January 15, 2025 • 25 mins
Let’s kick off the new year with some inspiration to get out of your house and hit the railways. I love taking the train. I live in what’s known as the Northeast Corridor. Essentially it’s the area between Washington DC and Boston. The whole route is connected by rail and people often use them to get around. Prices can be cheaper and I find the train to be so much more convenient than flying. I almost always take an Amtrak or regional rail when I go to New York City because I’m not about fighting traffic to get into the Big Apple.
While I’m used to using the train, most Americans miss out on it. We always hear about how Americans under utilize trains. But there are rails going throughout the entire country. This is where Vacations By Rail comes into play.
Vacations By Rail plans these special trips that take you through some of the most beautiful spots in the United States. I’m talking the National Parks, Colorado, Southwest, Alaska and so many more. And these trips are specially designed to make sure that you get a full experience of the location you’re visiting. Some of them even provide unique opportunities that only come around every so often, like trips to see the Northern Lights.
Vacations By Rail isn’t limited to the United States. They have incredible tours that go all around Europe as well as other countries. Seriously, these people have put together some remarkable packages. I’m excited to discuss some of those with Liz Owens, she’s the senior vice president and general manager for Vacations By Rail. I promise you after this conversation you’ll be on their website looking for a trip.
While I’m used to using the train, most Americans miss out on it. We always hear about how Americans under utilize trains. But there are rails going throughout the entire country. This is where Vacations By Rail comes into play.
Vacations By Rail plans these special trips that take you through some of the most beautiful spots in the United States. I’m talking the National Parks, Colorado, Southwest, Alaska and so many more. And these trips are specially designed to make sure that you get a full experience of the location you’re visiting. Some of them even provide unique opportunities that only come around every so often, like trips to see the Northern Lights.
Vacations By Rail isn’t limited to the United States. They have incredible tours that go all around Europe as well as other countries. Seriously, these people have put together some remarkable packages. I’m excited to discuss some of those with Liz Owens, she’s the senior vice president and general manager for Vacations By Rail. I promise you after this conversation you’ll be on their website looking for a trip.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
What's going on? Everybody. Welcome to Delightful Destinations. My name
is Jeff Saint Pierre. Delightful Destinations as a podcast that's
designed to give people an inside or a deeper look
at a vacation location somewhere here in the United States
or hey, anywhere in the world, even if they're willing
to talk to me. My hope is always to speak
with people who know these areas best and inspire you
(00:24):
for your next getaway. Let's kick off the new year
with some inspiration to get out of your house and
hit the railways. I love taking the train seriously. I
live in what's known as the Northeast Corridor. Essentially, it's
the area between Washington, DC and Boston right up the
East Coast. The whole route is connected by rail and
people often use them to get around. Prices can be
a little bit cheaper than flying, and honestly, I find
(00:45):
the train to be so much more convenient than heading
to the airport. I almost always take Amtrak or regional
rail when I go to New York City because I'm
not about fighting traffic to get into the Big Apple.
While I'm used to the train, most Americans miss out
on it We always hear about how our marriage kids
underutilized trains, but there are rails going throughout the entire country.
Our country was based on the train. This is where
(01:06):
Vacations by Rail comes into play. Vacations by Rail plans
these special trips that take you through some of the
most beautiful spots in the United States. I'm talking about
the National Parks, Colorado, Southwest Alaska, and so many more.
And these trips are specially designed to make sure that
you get a full experience on the location you're visiting.
Some of them even provide unique opportunities that only come
(01:26):
around every so often, you know, like trips to see
the Northern Lights. Vacations by Rail isn't limited to the
United States. They have incredible tours that go all across
Europe as well as other countries. I mean, seriously, these
people have put together some remarkable packages. I'm excited to
discuss some of those with Liz Owens. She's the senior
vice president and general manager for Vacations by Rail. I
promise you after this conversation, you're going to be on
(01:47):
their website looking for a trip.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Thanks to meet you too, Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
On so Liz tell me a little bit more about
Vacations by Reil. First of all, where are you guys
based out of because I know you're a worldwide company.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
We are a worldwide company.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Vacations by Rail is really catering to the US audience.
We are headquartered in Chicago, which is kind of the
rail capital of the United States because of where all
the passenger trains and commuter trains and cargo trains kind
of come together.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
But it's happenstance.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
We had two very passionate founders who started the business
twenty years ago, who were both located here in Chicago.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
We've stayed.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
I was on your website earlier, which is Vacations by
Rail dot Com, and I don't I don't think I
really understood how vast the rail system is. And I
know that, you know, there's always the history history stories
about how we laid rail across this entire country, but
I just feel like the conversation is always that we
underutilize railroads in America more than other countries do. So
(02:47):
then to see your website and see how many opportunities
you had, I was really kind of blown away by
how far you reached.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
Yeah, I mean the way rail kind of behaves here
in the United States is very different, and we're taking
you know, customers on rail trips both here domestically but
also up into Canada and then Europe over the last
two years is really blown up. So for that person
who's a rail enthusiast, the variety that you get and
really being able to take a trip on amtrack, hit
(03:17):
the Rocky Mountaineer, maybe go over to Scotland and take
some rail, try the Eurostar ones. I mean, it's vast
the amount of rail that you're able to access. When
you think of it in that way, you can tell
each experience has its own unique characteristics. So here in
the States, because a lot of our infrastructure was built
for cargo, you know, that's when you'll see more things
(03:39):
around time delays, and when you're in a place like
the UK, you know you're not seeing that as much
because you're likely traveling on something that was really built
for a passenger or a commuter. And so when you
understand that landscape, you kind of can prepare yourself for
a rail trip anywhere. But if you're trying trying to
(04:00):
kind of think of it in a one size fits
all manner, you'll have a lot of surprises along the way.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
So here's an interesting thought. So I live in Baltimore, Maryland,
so we're in the Northeast corridor, and I use trade
anytime I go between say, DC and New York in particular,
or sometimes DC in Boston. I'm pretty much always using
trains because I just find them to be a little
more convenient than trying to navigate airports and all of
that stuff. Especially going to New York. It's the easiest
thing just to hop on a train and get to
(04:27):
New York. But I generally would take Amtrak. So for
you guys, do you use different companies of trains or
do you have your own vacations by rail trains?
