Styleforum › Forums › Lifestyle › Social Life, Food & Drink, Travel › Luxury Train Travel
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Luxury Train Travel

post #1 of 17
2/12/08 at 10:58pm
Thread Starter 
Anybody have any experience on any of the various European luxury trains like the Danube or Orient Express? I was thinking about perhaps taking a four day trip around Eastern Europe and thought this might be a fun way to do it. Any suggestions or comments?
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 17
2/12/08 at 11:07pm
I haven't been on the Orient Express, but I wonder if it isn't filled with badly-dressed Americans. The website shows some nice pictorials, but usually the truth is far from it. I was under the impression that they used the old cars? Another famous one is the Blue Train of South Africa, which I think would be a nice experience.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 17
2/12/08 at 11:09pm
Lately I hear every LabelKing post in the voice of Stewey from Family Guy.
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 17
2/12/08 at 11:14pm
My parent took the OE a while back and said the clientele was more geriatric than an ocean liner. Other than that, they claimed to enjoy it.
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 17
2/12/08 at 11:22pm
My great-aunt took the Orient Express a while back as well though I've no idea what her reaction was.

I'd imagine it was filled with Agatha Christie enthusiasts.
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 17
2/12/08 at 11:36pm
there are at least two "orient expresses". one is a very luxurious train. I have been in station when it comes in - the conductors wear fancy uniforms, and the furnishing look very fancy. the other one is a standard working train that goes from paris to vienna, and possibly farther east. I have taken that many times.

I am a big fan of trains. there are trains that are very nice, not extremly fancy, but very comfortable. I have ridden in a train where I had a private room that included a private shower in the room, as well as a seperate seating area, aside from the bed area. this isn't the most common train - most rooms are crowded, with a sink but you have to share the toilet and shower. the food on most of the trains in germany, france and italy is very good, a very short menu, but much better than you would expect on a train.

I took my wife for a tour of germany several years ago and every night we slept on a train. she found it cramped, but it was an adventure.

if you have any specific quesitons about trains in europe, feel free to ask, pm or otherwise. I have spent a lot of time on trains in europe.
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 17
2/12/08 at 11:47pm
My wife and I did a private room in an overnight train from Paris to Barcelona. Comfortable room. Rather nice, but not great, dinner with unlimited wine. A bar car. Continental breakfast the next morning. Room had a shower. Would definitely want to repeat.

Also did an overnight train from Madrid to San Sebastian. Not nearly as nice. Also had a private room, but no dinner (fortunately we had bought food before boarding), room had poor climate control, train swayed and bucked over the mountains. We both had very little sleep.

I would like to do the Istanbul to Venice part of the OE, but that may just be because of Fleming.
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 17
2/12/08 at 11:57pm
Isn't there something like the Dali or whatever that does Italy-Spain-France?
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 17
2/18/08 at 12:30am
How well did the sleep every night on a train work Marc? I presume you'd have to space out your stops a good way so as to get enough time to actually sleep? I really wish there was more rail infrastructure in the U.S. for getting around, over here the trains are quite pricy and everything is a bit too spread out.
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 17
2/18/08 at 1:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by iammatt View Post
Anybody have any experience on any of the various European luxury trains like the Danube or Orient Express? I was thinking about perhaps taking a four day trip around Eastern Europe and thought this might be a fun way to do it. Any suggestions or comments?

The overnight train from Rome to Vienna took a little more than twelve hours. We had a luxe sleeper compartment. It was fun to leave the chilly and winter-dull Italian countryside and awaken in a warm, cozy bed while the snow-covered countryside outside of Vienna passed by serenely.

Vienna would be a good launch point for Eastern Europe. Four days is insufficient to even scratch the surface of Eastern Europe. However, it will give you enough of a taste to plan for a subsequent and prolonged trip. Hurry! Eastern Europe is rapidly disappearing.

My experience with the Orient Express is limited to examining a train car in Istanbul. It was opulent. I must say I believe I would enjoy a few days of travel in that manner rather than sterility of the Grand Vitesse from Paris to Marseilles.

__
Reply
Reply
post #11 of 17
2/18/08 at 3:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jellywerker View Post
How well did the sleep every night on a train work Marc? I presume you'd have to space out your stops a good way so as to get enough time to actually sleep?

I really wish there was more rail infrastructure in the U.S. for getting around, over here the trains are quite pricy and everything is a bit too spread out.

the night trains are planned so that they give you time to sleep - in some cases they will stop on the way for an hour or two, so that you get into the station at a resonable time. I do night trains all the time, you usually get at least from 11 to 6:30 to sleep.
Reply
Reply
post #12 of 17
2/18/08 at 8:32am
I wouldn't mind taking the Darjeeling Limited; sadly the Goyard trunk lacks the customized cartoony drawings.

[LK moment]
Reply
Reply
post #13 of 17
2/18/08 at 9:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Baron View Post
Lately I hear every LabelKing post in the voice of Stewey from Family Guy.

me too!!!!!
Reply
Reply
post #14 of 17
2/18/08 at 10:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by LabelKing View Post
Another famous one is the Blue Train of South Africa, which I think would be a nice experience.

I used to take the Blue Train in the 70s when it was still a luxurious way to travel from Johannesburg to Cape Town rather than just a vehicle for rich tourists. It was very luxurious even then with a suite with lounge and your own bathroom (with bath) if you paid for it.

Nearly all the modern versions like the Orient Express are for rich tourists and now air flight is so much cheaper that very few business people use them. That said there is something so much nicer about train travel than air.

If I was to travel around Eastern Europe I would stay in hotels and use the train which would be much more flexible and fit my scedule rather than the train's.
Reply
Reply
post #15 of 17
2/18/08 at 11:32am
How about The Royal Scotsman? Has anyone tried that one?
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
Styleforum › Forums › Lifestyle › Social Life, Food & Drink, Travel › Luxury Train Travel