Frequently asked questions

Travel restrictions and cancellations

  • Not to worry, all of your bookings with Byway are fully refundable or moveable in the case we have to cancel your trip due to travel restrictions and disruptions. We'll move your dates for free, or you can cancel and receive a full refund.

    If you can’t travel because you get COVID or need to move or cancel your trip for any other reason, we'll be as flexible as we can: our change fees are reasonable, set at just the right level to recover our costs. We encourage you to arrange travel insurance to cover change or cancellation fees in the case that you’re unable to travel.

    Please also take a look at our Covid page where we explain our refund policy in more detail.

  • You may cancel your travel arrangements at any time. If you wish to cancel your trip, the person who made the booking must complete and submit our cancellation form.

    If you have any questions prior to cancelling, please email us at [email protected] and we will be happy to help

    Since we incur costs in cancelling or amending your travel arrangements, cancellation or amendment charges may apply. Please check our booking conditions for a full list of these charges.

    If the reason for your cancellation or change is covered under the terms of your insurance policy, you may be able to reclaim these charges. We therefore recommend that you secure appropriate insurance for your trip as soon as you have booked your holiday with us.

  • We strongly recommend purchasing travel insurance when booking your trip to safeguard against unforeseen events like cancellations or medical emergencies. While we do not offer or recommend specific providers, having insurance is crucial for peace of mind when travelling. When selecting your policy, consider the following tips from the FCDO:

    • Declare any pre-existing medical conditions to ensure proper coverage.

    • Check the length of your trip doesn’t exceed the policy’s maximum duration.

    • Ensure all planned activities are covered, especially if they involve adventure or extreme sports.

    • Confirm your policy includes medical evacuation coverage in case of emergencies.

    • Take a copy of your insurance policy with you and save the 24/7 emergency contact number and your policy number in your phone.

    • Share your policy details with a next-of-kin and any travel companions before you travel.

    For more information on travel insurance, you can visit the FCDO website page.

  • Rail strikes can and do happen, but your holiday is protected with us. If you’re unlucky enough to be affected by rail strikes, we’ll let you know about it as soon as possible. We’ll do our best to re-plan your holiday using alternative routes or transport while endeavouring to keep the disruption to you to a minimum. If, for whatever reason, we can’t re-plan your holiday without minimal disruption, we’ll give you some alternatives, including moving your dates for free or cancelling and receiving a full refund.

  • Starting in November 2024, the EU plans to introduce the Entry/Exit System (EES), a digital border control system for the Schengen area. UK travellers using a British passport will need to register their biometric data (fingerprints or a photo) at their port of entry. This will replace the current passport stamping process. Registration is done on arrival and takes place at kiosks, with no need to provide information beforehand. The digital record is valid for 3 years, and returning visitors will only need to update their biometric data.

    As with any new system rollout like this, it may at first cause longer wait times at airports and certain ports (e.g., Dover, Eurotunnel, and St Pancras). UK ports and carriers are preparing for EES, with new kiosks and streamlined processes in place. Eurostar, Eurotunnel, and Port of Dover will offer numerous kiosks to facilitate registration. The current advice is that it may take 120 minutes to go through Eurostar check in, rather than the 60 - 90 minutes that Eurostar currently suggests.

    In 2025, the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) will also be introduced, requiring UK travellers to apply for authorization and pay a 7 Euro fee before entering Schengen countries.

    Similarly, the UK will be introducing the ETA scheme from November 27th 2024 for residents outside of Europe and April 2025 for European nationals, which is a digital permit that allows non-visa nationals to visit the UK for up to six months without a visa and will cost £10. You will need to apply online for it before travelling and it will last for two years (or until your passport expires if it’s within two years).

    For more information, visit the EU’s Travel Europe website or the Gov.UK page on the EES.
    You can find out more about the UK’s ETA scheme on the Gov.UK factsheet page, when it will be needed and also apply on the Gov.UK website.