Speaker 3 (04:36):
I own no trains, okay, I own no trades any destination.
So we are operating much like any other tour operator.
We're stitching together and experience using a variety of partners,
whether that's you know, in market tour guides.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Hotels, or rail.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
We're working with every partner out there to bring the
trip together.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
I do not own any part of rail.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
I own a point of view on what portions of
rail are nice to travel along and what you get
to see along the way, and we do try really
hard to make sure that you know, we're building vacations
around the experience on the rail, not just as a
point A to point B.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Yeah, I noticed. It's my impression of it is it's
a lot of these trips and a lot of these
packages that you can find on the website again, Vacations
by Rail dot com. It almost seems kind of like
a cruise but on a train, because you're not just
on a train for the entire trip, like you'll stop
in a place like there was one I was looking at,
I think one of the Alaska experiences where you'll stop
(05:41):
somewhere and you can go on a sled dog tour like.
So it's kind of like my picture of what a
cruise is, where you stop at a harbor or a
port and you get off and you do an experience
and you hop back on the ship and you go
somewhere else. That's kind of what Vacations by Rail sounds like.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
It's a great comparison for what I would call like
some of our core rail trips.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
So Alaska is a good one.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
Even if you think about the Rocky Mountain Europe in Canada,
you know you're leaving Vancouver, you're stopping in Kamloops, overnighting there,
getting back on.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
If you go over to Switzerland, I mean.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
You're basically touring the entire country of Switzerland, going on
and off different rail lines, and they're all picturesque and
they all have different qualities and attributes. But then you're
stopping and doing some things in resort that are unique
to that area, whether you're in Zormot or you know,
another small town. You know, we're trying to make sure
(06:34):
we can bring that culture with it, because that's part
of all you're on vacation.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Oh for sure. I mean, especially if you're going to
somewhere like Europe. Not that I want to downplay the
spots here in America or North America, but if you're
going to a place like Europe, there are so many
cultural things that will be different that you wouldn't experience
on a day to day basis here. So I'm completely
understanding that makes perfect sense. I would love to be
able to stop in different places along the way.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
And then we have others.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
I mean, some people, you know, don't always want to
spend all their time on a train, so we have
other trips where we're looking at like heritage rail, and
so maybe you're spending more of your time on coach
because the destination lends itself better to coach touring. But
then you're stopping somewhere to do a scenic cog train
(07:21):
or go to something that has historical relevance, you know,
especially when I'm looking at vacation development here in North America,
the rail system isn't always going to get you to
the places that our consumers want to go, and so
there's a lot of art and science to how you
design the tour because you know, we want to stay
true to our proposition around rail, but we also don't
(07:44):
want to have tours where it feels like we're just
shoving it in there.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
And the customers kind of leave and going, eh, did
I get anything from that rail? I don't know.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
You know, you want to make sure it's good rail
and that it brings something to the overall experience.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
I feel like you're the people that book these events.
These experiences are superheroes because you have to navigate all
of these different things and find out exactly, Okay, how
are we going to get to point A too from
point B? Like I feel like it's got to be.
It's much different than booking a flight because you know,
we're exactly where you're landing, and how you're going to
get this is all over the place.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Yeah, our founders really kind of even started, I think,
addressing that challenge, which was how do you navigate the
National parks? You know, everyone wants to go and see
the National Parks, but figuring out which entrance, which exit,
how much time to spend where, how to get to
the attractions, being able to leave from Chicago, take rail
(08:41):
out and then have you know, some guided touring to
take you in and out of those you know, kind
of iconic places. I think that's where they got their start,
because it is daunting. When you try to design that
on your own, you're going to mess some things up.
And so I think us doing over twenty years, we've
taken some of the guests work out and.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
You can just show up and enjoy it versus trying
to worry about where it to go.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
I was going to ask you when this company was founded.
You just said twenty years. Is that the exact like,
so twenty years ago?
Speaker 3 (09:12):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (09:12):
Wow, yeah, exactly. We're just ending our twentieth anniversaries that's why.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
Like I guess, maybe this is a stupid question, but
I guess what was the what was the idea that
founded this? Like what was it that made your founders go,
you know what we got to do?
Speaker 3 (09:28):
Like what?
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Like I guess, I'm so curious, like where that came from?
Speaker 3 (09:31):
Well, the way you delivered that line, I could almost
hear it coming out of Todd's mouth, you know what
we got to do. So there were two individuals who
had worked I think with Deutsche Bahnd and some other
kind of rail companies, and then it's a classic founder story.
