The world’s most amazing rail trips

Air travel might be quick and efficient when compared train travel but it lacks one important thing. Every flight offers the same thing, wherever you are traveling. A seat, an in flight movie, a meal if you are lucky. A train ride is almost a vacation in itself as it allows travelers to get a close look at the places they are traveling through.

The idea of traveling by train on vacation is a rather old fashioned one now. In a hurry to get to their holiday destination, most people prefer to fly these days, even if they are staying in their own country.

While air travel might be quick and efficient when compared to traveling by train it lacks one important thing. Every flight offers the same thing, wherever you are traveling. A seat, an in flight movie, a small meal (if you are lucky) and the view is only really worth taking in on take off or landing. A train ride is almost a vacation in itself as it allows travelers to get a close look at the places they are traveling through.

There are in fact some rail lines and trains that operate across the world that really are a stunning experience in themselves when it comes to the landscapes and scenery they travel through as well as the overall experience they offer. Here is a little about some of them:

The Rocky Mountaineer – If you like the sound of a train journey that will take you through lush wilderness, past black volcanic rocks, meandering rivers and majestic glaciers then a trip on Canada’s Rocky Mountaineer may be the right choice for you.

The Rocky Mountaineer follows the same route from Vancouver to Calgary as trains have since 1885 when the Canadian Pacific train route first opened and you still ave the same chance to catch a glimpse of the big horn sheep and black and grizzly bears who live along the train route as those earliest passengers did.

The whole journey takes two days and there is an overnight stop in the city of Kamloops, BC so that darkness does not rob passengers of any of the stunning views along the way.

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway – Taking a ride on a little , brightly colored train along this line , which travels from Siliguri, an Indian town in the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas to the hill station of Darjeeling, a trip that takes eight hours, truly is a once in a lifetime experience.

Over the course of the trip passengers get to experience a great many aspect’s of India’s vast landscape including fields full of tea, steamy jungles and vast forests filled with maple, pear and cherry trees. And all for the equivalent of about $5 for a one way ticket.

The Pride of Africa – The train itself is billed as the most luxurious in the world, the carriages all marvels of restored Edwardian engineering , that offer passengers fourteen days of elegance, romance and five star dining.

As wonderful as the train is, it is eclipsed by the views from the windows as the Pride of Africa makes its way from Cape Town in South Africa to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. Along the way the train passes through the majestic Kruger National Park, past one of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World, the Victoria Falls and on into Tanzania with its rolling plains and wildernesses that teem with all kinds of wildlife.

The Royal Scotsman – Traveling on the Royal Scotsman is not for the masses, as it is the single most expensive train journey in the world. Although there are several different excursions offered on the classic steamer these days the best known is a four day trip that travels in a circle from Edinburgh, Scotland and back again.

This journey takes in some of the most breathtaking scenery that the United Kingdom has to offer while giving passengers the chance to make stops to go grouse shooting, whiskey tasting, fishing and to explore some of the most majestic old castles in Europe.