There’s something undeniably romantic about exploring by train, sitting back and admiring a wealth of scenic pleasures through a large picture window without having to worry about traffic jams. Unlike travelling by car or coach, you are not confined to your seat but can walk between carriages, enjoy a meal or a drink with fellow passengers and often break your journey along the way, continuing to your final destination by a later service.

Some of the most stunning landscapes on the planet are showcased by rail journeys. In both Canada and Australia, you can cross the continent from ocean to ocean or just travel on a shorter journey, through the Canadian Rockies aboard the Rocky Mountaineer for example or from Alice Springs to Adelaide on the legendary Ghan. In Asia, travel aboard the luxurious Eastern and Oriental from Bangkok to Singapore, in New Zealand cut right through the heart of the South Alps by the TranzAlpine railway while in South Africa you can safari on rails aboard the Blue Train or Rovos Rail.

Africa

The 1600km route between Cape Town and Pretoria is one of the world’s great train journeys. From the majestic mountains and fertile Winelands of the Cape, through the desolate Great Karoo to the highveld and the gold belt, the Blue Train and Rovos Rail offer the sensational combination of luxury train travel and magnificent scenery. Rovos also operates a service from Pretoria to Durban; another through Hwange Game Reserve to Victoria Falls; an annual journey through the Northern Cape to Namibia; the incredible route from Cape Town to Dar es Salaam; and the epic African train journey from Cape to Cairo.

Australia

The vast land mass of Australia is crisscrossed by some of the world’s longest trans-continental railways. As well as individual journeys, we’ve created itineraries that synchronise with two or more train timetables, combining for example the Indian Pacific with The Ghan, or riding the rails along the coast of Queensland.

Canada

Travelling by train through the Rockies, aboard the Rocky Mountaineer for example, is one of Canada’s most iconic journeys. In addition to relatively short two day journeys you might also want to consider combining a visit to both the east and west coasts by riding on board The Canadian between the two, travelling the 4424 km on a three days' and three nights' adventure.

 Asia

The most luxurious rail experience in Asia is aboard the splendid, distinctive green and cream carriages of the Eastern & Oriental train. Evoking the grand age of luxury train travel, you’ll sleep in elegant compartments, enjoy delicious Asian and European cuisine and be treated to friendly and courteous service. There’s a choice of routes linking Singapore with Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Vientiane in Laos.

New Zealand

While New Zealand can’t compete with anything like the scale of Australia’s railway network, the TranzAlpine railway scores highly on its show of scenery, which changes so dramatically within a much tighter time frame.