Skip to content Welcome to Railtrail Tours
A family firm with an ethos of honesty and integrity. Our passion for delivering quality escorted holidays by rail at great value fares along with consistently excellent customer service has stood us in good stead for over 40 years.
Big on Quality, Small Enough to Care
01538 382323
Monday - Friday, 9am to 5pm
Our office is based in the centre of the historic market town of Leek in the Staffordshire Moorlands - between the Potteries and the Peak District. If you wish to visit us, you will need to call the office to book an appointment during our office hours (Monday - Friday, 09:00 - 17:00).
Back To TopFor each tour we publish a Fares Table showing all the relevant fares including our Tour Base Fare (join and leave at the hotel), First Class rail travel (where available), and Standard Class rail travel.
We offer tour fares that are inclusive of rail travel from any rail station in the UK including seat reservations (where applicable) on all our UK tours plus a selection of our European tours.
For further information and details on our tour fares, please see our 'Tour Fares Explained' page.
Our tour fares include rail travel and seat reservations (where applicable) to and from the tour base (unless our Tour Base Fare is selected) plus accommodation, selected meals, excursions and admissions, and much more.
For further details, please see our 'Tour Fares Explained' page.
All our holidays by train require a reasonable level of physical fitness and unaided mobility. Our only wish is for you to enjoy your holiday and it is for this reason that we must be sure that the tour you have selected is suitable for you. To help you identify the suitability of a tour, our tours are thoughtfully classified based on activity level to help you find the perfect fit. Please visit our 'Tour Descriptions' page for further details.
Additionally, as part of the booking process, you are required to declare that you (and all your party travelling) are capable of:
* Carrying and lifting your own luggage on and off a train
* Walking at a reasonable pace as part of a group
* Climbing steps and stairs comfortably
In the UK there is a National Rail Service - Passenger Assist - which is a free service. Passenger Assist must be booked in advance (0800 022 3720 - Option 1) and includes:
* Offering a helping hand to navigate the station
* Support when boarding the train
* Meeting you from your train and taking you to your next train or the exit
* Carrying your bag(s) - up to 3 items of luggage
Online: You can browse all our tours on our website and explore tour itineraries, images, and links. Once you have chosen your tour, you can use our 24/7 online booking service to book your holiday. Alternatively, you can also use our 'Request a Callback' option if you have any queries, and a member of our Customer Care Team will telephone you during office hours.
By Phone: Simply call our Customer Care Team on 01538 382323 during office hours and we will take you through the booking process.
Yes, some tours do offer a Railcard discount. If you have a National Railcard, the Fares Table will show a nominal amount that can be deducted from the tour fare.
We use an ITX package ticket for outbound and homeward bound legs of the tour and, as these are already discounted, they cannot be discounted any further therefore not all tours have a Railcard discount as this is dependent on the internal journeys of the tour.
It is possible to arrange to have your luggage collected in advance from your home and delivered to your UK or European tour hotel, leaving you free to enjoy your holiday by train even more! Using Railtrail's luggage service allows you to travel light on the first and last days of your holiday and this special concierge service may not cost as much as you would imagine.
You can request a quote for our concierge service by contacting our friendly Customer Care Team on 01538 382323.
Yes, you are welcome to make a special request. Any special requests must be advised to us at the time of booking, for example, diet, room location, upgrades etc. and should then be confirmed in writing to us.
Whilst every effort will be made by Railtrail to try and arrange your special request, we unfortunately cannot guarantee that they will be fulfilled. A special request being noted on your confirmation invoice, or any other documentation, is not confirmation that the request will be met and failure to meet any special request will not be a breach of contract on our part unless the request has been specifically confirmed by us. We do not accept bookings that are conditional upon any special request being met.
Yes, if you are unable to confirm a definite booking, our Customer Care Team will be happy to place an "Option Booking" for you reserving your place for up to 4 weeks without any deposit being paid.
Back To TopA deposit is required at the time of booking as follows:
* UK Tours - £75.00 per person
* European & Classic Plus Tours - £150.00 per person
* Worldwide (Ground Only) - £400.00 per person
* Worldwide (Flight Inclusive) - £450.00 per person
Remember, deposits are non-refundable therefore we recommend you consider travel insurance arrangements prior to booking.
Our preferred means of payment are cheque, debit card, or direct bank transfer (BACS). You can also choose to make payment through your online account by logging in on our website and selecting 'Balance Payments'.
For payment by BACS, please use the following account information quoting your 5-digit booking reference number:
* Account Name: Railtrail Tours Ltd
* Account Number: 66170660
* Sort Code: 30-93-83
* BIC: LOYDGB21080
* IBAN: GB71 LOYD 3093 8366 1706 60
Full payment of your holiday will be due:
* UK Tours - 9 weeks before departure
* Classic Plus Tours, European & Worldwide Tours - 13 weeks before departure
Your Booking Confirmation and Invoice will include the date when the final balance of your holiday is due by.
Any bookings made after the final balance payment date will require full payment at the time of booking.
