- When ferrying out of England, don’t just think France. Ferries also go to Norway, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain. If your main destination is Scandinavia, consider one long ferry trip straight there rather than a short ferry ride followed by a long train journey. For someone going from London to, say, Oslo, a ferry would be competitive in terms of price and time with a train. And, again, there are good discounts for holders of InterRail and Eurail passes.

- Watch out for that one-hour cross-Channel time change.