One of the best ways to experience the travel style of yesteryear's rich and famous is to spend some time on a luxury train.
Typically, these trains provide private two-person overnight compartments, some with built-in showers, along with lavish service, onboard guides, and elaborate meals.
Many also include a variety of day tours at stops along the way. Most carry passengers in vintage cars from the 1920s to 1950s that have been refurbished to modern standards or in newer cars designed to look like the classics.
Luxury trains are extremely expensive, so if you're more interested in the scenery and stops along the way than the extravagance, you can replicate many luxury rail journeys using ordinary modern trains at a fraction of the cost. I've included tips for this as well.
The Simplon-Orient-Express
The Orient-Express has to be the all-time winner for name recognition among iconic trains. The Simplon-Orient-Express excursion train still makes the traditional run from Paris to Istanbul via Budapest and Bucharest once per year (local rail conditions permitting), lacking only the original's onboard murder and intrigue.
But most trips are shorter two- to four-day links on various routes connecting London, Venice, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, and Bucharest. The train uses original vintage coaches that have been upgraded to operate on modern railroads and are hauled by modern and usually electric locomotives. Prices run between $1,000 and $1,400 per person, per day, and are all-inclusive. The Simplon-Orient-Express folks operate vintage trains over several other European routes at comparable rates.
The Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express
The Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express serves the world's longest continuous railway line. This luxury train operates 15-day itineraries in modern cars, linking Moscow with Vladivostok. The train provides three classes of service, and all three include in-cabin showers, meal service, drinks, excursions, services of onboard tour guides, and porterage. There's even an onboard doctor included in the base prices.
But prices are stiff, starting at more than $15,000 per person for double occupancy in Silver Class. Golden Eagle also operates a Silk Road train linking Moscow with Beijing via Bukhara, Samarkand, and Almaty. If that's too stiff, you can do the regular straight-through seven-day Trans-Siberian Express over the same route through Real Russia. A first-class berth costs about $2,000 per person for single or double occupancy, including meals.
The Blue Train
South Africa's Blue Train is yet another storied luxury train. All accommodations are in private two-person compartments with built-in showers and toilet facilities. The trip cost includes meals, drinks, and a high level of personal service. The Blue Train runs between Cape Town and Pretoria; in either direction, you leave early in the morning and arrive at around noon the next day. Trips run four to five times a month.
Costs for a deluxe suite start at 15,155 rand (about $1,500, according to xe.com) per person for double occupancy in the high season (September 1–November 15) or 12,380 rand (about $1,260) during low season. A few luxury suites include bathtubs rather than showers, and these are more expensive. The Blue Train operates on other South African routes as well. If you just want the Cape Town-Johannesburg train trip, you can ride a sleeper on the bare-bones Shosholoza Meyl tourist train, with prices starting at around 600 rand (about $60), or take the Premier Classe deluxe train, with prices starting at around 2,500 rand (about $250), including meals. Arrange both through African Sun Travel.
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