Ask yourself this question, when was the last time you travelled by train? If it was a long time ago then you may be missing out on quite a bit. Most of us love travelling by rail, but it is so easy to forget about this option. For most of us, the easiest thing to do is to use our cars for every journey and this causes us to forget that there is a more leisurely way to travel . It is only when we experience the train once again that we can appreciate just how nice this form of travel actually is.

In the UK we have never had so much choice when it comes train travel – we really are lucky. It is now possible to step on to a train at a local train station and then after a number of train journeys, end up at the other side of the world a few days later. Because we are now connected to mainland Europe by way of the Chunnel, we have access to most of the rest of the world by train too. People can now get to Singapore from London by rail using famous railways such as the Orient Express and the Trans-Siberian Express. It can actually work out very affordable to travel in this way as long as you have plenty of time to travel and lets face it, you are definitely going to see a lot more of the world this way.

But don’t feel that you need to take quite such a long trip to be able to fully appreciate train travel again. You should try taking a short train journey and leaving your car behind for a change. Forget about having to sit in traffic or trying to find a parking space because if you go by train you won’t have to. It really is a great way to travel and if you haven’t done it in a while you owe it to yourself to take a train journey.

City breaks Europe style are becoming very fashionable. France hotels are considered to be among the very best on the continent when thinking about these types of break. A lot of these are pet friendly hotels as well. In today’s faltering economy, nothing beats a short city break.

Lots of the best scuba diving sites in the Great Barrier Reef are a short boat trip from Cairns. That is the reason Cairns is world famous as the departure point for diving at the breathtaking Great Barrier Reef . Whether you want to go on a live-aboard, take a day boat out or learn how to dive, Cairns is the place for you. The Barrier Reef is more than 2000km long and is the largest coral reef system on Earth. It is the also the only living thing able to be seen from outer space. It is definately one of Mother Nature’s finest accomplishments and we have to do everything we can to keep it that way.

Cairns is a semi-tropical touristy city with superb beaches, such as Clifton Beach and Ellis Beach, modern seafood restaurants, a very nice man made lagoon just perfect for swimming and the well maintained Cairns Esplanade for a leisurely walk overlooking the waterfront. You can explore the palm-fringed beach towns Mission Beach and Port Douglas or take a boat trip to the always popular Fitzroy Island. Inland you can find stunning old growth rainforests, breathtaking waterfalls and crystal clear blue lakes. You may wish to sample the towns Kuranda, Mareeba and the capital of the tablelands,Atherton. Definately don’t forget the historic Crater Lakes National Park. As well as the more well known Great Barrier Reef cruises there are rafting trips, seakayaking trips, cable cars, rainforest canopy walks and bungee jumps. Clubs, bars, restaurants and a pumping Cairns nightclub scene add to this already great holiday destination offering activities and sights for all the family.

The climate in Cairns tends to be more pleasant in the dry season, from August to October, with a lower humidity levels, but generally Cairns can be visited all year long. Water temp levels in the low 30s, tour operators for all sorts of Great Barrier Reef trips and extremely healthy and fish covered dive sites make Cairns one of the best dive destinations in the world.