Prices and booking

  • The price of our holidays includes:

    • All accommodation

    • All travel, unless we tell you otherwise (eg some short local bus/ferry journeys we aren’t able to pre-book and pre-pay for you)

    • A journey guide with details of your trip and activity recommendations

    • WhatsApp support with our team for on-trip queries, tips and free disruption rerouting.

    • Package protection through our ABTA bond and 100% Covid refund guarantee

    It doesn’t include:

    • Tickets for activities, ski or event passes.

    • Local car or bike hire

    • Extra large luggage, like surfboards and cellos

    • Specific seat types/locations on your journeys

    • Local transfers, taxis or buses you might choose to take within an area once you're there

    • Travel insurance - please arrange this separately in case you need to cancel

    • City/tourist taxes levied by some local governments and required to be paid on check in at your accommodation

    Not included as standard, but may be possible to add on request with our concierge team before booking for certain trips:

    • Meals

    • Experience bookings

    • Your pets

    • Your bikes

  • Yes! All accommodation listed in your journey is included in the price of your trip. At some of our hand-picked stays, we don’t always have live availability: these are listed as ‘Your hand-picked accommodation’ in your itinerary. In rare circumstances, we may have to swap this accommodation for an alternative, but it’ll always be for something else we love just as much. We hope you’ll love it just as much too, but if you don’t you’ll be able to let us know and we’ll do our best to find something perfect for you.

  • We don’t provide transfers to hotels as standard. The vast majority of the accommodation we use for our holidays is within easy walking distance of a railway station or other public transport stop, but you can of course choose to take a taxi if you wish!

  • When you have found a trip and amended it to make it just right for you, click the book button.

    You will see a summary of your trip and your payment options. If your holiday is more than 8 weeks in the future, you can pay only a 25% deposit.

    You’ll then be asked to fill in our booking form with passenger details, and any preferences around travel times or other requirements you might have. Next, you’ll be taken to our payment page where you will fill in your card details to make the payment.

    Once you’ve booked, we will secure your stays and key tickets. You’ll receive a confirmation, then within a week, you’ll receive a journey summary with all of the details of your trip, including accommodation and travel times.

  • If you’re booking more than two months ahead of your departure, you’ll be given two options for payment. You can choose to pay the entire amount in full at the time of booking, or to pay a 25% deposit. If you choose the second option, the remaining balance will be due two months before departure. We’ll send you an invoice when the balance is due, and you can pay by bank transfer or by credit/debit card.

    If you’re booking less than two months ahead of your departure, the entire balance will be due at the time of booking.

  • Very rarely, our technology might feature trains or accommodation that are not available or mis-priced. If this happens we’ll let you know as soon as we find this error and work with you to find a good replacement or redesign your trip. If you are not happy with the solutions we can offer you a full refund.

  • As a package holiday company, we don't have fees that we split out for our services, instead, we have a single price, which includes travel, accommodation, a trip guide with local activity recommendations, WhatsApp support and free disruption replanning, a Covid refund guarantee and financial protection through ABTA.

    Our trips cost a little more than you’d pay if you’d put everything together yourself and managed your own risk, but not a huge amount more since we can also access trade prices on accommodation and transport when putting together our packages.

  • We don’t charge extra for solo travellers. However, most hotels will price their double rooms at the same rate, regardless of whether they are occupied by one or two people, and this will be reflected in the total price of our packages. Sleeper trains will often reduce the price of a room for a solo traveller, but not by half.

    Our system will always attempt to find hotels with a single room where possible to reduce the cost. You can also let us know before booking that you prefer single rooms, and our team will check if there are any further savings to be made.

    You can find the solo price of our trips by changing the number of people and rooms to one in the edit bar.