It was a garage someone leaned in and said, you
(09:51):
know what we should try. And so between Todd, who
had a lot of passion for product and kind of
that vacation design aspect of things, and then Cole who
was really you know, starting in the digital world and
understood that landscape really well. You know, they came together
and thought, why don't we try this and see we
(10:13):
think the US market would respond to it. And then
you know, they turned on a website, turned up some
digital spend and started to realize that people do want
to travel this way.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
I'm curious, like, what are the most popular trips that
you book like one of the things that people seem
to be looking for the most when they come through
vacations by rail.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
Yeah, so here domestically, you know, those classic trips that
the founders created are still very popular. So the National
Parks are still in high demand. They're some of our
best sellers. And then the Fall Foliage trips which have
less rail but not lots of nice touring, and you
see some of those scenic rail lines, those are still
(10:57):
very big and popular. We've seen a last really increase,
especially around Northern Lights. So this year was our first
year trying an escorted trip that was built around Northern
Lights and we've seen a lot of good response for that.
As far as Europe goes, Scotland is a huge market.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
For US, as well as Switzerland.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
And you know Switzerland has infamous rail system with a
lot of great attraction, so that one makes a lot
of sense. And when you're in Scotland and you're on rail,
you understand why everyone wants to go because it's just beautiful.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Yeah. My mental picture of Scotland, i've ever been there.
My mental picture is beautiful, but I guess I wouldn't
have thought of Scotland as being a top destination, like
I think Switzerland to me makes sense, like I would
imagine mountainous regions inside like the mainland of Europe versus
like the UK would be the bigger. But that's kind
of cool to hear that Scotland is up near the top.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
Oh, it's a great It's a great area to visit.
You know.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
The nice thing about train is you can see the landscape.
Scotland's not necessarily known for its weather, but yet known
for its weather, and so you're protected in a rail
car and you get to kind of.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Delight in the drizzle instead of being caught in it.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
I think that's so cool and I really want to go.
We're planning to go to Europe next year to visit
some friends that just moved there, and I really want
to experience the rail in Europe because I've heard about
it for so long in my life, about how special
it is and how easy it is to travel by
rail in Europe. And I'm just picturing, like what kind
of experience someone, say from North America that books of
(12:32):
vacations by rail trip gets when they go over there,
Like I just I have this wonderful, like mental image
of what it must be.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
Like, yeah, it will probably satisfy all those If I
could give you one tip, just pack light. So a
lot of Americans forget you can't take that huge suitcase
and feel like you're having an enjoyable time.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
Got to be agile.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
I've learned that lesson just by being here in the
Northeast corner because every time I see someone get on
the train with a gigantic suitcase, where do you think
that's going?
Speaker 3 (13:01):
Like?
Speaker 1 (13:01):
Where do you're in the wrong place for that? Right now?
All right? So we were I guess I was talking
to somebody else in your company, and they gave us
some ideas of some of the big trips to try
to make sure that we mentioned. I know one of
them was the rail and cruise vacations that you have,
So one in particular was the Glacier Express and the
Romantic Rhine Cruise. You want to talk a little bit
(13:21):
more about.
Speaker 3 (13:22):
These, Yeah, I mean there's a lot of people who
do European River cruise, but we're the only ones that
do it with a land package that include rail, and
the Glacier Express is probably one of the most epic
and iconic rail lines you could go on and so
being able to bundle those together, it sells out every year.
(13:42):
So if you're interested, or anyone who's listening is it's
a time to act quickly because that one does sell out.
Because you've got two amazing destinations and the pace of
the trip is nice, and you know, Americans like to
cover a lot of ground, and it's a great way
to cover a lot of ground and not.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
Feel rushed or panicked.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
And our cruise ships are really nice, a lot of
good locally oriented cuisine. You know, we stop in some
good destinations where you can see castles or have some
local touring that's really special. And so that is one
of the big rail and cruise packages that we sell
(14:27):
a lot.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
Of no disrespect to any of the cruise lines that
we know of that you know, the typical ones we
see on TV here in America that can advertise, but
those European cruise lines I have only heard such amazing
things about from people that have taken them.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
All our staff on those are amazing and really it
on the boat. You'll have vacations by rail customers and
Great Rail Journey customers, which is our parent company, and
so it's a nice little community. You end up making friends,
you spend the whole week together. So it's just a
really low way to travel, and you see some good
(15:02):
scenic rail pieces. But also along the Rhine you see
great destinations.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
What about the Imperial Cities and Danube cruise another good one.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
We've seen the Danube really pick up in the year
or so.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
I think sometimes that area is underappreciated by Americans. But
in terms of wow factor, you know, what you get
to see along that My parents actually just went in August.
What you get to see along there is really quite special.
And like I said, the boat similar to the Rhine,
great service, great food, and the Danubes just really picturesque.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
Yeah, I think we don't really think about river cruises
here in America, right like we think about ocean cruises.
We're going to hop from the islands in the Caribbean.
We don't think about river cruises. But they're in Europe
and you've got these massive rivers that you can just
go right down and see this wonderful landscapes and go
from city to city.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Like oh, and it's it's wonderful.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
Because I wouldn't characterize myself as being a cruise enthusiast
because I've only ever known ocean cruising. In those days
at sea feel endless to me, and it feels like
a bit of Las Vegas on the inside, so I
can't quite embrace it. The nice thing about the river
cruising is you're stopping regularly. You can always see the land,
(16:24):
the activities, you know, or like shuffle board.
Speaker 4 (16:27):
At the top.
Speaker 3 (16:28):
You know, it's not there aren't casinos in there, it's
not flashing lights, and a lot of your entertainment and
experience is related to the area that you're in.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Not a big production.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
Liz, Since we're already in Europe, I know a lot
of the countries in Europe are pretty close together, and
you've got rails that go right across into everywhere basically,
so I'm sure you've got tours that take you from
one place to another pretty easily, am I.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
Right, Yes, we do.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
In fact, those have been really popular, especially post pandemic,
when people are you know, wanting to get out and
see as much as possible because they feel like they've
lost some time.
