Does the thought of seeing europe by rail, then traveling to a port on the Mediterranean and hopping on board a world cruise ship, seem appealing? This kind of holiday or vacation can be for a week or longer, and usually covers from two to three weeks. Of course, once you are on the cruise ship it will be your hotel and there will be many ports further along the coast where you may explore all day long and see the local sights, if you are exploring the Mediterranean.

Europe by Rail have many ports along the way — Great Britain, France, Spain, Italy, Greece and in Northern Europe — Germany and several Scandinavian countries as well. If you’d love to see the interior of any of these European countries, then a rail pass for a week where you can end up at Piraeus in Greece, for instance, will settle your roaming cravings yet let you relax when on your cruise. Europe by Rail is a wonderful way to see a country and you leave the transportation up to someone else.

Of course, there are stops here and there and much local color and things to eat and see and do while you’re in the station. You can also, on some passes, get off the train then stay a while then get back on board and continue on to the country’s port, where your luxury cruise and restful cabin await you. There are a lot of discounts you can get on railway passes, depending on what age you are, what kind of accommodation you want on the train, and how long you want the pass or tickets for. Plan it out and leave a few hours when you get to port organize your luggage, perhaps grab a bite or look around, before you hop on board the ship.

See if you can either get your luggage on board the ship early, or check it into a locker until you’re ready to embark. When you are planning your cruise, especially, take into account how many people are in your group, unless it’s just yourself of course, what you want to see while on board the ship, and what ports you’d like to visit. There are cruises for singles, couple, seniors and young people, gays, and people of various religions. You can get a cruise that’s tailored to you. A flexible rail and cruise vacation can be the best of many worlds and will give you ideas for vacations in the years to come.

If you disembark at, say, Marseilles, then you may want to start there with the rail tour and embark on your next cruise from there. It’s fun planning the next vacation to see Europe by rail this is an alternative way to travel and you will be also enjoyable and if you meet someone on your singles cruise then, perhaps, the next holiday you take will be for couples!