Peace and understanding
through travel and hosting

A good advice on travelling by train, the best ecological way of travelling

Dear Members,

When Servas members think of travelling by train, most of us think of their own country, neighbouring countries and maybe Europe, if they live in Europe. But you can travel much further by rail as Mark Smith’s lifelong project shows.

Mark comes from Great Britain and used to be a rail manager. He does all he can to promote travelling by train. In 2001 he started developing a website that helps people plan train journeys not only in the UK and Europe.

His website has won a number of awards. On his website Mark Smith gives detailed descriptions of routes and timetables around the world, explains how to book tickets and shows photos of train compartments. Most of what he writes is based on his own experiences. . www.seat61.com (an online bible for train passengers) You can also ask about connections from your country.

There’s detailed information on how to find accommodation if you’re en route to faraway destinations with tips on accommodation near stations.

If you decide to break your journey, you could always combine it with a Servas visit and that would make the journey part of your trip because international rail tickets are valid for more than a day, i.e. normally for 48 hours.

ServasOnline (SOL) has made it possible to for hosts to show that they will be happy to host travellers who can only stay one night. This means that many more Servas members will be able to meet.

Best ecological wishes,

Conni Geisendorf - National Secretary Servas Germany