Interest in flight-free travel has never been higher, but for many, knowing where to start is often a barrier.  In less than a week, three experts will take their seats on the Travel Geeks panel to share their thoughts on flight-free travel through Europe and undo some of the myths surrounding it.

“UK travellers are extremely fortunate to have such a varied and interesting destination on our doorstep, and there are so many interesting ways to explore it without flying,” says National Geographic Traveller (UK) food editor and Travel Geeks moderator, Glen Mutel.

Taking place at 18:00 GMT on Tuesday 1 November, this virtual event promises to make the prospect of flight-free travel less intimidating. With three experts on the panel, this is the perfect opportunity to tap into the knowledge and experience of those with first-hand experience of travelling Europe by rail, ferry, and bike.

From exciting new sleeper trains linking up historic capitals to little-known ferry trips and cycle routes that unlock scenic countryside at bargain prices, there’s no shortage of ways to diversify your travels through Europe.

Meet the Travel Geeks

Helen Coffey

Helen Coffey is travel editor of The Independent following travel editorial roles at the Evening Standard, The Telegraph and The Daily Express. Helen’s particular passions include sustainable, climate-positive travel and in 2020, she became the first travel editor of a national UK publication to give up flying. Her first book, Zero Altitude: How I Learned to Fly Less and Travel More, is part flight-free travel memoir and part climate-change investigation and was published in May 2022 by Flint. She regularly appears as an expert contributor on travel-related stories for the BBC (TV and radio).

Richard Hammond

Richard Hammond is a writer and videographer specialising in sustainable travel and tourism. Richard was The Guardian‘s eco travel correspondent (2004-2008) and the editor-in-chief of the trade newswire TravelMole (1999-2003). He has co-authored and contributed to several books on sustainable travel and his latest book, The Green Traveller, was published in May by Pavilion Books.

Rebecca Lowe

Rebecca Lowe is a freelance journalist who specialises in human rights and the Middle East. Her book, The Slow Road to Tehran, about her year-long cycle ride through the Middle East, was published in March in the UK and in September in Germany. Rebecca also has first-hand experience of cycling through Europe. In 2018, she contributed to the adventure travel anthology, The Kindness of Strangers: Travel Stories That Make Your Heart Grow. 

Register HERE.