Beach holiday by train from UK - destination ideas

[MissFizzyPop]

Forward planning for holiday next year - my teen is taking GCSEs next May/June so I'm planning on booking something for July, before the schools break up to take advantage of slightly cheaper prices.

We'd like to travel by train but have a 'typical' beach/pool holiday - somewhere nice to chill out, read and eat nice food for a week. The more veggie/vegan friendly, the better!

Ideas welcome please...

UK or overseas, or either?

You need the Man In Seat 61 website for specific train information but I know you can travel by train to-
The south of France (easily!)
Italy
Corsica (train to south of France then ferry)
Spain
Morocco via Spain and ferry

It really depends how long you want to spend travelling?

France would be quickest of course.

I find all of these destinations fine as a veggie, I imagine vegan harder in all three but probably fairly equivalent these days?

Ideally overseas

My recommendation would be the Ligurian Riviera in Italy. Just over the border from Nice, cheaper and less crowded than the French Riviera but just as/ even more beautiful. There are lots of pretty places on the outskirts of Genova, which is a really interesting, buzzing city. Plus, it's the home of pesto and focaccia (I do NOT find France good, as a vegetarian!). If it's hot, the mountains are immediately behind the coast. You can get either a night sleeper train or a 5 hour TGV from Paris to Nice, then get a local train to Ventimiglia and change for trains further into Italy.

It's worth doing a price comparison to see if buying an Interrail pass or individual tickets would be cheaper. There are also night sleeper trains down the length of the Italian peninsula- they're supposed to be both cheap and good, but I haven't taken them.

I would go to the South of France, stay in Nice and lots of options for day trips.

Following!

I second Liguria / Italian Riviera - especially for the veggie food comments already suggested. Take the TGV and stopover in Nice. Resorts like Alassio are very easy to reach by train and can do a daytrip into Genoa.

Another option would be San Sebastián or Barcelona / Costa Brava.

Oh yeah, forgot to add- because of the mountains, the railway lines go all the way along that coast from nearly Marseille to the Tuscan border, so it's a great area to travel around by train.

Pesto isn't vegetarian as it is made with Parmesan. A lot of Italian cheeses aren't vegetarian either.

Pesto is vegetarian enough for me! But as someone who, at points in my past, has been so poor that I've literally eaten pizza out of bins that I've picked the salami off, I'm not that fussy.

I'd also observe that, if you are that fussy in most of Southern Europe, you will be eating a very limited diet.

Pesto is vegetarian enough for me!

DD is vegetarian, and the first time we holidayed in Italy she was quite picky about avoiding cheese with rennet in it, but now she turns a blind eye if she is somewhere that isn't vegetarian friendly. She won't eat meat or fish though.

Look at central/Eastern Europe and go for a lakeside destination?

Check out Byway travel for ideas and itineraries - they do flight-free travel from the UK, almost all by train. Some great trip inspo!

Thank you! I actually have done that already, having travelled with them this year. I have spoken to them about next year but I'm priced out of booking with them so hoping to book it myself for less...

Love this idea!

Central/Eastern Europe is not always so veggie friendly. I'm just back from Italy and all menus had ingredients/allergens etc very clearly marked. You can go Lille - Marseille direct, or change at Aix en Provence to get to Nice and the italian riviera. Much better than crossing Paris.

We had a lovely time in Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer last May half term. Get the fast train to Marseilles, then the local train east about 4 stops.