28 Jul 2022
Travel B Corps Intrepid Travel and Byway have teamed up to make it easier than ever for UK travellers to explore Europe 100% flight-free.
Travellers who book a European small group adventure with Intrepid will be invited to visit the Byway website to arrange their flight-free slow travel journey to the start, or from the end, of the tour - by train, sleeper train and boat. The multi-day Byway journeys include en route pauses and overnight stays, and become an extension of the Intrepid holiday.
The service is available for Intrepid trips in Italy and Spain initially, with more destinations to be added in the next phase of the partnership.
Slow travel is a growing trend in the UK as more consumers want to make sustainable travel choices post pandemic. A survey commissioned by Intrepid of 1000 people in June 2022 showed that 54% of Brits think travelling sustainably is important, while a further 26% are interested in hearing more about the topic. A total of 45% said they wanted to take their time exploring destinations and 52% said they planned to travel for longer periods post pandemic.
As fellow B Corps, Byway and Intrepid have a common focus on purpose-led sustainable travel and off-the-beaten path adventures.
Susanne Etti, global environmental impact manager at Intrepid, said: “We are excited to be working with Byway in what we believe is an industry-first – two travel B Corps supporting each other to make it easier than ever for people to enjoy slow, 100% flight free holidays.”
Cat Jones, founder and CEO of Byway, said: “It's going to take real industry collaboration to materially lower our carbon impact, and the best way to do this is to offer delightful holistic door-to-door slow travel experiences. We're delighted to be partnering with Intrepid, a well-known and superb tour operator, to offer their customers truly flight-free round trip travel.”
Sample partnership trips
Italy Real Food Adventure from £2,020pp
Your journey to Venice £737pp | Your journey from Rome £718pp
Spend a leisurely four days travelling from London to Venice by train with Byway before embarking on Intrepid's Real Food Adventure. Travelling by train, you'll have the chance to explore Paris, Zurich, Switzerland's oldest city, Chur, and the charming small town of Tirano along the way. The UNESCO World Heritage-listed Rhaetian Railing with its spectacular panoramic views is a real highlight.
Once in Venice, you'll join your Intrepid group to embark on a culinary journey through Italy. With plenty of hands-on cooking demos, you'll learn there's far more to Italian food than pizza and pasta. You'll taste the real balsamic vinegar in an acetaia, learn about wine and olive oil production in a farm stay in Tuscany and learn how to roll pasta like a pro in Bologna.
After your Intrepid adventure ends you'll enjoy a final day in Rome before heading slowly home by sleeper train, stopping along the way to explore the culture and cuisine of Munich, Cologne and Brussels.
Total trip length: 16 days
Premium Tuscany from £2,930pp
Your journey to Rome £661pp | Your journey from Venice £776pp
Travel from London to Rome over three days by train with Byway before discovering the treasures of Tuscany on Intrepid's Premium Tuscany. On the way there, you'll whizz through Belgium on a German ICE train and spend a night in Cologne, renowned for its gothic architecture. You'll have the chance to enjoy dinner in Munich before boarding a Nightjet sleeper through the Alps to Rome.
In Rome, join your Intrepid group for an eight-day Premium adventure through the heart of Tuscany. You'll explore Venice's Piazza San Marco, Pisa's Leaning Tower and Rome's iconic colosseum under moonlight with a local guide. Spend a memorable night in the vineyards of Tuscany in a hotel converted from an 11th-century convent and visit the wine-growing region of San Gimignano to sample world-class wine at a family-run winery.
Once your Intrepid tour ends in Venice you'll travel by train to Milan, then over the Rhaetian Railway, famous for its spectacular Swiss Alpine views, and stop off in lesser-known Chur for fondue in Switzerland's oldest city. Your last stay will be in Zürich where you can see the city by boat before heading home.
Total trip length: 15 days
Highlights of Andalucia from £1,144pp
Your journey to Seville £624pp | Your journey from Granada £716pp
Spend three days travelling by train from London to Seville. Along the way stay one night in Avignon, a beautiful medieval French city with a rich history visible in its architecture, museums and galleries. You'll also spend a night in Madrid – the city renowned for its art museums, historic buildings and nightlife.
Once you arrive in Seville, spend eight-days with your Intrepid group marvelling at the sights, sounds and smells of Spain's south. You'll see the highlights of Seville, Ronda and Granada while feasting on region-specific tapas and exploring historic hilltop cities. Enjoy an olive-oil tasting at a local family-run mill and tasting of local beers and Iberico ham from the owner of a local deli.
From Granada, the end of your Intrepid tour, you will travel home via Madrid and Girona with Byway, visiting the Royal Palace and the Dalí Theatre-Museum, if you like. Your last night will be in Paris, with time to enjoy shops and bars along the Canal Saint-Martin.
Total trip length: 15 days
To find out more, visit https://www.byway.travel/intrepid or https://www.intrepidtravel.com/uk/leave-lighter-tracks-byway
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Notes to editors
Photos can be downloaded here with credit to Intrepid Travel, and here with credit to Byway.
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About Intrepid Travel
Intrepid Travel is a world leader in sustainable experience-rich travel that has been taking travellers to discover the world's most amazing places for more than 30 years. The company's mission is to create positive change through the joy of travel. The company offers more than 1,150 trips on every continent and every is designed to truly experience local culture. With its own network of destination management companies in 23 countries, Intrepid has unique local expertise and perspectives. Globally renowned as a leader in responsible travel, in 2018 the carbon-neutral business became the world's largest travel company to be certified B-Corp. Intrepid Travel is the only global tour operator with verified science-based carbon reduction targets and its not-for-profit, The Intrepid Foundation, has raised more than $11 million for more than 130 charities around the world. For further information download the company's 2021 Integrated Annual Report and follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn.
About Byway
Byway is the first of its kind slow travel planner for flight-free trips. Each multi-stop trip is fully personalised for the holidaymaker, and optimised for quality of experience instead of speed.
The company was founded in 2020 by Cat Jones, who's never owned a car and whose annual family holiday is by train and bike, whatever the weather. As a start-up coach and investor with degrees in Sustainable Development and Physics, she jumped at the opportunity to make environmentally friendly travel more accessible as Covid sent travel as we knew it into free-fall.
Trips are available across Europe for all dates in 2022 and beyond. All bookings include transport, local accommodation, on-demand WhatsApp support, and a low carbon footprint.
About slow travel
The carbon impact of rail travel is 14g of CO2 per passenger mile, compared to 285g for air: you could get the train from London to Edinburgh and back five times and your carbon footprint would still be lower than if you flew there. Giving up meat for a year saves 2.7 tonnes of carbon, but giving up one return flight from London to Bangkok saves 3.3 tonnes.
Slow travel is not just about more carbon friendly ways to travel, but the wider benefits of slowing down and taking the scenic route. It's about taking the time to get to know a place - its food, its landscapes, its people, its histories - and enjoying the freedom and unexpectedness of travelling overland.