Your holiday details, final itinerary, rail travel tickets, and seat reservations (where applicable) will be sent to you approximately 7-10 days before departure.
European tour itineraries will include details of the meeting point with Railtrail at London St Pancras International.
Worldwide tour itineraries will include details of the chosen flight check-in desk.
Your route will depend on your starting station and which trains are available on the date of departure. Our ticketing team will always look to book the most direct route they can, arriving at the destination at a similar time to other rail inclusive travellers. If any changes are needed, we would (where possible) allow at least 20 minutes at the station to make this change.
Back To TopIf you have chosen our Tour Base Fare, you will meet your Tour Manager at the first hotel. Our rail and flight inclusive customers will receive details of the meeting point in their final itinerary and are typically:
* UK Tours - On most of the UK tours, the Tour Manager will meet you either at the destination station or at the first hotel.
* European Tours - You will meet your Tour Manager at London St Pancras International at a specified meeting place.
* Worldwide Tours - You will meet your Tour Manager at our chosen flight check-in desk.
If you feel that your holiday has been enhanced by your Tour Manager and that you wish to show your appreciation via a personal gratuity to them, any amount you may wish to give as your way of saying "thank you" is entirely a matter for your own personal discretion.
Back To TopIf you are a British Citizen, you do not need your passport to travel to mainland England, Scotland, or Wales.
Photographic ID (passport or driving licence) will be required when boarding ferries if you are visiting:
* Isle of Man
* Isle of Wight
* Northern Ireland
* Channel Islands
If you are a British Citizen travelling on our European or Worldwide tours, you will require your passport. Please ensure that your passport is in date and is valid for at least 6 months from the date of your return.
If you are not a British Citizen, you will require your passport and must also check the immigration requirements with the appropriate embassy or consulate of the country / countries that you plan to visit or travel through.
We will advise at the time of booking of any visa requirements.
For European and Worldwide tours it is a condition of booking that you are adequately insured and that you will provide to us the details of your insurance arrangements (name of provider, policy number, and emergency contact number stated on the policy) prior to travelling.
If you are a British Citizen travelling on a UK tour, travel insurance is not mandatory however, we do recommend that you are similarly insured and request that you provide us with Emergency Contact information prior to travelling.
If you are not a British Citizen, travel insurance is mandatory for all tours, and it is a condition of booking that you provide to us the details of your insurance arrangements, as detailed above, prior to travelling.
European Tours: The UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) allows you access to state healthcare in EU countries on the same basis as a resident of that country for any medical treatment that may become necessary during your holiday within the EU or Switzerland (excludes Channel Islands, Alderney, Sark, and Monaco). The healthcare provided may be free or it may require a payment equivalent to that which a local resident would pay.
All UK residents should have a GHIC card and carry it with them when travelling abroad. To apply please visit www.nhs.uk and search "Healthcare Abroad".
Worldwide Tours: We will advise you at the time of booking of any health precautions and immunisations recommended that we are aware of at the time however, we also advise you seek advice from a qualified medical practitioner.
When industrial action is announced we are given two weeks' notice. We will always look to work around industrial action, where possible, which could mean extending the tour by one day or moving the days of the tour or itinerary. There may be an additional cost for these changes however, we would keep these to a minimum and subsidise ourselves, where possible.
If you are unable to accommodate any change in departure date, there will be no charge for cancellation and a full cash refund of all monies paid offered.
Should your tour be cancelled by Railtrail Tours for any reason, you will be entitled to a full cash refund of all monies paid or offered the opportunity to book onto an alternative tour, often at an incentivised fare. Further details are available within our 'Booking Terms & Conditions'.
Back To TopWe are privileged to have so many of our customers travel with us regularly, returning year after year to enjoy our unique brand of escorted rail holidays. Recognising this, we like to reward our clients through our Loyalty Points Scheme and Frequent Traveller Club.
For detailed information on both our loyalty programmes, please see our 'Railtrail Rewards' page.
At Railtrail we are proud to have been awarded the Feefo 'Platinum Trusted Service Award' for consistently delivering excellence. All our verified Feefo reviews are available at www.feefo.com/en-GB/reviews/railtrail-tours.
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Useful Links:
Booking Conditions: www.railtrail.co.uk/Booking-Conditions
Tour Fares Explained: www.railtrail.co.uk/Tour-Fares-Explained
Tour Descriptions: www.railtrail.co.uk/Tour-Descriptions
Railtrail Rewards: www.railtrail.co.uk/Railtrail-Rewards
Railtrail Feefo Reviews: www.feefo.com/en-gb/reviews/railtrail-tours
National Rail Service - Passenger Assist: www.nationalrail.co.uk/help-and-assistance/passenger-assist/
National Railcard: www.railcard.co.uk
Gov UK Foreign Travel Advice: www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice
Travel Insurance Guide: www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel-insurance
NHS Healthcare Abroad: www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/healthcare-abroad
Award Winning rail holidays in the UK, Europe & Worldwide, departing in 2025
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