There is no single "best" luxury train, only the best train for a particular landscape, pace, and appetite for romance. Through the journeys we arrange at Palace Trains, we have come to think of the world's great rail experiences as falling into a handful of families: the vintage European classics, the desert and outback crossings, the Asian temple-and-jungle routes, the African safari trains, and the high-altitude South American lines. This guide walks through each region and names the trains our guests return to again and again.
Use it as a starting point, then go deeper on any train's own page for cabin classes, seasons, and itineraries, or browse destinations and current departures if you already know where you want to go.
Europe: the trains that invented the genre
Modern luxury rail travel begins with the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, the restored 1920s and '30s carriages that popularised the idea of the train as destination rather than transport. Its classic run between London and Venice crosses the Alps by daylight and ends with cocktails in teak-panelled cars; read more on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express journal for seasonal itinerary variations. Its sister train, the British Pullman, keeps the same Art Deco spirit for day excursions around England, often paired with stops in Bath or Oxford.
Italy's newest entrant, Orient Express La Dolce Vita, takes a different approach: contemporary Italian design inside vintage-profile carriages, running multi-day circuits from Rome through Venice, Portofino, Siena, Matera, Palermo, and Taormina. It is the train we most often recommend to guests who want the romance of vintage rail without ever leaving Italian soil. For a slower, more intimate alternative in Scotland, the Royal Scotsman loops through the Highlands with stops near Edinburgh, Inverness, and the Isle of Skye, while Britain's newest luxury train, the Britannic Explorer, brings Belmond's design language to England's West Country.
Central Europe has its own classic in the Danube Express Golden Eagle, which connects capitals such as Budapest, Prague, and Vienna, and can extend as far as Istanbul on longer itineraries. And Spain offers three distinct experiences worth comparing: the Andalusian-focused Al Andalus running between Seville, Cordoba, and Granada; the northern coastal El Transcantábrico Gran Lujo, which hugs the Bay of Biscay past Santiago de Compostela; and the newer Costa Verde Express, which shares much of that same Green Spain routing via Bilbao. A fourth option, El Expreso de la Robla, follows the historic narrow-gauge Robla line through León for travellers who want Spain's rail heritage at a gentler pace.
Africa: safari by private carriage
Africa's two flagship trains could not be more different in character. Pride of Africa, operated by Rovos Rail, is the world's most spacious regularly scheduled train, running between Pretoria and Cape Town, or further north to Victoria Falls through Hwange National Park's game country. The Blue Train, by contrast, is the more formal, all-inclusive classic linking Pretoria, Durban, and Cape Town with butler service in every suite. Guests choosing between the two usually decide on tempo: Rovos Rail's journeys run longer and slower, the Blue Train's itineraries are typically shorter and more polished. Both depart from routes we detail further on each train's own page.
The Americas: altitude, glaciers, and the pampas
Peru is home to two of the most scenic train experiences anywhere, both operated by Belmond and both worth pairing on a single trip. The Hiram Bingham is the storied approach to Machu Picchu from Cusco, complete with a observation car and live music; the Andean Explorer is South America's only luxury sleeper train, crossing the altiplano between Cusco, Puno, and Arequipa at altitudes that rival any railway on earth. Our guests headed to Peru often combine a Hiram Bingham day trip with a multi-night Andean Explorer segment for the fullest picture of the region.
Australia: crossing a continent
Australia's two great transcontinental trains solve different problems. The Ghan runs north-south between Darwin, Alice Springs, and Adelaide, cutting through the red centre with off-train excursions built into every itinerary. The Indian Pacific runs east-west between Sydney and Perth, including the Nullarbor Plain's famously dead-straight track. Together they are the best way to understand the scale of the Australian outback without driving it.
Asia: palaces, jungles, and bullet-train precision
India offers the richest concentration of luxury trains anywhere in Asia. The Maharajas' Express and the government-run Palace on Wheels both circuit Rajasthan's forts and palaces, taking in Delhi, Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, and Ranthambore's tiger reserve, with a stop at the Agra for the Taj Mahal on nearly every route. The Deccan Odyssey instead explores Maharashtra and Goa from a Mumbai base, reaching temple towns and coastline the northern circuits do not touch.
Southeast Asia's premier option is the Eastern & Oriental Express, which threads the Malay Peninsula between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, with excursions to Penang and the islands off Langkawi. Vietnam's SJourney Vietnam Luxury Express is a newer, shorter-format alternative connecting Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in restored heritage carriages. Further east, Japan's Seven Stars in Kyushu remains the country's benchmark for design-led luxury rail, departing from Fukuoka on itineraries built around Kyushu's onsen towns and coastline. And for travellers who want the Arabian Peninsula's answer to the genre, Dream of the Desert is opening a new front in Gulf rail travel worth watching.
How to choose
Our guests most often start with a continent they already want to visit, then let us match the train to the season and the pace they prefer — a five-night Rovos Rail crossing for guests who want to slow down completely, a two-night Venice Simplon-Orient-Express run for a first taste of vintage rail, or a Ghan or Indian Pacific segment bolted onto a longer Australian itinerary. Whichever direction you lean, every train profile on Palace Trains lists current departures, cabin categories, and the regions each route actually covers, and our team is always available through contact to help sequence a multi-train trip.
- New to luxury rail? Start with the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express or Eastern & Oriental Express for a shorter, classic introduction.
- Want total seclusion and space? Pride of Africa and the Andean Explorer both offer among the largest suites in the industry.
- Traveling with family or in a group? The Ghan and Indian Pacific build in off-train excursions that suit a wider range of ages.
