Whether it's commuting to work, going on holiday or just doing the school run, travel takes up an increasing amount of time in all our lives. But more and more women are turning this to their advantage, choosing transportation that's exciting and enjoyable rather than modes they have to endure.

So which is best and most luxurious? As we found, it depends on what you're looking for. The three women we spoke to revealed that transport plays a central role in helping them speed up, slow down or just feel more in control of their lives. And, to them, that's the real luxury.

Private Jet-Setter

It's was the time-saving element that led Donna Medway, managing director of IT recruitment agency Vector Resourcing Limited, to first travel by private jet four years ago. Taking her top performing team to Monaco for the weekend, she'd finally had enough of commercial travel.

"We have internal sales competitions and I take the winners away each year. These people have really achieved something and I found that when we flew or travelled commercially to destinations, we'd inevitably be delayed and it really spoiled things."

Now Medway and her team fly by private jet each year. And it's a lot easier to organise, submitting the times they want to exit of and return to the UK to Jeffersons, the private jet hire company, and then turning up at the airport 30 minutes before the flight.

Once on board, it's more of the same, with no queue for seats. The team are greeted by the pilots, everyone fastens their own seatbelt, and when they're safely in the air, the champagne is cracked open!

"It's a completely different experience to flying commercially. When we went to Majorca two years ago, it was 50 minutes by Learjet for eight of us and we were cleared instantly through a separate section on the other side. When we got to the hotel, we realised we'd only left our homes two hours before. It's just a different world, and when you've done it a couple of times, you become used to it very quickly," she admits.

Medway isn't one for traditional commuting outside of that. Though she limits her private jet use to business trips for environmental and cost reasons, as a trained pilot, she owns her own helicopter, and uses it to travel between her home and two offices in Sussex and Wiltshire daily.

"I can leave the office in the morning, go down to Wiltshire for a couple of hours, and be back in Sussex for early afternoon. It's a luxury," she admits, "but there's just no substitute for being able to get where you want quickly, with minimum hassle and without any delays."

For more information, contact  www.jeffersons.com or call 020 8746 2496.

Rail Romantic

Sarah Hunt takes the train from Stevenage to her specialist recruitment business, Equity FD, in London each day. And though she admits it's not the most exciting of journeys, trains have always held a certain appeal for her.

It's why when she decided to celebrate her 40 ^th birthday in Venice last year, she opted to travel there by Orient Express. "I loved the idea of it. It is a sepia printed memory I picked up somewhere of old style glamour, a time when my grandparents were alive, and just so romantic."

It certainly lived up to expectations. From the train itself, which she insists 'is not like a train at all, it's so wide', to the food which 'shocked' her it was so superb, to dressing up for dinner, which was served as they sped through Paris.

It takes 24 hours to get to Venice by Orient Express, a long time for someone used to being on the move. But this was part of the appeal for Hunt. "You can get on a plane and be anywhere in a second but it's nice to actually see countries going by and feel like you're going somewhere," she insists. "I remember waking up in the morning and we were going through the Alps, it was gorgeous."

It was also a rare chance to spend some quality time with her husband, away from their three children. "You have your own compartment which was perfect for us because we just wanted some time on our own. Every time we came out of a tunnel, one of us would have a knife by our sides [like the Agatha Christie novels], it was pathetic but an absolute laugh," she hoots.

Hunt's next stop? She's curious about travelling all the way to Istanbul. "It's not cheap but it's so worth it. It's unusual, special and particular to you. It's a fantastic way to travel, nothing compares."

Experience the golden age of luxury rail travel with the Orient Express,  www.orient-express.com

Speed Junkie

It's the freedom, the adrenaline and, conversely, the control that super cars give sales executive Joanna Jones, that have her using them again and again.

With her weekdays spent commuting between Kent and London by train, she likes nothing better at the weekends than renting a luxury car, throwing the top back and zipping through the countryside to visit friends and family.

"If I was given the option to travel first class by plane or train, I'd still choose a fast car. The most recent one I've driven, a Jaguar XKR, was a first class experience in itself, with its luxury leather interior and power on the throttle. Anyone into fast cars will understand the adrenaline rush," she laughs.

There's also the control element a supercar gives Jones that she can't get from a plane or train. "Whatever happens you have the power react quickly, and super cars are so superbly built that you feel safe as soon as you sit in them. Although they require more concentration than travelling on a luxury plane or train it's just nice to get behind the wheel and feel in control of what you're doing and where you're going."

Interested in renting a luxury supercar? Click onto  www.quadrigaclub.com , or for more information on the Jaguar XKR visit www.jaguar.co.uk

By Barbara Walshe