Cornwall, Devon, Dyfed, East Riding of Yorkshire, Gwent, Herefordshire, Anglesey	£55
Glamorgan	£58
Cumbria, W. Yorkshire	£62
N. Yorkshire	£65
Northumberland, Dumfries & Galloway	£70
Durham, Tyne & Wear	£76
Fife, Lothian	£79
Central, Highland, Strathclyde, Tayside	£84
Grampian	£94

Prices are per person and are subject to change without notice

London Hotels

We are able to book a wide range of hotels in central London or, for our holidays beginning with a flight, at Heathrow or Gatwick Airport for the night before your holiday. The hotels listed below are some of the more popular hotels our customers book, others available on request.

Hotel	Board	Star	Weekday room rate	Weekend room rate
Megaro Hotel	B&B	4-star	from £170	from £150
Thistle Euston	B&B	4-star	from £155	from £117
Novotel St Pancras	B&B	4-star	from £209.50	from £131.50
Hotel Russell	B&B	4-star	from £195	from £135
The President Hotel	B&B	3-star	from £95	from £95
The Imperial Hotel	B&B	3-star	from £105	from £105

Prices are based on 2 sharing a twin room in May 2009, subject to availability. Prices may change without prior notice. Booking conditions apply.

Extending your European holiday

Many of our holidays include a final stopover in Paris or Cologne en route to London. Why not extend your holiday by enjoying an extra night or two in one of these attractive cities, returning to London in your own time?

Paris

Mercure Terminus Nord, Paris

This 3-star hotel is full of character, in an exceptional location facing the Gare du Nord station. Bedrooms are well equipped with en suite bathroom, safe, hairdryer, satellite and pay TV as well as direct dial telephone. Decorated in typical Parisian style, the public rooms, including the bar, reflect the hotel's high standard.

Cologne

The Four Points Hotel or Grand City Hotel Cologne Centre, Cologne

Both hotels are well appointed 4-star hotels with a bar, lounge and restaurant. Room facilities include en suite bathroom, tea and coffee making facilities (available on request), minibar with free soft drinks, cable TV, hairdryer and telephone. A laundry service is available at both hotels.

Hotel im Wasserturm, Cologne

The Hotel im Wasserturm was once Europe's highest water tower, and is now a stylish and unique 5-star superior hotel. The 130 year old walls surround the elegant internal décor and architecture. Rooms are equipped to the highest standard and the hotel boasts a Michelin-star restaurant on its 11th floor, a further restaurant, lobby bar, sauna, solarium and fitness facilities.