  • The sooner the better! Booking as far in advance as possible ensures that you’ll have access to the best possible prices and availability for your holiday. We find that, in most cases, booking six months or more in advance is ideal, but we can also quite often build a wonderful holiday for you with much less notice than that. Please do bear in mind that some destinations, such as the Scottish Highlands and Scilly Isles, book up very early, so please do book these destinations more than six months in advance if possible to avoid disappointment.

  • We’re a bonded package holiday company which means we sell complete package holidays at a single cost for the whole package (protected and regulated by ABTA). This is also so we can access lower trade rates with our suppliers than you’d be able to find booking directly or with a travel agent that has each cost broken out. Part of this deal is that we aren’t allowed to disclose individual prices to customers. It's essentially the travel version of bulk-buy crisps at the supermarket and each pack has a “not to be sold separately” sticker on it.

  • We would love to be price competitive with budget airlines but unfortunately, that’s not (yet) possible. The price of our bookings reflects the price of ground transportation, which is sadly more than flying. We think this is ridiculous as it’s the planet that’s paying the price for cheap flights.

    For example, domestic airlines pay no fuel duty on kerosene (jet fuel) and tickets are zero-rated for VAT, whereas fuel used for road transport is subject to fuel duty and VAT, and Diesel used for passenger rail travel is subject to fuel duty.

    For more information about what needs to change in the travel industry and how you can help, check out this blog post on decarbonising travel.

Planning your trip

  • The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and National Travel Health Network and Centre have up-to-date advice on staying safe and healthy abroad. For the latest information about security and local laws, as well as passport, visas and travel insurance, check their Travel Aware campaign page and find out information about individual destinations on their foreign travel advice page.

    You can check the latest country-specific health advice on the TravelHealthPro website. The advice can change so check regularly for updates, and at least eight weeks before travel.

  • Most of our trips can be updated with accessibility in mind. All of our journeys are on train, bus, or ferry routes, making it easier to get around and we try to choose hotels that are close to stations or centrally-located where possible.

    If you have specific requirements that you’d like to make us aware of, our expert Concierge team can build a bespoke trip for you. Contact us here or call at +44 (0)20 4525 6215 to tell us more about your particular requirements and discuss the accommodations we need to make.

    We’re always looking for ways to improve accessibility. If you have any suggestions, please share them with us at [email protected].

  • Yes - it's your holiday. Before you book your trip, you can let us know which change you'd like to make (e.g. if you have a particular place you'd love to stay and you'd like us to work that into your route) and we'll be happy to make the changes.

  • A sleeper train (or night train) is a train that combines travelling with a place to sleep. You’ll usually get on at night, after dinner and you will get off in the morning at your new destination.

    We book cabins without an en-suite as standard. If you’d like to choose your room, then get in touch before booking and you can choose from comfortable seats, bunk beds with or without en-suite, to a double room.

    There are two sleeper trains we love to use regularly for Byway customers, and you can explore each in more detail below:

    The Night Riviera train between London and Cornwall.

    The Caledonian Sleeper train between London and Scotland.

  • Yes, of course. If you have preferences about the type or times of transport, just let us know when booking and we'll do our best to fit around them.‍

  • Because of Brexit, in the future (currently projected for 2025), holders of UK passports will need to secure an ETIAS waiver to enter the EU. ETIAS only applies for short leisure trips where there's no requirement for a full visa.

  • Unlike many traditional holiday providers, the vast majority of Byway trips are fully flexible and don't start or end on specific dates, so you can choose any departure date that you’d like on our trip pages.

    Please bear in mind that prices may vary on some departure dates, and occasionally, journeys may be restricted on some days or seasons because a certain ferry or train doesn’t run daily. However, we can usually find a great alternative. If you can’t find the dates you want for a particular trip, please contact our team at [email protected] for advice.

  • We often get asked by our customers if it’s possible to get to places like Milan, Venice, or Barcelona in a day. While the answer is sometimes technically yes, our experience tells us that very often it’s better to slow down and enjoy some wonderful stops en route. We recommend taking things slowly, generally travelling no more than six to eight hours per day. This way, you’ll get to enjoy your travel and explore a town or city you may never have thought about before!

