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The OGs
Venice Simplon-Orient‑Express
THE RIDE
The VSOE is the fantasy progenitor, five-star sleeper of dreams. The vintage cars, all restored down to the last hand-enamelled panel, date from between 1926 and 1949 — with the notable exception of one very fabulous addition this year: L’Observatoire, a brand-new full-car suite complete with “secret” tearoom and library, designed by the French artist JR (it’s now taking bookings for travel from March 2025, for an extremely bucket
list-y £80,000 per trip).
THE ROUTES
Thanks to an assertive 2021 expansion, the VSOE now calls in at more destinations than ever: Prague, Lyon, Florence, Vienna, Budapest, Istanbul, Rome. It can also be booked in exclusivity for milestone events, which allows for customised itineraries should you and your fellow revellers wish to call in at, say, Chiavari or Ancona. (Not that the standard one-night Paris-to-Venice route won’t give you all the feels, treats and Alpine views you need.)
FOOD & DRINK
Chef Jean Imbert does haute table all the way — turbot in champagne sauce, lamb loin, mignardises to finish — across the VSOE’s three dining cars. Breakfast can be delivered in your cabin, and the top-level suites are provisioned with free-flowing Petrossian and champagne. In the never-actually-closes bar car there’s a baby grand piano for (mostly) unironic after-midnight singalongs.
WHAT TO PACK
Toeing the fantasy line means throwback elegance during the day. Black tie is expressly encouraged come evening; likewise, the laying on of sequins, beads, fancy baubles and generally the sartorial shimmer and shake that confers extra sex appeal. When in doubt, go with Le Smoking — Tom Ford for him, Saint Laurent for her (perhaps with a bejewelled choker. And nothing under the jacket).
Whizzers of oz
The Ghan Expedition
THE RIDE
The name is a shortening of the original Afghan Express, so-called for the Afghan cameleers who mapped the train’s north-south route from Darwin to Adelaide in the late 19th century, traversing some of Australia’s most severe and spectacular interior landscapes. This being Outback Oz, the experience is low-key without skimping. In the new Gold Premium suites, walnut cabinetry and brass are complemented by Indigenous prints; Gold twin or single cabins are cosier berths. Picture windows are uniformly huge, regardless of travel class.
THE ROUTES
The full four-day, three-night, 3,000km experience stops in historic Katherine and Alice Springs in the Northern Territory before passing through the dead centre of the country en route to the mining town of Coober Pedy and on to Adelaide. Excursions include bushwalks, visits to Indigenous art galleries and alfresco lantern-lit dinners; an extra spend gets you helicopter tours and a private visit to Uluru.
FOOD & DRINK
Straightforward, modern Australian, including excellent wines, craft beers and spirits, though Platinum travellers have the Bollinger on free-flow. They also have their own restaurant car, whose chefs privilege local-to-the-route providores. But the charm seems concentrated in the Queen Adelaide restaurant, where ricotta hotcakes à la Granger & Co are a breakfast highlight. Everything, down to that last midnight glass of Seppeltsfield Para Tawny, is included in the price.
WHAT TO PACK
The Orient Express this is not: nice trousers and linen shirts will see you through supper. Far more important is having your bush- whacking best — the right shoes, layers, hats and sunscreen — for the vagaries of light and temperature on the excursions. Basically you can’t go wrong with breathe-tech Slowear and an old pair of Blundies.
The Ghan Expedition
Departs from: Darwin
Price: from A$3,790 (about £1,945)
Click: journeybeyondrail.com.au
Club Tropicana
Eastern & Oriental Express
THE RIDE
This opulent Belmond overnighter — which used to connect Singapore and Bangkok via Kuala Lumpur and Penang — was relaunched at the start of 2024. The refurbished cars gleam with tropical-hardwood marquetry, brass details, gold-threaded passementerie and a diffuse Victorian-splendour ambience. There’s an observation car, with walls of windows and simple settee seating, and a bar with a rotating host of crooners and the odd roving magician. A very Belmond bonus: the onboard Dior Spa (a carriage with two treatment rooms).