Speaker 4 (17:08):
Now, if we want to talk about rail.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
In Europe, there's a lot of science and a lot
of really fascinating details about the different rail in different countries,
but I'll save that for someone who probably has.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
More of that background. But there are some.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
Really fun kind of transportation nuggets depending on which country
you're in. For US, you know, a lot of tour
operators are offering you know, that whirl of Europe, but
we're doing it by rail because a lot of Americans
do think about the rail network over there, and it's
a bit of a novelty to think about being able
(17:45):
to travel between countries by rail. In fact, our founder
really romanticizes it. Part of why he started getting into
this world was he was over there on an overnight train,
fell asleep, was in you know mountains in Italy, woke
up and the snow was hitting against the window, and
(18:07):
he just thought, what a magical way to travel.
Speaker 4 (18:10):
And you just don't have a lot of ways to
replicate that here in the States.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
And so, you know, I think that's why people are
coming to us is to try and be able to
get through you know, some of those key europe destinations
and doing it in.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
A fun way by rail.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
So we have a tour that goes from London to Paris,
into Switzerland and down through Italy. That was new last season.
So we saw that it was pretty popular and we're
bringing it back.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
I think that's interesting too, because I think this trip
gives people the opportunity to get a brief view, but
they get a chance to view some of these places
they've heard about. I always tell people, whenever you go
on vacation, the first time you go somewhere, you kind
of have to do the touristy things, right Like, if
you go to Nashville, you've got to do the tourist
you know, Broadway experience. If you go to Hawaii, you've
(19:04):
got to go stay in the you know, yikiki and
do the touristy stuff. But then once you go a
second time, then you get to expand your vision and
sees dive deeper into what's going on locally. So I
feel like your trip, this rail multi country tour sounds
great to get in there and like, Okay, I saw London,
saw Paris, saw you know, got into Switzerland. But then
next time you can be like, Okay, I really wanted
(19:25):
to dive deeper into Paris or whatever.
Speaker 3 (19:28):
And that's kind of been the beauty of one me
coming from a commercial and retail environment into travel, and
then also the beauty of you know us having the
parent company in Great Britain who's done this for fifty years.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
When I think.
Speaker 3 (19:44):
About our assortment, how do you look at a market
like in Italy and address those different needs That initial
touring because you want to cover a lot of ground
and you want to see as much as possible, and then.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
Those regional.
Speaker 3 (20:00):
Focus tours that get you more cuisine, more culture, more
of that kind of in depth knowledge of a certain region.
And so that's a lot of the work that me
and the team have been doing. You know, with this
being a fairly new and growing brand, is how do you,
you know, create tours to satisfy those different interests?
Speaker 1 (20:24):
Oh sure, and I know you said it's new. I
mean it's this company's been around for a couple of decades,
if not more, and I know that. I'm sure you
probably get a lot of return customers at this point too.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
Yeah, that's one of my big initiatives coming in two
years ago. There was a lot of one time customers,
partly due to the fact it was new and growing
and from a brand standpoint, a lot of times people
are just typing in vacation by rail into Google, not
expecting to find a brand, but expecting to find something,
(20:58):
and so there was this detached that I hadn't always known.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
In my branding background.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
And then the other kind of scenario was the founders
really started this with an Amtrak proposition out west to
go through national parks, and for a lot of people,
that's a bucket list trip. It's not like after doing
an overnight on Amtrak, you wake up the next day
and you're like, I can't wait to do another one
of those.
Speaker 4 (21:23):
And so I think it created a bit of a
one time kind.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
Of bucket list customer.
Speaker 3 (21:30):
And so part of this work is to drive some
repeat Because the consumer is showing more interest in traveling
this way, how do we make sure we're creating the
tours and the destinations that make you want to go
back and do it again versus it just being a
bucket list opportunity.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
Oh, for sure, I think it's really smart. I think
it's smart to plan that because you've already got the
rails going through there. You already know you have trains
going through different areas. So yeah, like that multi country tour,
it's the perfect opportunity to say, Okay, you liked going
through these four countries, now here's a couple other options
that will get you into each one to try different things. Exactly,
so smart, so smart, Liz. I know early in this
(22:08):
conversation you mentioned the Northern Lights and how you had
some trips that took people up there to see that stuff.
Tell me more about the Alaska Northern Lights and winter
Lights rail trips.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
Alaska has always been a big market for this business.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
Again, the rail is a big part of.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
It, and we typically see two seasons, the summer season
in the winter season, and it's typically been an independent business.
This is our first year offering a winter escorted tour.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
Our.
Speaker 3 (22:40):
Summer escorted tour has always been a customer favorite and
a best seller. So this season, I think the first
departure is late February early March. Is our first time
operating an escorted tour in the winter to get some
of that northern light exposure, plus you know, the real.
Speaker 4 (22:58):
Authenticity of Alca.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
The other place that gets a lot of attention for
Northern Lights is Scandinavia. Sure, you know, for people in
the US, Alaska is more accessible if you're in the West.
