Any vacation plans for May/June 2025 yet? Why not combine an exciting and comfortable first-class train journey through Europe with a writing workshop/mentorship, maybe even together with your partner/spouse or friends?
From May 17th to June 8th 2025* SmokeLong will be writing our way through Europe with the first SmokeLong on the Road writers’ retreat A Ticket to Write. We’ll take the train riding comfortably in first class through 13 cities in 8 countries in just 20 days, but you can hop on and off a 7-day segment or more of the tour from various cities as it suits your own travel plans/budget. If you’ve always wanted to combine Le Grand Tour with a writers’ retreat, this tour is for you and maybe your partner/spouse/friends.
A Ticket to Write starts in Munich and ends with a SmokeLong event in London. The total 3-week travel time on the train – comfortably in first class – will be more than 30 hours, allowing us to write together with next-day feedback from SLQ senior editors and peers as we explore 13 exciting European cities. We are planning the following tour (preliminary itinerary, subject to change):
Where to start your hop-on/hop-off A Ticket to Write tour?
We recommend arriving in your starting city at least one day ahead of joining the SmokeLong A Ticket to Write tour so that you have some time to get used to the new time zone if you’re traveling over more than 3 time zones. For example, if you join A Ticket to Write in Prague, you could arrive 2 days early and visit this incredibly beautiful city, join SmokeLong on the third day, do the train/writing tour through Vienna, Salzburg, Munich, and Zurich to Paris, and spend a couple of days in Paris before you head home or onward.
Here are some 1-week segment trip examples for you to consider based on the above destination order:
1) Munich, Berlin, Dresden, Prague, Vienna, Salzburg, Munich
2) Prague, Vienna, Salzburg, Zurich, Paris
3) Munich, Zurich, Paris, Lille, Antwerp, Amsterdam
4) Paris, Lille, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Brussels, London
We’re happy to help you figure out the best arrangements. Just talk to us. You’re of course welcome to do the full three weeks with us.
Can I bring my non-writer partner/friend along?
Sure. This will even reduce your individual costs since you could share a hotel room. Your non-writer partner would not pay the workshop fee as long as they don’t talk your ear off in the train when you’re trying to write. We do love our partners, but they need to be quiet like little church mice when we’re writing.
What will we be doing in the cities?
We’ll offer the possibility of doing a hop-on/hop-off bus tour of the city together (optional and paid individually), but you’re welcome to set out on your own to explore the city. We’ll all get together for dinner and drinks (paid individually) and sometimes surprises.
Why A Ticket to Write?
I’ve been a traveler for almost 30 years. My first trip to Europe as an adult was pre-Smartphone and lonely. These days traveling is more relaxed, and train travel through Europe is usually convenient, comfortable in first class, and—most importantly for us—a great opportunity to write between destinations. This is why SmokeLong has come up with a unique writers’ retreat for people who want to see the world while writing and spending time with friends who are writers.
Christopher Allen
Publisher and EIC, SmokeLong Quarterly
What will my approximate costs for A Ticket to Write be?
The following costs are broken down into workshop and travel costs. When you embark on this adventure you will also automatically enjoy a workshop/mentorship package deal with a 20% discount for SmokeLong Fitness participants (annual subscription only). We’ll do A Ticket to Write writing tasks on the train with next-day feedback from SLQ senior editors and peers.
Workshop Costs
Up to 1-week travel segment just 1000 USD (or 800 USD for SmokeLong Fitness Annual Subscribers)
Up to 3-week travel segment just 1500 USD (or 1200 USD for SmokeLong Fitness Annual Subscribers)
This A Ticket to Write package deal includes the following popular SmokeLong workshops:
1) The March Micro Marathon (value 98 USD)
For info about last March’s marathon click HERE!
2) A 4-month SmokeLong Mentorship (value 695 USD)
For more info click HERE!
3) A SmokeLong Summer 25 (value 180 USD)
For info about last summer’s events click HERE
4) A 2-month SmokeLong Fitness trial (value $55)
Travel Costs
Your travel costs for a single/double/twin room in a 3-star city hotel will be up to 150 EUR per night at this time of the year. A first-class railway pass depends on the length/days of your journey but will be reasonably priced – starting at 400 EUR per person.
We will make the necessary reservations for the hotels and railway tickets for you once you’ve confirmed your participation and transferred payment to SmokeLong.
A 1-week segment trip—for instance—could cost you as follows (all costs below are subject to change but are realistic):
Single Room / per person
7 nights – 1000 EUR (final price will be confirmed by February 28th 2025 at the latest)
First-class Railway Pass – 450 EUR
Meals – paid individually
7 hop on/hop off City bus excursions – 280 EUR (optional)
A Ticket to Write including the Workshop/Mentorship Package – 1000 USD for the writer
Double room / per Person
7 nights – 500 EUR (final price will be confirmed by February 28th 2025 at the latest)
First-class Railway Pass – 450 EUR
Meals – paid individually
7 hop-on/hop-off City bus excursions – 280 EUR (optional)
A Ticket to Write including the Workshop/Mentorship Package – 1000 USD for the writer
A return/multi-city flight from the US starts at 800-1200 USD per person depending on your departing city and from the UK/Ireland about 100-200 GBP/EUR, if you book well in advance.
Almost all cities along the A Ticket to Write tour are served by the major large US/European Airlines and European low-cost airlines making the booking of a multi-city return trip possible and reasonable.
Please note that we will all stay in the same hotel during the tour. If you plan to extend your stay once you leave the A Ticket to Write tour, please keep in mind that you’ll need to book a hotel for this on your own.
All your travel costs (hotels, railway pass, etc.) will be made transparent to you and are due without any profit to SmokeLong. We are not a travel agent, but we will do everything to keep your travel costs low by helping you with arrangements. We are charging only for the writing workshop along the way and the mentorship.
What are the minimum and maximum numbers of participants?
During the entire 3-week and individual hop-on/hop-off weekly segment trips of A Ticket to Write a minimum of 10 and maximum of 15 writers should ideally travel and write together. Hence, please let us know by November 30 if you are interested in signing up to our first A Ticket to Write tour through Europe from May 17th to June 7th 2025 (approximate dates for now) with a 5-month workshop/mentorship following the trip.
Your next steps?
If you are interested in signing up, please drop us an email at editor@smokelong.com as soon as possible and by November 30th 2024 at the latest as there are only limited Tickets to Write available.
*Preliminary Itinerary, subject to change
Included in the price of SmokeLong Fitness: