Byway Avaliações 1.161

This was our sixth holiday with Byway and we have enjoyed them all. This time we travelled with stops in Paris, Turin, Genoa, Alassio and Nice. Every place was different and interesting with great food and drink. We had a fantastic time. The booking process is very smooth, and having the WhatsApp group is very reassuring, although we didn’t need to use it as all went to plan. The travel is always well thought out in terms of connections, timings etc. The Interrail app is easy to use too.

A very helpful company who responded quickly and in a personal manner to all of our enquiries. It was useful to travel knowing that we had their support should we have required it (we didn't).

I travelled through Germany and Denmark to Stockholm. Byway organised everything, even running a zoom meeting to explain the interrail app and how to use it. They curated a wonderful collection of boutique hotels too, which I would never have picked. When there was a slight chance I might miss a connection and I asked them about it, they responded quickly and calmly (and it was all fine in the end anyway) I'm already thinking about where I might go next with them.

We completed our second Byway holiday a week ago and travelled from London down through Italy to Sicily, calling in to Paris, Zurich, Milan, Rome, Catania, Naples, and back to Milan then Paris. We experienced a small number of unforeseen difficulties in our travels, including train driver strikes and protest marches and Byway were on top of it, on each occasion. Byway provided us with prior notice of any disruption to our plans and gave us options to consider in order to minimise the impact of any changes. None of these difficulties were of their making. Suffice it to say we had a wonderful holiday, full of memories and experiences across Italy, it's a wonderful country. Some memorable highlights included a visit to the Colosseum, Pompey, Mount Etna via cable car, taking a sleeper train from Rome to Catania and calling in to visit Notre Dame on the way back.

We have just completed our 3rd trip to Andalusia with Byway and had a great time. We experienced some train disruption but were impressed by the speedy and efficient help from Byway with rearranging trains, hotels and destinations. We would recommend this company to anyone wanting to travel whilst avoiding journeys by air.

Byways organised our trip to Italy. The process was straightforward, our online journey planner was very good, with links allowing us to make transfer decisions. A WhatsApp link was provided for emergencies and the response, even on a Sunday was prompt when a ferry was cancelled. I would definitely recommend and will use again for holidays by train.

A wonderful trip through France and Spain to visit our daughter in Porto, instead of the usual flight. Asked Byway to find a suitable itinerary for a train journey after being referred to the company by both the website of Alistair Sawdays and The Man in Seat 61. After some adjustments to their proposed route and hotels we finally agreed a journey from our nearest station to London, Paris and then onto Madrid via Barcelona. After a couple of nights in Madrid finally arrived in Porto via Vigo. After a few pleasant days in Porto returned home via Vigo, San Sebastián and Paris. A wonderful trip, with lovely hotels, good food and new cultural experiences. All along the way we had excellent support from the Byway team on the few occasions where it was needed. Thank you Byway and look forward to other trips in the future, hopefully.

We enjoyed a lovely trip with Byway. Helpful ideas when booking. Smooth organisation for a multicentre trip. Lovely selection of hotels and fuss free train travel. We had a minor issue which was resolved within 30 minutes

Great holiday. Well constructed to meet our wishes. Preparation was excellent ( if you haven’t used Interail before attend the Zoom meeting) support during trip fantastic.
Will definitely use Byway again.

We were pointed to Byway Travel by the train-travel website "The Man in Seat Sixty-One". We are so happy that we found Byway! Our September 2015, multi-train trip from Paris to Istanbul went without any problems. The stopover cities that Byway chose were fascinating to visit. The hotels Byway placed us in were excellent: small, NON-chain hotels with personalized attention. They were close to the major attractions of the city. I would use Byway Travel again without hesitation!

Apart from faultless booking of our itinerary and finding us really special places to stay, the quality of communication was superb.