If you're on the East, getting to Scandinavia is almost
easier than trying to go to Alaska, plus, the rail
experience and the Northern light experience just different. And there's
(23:22):
been a lot of just you know, cultural interest in
Northern Lights, so we continue to see a lot of
interest in that area as well.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
This has been such a fascinating conversation. Going into this,
I did not expect a twist in turns of how
many opportunities Vacations by Rail offered folks. I mean I
looked at your website, I got a brief understanding of
what you were all about, But just talking to you, Liz,
it's really amazing, like all the doors that your company
and that your group can open to folks worldwide.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
The beauty of rail, it exists everywhere, and the experience
in each of those destinations is very different.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
She's coming back with more.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
Well, Liz, I really appreciate it. Liz Owens, Senior vice
president and general manager for Vacations by Rail. What's the
website people should go to again to find out all
that you offer and to start booking their next.
Speaker 4 (24:11):
Trip Vacations by Rail dot com.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
That could not be any easier list.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
Thank you for that, No easy. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Big thank you to Liz Owens for her time I mean,
I could have talked to her for hours about all
these special trips they have. They truly are amazing. Check
out vacations by rail dot com to see for yourself,
and thank you to all of you for checking out
another episode of Delightful Destinations. Until next time, be well
Speaker 3 (25:00):
Yeah,
What's going on? Everybody. Welcome to Delightful Destinations. My name
is Jeff Saint Pierre. Delightful Destinations as a podcast that's
designed to give people an inside or a deeper look
at a vacation location somewhere here in the United States
or hey, anywhere in the world, even if they're willing
to talk to me. My hope is always to speak
with people who know these areas best and inspire you
(00:24):
for your next getaway. Let's kick off the new year
with some inspiration to get out of your house and
hit the railways. I love taking the train seriously. I
live in what's known as the Northeast Corridor. Essentially, it's
the area between Washington, DC and Boston right up the
East Coast. The whole route is connected by rail and
people often use them to get around. Prices can be
a little bit cheaper than flying, and honestly, I find
(00:45):
the train to be so much more convenient than heading
to the airport. I almost always take Amtrak or regional
rail when I go to New York City because I'm
not about fighting traffic to get into the Big Apple.
While I'm used to the train, most Americans miss out
on it We always hear about how our marriage kids
underutilized trains, but there are rails going throughout the entire country.
Our country was based on the train. This is where
(01:06):
Vacations by Rail comes into play. Vacations by Rail plans
these special trips that take you through some of the
most beautiful spots in the United States. I'm talking about
the National Parks, Colorado, Southwest Alaska, and so many more.
And these trips are specially designed to make sure that
you get a full experience on the location you're visiting.
Some of them even provide unique opportunities that only come
(01:26):
around every so often, you know, like trips to see
the Northern Lights. Vacations by Rail isn't limited to the
United States. They have incredible tours that go all across
Europe as well as other countries. I mean, seriously, these
people have put together some remarkable packages. I'm excited to
discuss some of those with Liz Owens. She's the senior
vice president and general manager for Vacations by Rail. I
promise you after this conversation, you're going to be on
(01:47):
their website looking for a trip.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Thanks to meet you too, Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
On so Liz tell me a little bit more about
Vacations by Reil. First of all, where are you guys
based out of because I know you're a worldwide company.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
We are a worldwide company.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Vacations by Rail is really catering to the US audience.
We are headquartered in Chicago, which is kind of the
rail capital of the United States because of where all
the passenger trains and commuter trains and cargo trains kind
of come together.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
But it's happenstance.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
We had two very passionate founders who started the business
twenty years ago, who were both located here in Chicago.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
We've stayed.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
I was on your website earlier, which is Vacations by
Rail dot Com, and I don't I don't think I
really understood how vast the rail system is. And I
know that, you know, there's always the history history stories
about how we laid rail across this entire country, but
I just feel like the conversation is always that we
underutilize railroads in America more than other countries do. So
(02:47):
then to see your website and see how many opportunities
you had, I was really kind of blown away by
how far you reached.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
Yeah, I mean the way rail kind of behaves here
in the United States is very different, and we're taking
you know, customers on rail trips both here domestically but
also up into Canada and then Europe over the last
two years is really blown up. So for that person
who's a rail enthusiast, the variety that you get and
really being able to take a trip on amtrack, hit
(03:17):
the Rocky Mountaineer, maybe go over to Scotland and take
some rail, try the Eurostar ones. I mean, it's vast
the amount of rail that you're able to access. When
you think of it in that way, you can tell
each experience has its own unique characteristics. So here in
the States, because a lot of our infrastructure was built
for cargo, you know, that's when you'll see more things
(03:39):
around time delays, and when you're in a place like
the UK, you know you're not seeing that as much
because you're likely traveling on something that was really built
for a passenger or a commuter. And so when you
understand that landscape, you kind of can prepare yourself for
a rail trip anywhere. But if you're trying trying to
(04:00):
kind of think of it in a one size fits
all manner, you'll have a lot of surprises along the way.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
So here's an interesting thought. So I live in Baltimore, Maryland,
so we're in the Northeast corridor, and I use trade
anytime I go between say, DC and New York in particular,
or sometimes DC in Boston. I'm pretty much always using
trains because I just find them to be a little
more convenient than trying to navigate airports and all of
that stuff. Especially going to New York. It's the easiest
thing just to hop on a train and get to
(04:27):
New York. But I generally would take Amtrak. So for
you guys, do you use different companies of trains or
do you have your own vacations by rail trains?
Speaker 3 (04:36):
I own no trains, okay, I own no trades any destination.
So we are operating much like any other tour operator.
