Deals of the week: Finisterre, Harwich to Hook of Holland, London to Tokyo, Ellen MacArthur

A TRAIN

Finisterre may have disappeared from the shipping forecasts, but it still exists in the rail timetables. Four mornings a week – Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday – the Finisterre sets off from Barcelona at 7.30am, destination the end of the world – also known as La Coruna.

This epic journey takes you from the Mediterranean coast, across a spectacular swathe of northern Spain, through the heart of the Castilla y Leon region and the fine city of Burgos (near Vivar, the birthplace of El Cid), before traversing the Montes de Leon mountain range and ending at La Coruna on Spain's north-west Atlantic coast.

The return fare for the 16-hour, 852-mile trip, through Rail Europe (08705 848 848, www.rail-europe.co.uk) is £118. You can reach Barcelona cheaply and easily on a range of airlines – or, if you have 15 hours to spare, by rail from London Waterloo for a fare of £250 – also through Rail Europe.

A BOAT

Anyone who has tried to book a flight at weekends to Amsterdam will know that prices can go way above the airlines' usual minimum of £60 or so return. But if you use the high-speed ferry from Harwich to Hook of Holland you can travel from London to Amsterdam – or anywhere else in the Netherlands – for a flat £50 return, providing you book at least a week in advance through Stena Line (08705 455 455, www.stenaline. co.uk). If you do not book a week in advance, the fare is still a reasonable £79 return.

Ferries depart every day at 10.40am and 7.20pm, taking around four hours. There are connecting trains at each end.

Once in Amsterdam, you can continue the maritime theme at the Rijksmuseum (00 31 20 674 7000, www.rijksmuseum.nl). From 10 October until 9 February 2003, an exhibition looks at the influence of the Dutch East India Company on the Far East.

A PLANE

The usual discount return fare for a non-stop flight between London and Tokyo or Osaka is around £800 (the official rate is more like £1,200). But if you can book by 25 September and travel in November, All Nippon Airways will fly you to either city for an amusingly low £345. The offer is available exclusively through STA Travel (0870 160 6070, www.statravel.co.uk).

A TALK

The next Stanfords Travel Lecture features Ellen MacArthur talking about her autobiography, Taking On The World. At 24, Ms MacArthur became the youngest person to complete the Vendée Globe round-the-world sailing race. She will talk about the voyage, battling with storms, exhaustion, rigging failure and a collision. The event takes place at Westminster Central Hall, 27 September at 7pm. Tickets, £7.50, are available from Stanfords, 12-14 Long Acre, WC2 (020-7836 1321 or www.stanfords.co.uk).

Additional research by Roland Lloyd Parry and Carl Woodman