Planes, train, and no automobiles
 

One of the main reason I want to travel since I've retired is to take the great long journeys by sleeper trains. VSOE is out, I'd have to sell my house to pay the outrageous fare, and so is the Trans-Siberian, because of sanctions. But First Class, or at least Business,flights to Canada to go coast-to-coast, Australia for the Indian-Pacific and South Africa for one of the long Rovos Rail trips are all on the bucket list.

Has anyone done any of these, and if so what was their experience?

I think Mum did the Indian-Pacific many years ago.
Have a look at the Ghan for something different. The Ghan

Did the Blue Train many years ago. Very liquid trip!

I have done the Blue Train and Eastern Orient Express. I am told the Canadian one only really gets interesting when you get to the Rockies when it becomes stunning, as the Great Planes are a little well plain.

Blue Train was fun and liquid as with clients and Easter Orient Express was ok as a rolling restaurant and nice to have a Bathroom as you don’t get one on the Orient Express which I travelled on with Parents in 1960,s and it was not very plush at all as I recall. However the refurbishment is glorious but at too higher price. Mrs Mac keeps threatening to take me, as it’s on her bucket list and she did Rocky Mountaineer while working for Vancouver Airport Authority while over there on business which she say was great and spectacular but you only go to Banff I think.

The Ghan looks more interesting than the Indian Pacific personally, though I have never travelled to Australia but the Nullarbor Plain looks like a desert version of the Canadian Great Plains on the trans Canadian.

Cheers
Mr Mac

We did the Ghan a few years back from Adelaide to Alice

It was a great experience - service in the more expensive seats was very good. You do get to realise just how BIG Australia is and how little there is in the middle tho' - we wouldn't have missed it for the world but its not a trip I'd repeat TBH.

I'd suggest the Oslo-Bergen train as another great journey. There's a night train (not a sleeper I think) and day trains in each direction. Takes about 7-9 hours. Not luxurious but fabulous, fabulous scenery. And tickets are less than £ 100 - which has to be the cheapest bargain you can get in Norway for anything

Recent reviews of the Blue Train are not that positive, that it is a bit shabby and frayed at the edges but no cheaper than it was. I was thinking of one of the Rovos Rail trips (there are several) as these have good reports as being very luxurious but with prices to match. Has anyone tried any of them?

Justapax
To be fair my Blue Train trip was about 2010 with South African clients, and I was not paying, but South Africans can drink !!! I can’t help with Rovos Rail but some are steam powered which I would love to do.

Since my last post I have spoken with Mrs Mac and she said have a look at RM but in Vancouver, and she said they are really proud of their Salmon so you can be over Sockeyed !!! She also recommends Horse Shoe Bay in Vancouver and make sure you do a good brunch, but be aware of pre mentioned Sockeye volumes.

Cheers
Mr Mac

From all I've heard, Blue Train past it's best. Rovos very good and priced accordingly. The Indian Pacific is on the bucket list as we know people in Sydney and Perth.

Never been interested in Orient Express. Starting from Vancouver into the mountains - every person says it's great and is also on the list. Waiting for Mrs PAXboy to retire.

Unfortunately, all counties have clearly identified their Bucket List attractions and price accordingly...

I've driven across Canada on the Trans-Canada Highway and the Great Plains are a Great Place for cruise control, the TCH is mostly straight and it's time to watch films, eat junk food, and make out with a willing partner. Still, I want to do the full The Ocean/The Canadian thing because it's not that expensive and I've never seen Eastern Canada except the cities of Montreal and Toronto. Also these long train journeys are as much a time to enjoy good food and drink, and to get to know the life stories of your travelling companions, as they are about looking out of the window and enjoying the scenery. You can do the former when there's not much of the latter, such as the Great Plains and the Nullarbor Plain. Or so I hope.

Do a dual base holiday in Brig and Chur and you can do all the Swiss narrow gauge and a swing into Italy, plus boats on many of the lakes. Swiss Pass for a couple of weeks is actually quite reasonably priced. The hotels are less so, but it's bearable. You can get there by train, as well.

Thanks for your suggestions.

The notes to the left of the screen say my location is 'From: UK/Italy' - the Italy bit is Verona so Switzerland is minutes away. My kids and I hire a 4x4 with three hang-gliders on the roof and head in to the Swiss Alps when the wx permits for several hours of VFR flying over Northern Italy. Now the Gotthard Base tunnel is open again after the derailment, Brig and Chur are do-able as a day return, so no need for astronomically-priced Swiss hotels.

The Swiss little trains are not really in the same league as trans-continental sleepers with gourmet local foods that I'm really keen on.

Sorry about preaching to the choir. I have to dig a bit to find out where people are when I'm here on my phone. May I suggest another option, Scotland? Excellent food in restaurants, though not so many sleepers. Some delightful hotels. Or if you wanted a vast and varied country China could suit you. There aren't as far as I know any tourist trains but their high speed network is amazing. Plus there is a huge variation in the type of food served as you cross the country, as long as you eat local, not in international hotels. I'm about to set off on a circular tour of about half of Europe by train. I do it the cheap way, though. Rail pass and youth hostels. Night trains only if I can have a sleeper. I'll let you know if I find any gems.

