Customer Reviews

The Man In Seat 61

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you're not familiar with the Seat 61 website, you're doing yourself a disservice. There's not a finer resource on the web for rail travel. I've used it myself on 4 continents, and think that it's an amazing resource.

The book itself covers European rail travel in a nice, easy to use format. When I say everything, I mean it: timetables, descriptions of cabins on sleeper trains to routes to the basic logistics from getting from A to B. Before discount airlines, rail was the only way to see Europe. I say forget the discount airlines and hop on a rail and actually see Europe. I'd highly recommend this to anyone - from the backpackers going through Europe to families to older adults. This book brings back the romantic aspect of going through Europe via train.

The Man is Seat 61 is easily the best of the travelling Europe by rail books out there. It's pretty much just a reprint of what the publishers assume are the most likely trips (maybe the most clicked on web pages) from the brilliant Seat 61 website. If this was a review of the website it would be five stars but it's not, it's a review of the book. If you have access to the Internet you really don't need this book as everything is on the website. The book is also not designed for the backpacker or person who is travelling a lot other than just the train and taxi, such as on foot to their hostel for example. It is quite needlessly large, a lot taller and thicker than even your Let's Go or Lonely Planet entire Europe continent books. It didn't need to be as there's a lot of white space, and the print and tables are in large print. No doubt this is because a lot of people interested in train travel are elderly people who prefer or even need large text but it does make the book very big and heavy to lug around in a backpack.

Basically the book lists how to get to pretty much every country in Europe on a trip from London. It tells you in great detail which trains to catch, what they are like and everything else you can expect on that journey. But there in lies a lot of the limits of this book. It assumes you want to go from London each time. It would have been better with after the from London part, including going to other local destinations from the capital or major city of each country done the same way and even common major journeys between countries. Such as a say from Vilnius in Lithuania to Warsaw Poland. This would have been mighty handy as it's not simply a get on one train go to sleep and wake up at the destination as you have to change trains in small towns, especially since you have to avoid going through Belarus if you don't want to pay and waste time getting the ridiculous transit visa.

The book does give the websites of each country's train networks but a lot of these aren't simple easy to use websites, so providing the information would have been handy.

The book also has a few intro chapters on rail passes, tips on train travel, buying your tickets and things like this which are good if you've never been on a train before but nothing you don't come across in every other guidebook.

Slightly 'geeky' but most helpful, especially if you live abroad and want to travel to UK by train - or other places in Europe - and beyond. Written in an easy to follow manner. Roll on High Speed trains throughout the whole of Europe!

It once was that the Thomas Cook European Train Timetable was the bible for anyone from the UK planning on travelling Europe by train (we had one for both of our major backpacking trips around Europe). But now there is a new book that anyone even thinking about flight-free travel in Europe (and why wouldn't you?) should turn to--The Man in Seat 61 by Mark Smith. This is the book version of the cult website that is packed full of information on how to get from the UK to just about anywhere without flying. Just like the website, the book is well set-out, packed with information, and totally inspiring. Whether you know where you are going and when, or are just looking for some ideas for your next trip, both the book and the website are a great resource. While some people think that websites like Mark Smith's are ending the relevance of the travel guide in book form, I am quite sure there are enough people around (and I am one of them) who like to curl up with a book sometimes in place of browsing the web. And a book still wins out over a website for suitable reading material in the bath.

If you haven't travelled by train very much in the past (and if you are from Australia or the USA, or even the UK, that is understandable) the idea might fill you with dread. Try to put aside you ideas about delays, stinking toilets that don't work, and sharing cramped quarters with undesirables. Travel by train throughout most of Europe, and many other parts of the world, is fast, efficient, clean and often very scenic. It is a great option for families--checking in is easier that dealing with airports; you can take on a lot more, including packing your own lunch and snacks; and there is more room for children to move around (though remember to be considerate of your fellow travellers--while much is made of Europeans being more `child-friendly' than English-speaking countries, rude intrusive noisy children are a pain wherever they are)--and unlike most cheap flights you can travel from city-centre to city-centre, rather than to remote airport a long trip away from where you are staying (something always worth pricing in when calculating the cost of your `cheap' ticket). And if any book is going to help you plan that first train trip, this is the one!

Note: I have just found out that a revised edition with updated train info comes out on 18 March, so if you can hold out another ten days, there is a super updated version waiting for you!

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Absolutely riveted to my seat while reading this book. Couldn't put it down. It was as if I was actually on the train journeys with him. Essential reading for anyone thinking about train travel around the world. I certainly don't want to fly anywhere again.