About Byway
Byway is the first 100% flight-free travel platform, creating customisable travel and accommodation packages away from the traditional tourist trails, using trains, buses and ferries, with on-demand support via WhatsApp throughout.
Personal routes, optimised for enjoyment
We coordinate your whole journey for you, based on your interests and Byway’s expert local knowledge. We advise on lesser-known gems, help you with bag storage and handpick and book your accommodation.
Flight-free and kinder to our planet
Our model prioritises local businesses, non hotspot destinations and of course, low-carbon transport. We stand by the principle that travelling through the world is better than flying over it.
Built by tech, based on expert insights
Our tech developers have built a pioneering platform: the world’s first dynamic packaging engine for flight-free travel. Our tech makes off-the-beaten path, multi-modal (trains, ferries and buses) and multi-stop trips easy.
Featuring local and sustainable providers
Places to stay that are locally-owned and sustainable are always prioritised. We also love to recommend locally-operated experiences, shops and businesses, and wonderful eateries tucked away from the crowds.
Who are you?
We’re on a mission to make flight-free travel mainstream.
Right now, flying is seen as the norm for holidays. This isn’t good news for the planet, considering flying is one of the most damaging things we can do as individuals. The way we think about travel is in need of a big shake-up, but how?
Rail travel accounts for just 14g of CO2 per passenger mile, dwarfed by air travel’s 285g (Energy Saving Trust, 2018). Reducing the tourism industry’s reliance on flights is the most impactful thing we can do to make travel more sustainable.
The best way to do that is to make it easy and accessible. So, we’re here to make flight-free, faff-free - with personalised trips by train, ferry and bus.
How did it start?
Founded in lockdown by lifelong overland traveller,
Cat Jones.
Day 1
Cat founded Byway
Day 2
Cat registered Byway as a B Corp
“Byway really started when I was on my annual holiday with my family. Each year, we go on a multi-stop journey and make it as sustainable as possible, travelling by train, boat and bus. The trips are always wonderful - we slow down to appreciate lesser-known locations, bypass touristy hotspots and feel like we're discovering the world on our terms. But wow, were they a pain to organise and book!
As we've become more aware of the impact of air travel on the climate, the environmental need for simpler flight-free travel has become urgent, and as the pandemic hit I knew the time had come for slower travel to take centre stage. So I founded Byway to make sustainable, multi-stop trips easy, and to help more people discover the joys of flight-free travel.”
- Cat Jones, CEO and Founder
How sustainable are you?
Sustainability is at the core of everything we do.
We’re a certified B Corporation, alongside the likes of The Guardian, Patagonia and over 2,700 other companies across the globe who stand behind their greater purpose.
This helps keep us accountable for the goals we set and the impact we strive to make.
Read more about our goals, mission and commitment to sustainability below.
Couldn’t I just DIY this?
Sure, you could! We wouldn’t be mad. After all, we want flight-free to go mainstream - we’re not here to gatekeep.
The thing is, booking flight-free travel on your own tends to be quite complex, especially if you’re new to it. All the train tickets, timetables, hotel reservations and connections can be a bit of a headache, and put people off.
What makes us different is JourneyAI. This is our proprietary tech, which dynamically creates travel/accommodation/stop route combinations, and matches our curated databases of local insights to your group size, dates and interests.
It’s this that makes our trip builder craft seamless, multi-stop trips with ease.
Essentially, we do all the hard work, so you can just focus on enjoying all the gorgeous views.
Here’s Richard, who drives our tech team, putting the flight-free goodness into our trip builder.
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About our company
Byway is registered as Byway Travel Ltd. We are bonded with ABTA, registration number Y6723. We are a certified B Corporation. We were founded by Cat Jones in 2020 and she and Henry Lane Fox make up our Board of Directors.