ARCTIC TO ALICANTE
4–11 December 2026 · Eight days. Six countries. One race...
Planes. Ferries. Sleeper trains. High-speed rail.
I start in the Finnish winter and head south until I find the Spanish sun. I leave Manchester a week before Cat, taking the long way down to Spain through Finland, Sweden, Germany and France.
Cat takes the rather more sensible option: a direct flight from Manchester.
Who gets to Alicante first?
Featured Destinations
From frozen Helsinki in the Arctic to sunny Alicante on the Mediterranean coast.
Five countries, a ferry, countless trains and plenty to explore along the way.
FINLAND
ARCTIC START
SWEDEN
Across the baltic
GERMANY
Racing south
FRANCE
WINE, CHEESE & CHRISTMAS MARKETS
SPAIN
MEDITERRANEAN FINISH
THE BALTIC
THE NIGHT TRAIN
HIGH-SPEED european trains
THE JOURNEY SOUTH
Planes. Ferries. Sleepers. High-speed trains. No sensible person would get to Alicante this way.
BEHIND THE JOURNEY
THE ROUTE
Every train, ferry and flight from Manchester to Alicante.
VIEW ITINERARY →
TICKETS & RESERVATIONS
Interrail, seat reservations, sleepers and what it all actually cost.
HOW I BOOKED IT →
PLAN B
Missed connections, cancelled sleepers and several increasingly ridiculous ways of still reaching Spain.
CONTINGENCY PLANS →
PACKING & VLOG GEAR
What I'm carrying across Europe in winter — and what I'm filming it with.
SEE THE GEAR →