In China I want to take the train to Lhasa. I like the food in China, I consider it the best cuisine after the French, but Belgians always tell me theirs is best and as I've had some magnificent meals there I'm not going to disagree with them.

It's quite a long train journey and it's unpressurised I believe, and as I only have one lung my ceiling is about 7000 ft. You can't take a suitcasefull of oxygen in your hold baggage so I'd have to buy oxygen locally, quite a lot of it. Lhasa is high, so when I reached my destination, I'd still be needing to wear an oxygen mask. The difficulties are not insurmountable, they just require more careful planning in advance.

I really like long-distance sleeper trains. The motion of the train lulls you to sleep (I'm a very light sleeper) and then you wake up to three cooked meals of local delicacies and the view out of the windows. Same as long distance flights, as long as you are in F or C and have a lie flat bed. Cossetted luxury and then you wake up in another country.

I spent a lot of my working life accompanying very expensive cargo (satellites and one-off scientific equipment worth more than the plane) where the manufacturer throws in a physicist along with the cargo to talk with the loadmaster, see the loading and unloading, argue with the captain about having radioactive materials and explosives on his aircraft, and train the crew at the other end about what their government has just spent a lot of money to buy. Now in retirement I want to do the long journeys in comfort and spend more of my time seeing the places.

Scotland is a short walk (to the nearest railway station) and a very expensive train ride from where I live in the UK. I'd rather go to Ireland, I'm Irish, the people are friendlier, and the train fares are cheaper. Have you tried Ireland? Especially the North, which is still very unspoiled.

I had a trip to Tibet all planned for 2020. Ho hum. Then in 2022 my husband died and all sorts of other things, mostly medical, happened to put a hold on significant travel until late 2024. Though I seem to remember the train is pressurised. This year is southeasternmost Europe, then next year I'm planning Vancouver to Halifax, maybe with a side trip to St Pierre et Miquelon. At some point I'll be fitting in a nice long bike ride in France. Drive to the start, circular tour, drive home. All conditional on getting a pet sitter. This year I had a wonderful family from Holland. My next is a lady from the UK. Maybe they will come next year if I ask really nicely. I've cycled round Eire and NI. Loved it.
I do the trips cheaply. Camp sites and youth hostels.. if I ramble on much more I'll turn into a female version of loose rivets. I would love to do more trains in Asia. And India. I'm still looking for an overland way to get to Thailand by train, as another Transiberian isn't looking likely in the near future. Via the stans, maybe. Kyiv by train is still possible. You can even buy war risks insurance from the Ukraine tourist board.

Halifax-Vancouver is on my bucket list too, Halifax is not expensive from Europe, less than a long-distance train in the UK. My twins are not that interested in trains but they might want to do this one, which is not that expensive (Ocean/Canadian). They and you might be interested to take the hop or ferry across to Vancouver Island, they were born in Victoria BC but have no memory of the place. Vancouver Island is not the Great White North, there are vineyards there, palm trees grow, but it does rain a lot.

I drove most of the trip, Queens NYC to Sooke BC with my then new bride, now ex-wife, and let me assure you it's a lot better to do it by train.

BTW It's not Éire, except in Irish. The name of the country is 'Ireland' in English. It says so on the front of my passport.

Every day a school day. Nice country, if a bit damp. Wish I had an Irish granny to get the passport. I suppose permanent resident in France will have to do, as that's what I've got.

If you have been resident for five years and speak French, you can apply for French nationality. That gives you freedom of movement and employment in the EU. I'm an expert on acquiring desirable nationalities, PPRuNe doesn't encourage advertising, so please PM me if you have any queries about becoming French and thus EU.

There is a language test, and you have to affirm fealty to the French Republic, but that's it. The fees are not excessive, I can check for you if you like. Some fluent francophones fail the language test, just find another examiner who is more sympathetic on another day.

The standard is quite high, I have French A-level (many years ago) and I don't think I would pass. It's much stricter than the test in Quebec.

Ah, Justapax, but if you have a bit of preparation time, you can bring on your own gourmet picnic and enjoy a glass or two without having to worry about breathalysers or, if you do take 40 winks afterwards, snooze in safety and comfort. OK so Swiss supermarkets (including Migros) are not cheap, but at least you get to choose your favourites and eat at a time convenient to you!

I thought the Glacier Express had a restaurant car in the consist for First Class Passengers?
Cheers
Mr Mac

Apparently one of the epic long train journeys is from Istanbul to Tehran, 30hrs or so including crossing Lake Van on a train ferry - fare ridiculously low, $30 first class sleeper cabin or summat. In happier political times that'd be a stunner, and I'm told Tehran is a fabulous city and the people extremely hospitable to foreign visitors - all too aware of their reputation abroad and determined to prove it wrong.