    You should also bear in mind that some trains, such as Eurostar, have check-in times, and that others require a change part way through your journey. We like to make sure that you have a comfortable gap when changing trains so that you won’t need to rush. All the trips on our site are designed to make for a comfortable day’s travelling.

    We understand that, sometimes, you just need to get somewhere as quickly as possible. If that’s the case, please do contact our team on [email protected] for a bespoke itinerary.

  • One of the great things about trains is that, unlike many flights, they tend to depart regularly throughout the day. This means that there are very often lots of different possible departure times that would work for your trip. Once you book, our team will look for the best possible combination of departures, taking availability and transfer times into account, and let you know our recommendations in your booking confirmation. We’ll give you time to check through your confirmation and request changes if there are any times that don’t work for you.

    Wherever possible, we’ll choose departures that allow for a relaxed breakfast at your origin. You can also make timing requests in your booking form, such as ‘I’d like to leave Paris after lunch’ or ‘I need to arrive in Milan before 5pm’, and we’ll do our very best to accommodate, but please do bear in mind that there may be occasions when this isn’t possible!

  • We offer a range of departure points throughout the UK. Please select the closest one to you from the drop down list when building or customising a trip on our website. Before you book, you can also let us know your local station so that we can account for you making a connection to your departure point. On many of our European holidays, you’ll be able to use an Interrail pass to travel from your local station to your departure point. We charge a small (£10pp) fee to include these journeys in your itinerary, this fee contributes towards our disruption replanning fund to cover you should you face disruption that requires alternative arrangements to be made. Otherwise, if you'd prefer, you can arrange your own 'free' seat reservations with the train operator for same-day travel to/from your itinerary's departure/arrival point.

  • Absolutely! While we do our best to choose great accommodation in all of our destinations, we realise that hotels and B&Bs aren’t one-size-fits-all. If one, or more, of the hotels we’ve suggested in your itinerary isn’t right for you, you can change your hotel on the trip page before booking your trip by clicking on the orange ‘find alternative hotels button’ under each hotel entry. You’ll be shown a selection of hotels to choose from and you can pick whichever one takes your fancy. Bear in mind that this may change the price of the trip.

  • Yes, you can if you’re a UK resident booking a UK trip with us. We’ll refund you any savings made using your railcard after booking - just let us know at the time of booking by clicking the ‘add a railcard, accessibility needs or dietary requirements’ button and type in the type of railcard(s) you have. UK railcards are only valid with the UK, so can’t be used on trips in other countries.

    For European travel, your trip will often be priced with an Interrail pass that reduces the cost of travel, which we’ll purchase for you (along with any seat reservations that you might need).

  • Yes! First class fares do vary, but on many of our European holidays we can upgrade your travel to first class for less than £200 per person. Our standard upgrade includes Standard Premier on Eurostar, business class in Italy, Comfort class in Spain, and first class on most other operators. On our European trips that are priced with Interrail, you can add your first class upgrade on your trip page before booking. If you’d like to travel in a different class from those listed here, such as Executive class in Italy or Business Premier on Eurostar, or your holiday is entirely within the UK, please contact us at [email protected] before booking for a quote.

  • We’re not able to guarantee particular seat allocations (e.g. windows, top deck). This is because Interrail/Eurail seat reservation systems do not allow for the booking of particular seats, and some operators don’t offer seat choices at all, even for non Interrail/Eurail bookings.

  • Unfortunately, we don’t offer brochures of our holidays. All of our trips are listed online or built to your preferences with our online trip builder. If you have special requirements, you can also get in touch with our expert Concierge team who can build a bespoke trip for you. We recommend checking out the Inspiration and Destinations sections of our website if you’d like to browse through some of our most popular holidays. Or search our most popular trips on the homepage.

