Thomas Cook OVERSEAS TIMETABLE
Thomas Cook Overseas Timetable
A unique timetable
The Thomas Cook Overseas Timetable contains over 400 pages of rail, bus and ferry timetables covering North and South America, Africa, Asia and Australasia. Every country outside Europe in fact. Unlike its European counterpart, the word 'Rail' does not appear in the title, and there's a good reason for this. Although it does contain every conceivable railway timetable (even suburban services in many cases), it also contains a huge number of bus timetables, due to railway networks being fairly sparse in some areas of the world (Brazil for example). Think of it as a 'surface transport' timetable. In fact, it is a more comprehensive timetable for most countries than you are likely to find in those countries themselves, and that includes the USA!
Bi-monthly publication
To ensure that the timetables are as up-to-date as possible, the Thomas Cook Overseas Timetable is published six times per year at the beginning of January, March, May, July, September and November. Each edition contains a special feature covering a particular topic or area of the world (see below), giving much extra information. A special Independent Traveller's Edition is produced twice a year, principally for sale through the booktrade, which includes a whole year's worth of features.
January-February Edition
Timings: Latest available timetables for countries outside Europe.
Feature: Health and Safety, including a vast amount of country by country information.
Publication date: nominally January 1st; subscriptions and advance orders are despatched immediately before Christmas.
March-April Edition
Timings: Latest available timetables for countries outside Europe.
Feature: Passports and Visa, including detailed requirements for each country, public holidays, time zones, telephone codes, import and export restrictions.
Publication date: nominally March 1st; subscriptions and advance orders are despatched from around February 23rd.
May-June Edition
Timings: Latest available timetables for countries outside Europe.
Feature: North America, including details of passes, operators and train types.
Publication date: nominally May 1st; subscriptions and advance orders are despatched from around April 25th.
July-August Edition
Timings: Latest available timetables for countries outside Europe.
Feature: Japan, including details of passes, operators and train types.
Publication date: nominally July 1st; subscriptions and advance orders are despatched from around June 25th.
September-October Edition
Timings: Latest available timetables for countries outside Europe.
Feature: India and South-East Asia, including details of passes, operators and train types.
Publication date: nominally September 1st; subscriptions and advance orders are despatched from around August 25th.
November-December Edition
Timings: Latest available timetables for countries outside Europe.
Feature: Australasia, including details of passes, operators and train types.
Publication date: nominally November 1st; subscriptions and advance orders are despatched from around October 25th.
Independent Traveller's Edition - Summer
Designed for sale through bookshops, this enlarged version of the Overseas Timetable is based on the May-June edition but also contains all the features from the previous year, providing a huge amount of information in one publication. A voucher (valid six months) enables you to buy a later bi-monthly edition at a discount in order to obtain the latest available timings.
Publication date: nominally May 1st; advance orders placed with Thomas Cook Publishing are despatched from around April 25th. The Independent Traveller's edition is available through the Thomas Cook Publishing website as well as through the booktrade.
Independent Traveller's Edition - Winter
Designed for sale through bookshops, this enlarged version of the Overseas Timetable is based on the November-December edition but also contains all the features from the previous year, providing a huge amount of information in one publication. A voucher (valid six months) enables you to buy a later bi-monthly edition at a discount in order to obtain the latest available timings.
Publication date: nominally November 1st; advance orders placed with Thomas Cook Publishing are despatched from around April 25th. The Independent Traveller's edition is available through the Thomas Cook Publishing website as well as through the booktrade.