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It looks nice, but it feels a bit anachronistic to exclusively focus on air travel in 2018 considering the environmental impact of aeroplanes. Recommending flig

It looks nice, but it feels a bit anachronistic to exclusively focus on air travel in 2018 considering the environmental impact of aeroplanes. Recommending flights from Schiphol (Amsterdam) to nearby Brussels or London without showing more eco-friendly alternatives (Thalys and Eurostar, or even ferries) is a bit disappointing. Travel does not necessarily mean taking a flight somewhere (especially in Europe).

icebraining 9y ago
Agreed, that's exactly what I've been felt is missing. I'm not sure about flights+hotels, but for flights alone the tools already existed (Adioso, Google Flights). Alas, I still haven't found any that let me do the same for trains and buses. GoEuro already lets you search, but you have to choose a specific destination.
- Freak_NL 9y ago
  Cheap buses shouldn't be too hard with the proliferation of Flixbus etc. (Amsterdam → Berlin starts at €29), but as a 200cm Dutchman travelling by coach definitely does not fall within my definition of an acceptable mode of travel for leisure (neither does flying for that matter). Finding cheap train fairs is indeed a puzzle sometimes! It helps a lot to have some familiarity with the major European train companies, the major high-speed connections, and how to book the discounted tickets in advance (incidentally, Amsterdam → Berlin starts at €39,90 when booked two months in advance). Of course seat61.com is useful too as a general source of information. What I really miss is a tool that shows me destinations that can be comfortably reached by a combination of day-time and sleeper trains on dates that still have discount tickets available. Nothing beats waking up early in the morning in Vienna or Munich in a sleeper train; it's like getting a free day of travel, and you arrive fairly well-rested instead of weary from travel. I'm not doing anything useful in my sleep (besides sleeping), so I might as well spend that time travelling.
- jonballant 9y ago
  Agreed on the need to include more than just flights especially when traveling through Europe. However SkyScanner just updated their capabilities to include Train travel on their booking similar to GoEuro. I still believe SkyScanner to be the best travel website for finding cheap flights and also includes the option to just search a country name like "Spain" or even "Everywhere". I'm excited to see SkyScanner merge the technology of including buses/trains with the ability to explore non-specific destinations. https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/03/skyscanner-adds-train-travel-booking-starting-in-uk/ https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/03/skyscanner-adds-train-trav...
kofejnik 9y ago
if we're talking budget travel, a 12 EUR bus from Amsterdam to Brussels should definitely be on the list
- solarkraft 9y ago
  Yet the minimum budget is 150$.
- notahacker 9y ago
  tbh if the scope of your search is popular tourist cities a three hour train or bus ride from me, you probably skip the website for suggesting a perfect travel destination" you might not have thought of and go straight to the hotel/hostel booking site...
ajdlinux 9y ago
I strongly recommend Rome2rio (https://www.rome2rio.com/ https://www.rome2rio.com/) for searching through a wider variety of transport means (as well as its fantastic ability to plot out a full route door to door, with suburban trains/buses/taxis at each end to get you to/from the airport/station/port). That said, it's not really designed as a "travel inspiration" site - it's for people who have figured out where they're going and want to plan out the details of how to get there.
- solarkraft 9y ago
  That's wonderful! It's also the minimum the submission would need to fulfill the promise.
coldtea 9y ago
>It looks nice, but it feels a bit anachronistic to exclusively focus on air travel in 2018 considering the environmental impact of aeroplanes. "Anachronistic"? As if plane travel travel got out of style?
- Freak_NL 9y ago
  Anachronistic as in taking plane travel as the starting point for a trip without considering greener alternatives goes against the trend of being more conscious about your personal ecological footprint.
  - coldtea 9y ago
    Is that trend anything less of some "urban vegan hipster" concern, that doesn't even do a dent in global flights, where in fact, more people fly now, more often, than ever? In other words, is this a non-trend, that only affects a tiny self-congratulating minority? It might be a good thing, but until it is an actual thing, with mass impact and all, it's hardly an obvious critique on a new travel website that it lacks it.
    - endless1234 9y ago
      No, it's not a small trend, trains are quite a big thing in certain places of the world.
Cthulhu_ 9y ago
Schiphol to London is a 4-6 hour trip by train though, and up until they started with a €35 ticket, could not compete with planes on price. It still can't compete on time.
- Freak_NL 9y ago
  It's a close call though. Schiphol recommends arriving at least two hours before departure for European flights (and in the busy seasons this has proven not to be an exaggeration!), and you still need transfer to London itself. The Eurostar conveniently terminates at King's Cross St. Pancras. This year the direct London → Amsterdam Eurostar service is being introduced, with the reverse following soon after, cutting down travel time even further. Also, legroom, comfort, and very few luggage restrictions (especially weight, and no restrictions on fluids either, so bring along that bottle of wine and make it a picnic!).
  - isostatic 9y ago
    If Eurostar didn't have the silly security theatre or 30 minute minimum checkin (A BA flight from LCY to Amsterdam has a 20 minute checkin, BA from Heathrow is 35 minutes if you're handluggage only) then you'd be right. For people traveling from Amsterdam to London. Want to go to Reading or anywhere west of London? Flight, no brainer. Want to go to Birmingham? Fly to Birmingham. St Pancras is still a tube ride from most places you want to go to even in central London. If you're aiming at Docklands it's a long way. Crossrail will help a fair bit with Heathrow too. That's not to say that eurostar isn't often the right option -- the wifi and mobile coverage isn't that bad, and most of the trip can be productive - especially if you want to get your head down in some coding, security is marginally less annoying than airports.

icebraining 9y ago

Agreed, that's exactly what I've been felt is missing. I'm not sure about flights+hotels, but for flights alone the tools already existed (Adioso, Google Flights). Alas, I still haven't found any that let me do the same for trains and buses. GoEuro already lets you search, but you have to choose a specific destination.

