Ffestiniog Travel

Readers who are already familiar with our Small and Traditional tours to former Communist bloc countries will know that we are always looking for new destinations, especially those that give the opportunity to explore those places which are well off the beaten track and to learn about the local culture and social history whilst, at the same time, sampling their railways. It all started with Romania back in 2008 and has subsequently expanded to include most of Eastern Europe and the Balkans, Georgia, Armenia and Uzbekistan. Whilst the details may change from country to country, we do aim for some constant themes in this programme, particularly the use of locally owned accommodation, restaurants, transport and guides. This ensures that our custom benefits the local community rather than lining the pockets of multi-nationals.

Inevitably our research trip can be no more than a framework of the holiday which will eventually evolve. The first job is to plan a route, select and check the accommodation and get a feel for the places of interest that can be visited. It also tells us a lot about the feasibility of the proposed transport arrangements, how long it takes to get from A to B, whether it is possible to get refreshments on the proposed route and so on – the things that make our “Small and Traditional” tours what they are. We also need a good local agent to do the “fixing” on the ground and this company needs to subscribe to our way of doing things.

My colleague for this new adventure was, as always, Ramona. She has been the inspiration for all the Small and Traditional programme and her involvement ensures a uniformity of standard across the brand. Those who have travelled with her in Romania and elsewhere will know exactly what I mean.

The Telegraph described Uzbekistan as the “most fascinating country you’ve never been to” with only an estimated 1,000 Britons visiting each year. Ffestiniog Travel has been running an annual escorted tour to the country since 2017 and the destination is gaining interest among a growing number of tourists as red tape surrounding the former Soviet Union country eases. The country has so much to offer, some of the most beautiful cities in Central Asia and an interesting history along the famous Silk Road. This blog has been written by Ian Handley, a Ffestiniog Traveller, who joined one our Uzbekistan tours. He was drawn to the railway element we included in the tour itinerary and shares his experience of the train and transport systems of the country.

A rail tour of India's remarkable Hill Station railways offers both the enthusiast and general train tourist a wonderful opportunity to experience a piece of India and railway history. To cover the Shimla, Darjeeling and Nilgiri Hill Railways in the timeframe of a regular holiday - in this case 3-weeks - requires a lot of travelling, as Ffestiniog Travel guest David Peel, found out. But the sightseeing content and railway experiences certainly made it a worthwhile odyssey. David shares his thoughts of Ffestiniog Travel's 2017 Indian Hill Railways tour in this unedited, candid account!

Our closest neighbour across the Channel has been a popular holiday destination for British holidaymakers for decades. The majority of travellers tootle their way through France by car, but Dan May, Ffestiniog Travel’s European rail ticket specialist, believes for those who travel light there is a more appealing alternative of getting around France - the train!

Readers who are already familiar with our Small and Traditional tours to former Communist bloc countries won’t be surprised to read that we are always looking for new destinations, particularly those that fit our mould of a venture into the unusual, giving the opportunity to explore those places which are well off the beaten track and to learn about the local culture and social history whilst, at the same time, sampling their railways. It all started with Romania back in 2008 and has subsequently expanded to include Moldova, Bulgaria, Georgia and Uzbekistan. The details inevitably change from country to country but one theme is constant – we do, for the most part, aim to use locally owned accommodation, restaurants, transport and guides, thereby ensuring that our custom benefits the local community rather than lining the pockets of multi-nationals. By the way, did you know that, at the time of writing, there are no McDonalds or Starbucks in Albania? This seems a good reason to pay the country a visit! Albania certainly hasn’t yet been “globalised”.

Ffestiniog Travel actively encourages its customers to offer feedback on the tours and holidays they have taken with us and the more elaborate the better! So again we welcome another customer blog to these pages and one that captures the essence of our annual pilgrimage to India, combining journeys on the wonderful Hill Station Railways with visiting some of the Sub-Continent’s notable landmarks. This travel blog by Dave Firth chronicles his experience of our 2016 India Tour in which he describes the practical elements of the holiday, the interesting stops along the way and of course the railway journeys themselves!

Ffestiniog Travel is delighted to offer an escorted tour to South Africa in March 2017 that combines our expertise as a holiday provider and rail travel specialist – a tour that guarantees scenery, safari and steam! The tourist attractions along South Africa’s southern tip are well-documented and this tour includes visits to Cape Town’s famous landmarks, journeys along the Cape Peninsula and the chance to observe wonderful wildlife at first hand. But is the railway content as good as the tourist appeal? Tour leader Dave Kent, who will be escorting travellers to South Africa, gives a taste of what the rail enthusiast can expect from this tour, having travelled the same route previously and enjoyed the country’s many railway gems.

