The 9 Best Luxury Train Journeys in the World (2026 Ranked)

The most cited luxury train in the world, and the standard against which every other train on this list is measured. The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express is assembled from seventeen original 1920s and 1930s Wagons-Lits carriages, restored under Belmond ownership and now operating exclusively between Paris and Venice with extensions to Vienna, Prague, Budapest, and the once-a-year Paris-Istanbul itinerary in late August. Cabins range from Historic Twin (a sofa that converts to bunks) to Cabin Suite (twice the size, with a separate sleeping area), to the six Grand Suites — each themed to a destination the train serves, each with private en-suite bathroom.

What it gets right: the period authenticity is real, the Côte d'Azur and other restaurant cars are working museum pieces, the French chef-prepared dining sets a benchmark, and the route choreography between Paris and Venice including the Simplon Tunnel passage delivers a journey that genuinely feels like a different era. What surprises first-time travellers: the Historic Twin cabins do not have en-suite bathrooms — that's authentic 1920s, not a downgrade. If a private bathroom matters, book a Suite or Grand Suite. The price difference is substantial.

The structurally different luxury train. Where VSOE evokes 1920s Europe, Shiki-Shima is contemporary Japanese design — the train was built specifically for this service in 2017 by JR East, with carriages designed by Kiyoyuki Okuyama (also responsible for the Ferrari Enzo). The Deluxe Suites and Shiki Suite occupy entire single-level cars. The lounge car features a bilevel design with a piano. The route circuit through Tohoku and Hokkaido includes off-board excursions to Matsushima Bay, Hakodate, and traditional ryokan stays. Booking is by lottery — demand exceeds supply by approximately 6:1 — with applications opening four months before departure.

The Royal Scotsman is the most intimate train on this list — 36 guests maximum, and the small group dynamic is genuinely the differentiator. Itineraries run from two-night Highland weekend journeys to the four-night Grand Tour of the Western Highlands and the seven-night Classic Scotland. The cabin standards are excellent (Mark 1 Pullman carriages refitted under Belmond), and the off-board excursions — distillery visits, castle tours, falconry sessions — are genuinely well-curated rather than touristic. Onboard, the Bamford Haybarn Spa is the only luxury train spa in the world, which is a small but real differentiator if a spa treatment between courses matters to you.

The Maharajas' Express, operated by Indian Railways' tourism arm IRCTC, is the most palatial of the trains on this list — physically larger cabins than VSOE, more elaborate decoration, and a Presidential Suite that occupies an entire carriage. Five itineraries cover Rajasthan's heritage cities (Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur), the temples of Khajuraho, the Taj Mahal at Agra, and Mumbai. The seven-night Indian Splendour and Heritage of India routes are the signatures. Where the train sometimes underperforms expectations: the off-board logistics in India can be operationally complex, and the on-board service standards, while genuinely good, are not as consistent as VSOE or Royal Scotsman.

The lesser-known sister to Shiki-Shima, operated by JR West rather than JR East. Mizukaze (literally "water and wind") covers the western Honshu coastal regions — San'in and San'yo — including Hiroshima, Miyajima Island, and the traditional towns of the Setouchi Inland Sea. The on-board design is more restrained than Shiki-Shima's contemporary architecture, drawing more on traditional Japanese aesthetic — wood, washi paper, restrained colour palettes. Like Shiki-Shima, booking is by lottery and demand exceeds supply.

The Eastern & Oriental Express paused operations during the pandemic and resumed limited service in 2024 with a reduced schedule covering Singapore-Malaysia loops rather than the full Bangkok extension. The service is gradually rebuilding capacity through 2026 and into 2027. The trains themselves — with green-and-cream Pullman-style carriages, an open observation car, and Asian-influenced cabin styling — remain among the most beautiful on this list. The Asian setting is genuinely distinct from any other train experience, but the route inconsistency post-pandemic means availability is more limited than the European or Indian options.

Rocky Mountaineer is the structurally different option on this list — passengers travel during the day in glass-domed carriages, then disembark to luxury hotels each night rather than sleeping on board. The GoldLeaf service includes a glass-domed dining car and bi-level seating that maximises the Canadian Rockies scenery between Vancouver and Banff or Jasper. It is a less expensive option than the European or Indian trains by a meaningful margin, and the scenery is genuinely the experience — the Fraser River canyon, the Continental Divide, Kicking Horse Pass.

South America's only sleeper luxury train, operating across the Peruvian high Andes between Cusco, Lake Titicaca, and Arequipa. The carriages are former Great South Pacific Express (Australian) cars transferred to Peru in 2016 and refitted by Belmond for the Andean route. The train itself is excellent; the structural caveat is altitude — the route runs above 3,400m for significant portions, and altitude-related discomfort is genuinely common. Belmond carries oxygen onboard. For travellers acclimatised to high altitude or those who tolerate it well, the route is unmatched. For those who don't, this is the wrong train.

The wildcard on this list — Glacier Express Excellence Class is technically a regular Swiss rail service rather than a private luxury train, but the Excellence Class carriages added in 2019 produce a genuinely premium experience for the eight-hour day journey between Zermatt and St. Moritz at a fraction of the cost of any other train on this list. Five-course menu, panoramic windows, single-seat-each-side configuration (every passenger has a window), and a guaranteed seat. The route — through the Oberalp Pass and across the Landwasser Viaduct — is among the most spectacular rail journeys in the world. The CHF 470 per person price point puts this firmly in "luxury day excursion" rather than "luxury rail holiday" territory, but for a traveller in Switzerland anyway, it is the highest-leverage day on this list.