Whether you want to experience a luxury overnight train ride, a day trip, or an entire private train carriage to yourself, we’ll arrange your ideal luxury train journey. Each train has its unique features like vintage bar cars, indulgent spas, or wraparound observation decks. Tell your 360 Travel Designer your passions and interests, and we’ll provide the insights as we plan your personalised luxury trip.
The World from a Window Seat: 6 Iconic Rail Journeys
Travelling by train offers an evolving view of the world from the window — vibrant inner cities and their grand stations give way to rural pastures punctuated by ancient ruins and towering castles — and they connect vast natural terrains from the Peruvian Altiplano to Australia’s captivating Red Centre and the Canadian Rockies.
These iconic rail journeys combine remarkable landscapes with experiences beyond the tracks. Some are celebrations in their own right. Others offer a unique view of their destination. But all of them are elevated by exquisite comforts such as cuisine by star chefs, lavish interiors, on-board spas, and live music.
A Very Dolce Vita Christmas
Christmas on La Dolce Vita Orient Express
La Dolce Vita Orient Express gives the timeless luxury of the Orient Express a distinctly Italian character. Its 1960s-inspired interiors combine shimmering metallics and polished woods, while the Deluxe Cabin pairs a sofa that unfolds to a double bed at nightfall with wide view-framing windows, chic accents and restrained geometric art.
The Route: La Dolce Vita Orient Express’s Jingle Route brings together three of Italy’s most iconic cities: Rome, Venice and Florence, over three days and two nights, each threaded together with festive celebrations both on and off the train, along with cuisine by three-Michelin-starred chef Heinz Beck. The highlight is Venice, with private boat transfers to Orient Express Venezia, set within a stunning restored Venetian palazzo, where an evening of live music and a festive multi-course dinner follows. After midnight, the train travels through the Italian countryside to Florence, allowing you time to explore its Renaissance streets draped with twinkling Christmas decor and visit the boutiques lining Via Tornabuoni for a little shopping, before an overnight journey back to Rome, accompanied by dinner and live music.
The Jingle Route, La Dolce Vita Orient Express, sets off for a three-day, two-night Christmas celebration on 19–21 December 2026.
The NYE Express
New Year’s Eve on La Dolce Vita Orient Express
La Dolce Vita Orient Express welcomes 2027 on the rails, with a journey through Tuscany and Venice that culminates in a thrilling New Year’s Eve party aboard the train. For the occasion, we recommend the Suite Cabin, which offers a separate lounge area, smoked glass mirrors, brass and terracotta highlights, and an opulent marble bathroom.
The Route: La Dolce Vita Orient Express’s Whispers at Midnight travels the Tuscan countryside to Bolgheri before continuing to Venice for NYE, and returning to Rome on New Year’s Day. In Bolgheri, vintage cars take guests along the Viale dei Cipressi for a private wine tasting, followed by dinner on the train and live music in the bar car. The next morning brings Venice and a scenic boat ride through its emerald canals to the city’s heart. Optional excursions here include Scuola Grande di San Rocco and Murano’s glassmakers. That evening, a gourmet New Year’s Eve dinner by three-Michelin-starred chef Heinz Beck begins a night of burlesque performances, live music and a DJ set as midnight approaches. After welcoming 2027 on the rails, the journey concludes with a leisurely breakfast en route back to Rome.
Whispers at Midnight, La Dolce Vita Orient Express, departs Rome on 30 December 2026 and returns on 1 January 2027.
From the Altiplano to Machu Picchu
Peru with the Belmond Andean Explorer and Hiram Bingham
The blue-and-white carriages of the Andean Explorer cross the Peruvian Altiplano, one of the highest inhabited plateaux on earth. Through the windows, Peru’s rugged landscape unfolds as a rapid diorama of sublime mountains and lakes, while inside, the train’s design is refreshingly contemporary, with ivory-coloured wooden panels, hand-woven textiles and colourful inserts echoing the aesthetics of the Andes. And the Picaflor Spa Car offers treatments using local ingredients and Indigenous techniques, including altitude-acclimatising massages to help you adjust to life in the Andes.
The Route: We recommend Andean Plains and Islands of Discovery, a two-night journey from Arequipa to Cusco across the vast Peruvian Altiplano. Highlights include Lake Titicaca and the Uros floating islands, where communities live on man-made islands woven from totora reeds, alongside the Sumbay Caves, Raqchi, an Inca archaeological site, and Collata Beach — the world’s highest beach — while each evening aboard the Belmond Andean Explorer is accompanied by delicious Peruvian gastronomy.