We're stitching together and experience using a variety of partners,
whether that's you know, in market tour guides.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Hotels, or rail.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
We're working with every partner out there to bring the
trip together.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
I do not own any part of rail.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
I own a point of view on what portions of
rail are nice to travel along and what you get
to see along the way, and we do try really
hard to make sure that you know, we're building vacations
around the experience on the rail, not just as a
point A to point B.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Yeah, I noticed. It's my impression of it is it's
a lot of these trips and a lot of these
packages that you can find on the website again, Vacations
by Rail dot com. It almost seems kind of like
a cruise but on a train, because you're not just
on a train for the entire trip, like you'll stop
in a place like there was one I was looking at,
I think one of the Alaska experiences where you'll stop
(05:41):
somewhere and you can go on a sled dog tour like.
So it's kind of like my picture of what a
cruise is, where you stop at a harbor or a
port and you get off and you do an experience
and you hop back on the ship and you go
somewhere else. That's kind of what Vacations by Rail sounds like.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
It's a great comparison for what I would call like
some of our core rail trips.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
So Alaska is a good one.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
Even if you think about the Rocky Mountain Europe in Canada,
you know you're leaving Vancouver, you're stopping in Kamloops, overnighting there,
getting back on.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
If you go over to Switzerland, I mean.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
You're basically touring the entire country of Switzerland, going on
and off different rail lines, and they're all picturesque and
they all have different qualities and attributes. But then you're
stopping and doing some things in resort that are unique
to that area, whether you're in Zormot or you know,
another small town. You know, we're trying to make sure
(06:34):
we can bring that culture with it, because that's part
of all you're on vacation.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Oh for sure. I mean, especially if you're going to
somewhere like Europe. Not that I want to downplay the
spots here in America or North America, but if you're
going to a place like Europe, there are so many
cultural things that will be different that you wouldn't experience
on a day to day basis here. So I'm completely
understanding that makes perfect sense. I would love to be
able to stop in different places along the way.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
And then we have others.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
I mean, some people, you know, don't always want to
spend all their time on a train, so we have
other trips where we're looking at like heritage rail, and
so maybe you're spending more of your time on coach
because the destination lends itself better to coach touring. But
then you're stopping somewhere to do a scenic cog train
(07:21):
or go to something that has historical relevance, you know,
especially when I'm looking at vacation development here in North America,
the rail system isn't always going to get you to
the places that our consumers want to go, and so
there's a lot of art and science to how you
design the tour because you know, we want to stay
true to our proposition around rail, but we also don't
(07:44):
want to have tours where it feels like we're just
shoving it in there.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
And the customers kind of leave and going, eh, did
I get anything from that rail? I don't know.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
You know, you want to make sure it's good rail
and that it brings something to the overall experience.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
I feel like you're the people that book these events.
These experiences are superheroes because you have to navigate all
of these different things and find out exactly, Okay, how
are we going to get to point A too from
point B? Like I feel like it's got to be.
It's much different than booking a flight because you know,
we're exactly where you're landing, and how you're going to
get this is all over the place.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Yeah, our founders really kind of even started, I think,
addressing that challenge, which was how do you navigate the
National parks? You know, everyone wants to go and see
the National Parks, but figuring out which entrance, which exit,
how much time to spend where, how to get to
the attractions, being able to leave from Chicago, take rail
(08:41):
out and then have you know, some guided touring to
take you in and out of those you know, kind
of iconic places. I think that's where they got their start,
because it is daunting. When you try to design that
on your own, you're going to mess some things up.
And so I think us doing over twenty years, we've
taken some of the guests work out and.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
You can just show up and enjoy it versus trying
to worry about where it to go.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
I was going to ask you when this company was founded.
You just said twenty years. Is that the exact like,
so twenty years ago?
Speaker 3 (09:12):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (09:12):
Wow, yeah, exactly. We're just ending our twentieth anniversaries that's why.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
Like I guess, maybe this is a stupid question, but
I guess what was the what was the idea that
founded this? Like what was it that made your founders go,
you know what we got to do?
Speaker 3 (09:28):
Like what?
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Like I guess, I'm so curious, like where that came from?
Speaker 3 (09:31):
Well, the way you delivered that line, I could almost
hear it coming out of Todd's mouth, you know what
we got to do. So there were two individuals who
had worked I think with Deutsche Bahnd and some other
kind of rail companies, and then it's a classic founder story.
It was a garage someone leaned in and said, you
(09:51):
know what we should try. And so between Todd, who
had a lot of passion for product and kind of
that vacation design aspect of things, and then Cole who
was really you know, starting in the digital world and
understood that landscape really well. You know, they came together
and thought, why don't we try this and see we
(10:13):
think the US market would respond to it. And then
you know, they turned on a website, turned up some
digital spend and started to realize that people do want
to travel this way.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
I'm curious, like, what are the most popular trips that
you book like one of the things that people seem
to be looking for the most when they come through
vacations by rail.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
Yeah, so here domestically, you know, those classic trips that
the founders created are still very popular. So the National
Parks are still in high demand. They're some of our
best sellers. And then the Fall Foliage trips which have
less rail but not lots of nice touring, and you
see some of those scenic rail lines, those are still
(10:57):
very big and popular. We've seen a last really increase,
especially around Northern Lights. So this year was our first
year trying an escorted trip that was built around Northern
Lights and we've seen a lot of good response for that.
As far as Europe goes, Scotland is a huge market.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
For US, as well as Switzerland.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
And you know Switzerland has infamous rail system with a
lot of great attraction, so that one makes a lot
of sense. And when you're in Scotland and you're on rail,
you understand why everyone wants to go because it's just beautiful.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Yeah. My mental picture of Scotland, i've ever been there.
