How will you get to the sun this summer? Most people will grit their teeth and fly. It’s grim but at least it’s quick. Well, it’s quick if you disregard the airport-parking nightmare, the two-hour check-in, the snaking queues at security, the flight delays and the long wait at the luggage carousel. As air travel becomes increasingly unpleasant, many people are taking the train. Not just for cheeky weekend breaks to Paris and Brussels, but all the way to southern France, Spain and Italy.

Why? For a start, trains are getting a lot faster, with several new high-speed rail links coming into operation this year. In addition, the experience is altogether more civilised than flying: services are more reliable, security is more relaxed, check-in times are shorter and you don’t have to scramble to get a seat, or pay extra to take a suitcase.

Then there’s the undeniable romance of train travel, and the knowledge that you’re as green as the fields swooshing past your window. In France, where intercity trains all use nuclear-powered electricity, your carbon footprint is virtually nonexistent.

But how do you start planning a rail-borne holiday — and how far can it take you? Here’s our guide to where you can go, how to book, and how to get the best fares.

EUROSTAR

IT’S ARGUABLY the most civilised way to leave the country, and, on top of that, Eurostar is fast, easy and — if you know how to work the system — inexpensive. The key to bagging a bargain is to buy tickets as soon as they are released, 120 days before your last day of travel.

Standard returns start at £59 to Paris and £55 to Lille. Brussels costs £59, although this includes onward travel to any station in Belgium (Bruges and Antwerp are favourites). Book online (www.eurostar. co.uk) and you will avoid the £5 supplement to use the call centre (0870 518 6186).

You can buy a ticket from Eurostar to almost anywhere in France, usually involving a change of train in Lille or Paris. Of the two hubs, Lille is easier and often entails no more than a change of platforms. Return fares from London are good value: for £79 you can get as far as Poitiers or Dijon; for £89, Limoges or Clermont Ferrand; for £99, Bordeaux or La Rochelle; and for £109, Avignon or Nice.

Your chances of securing these lowest fares will be improved if you avoid bank holidays, Bastille Day and this year’s Rugby World Cup (September 7 to October 20). If you’re flexible on dates, you can search the Eurostar website for the days showing the lowest fares (click on “Latest Deals”, then “On a Budget?”).

Waterloo to Paris currently takes 2 hr 35 mins, with Lille 1 hr 40 mins away. When Eurostar moves to its new home at St Pancras on November 14, these times will drop to 2 hr 15 mins and 1 hr 20 mins respectively. From the new Ebbsfleet International station, near the M25 in Kent, Lille will be just 70 mins away.

Eurostar offers three classes: standard, leisure select and business. Although leisure select and business are priced very differently — the former costs from £139, rising to £405, for a return to Paris; the latter is a flat £450 — the seats are identical. The main difference is that the business ticket is fully flexible and refundable; leisure select is not. Business also buys you lounge access, a dedicated carriage, a 10-minute check-in rather than the regular half-hour, and — on morning departures — the option of an express breakfast.

The move to St Pancras promises other significant benefits: improved punctuality (because the entire journey to France will be on dedicated high-speed rails); and through-ticketing from any train station in the UK. At a stroke, the benefits of speedy rail connections to Europe will be available to millions of people in the Midlands and north of England. You just have to wait until November.

EXPLORE FRANCE

Although Eurostar lets you book travel throughout France, there is a snag: SNCF has a booking window of 90 days, compared with Eurostar’s 120 days. This means if you travel at peak times and wait until the opening of the 90-day window, you can miss out on the lowest cross-Channel fares.

The trick is to book your Eurostar tickets 120 days in advance, then book onward connections 30 days later with Rail Europe (0870 830 4862, www.raileurope.co.uk) or European Rail (020 7387 0444, www.europeanrail.com).

SNCF’s lowest intercity fares — known as Prem’s — offer up to 75% off standard rates. For instance, Paris to Nice by TGV can be had for just £19 each way, reduced from £78.50. Go first class and you can pay just £33.50, down from £108.50. These fares are understandably popular, so it pays to get in at the start of the 90-day window.

Another bargain is the new low-cost, high-speed iDTGV service that runs between Paris and the south of France — Marseilles, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Aix-en-Provence, Nice and Toulouse. It has one-way fares from £13.50.

These can only be booked online (www.idtgv.com), up to 120 days in advance (perfect for combining with Eurostar). When you book you will be offered a choice of carriages: iDzen if you want quiet (no mobile phones or children under 12), or iDzap, if you prefer to chat, play your iPod or rent a PSP games console.