What a great company. Built a trip through email communication , no hard sale or long telephone conversations which was my preferred choice. Very prompt responses and informed advice on the route I was building. Byway selected the hotels along the way and sorted train times to fit in nicely with the travel plan. Whilst away there were a few issues as you would expect with delays etc and every time they were on hand via WhatsApp to advise and resolve pretty much instantly.

Brilliantly organised and very good support whilst you are on the holiday.

We found out about Byway through a Radio 4 programme in March this year. The company had a promotional offer of free 1st class train upgrades, so we made a quick plan and went for it.
The company were very responsive throughout, from planning the trip, to supporting us when necessary as we travelled. They set us up with Interrail passes, which have to be used on an app. The app is not that reliable (different story; 2 stars…) but Byway were very supportive, specially via WhatsApp, which meant we had little to worry about.
And the trip itself was a lovely itinerary: via Nîmes to Spain, across to Porto and back through Galicia and the Basque Country, Bordeaux and home. There was a range of accommodation: never less than decent and a couple of fabulously grand hotels. And travel options the same, first class where available, but also Flixbus and small local train services. It all added up to a delightfully varied and fun experience.
We would certainly recommend Byway to other travellers.

Byway organised our rail trip to Italy from start to finish adjusting it to our requirements and needs. They even do a zoom session to talk you through the interrail app. You also have your own WhatsApp group with them in case of problems. Holiday was amazing, above our expectations and Byway was there for us when we needed help. We would highly recommend them.

We were extremely impressed with the support offered by Byway both before and during our trip. Their question and answer session on how to use our Interrail passes was invaluable, and we were amazed by the speed of their responses to our WhatsApp queries during the trip. Nothing was too much trouble for them. They kept in touch during an upcoming rail strike in France so we had no worries on that score. All communications had a very pleasant personal feel to them.
The accommodation they chose was excellent. After the trip they swiftly organised a refund for a delayed journey.
We are recommending them to our friends. We really couldn't fault their planning or their support.

I travelled from London to Athens, with stopovers en route. Byway organised a very good itinerary for me, and listened to my requests, including good hotels and excellent instructions. When strikes hit Greece they arranged an alternative so that I was able to arrive in time to meet up with friends as I'd organised. I really recommend Byway.

We just got back from a train holiday to see lakes of Italy and Switzerland.
Byway is a great company. Responsive to questions before the trip and what’s app support during the trip.
Great hotels selected by Byway.
Fair price for all we saw and did!

We would fully recommend Byway to anyone contemplating a rail-based adventure - for us at least, it's more than just a holiday.

This was our second time travelling with Byway. Having been to Norway in 2024 this time we plumped for something warmer and have recently returned from a 26 day trip through eight countries, travelling over 4000 miles with three sleeper trains and two overnight ferries.

From the initial online meetings with our concierge (who suggested the enhanced route we ended up taking) to the Eurostar home, Byway's service was excellent.

We had a couple of minor problems but Byway’s WhatsApp support proved to be excellent (we hadn't needed to use it on the previous trip). Our ferry arrived late which resulted in missing our train. The help was very responsive and everything got sorted within a few minutes. It also gave us a bonus couple of hours to see the delights of Bari before heading to Bologna.

You do need to approach a trip like this with a sense of adventure though. For example, our sleeper train into Türkiye had to stop at the border, around midnight, for a passport check and baggage inspection (we knew this beforehand). Unfortunately the train arrived very late and the police, who were to do the checking, had cleared off! This left us all standing on the platform with our bags for about forty minutes until a police car arrived with lights flashing and bleary-eyed occupants.

The hotels Byway booked for us were, without exception, excellent - clean, comfortable, and very well located. And they all had baggage drop which was invaluable in several places.

As we found on the last trip, and again this holiday, it's often the unplanned / unexpected moments that are some of the most memorable and enjoyable.

We are already thinking about where to go next!

Keith & Liz (ages 72 and 61)

1. The location itself: Eastern Europe--Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland.
2. The good, personalized service I got from Byway travel.
3. The itinerary they designed for me, including choice of lodging and stopping places.