The initial journey ends in Cusco, the ancient capital of the Inca Empire, where you’ll board the Hiram Bingham, travelling the breathtaking Sacred Valley of the Incas towards the mountaintop mysteries of Machu Picchu. Cocktails, brunch, live music and dance accompany the vintage-style carriages, while a Tea Time experience, with Andes views, awaits at Belmond Sanctuary Lodge, the only hotel sitting directly alongside Machu Picchu.
The Scenic Route to the Rockies
Days on the train, evenings in the hotel
The Rocky Mountaineer pairs daytime rail travel to the Canadian Rockies with occasional road transfers and overnight hotel stays in destinations such as Kamloops and Lake Louise. Large windows keep the landscapes in constant view, while hosts and onboard dining make the onboard experience a distinct part of the trip. But for an elevated journey, the GoldLeaf service improves the experience with two-level, glass-domed carriages for uninterrupted landscape views, outdoor viewing platforms, and a dedicated dining car where you’ll be served breakfast and multi-course gourmet lunches.
The Route: We recommend the First Passage to the West route, which begins amongst the vivid scenery of Vancouver before tracing a stunning course across British Columbia via Kamloops and Lake Louise and up into the glaciers and snow-capped peaks of the Rockies, before arriving in Banff. Vancouver, with its backdrop of snowy mountains, hints at what to expect from the trip, with highlights such as the Fraser Valley, the Coast Mountains and the Fraser River, the dramatic lakes and peaks of the Shuswap Region, and the iconic castle-like silhouette of Castle Mountain.
The Great Australian Outback in 2027
Take the Ghan across Australia’s Red Centre
The Ghan offers country-spanning odysseys through Australia’s impressive Red Centre, with windowside views as the scenery undergoes a dramatic transformation from fertile coastal greens to fiery red desert and lush tropical wetlands. On board, polished timber panelling and brass fittings lend the train an old-world character, contrasting with the vast landscapes beyond the windows. The new Aurora and Australis suites bring a touch more luxury and quite a lot more personal space to the journey. Australis, the largest of the two, includes a separate bedroom, full lounge, in-suite bar, butler service and private chauffeur.
The Route: New for 2027, the Ghan extends the journey to four days from Adelaide to Darwin. From Adelaide, the train travels north through South Australia, with a signature dinner at Penobscot Farm in the Clare Valley, served in a reimagined woolshed. On the second day, a full-day excursion explores the Flinders Ranges, where 600-million-year-old geological formations have shaped dramatic gorges and red-rock outcrops, while in Katherine, a cruise through the breathtaking Nitmiluk Gorge reveals towering cliffs and the deep cultural and spiritual significance of Jawoyn country, before the train continues to Darwin to complete its epic 2,979km journey.
A Wee Dram and a Grand Tour
Scottish Castles, Folk Music and Highlands Views on The Royal Scotsman
Scotland’s dreamy landscapes were made for slow travel, from the emerald glens and inky lochs of the Highlands to the rugged charms of the west coast. Aboard the Royal Scotsman, Belmond’s intimate luxury train, the itinerary takes in much of Scotland’s most spectacular scenery, with beautifully appointed carriages, fine dining and attentive service as a hallmark of every trip. Dark woods, tartans and polished brass give the interiors a distinctly Scottish character, and the observation car offers a front-row seat to the cinema of the passing landscapes. For full immersion into Scotland’s vivid tapestry of natural sights, step out onto the open-air deck to experience the scents of Scotland’s ancient woodlands and the crashing waves of the Sea of the Hebrides.
The Route: The Grand Tour of Scotland is a seven-night exploration of the Highlands and beyond, combining rail travel with excursions that reveal a fascinating blend of history, tradition and natural beauty. Highlights include a beach bonfire at Dunnet Bay, scenic hikes on the Isle of Skye and a ferry crossing to Orkney, alongside historic castles and time in St Andrews. Back onboard, the Royal Scotsman winds past shimmering lochs, heather-clad hills and remote stretches of countryside, animated by deer, sheep and iconic Highland cows, occasionally cloaked by thick Scottish fog, as black-tie dinners bring days to a close.
For groups wishing to add a further layer of luxury to a journey on Britain’s iconic railways, we can arrange an entirely private pullman carriage — for up to 12 guests — to any Pullman route departing from London Victoria Station.
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