Why Scenic Train Travel Is Having a Moment — And Why You Should Get On Board
There's something happening in travel right now that we've been watching with a lot of enthusiasm. Scenic train journeys — once considered a niche interest for a particular kind of traveler — have moved firmly into the mainstream. Waitlists for the Rocky Mountaineer are longer than ever. The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express books out months in advance. A whole new generation of travelers is discovering what a certain kind of traveler has always known: that some of the best journeys in the world happen at 60 miles an hour, through a very large window, with nowhere else to be.
Why now
Part of it is practical. Flying has become an experience that many travelers actively dread — the lines, the delays, the shrinking seats, the general indignity of it. Train travel offers an alternative that feels genuinely civilized. You board at a city center station. You have space. You watch the landscape change. You arrive, often, right where you want to be.
Part of it is environmental. Travelers are increasingly aware of their carbon footprint, and rail travel is dramatically more sustainable than flying for the same journey.
And part of it is simply that train travel is beautiful. There are views from certain rail routes — the Bernina Express crossing the Landwasser Viaduct, the Rocky Mountaineer rounding a curve above a river canyon, the Caledonian Sleeper waking you up somewhere in the Scottish Highlands — that you simply cannot see any other way.
The routes we love most
Rocky Mountaineer, Canada — The standard by which all luxury train experiences are measured in North America. Glass-domed cars, two days through the Canadian Rockies, rivers and canyons and glaciers scrolling past at a pace that lets you actually absorb them. Pairs beautifully with time in Banff, Jasper, or Vancouver.
Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, Europe — The most storied train in the world, restored to its 1920s glory. London to Venice, or various European city pairings, in cabins of polished wood and brass with white-gloved service and a dining car that takes dinner seriously. It's theatrical and romantic and completely unlike anything else.
Glacier Express, Switzerland — Eight hours from Zermatt to St. Moritz through some of the most dramatic alpine scenery on earth — 91 tunnels, 291 bridges, and the kind of panoramic views that make you understand why people have been coming to Switzerland for 200 years.
The Ghan, Australia — Adelaide to Darwin through the Australian Outback — 2,979 kilometers of red desert, ancient landscapes, and a sky so big it recalibrates your sense of scale. Three days and two nights aboard a train that feels like a moving boutique hotel.
Caledonian Sleeper, Scotland — Board in London in the evening, wake up in the Scottish Highlands. There's something about falling asleep in one world and waking up in another that feels genuinely magical.
How to plan a rail journey
The logistics of scenic train travel can be more complex than they appear — particularly when you're building a full itinerary around a rail journey rather than just booking a single train. What happens before and after? Where do you stay? How do you handle luggage?
We plan rail journeys as complete experiences — the train, the hotels on either end, the transfers, the excursions along the route. If a scenic train journey has been on your list, let's talk about how to build the trip around it.
The Rocky Mountaineer and Orient-Express both book up faster than most people expect. If you're thinking about 2026 or 2027, now is the right time to start planning.