The big news this summer is the opening of TGV Est on June 10, which will slash journey times to eastern France and on to Germany and Switzerland. The new 200mph trains will have coaches designed by Christian Lacroix, with comfortable seating and extra legroom. There will be 16 return departures a day between Paris and Strasbourg, taking 2 hr 20 mins. Currently, the journey takes 4 hr.

Travellers to Alsace, Champagne and Lorraine will also benefit. Paris to Reims will take 45 mins, down from 1 hr 35 mins. TGV Est services will run out of Gare de l’Est. Details: www.tgvesteuropeen.com

GO DUTCH

Travel to Holland by train is relatively easy, with a quick change at Brussels. But the length of the journey — currently 5 hr between London and Amsterdam — means that many travellers opt to fly instead. That may change on December 8, when the Dutch unveil their own new high-speed rail line, cutting journey times to destinations across Holland. London to Amsterdam will take just 3 hr 36 mins (plus 20 mins to switch platforms in Brussels).

And, of course, rather than arriving at Schiphol airport, 11 miles outside Amsterdam, the train takes you to Centraal Station, slap bang in the centre of the city. With return fares from £69, there really will be no excuse for flying. Book with Eurostar, Rail Europe or European Rail.

SPAIN AND ITALY

Go much further than the south of France and you’re talking about an overnight trip — but that’s no bad thing. Sleeper-train travel combines old-fashioned romance with 21st-century timesaving. Not only do you avoid the whole miserable airport experience, you also arrive bright and early in the centre of a city with what amounts to an extra day’s holiday. (This assumes, of course, that you can sleep on trains. Top tip: pack earplugs.)

The best place to pick up European overnight services is Paris. Take Eurostar over in the morning, drop your bags at left luggage, then head off for lunch and some sightseeing before hopping on board the evening sleeper.

One of the most useful trains is the Elipsos, which runs from Paris Austerlitz to Madrid and Barcelona, both journeys taking about 12 hr. The train offers a range of accommodation, including Grand Class, where you get a cabin with ensuite shower and a three-course dinner with wine. If you book 90 days in advance with Rail Europe, you may be able to pick up a Prem’s fare, from £50 each way including a couchette in a four-berth compartment.

From Paris Bercy, the high-speed Artesia runs overnight services into Rome (14 hr), and Venice and Turin (13 hr). Prem’s fares are also available 90 days in advance, making it possible to get to Venice in a six-berth couchette for just £19 each way. Rome, Florence and Parma start at £26. (Note: there are no left-luggage facilities at Bercy station. Stash your bags at Gare du Nord instead.)

FURTHER AFIELD

Why stop now? If you’ve got the railway bug, you can take a train all the way to Russia or Turkey. London to Moscow can be done in 48 hr: Eurostar to Cologne then a two-night sleeper to the Russian capital, with return fares from about £290.

If that doesn’t sound sufficiently adventurous, how about a three-night trip to Istanbul? This costs about £350 return, based on two people sharing a two-berth sleeper — not bad when you consider that you can break the journey with stops at Munich, Vienna, Budapest and Bucharest, for no extra cost.

Don’t book such trips yourself: the logistics are complex and if you don’t build enough slack in, you can find yourself delayed at a border crossing with a missed connection. Consult the experts at European Rail (020 7387 0444, www.europeanrail.com ).

THE ORIENT-EXPRESS

If you want to do it in style, there’s only one way to go. Orient-Express runs luxury trains between London and Venice from March to November, with side trips to Prague, Budapest, Istanbul and — new this year — Cracow and Warsaw.

The adventure begins at 11am on platform 2, London Victoria, where you board the British Pullman to Folkestone. After crossing the Channel by Eurotunnel (on a coach), you switch to the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, which gets you to Paris by 9pm, followed by breakfast in the Swiss Alps, finally reaching Venice just after 6pm.

London to Venice costs £1,430pp, based on two sharing a compartment, with all meals included (but not a shower — this train is old-school posh, and old-school doesn’t include bathing facilities). You can also book a single leg of the journey, such as London-Paris. Because London-Paris-Venice is so popular, fares are rarely discounted, but it is sometimes possible to get seasonal reductions of up to 25% on less busy routes, such as Venice-Budapest. Details: 0845 077 2222, www.orient-express.com .

INTERRAILING

Once the preserve of soap-swerving students, InterRail passes now have no upper age limits. This year, for the first time, you can also buy a single-country pass or upgrade to first class.

Fares are still weighted towards young people. If you are under 26, you are classified as a “youth” and qualify for a reduction of about 35% on adult fares. Youths can’t, however, buy first-class passes, which is a relief for the rest of us.

InterRail prices are the same year-round, so they really come into their own during the summer months. Single-country passes are valid for a month, for either three, four, six or eight days of travel during that period. Europe-wide passes are available for five days’ travel within a 10-day period, 10 days’ travel within a 22-day period, 22 continuous days or one month’s unlimited travel.