THE ROUTES
Belmond has teased that Bangkok will be back on the agenda by next year; meanwhile, the E&OE traces two itineraries in and out of Singapore. “Wild Malaysia” takes you variously hiking, e-biking, caving and tiger-spotting (if you’re lucky) in Merapoh and Taman Negara National Park. “Essence of Malaysia” is about street-food tasting, art tours of George Town (the bustling ex-colonial capital of Penang), and speed-boating off the beaches of Langkawi.
FOOD & DRINK
Some of us think the most exciting aspect of the E&OE reboot is resident chef André Chiang, whose eponymous restaurant in Singapore racked up multiple Michelin stars and best-in-Asia accolades before closing in 2018. Onboard, he marries and reinterprets French and south-east Asian traditions: think steaming bowls of laksa bouillabaisse and spicy cacao ganache.
WHAT TO PACK
Jungle-trekking and sea spray by day don’t preclude de rigueur evening gloss. Along with The Organic Pharmacy’s bug repellent, sturdy-soled walkers and loose cotton-linen (with full-length sleeves), bring a couple of Dodo Bar Or or Anine Bing silk slip dresses. For him, chinos and a travel jacket from Connolly or De Bonne Facture.
The design spotters
La Dolce Vita Orient Express
THE RIDE
Powered by a venture between hospitality behemoth Accor (owner of the Orient Express brand name), luxury hotel group Arsenale and three Italian train companies, La Dolce Vita aims to give the VSOE a run for its Italy money by making the journey as much about the destinations and way-stops as the trains themselves. Not that those will be anything to sneeze at, designed by Milanese darlings Dimore Studio with mirrored walls, groovy ’60s- and ’70s-inspired textiles and scads of Gio Ponti, Osvaldo Borsani and Gae Aulenti-inspired flourishes everywhere.
THE ROUTES
The premium is on place, connecting destinations previously unserviced by luxury sleeper train, from Montalcino in southern Tuscany to Maratea and Matera in Basilicata, Monferrato in Piedmont (for truffles and Nebbiolo), and even Sicily. The excursions will include tastings, private palazzi, world heritage sites and aperitivi in five-star partner hotels, such as Maratea’s lovely Santavenere, along the way.
FOOD & DRINK
A waves-making name was needed, and they sure tapped one: Heinz Beck, the thrice Michelin-starred founder of the Order of The Knights of Italian Cuisine, whose La Pergola in Rome remains one of Italy’s premier gourmet destinations. La Dolce Vita has also partnered with Vinitaly to have exclusive access to award-winning vintages, representing northern, central and southern Italy and personally selected by Beck, on the carte.
WHAT TO PACK
High Italian glamour: from floor-length La DoubleJ printed frocks to wide-lapelled jackets from Giuliva Heritage or Cifonelli. Plus Capri sandals and navy and black velvet furlane for both sexes. Launches spring 2025
Royal subjects
The Maharajas’ Express
THE RIDE
Since its launch in 2010 (first covered in HTSI’s pages), the Maharajas’ has been touted as the closest thing there is to a palace on wheels, from the dedicated butler-per-client ratio to the generous size of the suites, with their separate lounging and sleeping quarters (and, in some cases, full-sized tubs in the bathrooms); its 23 carriages measure almost half a mile. Red carpets, fuchsia silk canopies and musicians and dancers greet guests at arrival stations. There are two restaurants, a bar and games lounge, and even a boutique. Palette- and materials-wise, more is more is always more, with just a bit extra for good measure.
THE ROUTES
The various three- to six-night itineraries are multi-state journeys that connect all-star destinations in northern and central India; the train trundles along old state-railway lines by night, calling in by day at Mehrangarh Fort, Orchha, Ranthambore (whence India’s most famous tiger safaris), the Taj Mahal or the temples at Khajuraho. Caravans and the occasional vintage limousine ferry guests to and from sites, or to cocktails and dinner at heritage palace hotels along the route.
FOOD & DRINK
Generally good, if with less wow factor than on comparable trains elsewhere (perhaps it’s time for state owners IRCTC to consider luring a Garima Arora or Gaggan Anand aboard?). Traditional Indian — including a daily regional thali and rustic Mewari dishes — alternates with standard continental and international fare; both restaurants, Mayur Mahal and Rang Mahal, cater to carnivores and vegetarians.
WHAT TO PACK
Your best kani weave pashmina from Kashmir Loom or Andraab — good for elegant onboard suppers and for covering shoulders at holy sites both Hindu and Muslim.