Ffestiniog Travel is always delighted to receive feedback from customers about their rail journeys and holidays, so when we received a picture postcard style slide show from one couple we felt impelled to share their travels and memories as a photo blog.

Ffestiniog Travel once again invites you to enjoy yet another wonderful photo review of one of our recent escorted rail tours by blogger Vince Chadwick. If you enjoyed Vince’s review of his previous Ffestiniog Travel tour to Ireland you will not be disappointed by his bird’s eye view and informed commentary of our Narrow Gauge Steam in Eastern Germany tour in July 2016.

Never is the well-used phrase ‘a picture paints a thousand words’ so pertinent than when parading your holiday snaps, and as a tour operator Ffestiniog Travel actively welcomes its customers to share their visual experiences of our rail tours with us. Keen photo blogger Vince Chadwick recently returned from our 15-day Irish Circular escorted tour and has captured his experience in captioned images that offer a real taste of the ‘Emerald Isle’.

When we invited travel writer Tom Chesshyre (author of six travel books) on a section of our Pushing the Boundaries escorted tour to Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania in 2014, we anticipated coverage in the travel press but hadn’t expected his experience to inspire and form part of his new book about unusual train journeys.  Here Tom takes an extract from his book and writes an observational blog about his trip with Ffestiniog Travel.

Ffestiniog Travel’s ‘Small & Traditional’ escorted tours are about discovering those areas of Europe and the former Communist bloc that still remain untouched by tourism. So when introducing a new S&T destination, a thorough, hands on approach is required to establish its suitability. Here FT director Alan Heywood invites us to share his experience of his recent research trip to Uzbekistan.

Ffestiniog Travel is very proud of its Welsh roots and maintains a close connection to the country and works closely with its sister companies, the Ffestiniog Railway and Welsh Highland Railways. A percentage of profits from all our rail holidays support the continued preservation of these two heritage railways. As part of our escorted tour portfolio we visit Wales every year taking a group of tourists on a ‘Grand’ Welsh tour and many rail enthusiasts join our ‘Connoisseur’ tours looking behind the scenes of some of the little railway gems of Wales.

Working up a holiday to a new destination, especially a new country, inevitably means a lot of research. Is there enough of interest? Are the standards (especially accommodation) sufficiently acceptable for the needs of the 21st Century tourist? Is it safe (alas a much too common question in today’s troubled world)? Whilst the answers to these questions can almost be taken for granted in much of the western world, there is a growing demand for more unusual destinations and these require extremely careful planning. Ffestiniog Travel’s Alan Heywood travelled to Georgia to find out if it was a suitable destination for future holidays.

Ffestiniog Travel tour leader Michael Whitehouse shares his expert knowledge of travelling by train around Burma in advance of our very first rail tour to this wonderful country in January 2016.

Switzerland is well known for its ski resorts and chocolate, but it also boasts some incredible feats of engineering which can be admired through its many breathtaking railway networks that span the majestic Swiss Alps and provides access to some unforgettable panoramic spectacles. A rail holiday to Switzerland has become a 'must do' for many who want to explore the Swiss mountains and here seasoned tour leader Mike Fletcher shares his Top 5 Swiss Rail Journeys.

Here is a taste of what you can expect from Ffestiniog Travel’s brand new ‘Great Little Trains of India’ tour departing January 2015. Seasoned traveller Bob Cable, who has lead several rail tours to India, shares some of his memorable moments as tour leader to the Sub-Continent.

Once again Ffestiniog Travel is delighted to feature more travel tales from guest bloggers Robert and Christina Woodroffe, on whose behalf we have arranged transport and accommodation, as they continue their worldwide wanderings. They have returned to Ethiopia and in this blog share their experience of its capital Addis Ababa and its interesting history.

When Ramona, our Romanian colleague, and her husband Dan invited my wife, Pam, and me to join them for a week in Moldova, we couldn’t resist. Having led many Ffestiniog Travel adventures to Romania and fallen in love with that part of Europe, we were both very keen to see something of Romania’s eastern neighbour. Would we enjoy our trip enough to include Moldova in Ffestiniog Travel’s 2015 brochure we wondered?  

Nigel Burbidge, Chairman of Ffestiniog Travel, considers the broader benefits of Britain’s heritage railways and why they should continue to thrive and be enjoyed.