Ffestiniog Travel

Throughout time a signature has been unique to each individual. In the same way Ffestiniog Travel believes that each holiday you take with us should be an exceptional experience. Your dreams are the starting point for our inspiration when planning your personalised tour. Our friendly, knowledgeable and approachable consultants listen to what you want to experience, creating with your input and enthusiasm the holiday of a lifetime.

With over 35 years of experience in creating escorted tours throughout the world, our group tours offer unrivalled expertise in rail travel. Occasionally our clients would like to join a tour but find the dates don’t fit in with when they want to travel. With a signature tour you can follow any itinerary in our brochure amending the dates or duration to fit your personal requirements. Alternatively you may wish to take the ‘bones’ of a tour expanding and tweaking it to create an individual bespoke version, or you may suggest a handful of places not even in the brochure you would like to visit and ask us to plan an itinerary for you.

Whether you are celebrating a landmark birthday, retirement, anniversary, honeymoon, revisiting memories or exploring a new part of the world, Ffestiniog Travel will ensure your signature holiday will be exactly how you planned it.

How to Plan and book your signature holiday

The excitement and anticipation of your signature holiday starts when you call your dedicated consultant at Ffestiniog Travel. With no commitment expected until you are completely happy with your travel arrangements, we listen to what you want to do before preparing a sample itinerary based on our knowledge, interpretation and recommendations. All we need from you at this stage is an idea of approximately how long you want to go for, your date of travel and how much you hope to spend; the rest is up to us. We check the details and do all the legwork for you by preparing a draft itinerary. Once you have received this through the post or by email, call your consultant for a chat about any amendments you would like to make, queries or additional requests. At Ffestiniog Travel we believe that planning your signature tour is just the beginning of your holiday experience. Only when you are completely happy that your itinerary has your own personal ‘signature’ will we take a deposit and start confirming your holiday bookings.

Sample Selection of Signature Itineraries

Shopping, Snow and Scenery - Christmas 2011

Prepared for Mr & Mrs R Gregg, Miss B Gregg and Master M Gregg

A wonderful itinerary created exclusively for a family who all want different experiences on their two-centre Christmas break. Travelling to Switzerland via Paris and Geneva, by Eurostar and high speed trains, the journey itself through Europe is every bit as exciting as the rest of the break will be. An overnight stay in Paris provides a leisurely interlude in France, giving an opportunity for some Christmas shopping and a meal at a local restaurant savouring French festive specialities. The journey continues the next day into Switzerland to the delightful town of Brig, the gateway to the beautiful Bernese Oberland Region. Staying in a charming, centrally located hotel, the family are at leisure to either wander around the pretty town, traditionally decorated for a Swiss Christmas or make use of their first class Swiss Pass to explore the local area by rail. A journey on the famous Glacier Express takes them to their final destination Chur, home of the Rhaetian Railways, the largest narrow gauge network in Switzerland. Highlights of the holiday include a journey on the world famous Glacier Express where from the first class carriages, the panoramic windows frame the breath taking and majestic views of the snow covered Alps. 
Note: Ffestiniog Travel can arrange weekend breaks by Eurostar and high speed trains to any European city, just call with your date, duration and destination and leave the work to us.

An Exclusive Canadian Odyssey by Rail - May 2012

Prepared for Mr & Mrs I Mitchell to celebrate their Ruby Wedding anniversary

Mr & Mrs Mitchell contacted Ffestiniog Travel to help them plan and book the holiday of their dreams, to celebrate their Ruby wedding anniversary. Their dedicated tour consultant worked closely with them to create the ultimate itinerary across Canada by rail, scheduling in plenty of time to relax and sightsee along the way in the cosmopolitan, welcoming and vibrant cities of Toronto, Quebec, Vancouver and Halifax. A luxurious start to the holiday was arranged with business class flights on Air Canada and individual, quality hotels were booked in all cities. Mr & Mrs Mitchell wanted to ensure that the optimum amount of time was spent journeying by rail and thus ensuring they had panoramic and truly memorable views. Their personal tour consultant suggested that first class VIA Rail cabins and seats were booked for their journeys throughout Canada, ensuring access to all lounges and observation decks and private facilities. They travelled on VIA’s famous and iconic services, such as the ‘Canadian’ and the ‘Ocean’. They also rode the ‘Rocky Mountaineer’ experiencing in comfort and style the ever changing and breathtaking natural scenery of this amazing country.

Note: For that special occasion or just to spoil yourself, talk to Ffestiniog Travel about upgrading your travel arrangements. Individual itineraries can be planned on many of the world’s famous rail journeys.

Autumn rail highlights with friends and family in Scotland - October 2011

Prepared for Mr D & Mrs W Williams, Mrs J Dixon, Miss K Ford and Mr J Nelson

The history of Scotland, myth, folklore and fact is explored in this enjoyable and memorable tour. A group of rail enthusiasts holiday together on some of Scotland’s most famous, atmospheric and enduring lines, such as the sensational ‘Kyle Line’ which first opened as early as the 1870s or the world renowned ‘Jacobite’ once voted the best railway journey in the world. A delightful week in Scotland is planned to ensure that not only can our group experience some of the unique rail highlights found in Scotland, but also enjoy the culinary pleasures of Scotland’s finest restaurants and the comfort of renowned hotels. Every day a pleasurable and unique rail journey is planned, in order to optimise the experience of these historical lines and wonder at the magnificent Scottish landscapes. Ffestiniog Travel planned this unique signature holiday to include not only the memorable rail journeys found in Scotland, such as the Cairngorm Mountain Railway, the highest line you can take in the UK, but also to encompass the amazing sights which accompany the railway lines, the Glenfinnan Viaduct, the Caledonian Canal or the Great Glen and Loch Linnhe, all viewed from the comfort of the Jacobite. Perhaps most tellingly though, this enjoyable and one-off holiday has arranged time on the ‘Strathspey Railway’, a delightful steam journey run by enthusiastic volunteers, who the group spend the day with.

Note: Additional excursions can be booked and included on all holidays. Check the Ffestiniog Travel website and sign up to our regular email updates for information about exciting short break holidays and one off events including those held on other historical UK railways run by volunteers and rail enthusiasts.