UK and Europe: Taking the scenic route
Modes of travel by road, rail, or sea
Lease a car
If you need a car for 21 days or more, car leasing will broaden your European horizons without burdening the purse strings. Fronted by the French car brand Peugeot, you'll receive a brand-new car from the factory, full insurance, roadside assistance, and unlimited kilometres. Most vehicles enjoy GPS and panoramic sunroofs.
Imagine the Carpathian Mountains as they loom giant-like over your head. And the best bit – the paperwork’s finalised in New Zealand before departure.
Join a cycle tour
Enjoy a two-wheeled affair with half a dozen other cyclists. Guided bike tours get you off four wheels and onto two, with pre-arranged itineraries and structured daily schedules.
Discover beautiful routes from the Greenway tracks, which link Prague to Vienna, to the flat plains of Holland (which won’t trouble the glutes too much), and everything in between. Accommodation, guides, food and bike rental are all included, along with a support vehicle to shadow your entire journey.
Take the train
European rail is exemplary – fast, efficient, and the perfect photo frame for Europe’s most spectacular scenery.
Take a whistle-stop tour with a multi-country pass and select from numerous trains wherever the pass is valid, with the option to travel on a sleeper train throughout the night or a high-speed service by day.
There are scenic routes if you prefer a more leisurely pace, such as Norway’s Flam Railway, which journeys to Flam via the longest and deepest fjord in Europe.
Charter a barge
For life in the slow lane – and it’s so leisurely you can observe bees pollinating as you pass – choose a luxury barge holiday. Popular across Europe, it's the French who are at the forefront of this ideal.
Boasting some of the continent’s prettiest waterways, flanked by lush embankments and draped in weeping willow, you’ll be sipping Chablis while admiring the snow-dipped Pyrenees, waving at the locals as you go. Most are fully crewed and all-inclusive, with discreet staff and a captain to charm the lock-keepers.
Cruise on a gulet
A traditional boat of Byzantine design, the gulet cuts a handsome figure as it slices through the ocean. Popular in Turkey, chartered gulets offer freedom and spontaneity.
One day you’re exploring coves and soaring cliffs, the next you’re admiring sun-blistered stonework in ancient cities. On board, the ship’s social heart is wherever the drinks and conversations flow. The captain and staff sculpt an itinerary detailing the highlights while serving delicious Turkish meze and other local cuisine.
Meander the canals
It’s the great British summer, so the smell of barbecue fills the air – along with the nostalgic scent of freshly mown grass. You’re weaving through the vast network of Stratford-upon-Avon’s canals, part of the picturesque Avon Ring.
The evening sun glints off the water and a lone heron watches from the embankment. It’s a peaceful existence when you meander Britain’s watery avenues at a leisurely five kilometres per hour. When the light diminishes, clamber into a canal-side pub for chilled cider and beer-battered chips.
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