We’re making slow travel mainstream. If more people adopt slow travel, we can reduce the travel industry’s reliance on flights, lower carbon emissions and improve tourism’s impact on people and the planet. To achieve this, we aim to grow the awareness, ease, and enjoyment of slow travel
Make slow travel a well-known, easy, and genuinely enjoyable choice. Do this by removing barriers to participation, expanding who it’s for and where it goes, and creating travel experiences people are excited to repeat and recommend.
Ensure that growth in Byway bookings meaningfully reduces environmental impact and contributes to more balanced, locally beneficial tourism by shifting travel choices away from high-emissions alternatives, global chains, and overcrowded destinations
Emissions from flying stand to triple by 2050 if demand for air travel continues to grow.
Rail travel accounts for just 14g of CO2 per passenger mile, dwarfed by the 285g generated by air travel (Energy Saving Trust, 2018). 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.
This year we’re celebrating our the six year anniversary of Byway’s founding and our 20,000 traveller milestone.
We’ve launched in mainland Europe this year, taking bookings across the continent via our existing site, and via local language sites in the Netherlands, Germany and Spain. We’ve also launched with more mainstream partners including the Guardian, the Times and TUI.
Our Maps tool has come a long way since we launched it last year - it now accounts for 33% of our bookings and recently created and booked a thirty three day trip spanning fourteen places, twenty train journeys and six countries for someone who didn’t need to contact our team once.
We have helped over eight and a half thousand travellers enjoy slow travel journeys with over 96% five star reviews. 67% of the travellers who have travelled flight-free with us this year fly always, often or sometimes for their usual holidays, but after their Byway trip, 93% would refer a friend or rebook to travel by train with us again.
Thank you for all your support in bringing slow travel into the mainstream.
Customisable, beautiful routes across Europe by land and sea
Chosen by you, booked by us, favouring local stays
Personalised trip guide, 24/7 in-trip support, free disruption replanning
