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Top 10 rail vacations

High speed, high altitude, through highlands: as high speed rail improves around the world, rail presents a fast and convenient travel option. From Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, from Casablanca to Marrakech, from Venice to Rome, let our top 10 rail vacations inspire you to ditch the car and grab a ticket to ride on these great rail journeys instead.

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Top 10 rail vacations

Why have just one city break when you can have several? Some of our best rail journeys connect the world’s greatest cities. Compare and contrast Samarkand with Bukhara, Agra with Jaipur, Fez with Rabat, Tokyo with Kyoto. As rail networks improve, intercity itineraries are getting ever faster.

But our train journey vacations aren’t just for quick-moving city slickers. Enjoy beautiful landscapes on the slow and scenic Rocky Mountaineer from Vancouver, or slow-moving mountains as you pass between Montenegro and Serbia on the line from Bar to Belgrade. You won’t just meet commuters in these carriages, either, but families, vacationmakers and other travelers. Learn a new card game or discover a new favorite train snack in our round up of our top 10 best rail journey vacations.

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1. By the bullet: Japan’s Golden Route & beyond

Built in the 1960s, and still one of the most impressive rail feats in the world – Japan’s shinkansen lines have trains that reach top speeds of 320km/h, and have an incredible safety record. Most Japan vacations make use of the Japan Rail Pass; rail is simply the best way to see the country, especially the well-travelled Golden Route between Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. Don’t let its commonplace appearance on itineraries diminish your expectations. There’s nothing more magical than shooting in silent glory between cities, or seeing Mount Fuji out the window as you whizz south-west from Tokyo to Osaka.

Our top trip: Japan Golden Route vacation
See all our trips: Japan rail vacations
Read more: Our guide to Japan by rail

2. Lochs & locomotives: Scotland’s scenic lines

You take the highroad and I’ll take the railroad… take train transport in its very birthplace, the United Kingdom. ScotRail has six official ‘Great Scenic Rail Journeys’ to choose between – the short and sweet Kyle Line takes just two and a half hours to travel and is reckoned to be one of the most scenic train rides in Europe, whilst the famous West Highland Line connects Glasgow to Mallaig via Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park – and the historic Jacobite Steam Train can be seen making its way to Mallaig along the tracks, too. Then there’s the Far North Line, which takes you past Flow Country – a blanket bog that is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. See how many scenic routes you can tick off on one of our grand rail tours – and even travel on the Caledonian Sleeper from London to reach your starting point.

Our top trip: Grand rail tour of Scotland
See all our trips: Scotland railway vacations
Read more: Our guide to Scotland by rail

3. Taj Mahal by train: India’s Golden Triangle

Buying chai in the corridor, picking up a spot of lunch on the platform, falling asleep in a swaying carriage and waking up hundreds of kilometres later: traveling on India’s railways is an experience. India’s rail network is one of the busiest in the world, and the country’s largest employer. The Golden Triangle route – which connects the cities of New Delhi, Agra and Jaipur – can be done entirely by rail, with stops at Ranthambore National Park, Udaipur and Pushkar, too. In a province known for its palaces and rulers, you may want to push the boat out and travel in style – choose the Maharajas’ Express – which operates on several routes between popular sights.

Our top trip: Rajasthan tour by train
See all our trips: India railway vacations
Read more: Our guide to India by rail

4. High altitude & high speed: rail in China

“We had a five-and-a-half-hour train journey and we thought would be a real pain,” says Maria Belfort, from our partner Rickshaw Travel, who recently returned from China. “But the landscapes are so amazing. They change so dramatically – huge peaks, rice paddies, gigantic cities. And the food was amazing on board.” China has the largest high-speed network in the world, the highest train line in the world (the Qinghai–Tibet railway, which carries emergency oxygen on board), and train speeds that make the vast distances vanishingly small.