My mental picture is beautiful, but I guess I wouldn't
have thought of Scotland as being a top destination, like
I think Switzerland to me makes sense, like I would
imagine mountainous regions inside like the mainland of Europe versus
like the UK would be the bigger. But that's kind
of cool to hear that Scotland is up near the top.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
Oh, it's a great It's a great area to visit.
You know.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
The nice thing about train is you can see the landscape.
Scotland's not necessarily known for its weather, but yet known
for its weather, and so you're protected in a rail
car and you get to kind of.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Delight in the drizzle instead of being caught in it.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
I think that's so cool and I really want to go.
We're planning to go to Europe next year to visit
some friends that just moved there, and I really want
to experience the rail in Europe because I've heard about
it for so long in my life, about how special
it is and how easy it is to travel by
rail in Europe. And I'm just picturing, like what kind
of experience someone, say from North America that books of
(12:32):
vacations by rail trip gets when they go over there,
Like I just I have this wonderful, like mental image
of what it must be.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
Like, yeah, it will probably satisfy all those If I
could give you one tip, just pack light. So a
lot of Americans forget you can't take that huge suitcase
and feel like you're having an enjoyable time.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
Got to be agile.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
I've learned that lesson just by being here in the
Northeast corner because every time I see someone get on
the train with a gigantic suitcase, where do you think
that's going?
Speaker 3 (13:01):
Like?
Speaker 1 (13:01):
Where do you're in the wrong place for that? Right now?
All right? So we were I guess I was talking
to somebody else in your company, and they gave us
some ideas of some of the big trips to try
to make sure that we mentioned. I know one of
them was the rail and cruise vacations that you have,
So one in particular was the Glacier Express and the
Romantic Rhine Cruise. You want to talk a little bit
(13:21):
more about.
Speaker 3 (13:22):
These, Yeah, I mean there's a lot of people who
do European River cruise, but we're the only ones that
do it with a land package that include rail, and
the Glacier Express is probably one of the most epic
and iconic rail lines you could go on and so
being able to bundle those together, it sells out every year.
(13:42):
So if you're interested, or anyone who's listening is it's
a time to act quickly because that one does sell out.
Because you've got two amazing destinations and the pace of
the trip is nice, and you know, Americans like to
cover a lot of ground, and it's a great way
to cover a lot of ground and not.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
Feel rushed or panicked.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
And our cruise ships are really nice, a lot of
good locally oriented cuisine. You know, we stop in some
good destinations where you can see castles or have some
local touring that's really special. And so that is one
of the big rail and cruise packages that we sell
(14:27):
a lot.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
Of no disrespect to any of the cruise lines that
we know of that you know, the typical ones we
see on TV here in America that can advertise, but
those European cruise lines I have only heard such amazing
things about from people that have taken them.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
All our staff on those are amazing and really it
on the boat. You'll have vacations by rail customers and
Great Rail Journey customers, which is our parent company, and
so it's a nice little community. You end up making friends,
you spend the whole week together. So it's just a
really low way to travel, and you see some good
(15:02):
scenic rail pieces. But also along the Rhine you see
great destinations.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
What about the Imperial Cities and Danube cruise another good one.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
We've seen the Danube really pick up in the year
or so.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
I think sometimes that area is underappreciated by Americans. But
in terms of wow factor, you know, what you get
to see along that My parents actually just went in August.
What you get to see along there is really quite special.
And like I said, the boat similar to the Rhine,
great service, great food, and the Danubes just really picturesque.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
Yeah, I think we don't really think about river cruises
here in America, right like we think about ocean cruises.
We're going to hop from the islands in the Caribbean.
We don't think about river cruises. But they're in Europe
and you've got these massive rivers that you can just
go right down and see this wonderful landscapes and go
from city to city.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Like oh, and it's it's wonderful.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
Because I wouldn't characterize myself as being a cruise enthusiast
because I've only ever known ocean cruising. In those days
at sea feel endless to me, and it feels like
a bit of Las Vegas on the inside, so I
can't quite embrace it. The nice thing about the river
cruising is you're stopping regularly. You can always see the land,
(16:24):
the activities, you know, or like shuffle board.
Speaker 4 (16:27):
At the top.
Speaker 3 (16:28):
You know, it's not there aren't casinos in there, it's
not flashing lights, and a lot of your entertainment and
experience is related to the area that you're in.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Not a big production.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
Liz, Since we're already in Europe, I know a lot
of the countries in Europe are pretty close together, and
you've got rails that go right across into everywhere basically,
so I'm sure you've got tours that take you from
one place to another pretty easily, am I.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
Right, Yes, we do.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
In fact, those have been really popular, especially post pandemic,
when people are you know, wanting to get out and
see as much as possible because they feel like they've
lost some time.
Speaker 4 (17:08):
Now, if we want to talk about rail.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
In Europe, there's a lot of science and a lot
of really fascinating details about the different rail in different countries,
but I'll save that for someone who probably has.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
More of that background. But there are some.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
Really fun kind of transportation nuggets depending on which country
you're in. For US, you know, a lot of tour
operators are offering you know, that whirl of Europe, but
we're doing it by rail because a lot of Americans
do think about the rail network over there, and it's
a bit of a novelty to think about being able
(17:45):
to travel between countries by rail. In fact, our founder
really romanticizes it. Part of why he started getting into
this world was he was over there on an overnight train,
fell asleep, was in you know mountains in Italy, woke
up and the snow was hitting against the window, and
(18:07):
he just thought, what a magical way to travel.