Prices vary between countries. France, Germany, Norway and Sweden are the priciest, at £197 for six days’ travel (youths £128), while Turkey and Bulgaria are among the least expensive, at £73 (youths £47). InterRail pass-holders also qualify for a 50% discount on Channel crossings with SeaFrance (0870 571 1711, www.seafrance.com ). Book with Rail Europe (0870 830 4862, www.raileurope.co.uk ).

TAKE THE CAR

For many holidaymakers, motorail offers the best of both worlds: a fast, stress-free rail journey, and the convenience of driving their own car at the other end. There are plenty of motorail routes crisscrossing Europe, though they’re usually confined to the peak summer months.

First of all, of course, you’ve got to get the car across the Channel, and the fastest way to do that is the Eurotunnel. The car-carrying train runs up to 90 crossings a day between Folkestone and Calais; journey time is 35 mins. One-way crossings cost from £49 for a car and up to nine passengers, with prices creeping higher as allocations are snapped up. Bookings are taken up to a year in advance at www.eurotunnel.com or on 0870 535 3535 (£2 supplement for phone bookings).

You are advised to check in 30 minutes in advance, but by using the automated self-check-in lanes, you can make it onto a train within seconds.

Eurotunnel doesn’t always have the cheapest Channel crossings. Before booking, check car ferry prices at FerryCheap.com (0870 264 2644, www.ferrycheap.com).

Next, it’s onto your motorail service. Most popular is the overnight sleeper that runs between Calais and the south of France. There are two routes: one to Nice via Avignon and Fréjus; the other peeling off to Narbonne via Brive and Toulouse. Both arrive at about 10am. The trains are efficient, punctual and quick to load and unload, although conditions on board can be a little spartan — there’s no restaurant car, for instance.

One-way prices to Nice start at £460 in May and September, rising to £640 in late July. This includes a car and up to six people sharing a couchette.

The most luxurious motorail train in Europe is the privately owned Autoslaap, which runs weekly from Den Bosch, on the Dutch-Belgian border, to Avignon and Bologna. It offers a range of accommodation, including shared sleeping carriages and private two-berth couchettes. Peak-season prices start at £569 one-way, for a car and up to six passengers sharing a couchette.

The stunningly efficient German AutoZug (www.dbautozug.de ) runs motorail services as far south as Livorno in Italy, and Rijeka in Croatia. This would be a lot more popular with Brits if it were easier to reach from the Channel ports. The nearest jumping-on point is Dösseldorf.

All motorail trains are available through Railsavers (0870 750 7070, www.railsavers.com ), which can also book Channel crossings.

TAKE A TOUR

Specialist operators include Great Rail Journeys (01904 521980, www.greatrail.com ), which runs upmarket escorted holidays across Europe, and Ffestiniog Travel (01766 512400, www.festtravel.co.uk ), which offers both tailor-made and escorted rail itineraries, with highlights including the Swiss Alpine Steam tour.

European Rail (020 7387 0770, www.erail.co.uk ) offers 13 individual tours to France, Spain, Russia and Italy. Other operators offering rail departures from the UK include Travelsphere (0800 191418, www.travelsphere.co.uk ), Page & Moy (0870 010 6400, www.pageandmoy.com ) and Citalia (0870 909 7554, www.citalia.com ).

Several tour operators offer rail travel as an alternative to flying. They include Andante Travels (01722 713800, www.andantetravels.co.uk ), Inntravel (01653 617906, www.inntravel.co.uk), Ramblers Holidays (01707 331133, www.ramblersholidays.co.uk ) and VFB Holidays (01452 716831, www.vfbholidays.co.uk ).

MORE INFORMATION

Europe by Rail (Thomas Cook, £14.99) is the train-booker’s bible, covering 28 countries; www.seat61.com is a mine of information about rail travel at home and abroad.

What about home?

TRAIN TRAVEL in the UK is rarely romantic, with one notable exception: the Caledonian Sleeper. Running six nights a week between London Euston and a slew of cities across Scotland, it provides comfortable beds, convenient overnight travel times and one-way fares from as low as £19.

Bookings are taken up to 12 weeks in advance, with new batches of tickets released on a weekly basis. There is no service on Saturday nights. You can book with First ScotRail (0845 755 0033, www.firstgroup.com ).

For other long-distance train travel in the UK, contact National Rail Enquiries (0845 748 4950, www.nationalrail.co.uk ). The best deals are usually on advance fares. These are inflexible — only valid on the date and time stated, with a single operating company.

Times recommends

• Your Top 10 questions on low cost airlines
• How to hen party in style
• Steaming into Bangladesh