Our top trip: Essence of China by train
See all our trips: China vacations
Read more: Our guide to China by rail

5. Prosecco in the buffet car: Italy by train

Italy’s long and skinny peninsula is a breeze by train. This is a mountainous country with some long coastlines – and you’ll get views of both from the train carriage. Avoid being stuck in a jam of Fiats and Vespas, go city center to city center and see the lie of the land from the carriage – from Lake Como shoreside on the beautiful route from Milan to Tirano, to the Ligurian Sea seen from the Cinque Terre Express. Italy also shares one of the world’s most scenic rail routes – the Bernina Express, a four-hour train ride from Tirano, Italy, over the border to Chur, Switzerland.

Our top trip: Italy highlights tour by train
See all our trips: Italy vacations
Read more: Our guide to Italy by rail

6. The Rocky Mountaineer from Vancouver, Canada

We’re going to need a bigger window: the high slopes and scenic views in Canada’s Rocky Mountains can’t be contained, which is why the Rocky Mountaineer, a Canadian rail service offering luxurious sightseeing trips, has a panoramic curved glass roof for ‘Gold Leaf’ passengers – plus open air carriages which you can pop to when the view gets particularly pretty. This slow train only travels during daylight hours in the summer months, at speeds of 50kph: so you don’t miss a single speck of the view. Narration as you travel tells the story of how this amazing railway was built, but you might need a fellow passenger to help you identify what bird of prey you’ve just seen soaring high above the carriage.

Our top trip: Western Canada vacation, rail and Rockies
See all our trips: Canada vacations
Read more: Our guide to the Rocky Mountaineer

7. Ride the Reunification Express, Vietnam

“On the overnight train from Hanoi to Danang, we travelled for four hours on a slight embankment,” reports one of our travelers. “All around, as far as the eye could see, were flooded paddy fields and swirling rivers.” The scenery surprises are a bonus on this 1,700km train line connecting Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, brought back into service in the 1970s after the war – hence ‘reunifying’ the country. Whilst there’s no actual train called the ‘Reunification Express’, there are plenty of services: the full journey takes over 30 hours, but it’s best to hop on and off over several days to see highlights along the way.

Our top trip: Reunification Express vacation, Vietnam
See all our trips: Vietnam vacations
Read more: Our guide to the Reunification Express

8. Swap caravans for carriages along the Silk Road

What once took days and weeks by camel is now a matter of hours. Important cities on the historic Silk Road are linked by train (and Soviet-era trains have been replaced with faster rail). You can now travel from Tashkent to Samarkand in just over two hours, and on to Bukhara, and Khiva, too. The magnificent cities where you alight are no less incredible for being closer together: Samarkand’s mosaic-dappled Registan, Bukhara’s medieval mosques and madrasas, and Khiva’s walled inner town, warrant deeper exploration, so don’t just jump on the next service out.

Our top trip: Silk Road small group tour
See all our trips: Silk Road vacations
Read more: Our guide to the Silk Road

9. Belgrade to Bar & the rest of the Balkans

A marvel in more ways than one, not only is the Belgrade–Bar railway stunningly scenic for most of its length, but it’s also a wonderful feat of engineering – 435 bridges and 254 tunnels provide access to the mountainous landscape as you cross Montenegro – while the windows deliver on views. You can journey the 500km for around €30, so why not extend your trip? Take a sleeper service as part of a wider Balkans rail vacation: local trains don’t just take you to amazing sites across former Yugoslavia, but give you a slice of local life as you sway along, too.

Our top trip: Balkans rail vacation
See all our trips: Balkans vacations
Read more: Our guide to the Balkans by train

10. Go city-hopping in Morocco

Salam – who might you meet on a Moroccan train? Traveling in the six-person compartments on Morocco’s air-conditioned trains can often be a social experience, with travelers sharing snacks and travel tips. Trains connect the oft-visited cities of Marrakech, Casablanca, Rabat, Meknes and Fez, and there’s also high-speed rail – the first on the continent. The Al Boraq train flies down the coast, linking Tangier, Rabat and Casablanca. Book into a first-class compartment for an even more comfortable experience.

Our top trip: Railway tour of Morocco
See all our trips: Morocco vacations
Read more: Our guide to Morocco by train