Freak_NL 9y ago
Cheap buses shouldn't be too hard with the proliferation of Flixbus etc. (Amsterdam → Berlin starts at €29), but as a 200cm Dutchman travelling by coach definitely does not fall within my definition of an acceptable mode of travel for leisure (neither does flying for that matter). Finding cheap train fairs is indeed a puzzle sometimes! It helps a lot to have some familiarity with the major European train companies, the major high-speed connections, and how to book the discounted tickets in advance (incidentally, Amsterdam → Berlin starts at €39,90 when booked two months in advance). Of course seat61.com is useful too as a general source of information. What I really miss is a tool that shows me destinations that can be comfortably reached by a combination of day-time and sleeper trains on dates that still have discount tickets available. Nothing beats waking up early in the morning in Vienna or Munich in a sleeper train; it's like getting a free day of travel, and you arrive fairly well-rested instead of weary from travel. I'm not doing anything useful in my sleep (besides sleeping), so I might as well spend that time travelling.
jonballant 9y ago
Agreed on the need to include more than just flights especially when traveling through Europe. However SkyScanner just updated their capabilities to include Train travel on their booking similar to GoEuro. I still believe SkyScanner to be the best travel website for finding cheap flights and also includes the option to just search a country name like "Spain" or even "Everywhere". I'm excited to see SkyScanner merge the technology of including buses/trains with the ability to explore non-specific destinations. https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/03/skyscanner-adds-train-travel-booking-starting-in-uk/ https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/03/skyscanner-adds-train-trav...

kofejnik 9y ago

if we're talking budget travel, a 12 EUR bus from Amsterdam to Brussels should definitely be on the list

solarkraft 9y ago
Yet the minimum budget is 150$.
notahacker 9y ago
tbh if the scope of your search is popular tourist cities a three hour train or bus ride from me, you probably skip the website for suggesting a perfect travel destination" you might not have thought of and go straight to the hotel/hostel booking site...

ajdlinux 9y ago

I strongly recommend Rome2rio (https://www.rome2rio.com/ https://www.rome2rio.com/) for searching through a wider variety of transport means (as well as its fantastic ability to plot out a full route door to door, with suburban trains/buses/taxis at each end to get you to/from the airport/station/port). That said, it's not really designed as a "travel inspiration" site - it's for people who have figured out where they're going and want to plan out the details of how to get there.

solarkraft 9y ago
That's wonderful! It's also the minimum the submission would need to fulfill the promise.

coldtea 9y ago

>It looks nice, but it feels a bit anachronistic to exclusively focus on air travel in 2018 considering the environmental impact of aeroplanes. "Anachronistic"? As if plane travel travel got out of style?

Freak_NL 9y ago
Anachronistic as in taking plane travel as the starting point for a trip without considering greener alternatives goes against the trend of being more conscious about your personal ecological footprint.
- coldtea 9y ago
  Is that trend anything less of some "urban vegan hipster" concern, that doesn't even do a dent in global flights, where in fact, more people fly now, more often, than ever? In other words, is this a non-trend, that only affects a tiny self-congratulating minority? It might be a good thing, but until it is an actual thing, with mass impact and all, it's hardly an obvious critique on a new travel website that it lacks it.
  - endless1234 9y ago
    No, it's not a small trend, trains are quite a big thing in certain places of the world.

Cthulhu_ 9y ago

Schiphol to London is a 4-6 hour trip by train though, and up until they started with a €35 ticket, could not compete with planes on price. It still can't compete on time.

Freak_NL 9y ago
It's a close call though. Schiphol recommends arriving at least two hours before departure for European flights (and in the busy seasons this has proven not to be an exaggeration!), and you still need transfer to London itself. The Eurostar conveniently terminates at King's Cross St. Pancras. This year the direct London → Amsterdam Eurostar service is being introduced, with the reverse following soon after, cutting down travel time even further. Also, legroom, comfort, and very few luggage restrictions (especially weight, and no restrictions on fluids either, so bring along that bottle of wine and make it a picnic!).
- isostatic 9y ago
  If Eurostar didn't have the silly security theatre or 30 minute minimum checkin (A BA flight from LCY to Amsterdam has a 20 minute checkin, BA from Heathrow is 35 minutes if you're handluggage only) then you'd be right. For people traveling from Amsterdam to London. Want to go to Reading or anywhere west of London? Flight, no brainer. Want to go to Birmingham? Fly to Birmingham. St Pancras is still a tube ride from most places you want to go to even in central London. If you're aiming at Docklands it's a long way. Crossrail will help a fair bit with Heathrow too. That's not to say that eurostar isn't often the right option -- the wifi and mobile coverage isn't that bad, and most of the trip can be productive - especially if you want to get your head down in some coding, security is marginally less annoying than airports.