Speaker 4 (18:10):
And you just don't have a lot of ways to
replicate that here in the States.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
And so, you know, I think that's why people are
coming to us is to try and be able to
get through you know, some of those key europe destinations
and doing it in.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
A fun way by rail.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
So we have a tour that goes from London to Paris,
into Switzerland and down through Italy. That was new last season.
So we saw that it was pretty popular and we're
bringing it back.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
I think that's interesting too, because I think this trip
gives people the opportunity to get a brief view, but
they get a chance to view some of these places
they've heard about. I always tell people, whenever you go
on vacation, the first time you go somewhere, you kind
of have to do the touristy things, right Like, if
you go to Nashville, you've got to do the tourist
you know, Broadway experience. If you go to Hawaii, you've
(19:04):
got to go stay in the you know, yikiki and
do the touristy stuff. But then once you go a
second time, then you get to expand your vision and
sees dive deeper into what's going on locally. So I
feel like your trip, this rail multi country tour sounds
great to get in there and like, Okay, I saw London,
saw Paris, saw you know, got into Switzerland. But then
next time you can be like, Okay, I really wanted
(19:25):
to dive deeper into Paris or whatever.
Speaker 3 (19:28):
And that's kind of been the beauty of one me
coming from a commercial and retail environment into travel, and
then also the beauty of you know us having the
parent company in Great Britain who's done this for fifty years.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
When I think.
Speaker 3 (19:44):
About our assortment, how do you look at a market
like in Italy and address those different needs That initial
touring because you want to cover a lot of ground
and you want to see as much as possible, and then.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
Those regional.
Speaker 3 (20:00):
Focus tours that get you more cuisine, more culture, more
of that kind of in depth knowledge of a certain region.
And so that's a lot of the work that me
and the team have been doing. You know, with this
being a fairly new and growing brand, is how do you,
you know, create tours to satisfy those different interests?
Speaker 1 (20:24):
Oh sure, and I know you said it's new. I
mean it's this company's been around for a couple of decades,
if not more, and I know that. I'm sure you
probably get a lot of return customers at this point too.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
Yeah, that's one of my big initiatives coming in two
years ago. There was a lot of one time customers,
partly due to the fact it was new and growing
and from a brand standpoint, a lot of times people
are just typing in vacation by rail into Google, not
expecting to find a brand, but expecting to find something,
(20:58):
and so there was this detached that I hadn't always known.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
In my branding background.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
And then the other kind of scenario was the founders
really started this with an Amtrak proposition out west to
go through national parks, and for a lot of people,
that's a bucket list trip. It's not like after doing
an overnight on Amtrak, you wake up the next day
and you're like, I can't wait to do another one
of those.
Speaker 4 (21:23):
And so I think it created a bit of a
one time kind.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
Of bucket list customer.
Speaker 3 (21:30):
And so part of this work is to drive some
repeat Because the consumer is showing more interest in traveling
this way, how do we make sure we're creating the
tours and the destinations that make you want to go
back and do it again versus it just being a
bucket list opportunity.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
Oh, for sure, I think it's really smart. I think
it's smart to plan that because you've already got the
rails going through there. You already know you have trains
going through different areas. So yeah, like that multi country tour,
it's the perfect opportunity to say, Okay, you liked going
through these four countries, now here's a couple other options
that will get you into each one to try different things. Exactly,
so smart, so smart, Liz. I know early in this
(22:08):
conversation you mentioned the Northern Lights and how you had
some trips that took people up there to see that stuff.
Tell me more about the Alaska Northern Lights and winter
Lights rail trips.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
Alaska has always been a big market for this business.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
Again, the rail is a big part of.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
It, and we typically see two seasons, the summer season
in the winter season, and it's typically been an independent business.
This is our first year offering a winter escorted tour.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
Our.
Speaker 3 (22:40):
Summer escorted tour has always been a customer favorite and
a best seller. So this season, I think the first
departure is late February early March. Is our first time
operating an escorted tour in the winter to get some
of that northern light exposure, plus you know, the real.
Speaker 4 (22:58):
Authenticity of Alca.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
The other place that gets a lot of attention for
Northern Lights is Scandinavia. Sure, you know, for people in
the US, Alaska is more accessible if you're in the West.
If you're on the East, getting to Scandinavia is almost
easier than trying to go to Alaska, plus, the rail
experience and the Northern light experience just different. And there's
(23:22):
been a lot of just you know, cultural interest in
Northern Lights, so we continue to see a lot of
interest in that area as well.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
This has been such a fascinating conversation. Going into this,
I did not expect a twist in turns of how
many opportunities Vacations by Rail offered folks. I mean I
looked at your website, I got a brief understanding of
what you were all about, But just talking to you, Liz,
it's really amazing, like all the doors that your company
and that your group can open to folks worldwide.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
The beauty of rail, it exists everywhere, and the experience
in each of those destinations is very different.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
She's coming back with more.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
Well, Liz, I really appreciate it. Liz Owens, Senior vice
president and general manager for Vacations by Rail. What's the
website people should go to again to find out all
that you offer and to start booking their next.
Speaker 4 (24:11):
Trip Vacations by Rail dot com.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
That could not be any easier list.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
Thank you for that, No easy. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Big thank you to Liz Owens for her time I mean,
I could have talked to her for hours about all
these special trips they have. They truly are amazing. Check
out vacations by rail dot com to see for yourself,
and thank you to all of you for checking out
another episode of Delightful Destinations. Until next time, be well
Speaker 3 (25:00):
Yeah,
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On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!