But what is the optimal means of transport to go on vacation? The DH has carried out a small comparison between the various credible means of transport – we therefore avoid the bicycle if we go to Madrid – to go to a dozen cities accessible both by plane and train and by bus or by car.
A test that we voluntarily carried out relatively early in the year. To avoid the outbreak of the prices of trains and the plane at the beginning of summer. In the end, the means of transport will especially depend on the profile of travelers. A adventurer will have more interest in taking the bus, cheaper and more ecological. A couple that appreciates comfort and short trips, will opt for the plane. Especially if he ignores collateral damage to the environment. A family of four will rather have an interest in opting for the car which offers the advantage of being the cheapest of the means of transport to four and offers a freedom of travel on site. The train, although ecological, will only arrive in third position of the preferred transport due to its too expensive price.
1. Car trip: reasonable price level but often long
Traveling by car is the easier solution for many vacationers because it ensures a certain freedom. You can go at any time, take breaks when you need them and take the path you want. And, inevitably, it will undoubtedly be better to go by car if you want to isolate yourself in a village far from all civilization in the Pyrenees. According to our comparison, the car is not always the cheapest way to go on vacation, however. At least if we opt for the individual journey. To get to Barcelona for example, it would take € 267 in tolls and fuel against € 63 in bus and € 89 by plane. On the other hand, the prices change for a family of four people. If she will continue to pay € 267 to move by car, she will have to pay € 356 by plane and € 252 by bus.Faced with the constant increase in hotels prices, the campsite returns in force to the Belgian public: “Comfort is much better than before”
To reach Barcelona, it would take 1 hour journey, to which we must add the recommended breaks every 2 hours on the road as well as any traffic jams. This can considerably extend the duration of the journey.
For the smallest distances, as if to reach Paris from Brussels, the car seems cheaper than the train on paper. But we must not forget the parking costs. The cheapest would be to opt for the bus.
On the environmental level, the journey is not the most ecological: nearly 200 kg of C02 released in the atmosphere to reach Barcelona. Or 50 kg per passenger -if four in the car -against 4.13 for the train, 39.4 for the bus and 101 for the plane.
For three people, the plane becomes cheaper than the car, unless you have to rent a car on site.
2. Travel by train: expensive, moderately long but comfortable and ecological
Taking the train to go on vacation will unfortunately always be the most expensive means of transport, according to our comparison. Going to Madrid, for example, would cost 333 € person according to our test. Or more than 2600 euros round trip for a family of four people. To this sum should still be added the possible rental of a car on site. Unless you have a strong ecological conviction and great savings, so it is to be banished for long family trips. Alone, it is more or less equivalent to the car while remaining four times more expensive than the plane.“Advantage card”: here are the underside of the new SNCB tariff offer, which takes into account off -peak hours
On the other hand, it is certainly the most ecological means of transport: going to Madrid by train would generate only pollution of 4.62 kg per passenger against almost 60 kg per passenger in a car carrying 4 people.
Duration level, we are on relatively long journeys compared to the plane but short compared to cars and bus. Comfort is not, however, comparable compared to these last two: the train is less stressful than the car -both for passengers and for the driver -allows you to travel by reading or playing and is less traumatic for the body.
3. Plane trip: shorter, not too expensive but less ecological
Time level, the plane is largely winner with only 2:10 a.m. to go to Barcelona. A duration to which it is certainly necessary to add the journey to the airport, a certain precautionary period so as not to miss the plane, a few minutes to recover the luggage and the duration of the journey to the accommodation. Even while counting wide, the plane would be much faster than the car.
These elements make that, to join closer cities like Paris, the plane is not the most competitive in terms of the duration of the journey. A nonsense therefore. All the more environmental level: the plane is by far the most polluting with a hundred kg of CO2 released by passenger in the atmosphere to go to Barcelona. Almost 4 times more than the car and 25 times more than the train.
However, the plane keeps a precious advantage, in addition to the duration of the journey: it is much cheaper than the train. € 85 per passenger to go to Barcelona, against € 358 for the train.Tourism: Disguised children’s discounts and false promotions, watch out for these offers that are too beautiful to be true, when booking your vacation
4. Bus trip: cheaper but uncomfortable
Of all the means of transport tested, the coach is the cheapest. But it will also be necessary to add taxis costs to reach the final destination. Even the rental of a car on site.
The coach also suffers from greater discomfort – even in the most luxurious companies – and an extremely long journey time. With the impossibility of stopping when you wish for the toilet break, many companies tend to condemn the toilets present in their vehicles.
The coach is also the second most ecological means of transport, behind the train, unbeatable in the matter.
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