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 here is measured. The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express is assembled from seventeen original 1920s and 1930s Wagons-Lits carriages, restored under Belmond and running principally between Paris and Venice, with extensions to Vienna, Prague and Budapest, plus the once-a-year Paris-Istanbul itinerary in late August. Compartments range from Historic Twin (a sofa that converts to bunks) to Cabin Suite, to the six Grand Suites — each themed to a destination, each with a private en-suite bathroom.

Two 2026 details worth knowing. First, the train no longer departs directly from London Victoria: UK passengers connect to Paris by Eurostar and board there. Second, Historic Twin compartments do not have en-suite bathrooms — that is authentic 1920s, not a downgrade; the washstand is in the compartment, the WCs are along the carriage. If a private bathroom matters, book a Cabin Suite or Grand Suite. And note the Paris-Istanbul figure has risen sharply for 2026: it now starts around £63,000 per person including five hotel nights, well above the older sub-£20,000 pricing still quoted in places.

The structurally different luxury train. Where VSOE evokes 1920s Europe, Shiki-shima is contemporary Japanese design — built specifically for this service in 2017 by JR East, with carriages designed by Ken Okuyama (also responsible for the Ferrari Enzo). The Deluxe Suites and the two-storey Shiki-shima Suite occupy the most private cars, and the observatory cars at each end have wraparound glass. The Tohoku-Hokkaido circuit includes off-board excursions to places such as Matsushima Bay and Hakodate, plus ryokan stays. Booking is by lottery — the inaugural run was reportedly oversubscribed 76 to 1, and demand still runs far ahead of supply.

The Royal Scotsman is the most intimate train here — 36 guests maximum, and the small-group dynamic is genuinely the differentiator. Itineraries run from two-night Highland weekends to the four-night Grand Tour of the Western Highlands and a seven-night Classic Scotland. Cabin standards are excellent (Mark 1 Pullman carriages refitted under Belmond), and the off-board excursions — distillery visits, castle tours, falconry — are well-curated rather than touristic. Onboard, the Bamford Haybarn Spa is among the very few luxury-train spas in the world.

The Maharajas' Express, operated by Indian Railways' tourism arm IRCTC, is the most palatial train here — 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 it underperforms: off-board logistics in India can be operationally complex, and while onboard service is genuinely good, it isn't as consistent as VSOE or the Royal Scotsman.

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

The Eastern & Oriental Express paused during the pandemic and resumed in 2024 with a reduced programme: one-way Singapore-Malaysia loops of three to six nights, rather than the historic full Bangkok extension. The trains — green-and-cream Pullman carriages, an open observation car, Asian-influenced cabin styling — remain among the most beautiful here, and the Southeast Asian setting is genuinely distinct. The trade-off is availability: the post-pandemic schedule is more limited than the European or Indian options.

Rocky Mountaineer is structurally different: passengers travel by day in glass-domed carriages, then disembark to hotels each night rather than sleeping aboard. 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's meaningfully less expensive than the European or Indian trains, and the scenery is the experience — the Fraser River canyon, the Continental Divide, Kicking Horse Pass.

South America's only sleeper luxury train, the Andean Explorer runs 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. The train is excellent; the caveat is altitude — the route runs above 3,400m for significant portions and altitude discomfort is genuinely common, which is why Belmond carries oxygen onboard. For travellers who tolerate altitude well, the route is unmatched; for those who don't, this is the wrong train.

The wildcard — Glacier Express Excellence Class is technically a scheduled Swiss rail service rather than a private luxury train, but the Excellence Class carriages added in 2019 produce a genuinely premium eight-hour day journey between Zermatt and St. Moritz, at a fraction of the cost of any other train here. Five-course menu, panoramic windows, one seat each side (every passenger gets a window), guaranteed seat. The route — through the Oberalp Pass and across the Landwasser Viaduct — is among the most spectacular in the world. It's "luxury day excursion" rather than "luxury rail holiday", but for a traveller in Switzerland anyway, it's the highest-leverage day here.