GK Travel + Cruise is your local booking agent for RAIL – Worldwide. This includes Australia’s favourite journeys – The Ghan and Indian Pacific.
Flying has lost its glamour. You’re not alone in wanting a more rewarding, low-stress alternative to flying, which brings you closer to the world you live in and reduces your contribution to global warming. It’s time to rediscover rail travel, where the journey itself is part of the adventure.
Rail travel is one of the best (and most eco-friendly) ways to get around the world. Pretty much any large city in the world is serviced by at least one railway line, along with countless local and commuter services.
Trains allow you to travel in safety and comfort, and their olde-word charm sets them apart from more mundane means of transport. They pollute less, rarely suffer from weather delays and won’t give you jet lag. You can talk to your companions, read a book, or have a snooze. If the scenery palls you might go for a stroll, have a meal in the dining car, make friends in the bar or watch a movie.
Trains are very cost-effective compared to other modes of transport, especially if you use an unlimited ticket, such as Interail (Europe) or North America rail passes. It may also be a novelty, especially for families with children, who are usually fascinated by trains. It’s often easier to care for small children on a train than on a plane or car trip.
Some people go by train solely for the amazing views en route or relish the extra time it takes, giving them an interval alone on either side of a holiday or business trip. More comfortable than the bus, more fun than flying and more relaxing than a car trip, trains keep you in touch with the landscape and the civilised pace is ideal for sightseeing. Planes may be quicker for distances over 1,000 miles but involve lengthy security checks as well as tedious journeys to and from congested airports, while trains frequently connect city centres.
Special Rail Travel Journeys
Trains frequently go through spectacular scenery that is not easily or safely accessible by any other mean! Here are a few of our favorites:
The Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express
Possibly the most famous rail journey in the world, it links Moscow with Vladivostok, crossing the vast wooded wilderness of Siberia and the sands of the Gobi desert.
The Golden Eagle is your luxurious hotel-on-wheels. Unpack just the once and settle into your well appointed and comfortable en-suite cabin as you begin this voyage of a lifetime. One of your cabin attendants, available at all times, will be on hand to look after all of your needs.
Rocky Mountaineer
Rocky Mountaineer offers over 65 Canadian vacation packages and four unique rail routes – three train journeys through British Columbia and Alberta to Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper and Calgary, and one train excursion from Vancouver to Whistler. This world-renowned, luxurious train travels by daylight through the wild beauty of Canada’s West and is the best way to experience the majestic Canadian Rockies. In 2013, Rocky Mountaineer introduced Coastal Passage, a new route connecting Seattle to the Canadian Rockies that can be added on to any two-day or more rail journey.
Bernina Express
The most beautiful experience of the Alps: From the high towering glaciers of the mountains down to the swaying palms of Italy, the highest mountain railway in the Alps provides a link between northern and southern Europe. It does so in the most wonderful way imaginable, on a railway line that coexists in perfect harmony with its glorious mountain setting. The train makes short work of the 55 tunnels, 196 bridges and slopes of up to 70 millimetres per metre of incline that are found along its route. The physical high-point of the RhB is Ospizio Bernina, at 2,253 metres above sea level
The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express
The golden age of travel may have been in the Roaring Twenties, but the art of journeying in style is still alive and well today.
That sense of wonder can still be felt on board the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express train, where travel is about relishing the experience.
Savour the beautiful surroundings—the opulent interiors, sparkling crystal, plush fabrics, and polished woods. Relax in your own cabin, anticipating a delicious breakfast served as you look out over exciting new panoramas.
Connect with fascinating people from all walks of life, like-minded adventurers united in their shared joy of travel. So look ahead with unbridled delight and prepare to step back into a more sophisticated age and a gentler pace of life.
The Zephyr
Long considered one of the most scenic routes in the United States, the California Zephyr takes you from the beautiful city of Chicago to the City by the Bay, San Francisco, by way of the spectacular Rockies and Sierras.
Before embarking on your 2,300 mile journey to San Francisco, take advantage of your time in Chicago by visiting the city’s famed attractions such as the John Hancock Observation Deck, ride the Ferris wheel at Navy Pier or window shop down The Magnificent Mile. The city also offers a rich cultural experience with its several museums and the renowned Art Institute.
The Hiram Bingham
For many, a trip to Machu Picchu is a once in a lifetime experience. The Belmond Hiram Bingham assures a magical journey, never to be forgotten. Decorated in the style of 1920s Pullman carriages, each has been furnished in polished wood and brass with large comfortable armchairs.
Named after the explorer who rediscovered the Inca citadel, the train has two dining cars, an observation/bar car and a kitchen car. It can carry up to 84 passengers.
The Blue Train
As time meandered from the 19th Century towards the dawn of the new era, a dream was born. A dream of harnessing steam technology to link Africa’s vast south to north, around the awe-inspiring mountain ranges that dot the continent, through the apparently arid desert landscapes, over untamed savannah grasslands teeming with wildlife. From the Cape all the way to Cairo… all of this on parallel lines of tempered steel.
It is from this dream that The Blue Train was born. Cairo was never to be, but the dreamers persevered and The Blue Train now traverses South Africa and its breath-taking scenery in a manner that befits the mystique that has grown around it.
Rovos Rail
Recapture the romance of a bygone era as you step aboard the reconditioned wood-panelled coaches and enjoy fine cuisine in five-star luxury.
The Pride of Africa trains from Rovos Rail are a wonderful ‘vehicle’ within which one can experience the richness of southern Africa, with north and southbound routes between Pretoria and Cape Town as well as a range of spectacular journeys to the east and to the west. The trains combine the golden age of rail travel with modern conveniences, creating an unforgettable extravagant elegance of a bygone era. From the start of your journey in the fabulous Edwardian styled departure room, to the memorable time spent on the opulent Pride of Africa, this is an experience not to be missed.
The Ghan
Travel by rail between Adelaide, Alice Springs and Darwin and you are embarking on one of the great train journeys of the world. Named after the Afghan cameleers who once traversed this route, The Ghan will take you from one edge of this continent to the other, through the very centre of Australia. A true Australian bucket-list experience.