  • Yes, UK residents can request a paper pass up to 10 days before departure. A £30 fee will be applied to cover administrative and postage costs. Please be aware that certain special offers may only be available for trips booked with a mobile pass.

During your trip

  • We generally book flexible tickets so if you want to enjoy an extra hour or two in your destination, then you can often catch the next train to your next stay. Some of your journeys may be less flexible, if you have connections to make or on your outbound or homeward journeys. For bigger changes, like an extra night in places, this would need to be organised in advance of travelling as the shape of your trip would change. As this is classed as a major change, your trip would need to be rebooked.

  • Definitely. We'll sort the major transport and accommodation with you up front so you've secured where you're staying and how to get there, and the details will be completely up to you. We don't lock you into a fixed 'itinerary' day by day; our recommendations are 'place by place' instead. We'll share ideas for experiences or detours you might like based on the sort of holiday you're looking for, and it's up to you what (if anything!) you decide to do. Think of it like a smorgasbord of options, which you can pick and choose from as you like based on how you're feeling, what you're enjoying, and the weather.

  • Yes, we can help you get around the area you’re staying in.

    All of your stays will be on a train, bus or ferry route, from where you can visit sights or access walks, etc.
    The activities in your journey guide will have links to the websites of the sights with more information, alongside journey planners for activities that need transport so you can plan your day as you like.

  • One of the great things about travelling by rail is that, with a few limitations, you can pretty much take as much luggage as you can carry! Unlike airlines, there's no charge for excess luggage, and as long as your luggage can fit in the luggage racks or overhead spaces, you'll be able to take it with you. For Eurostar, UK, and most European trains, the general rule is that you can bring two large bags and one smaller item, provided you can manage them yourself. You can check individual trains' luggage restrictions on their websites. Note that there are exceptions for oversized luggage like surfboards, musical instruments, or bicycles, so do let us know if you're hoping to take anything other than suitcases with you. 

    You may need to change stations or walk to hotels, so packing lightly is always a good idea to make sure you’re comfortable as you make your way to your next stop.

  • This depends on the reason for the missed departure. On many of your journeys, you’ll be able to just hop on to the next available train if your missed departure is because of a delay or cancellation on your previous train. If, however, the reason you missed your departure is not due to a late-running or cancelled connection, you may need to purchase a new ticket at your own expense. We’ll set up a WhatsApp group and give you access to our out of hours emergency telephone number while you’re travelling, so you’ll be able to get in touch for advice should you miss one of your scheduled departures.

  • We plan your journey with connection times in mind, so we ensure that you’ll have plenty of time to change platforms, or even change stations, without rushing. If you think you’ll need extra time to make your connections, please mention this in your booking form.

  • Very occasionally the technology that books hotel rooms gets something wrong. For example, they might have your reservation listed as “Byway” and not your name, or your surname only. If you're experiencing check-in confusions, give us a call or WhatsApp and we can talk to you and the accommodation to sort it out.

  • Some hotels will ask for a pre-authorisation amount or a damage deposit at the time of checking in. This is to cover any room service requests, charges to your room that you might make or damage to rooms. It is normal practice for a hotel to ask for this, and you’ll be refunded on departure (it may take a few days to return to your account). The hotel may ask for this to be paid by cash or more often, credit card, but debit card will usually be accepted. The ‘hold’ amount varies between hotels but is normally around €100 - €150.

    It’s up to the hotel to decide whether they charge a deposit and it is not something that we control. When the hotel has provided the correct information, this will always be included in the hotel entry.

    If your hotel requires a deposit, you’ll find this information in the accommodation description on your trip page before booking. After booking this will be included in the reservation notes section on the hotel entry in your Trip Summary page and in your Journey Guide. In the rare case that your hotel charges you a deposit and this hasn’t been mentioned in your guide, please let us know so that we can update the hotel’s information for future travellers.

Any other questions