Why you should consider a different kind of travel this summer

For once, flying might not be the cheapest option, writes Helen Coffey

It could just be the perfect time to consider the alternatives to flying (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Whenever I’m out there banging the drum for flight-free travel – which I do frequently, having pledged to stop flying myself since November 2019 – I’m usually met by one, impossible-to-dismiss argument. “But getting the train is five times the price!” people cry – and, depending on their journey, they’re usually right.

It’s not that most travellers enjoy getting on a plane, and it frequently isn’t even about the fact that slow travel is, well, slower. And holidaymakers increasingly care about their carbon footprints and want to make greener choices: Booking.com’s Sustainable Travel Report 2022 reported that 81 per cent of UK travellers said sustainable travel was important to them, and 71 per cent wanted to travel more sustainably this year.

What it comes down to, at the end of the day, is cost.