Luxury rail holidays

Luxury, tailormade rail holidays from Expressions Holidays. We offer a selection of luxury tailor-made rail holidays, luxury touring holidays by train and scenic train journeys for individuals to destinations both within Europe and further afield. Our luxury holidays by train allow you to discover new lands whilst relaxing in comfortable surroundings and enjoying the sense of travelling. These great rail journeys, taulor-made holidays by train, are increasingly popular and rekindle the romance of travel, combining stunning scenery with the eco-friendly aspects of travelling by train.

Train travel from the UK to other destinations is increasingly easy - from London’s St Pancras station you can journey remarkably effortlessly to destinations including Rome, Bordeaux, Lake Bled, Madrid, Sicily, Zermatt, Warsaw and Budapest. With Expressions Holidays, rail holidays are tailor-made for every customer. We do not have set departure dates. You choose to travel when you want to and we will construct the holiday to suit you. Our train holidays to Italy, France, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovenia are aimed at individuals, families or parties of friends travelling together and are not escorted group holidays with a guide. Expressions Holidays has put together a selection of suggested luxury train holidays and rail touring holidays, in Europe and further afield.

You can book these rail holidays as they are, but choosing your own departure date, but we can adapt them to suit your needs and create a tailor-made holiday, perhaps by adding in additional nights and destinations. Our rail holidays also include journeys aboard the luxurious, iconic Venice Simplon-Orient-Express to all its destinations and Al Andalus luxury train which operates in southern Spain. Expressions Holidays offers bespoke, luxury rail holidays that are touring holidays by rail, single centre holidays by rail, holidays by luxury train and holidays by scenic train.

Rail holidays - Frequently Asked Questions

Why do luxury rail holidays cost more than a standard European city break?
There are two reasons, and both reflect the nature of what a rail holiday actually is. First, rail travel itself — particularly in first class on long-distance and scenic routes, or aboard a luxury train such as the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express or Al Andalus — carries a premium over flying. The journey is part of the experience: the scenery, the comfort, the unhurried pace are what you are paying for, and the cost reflects that. Second, a rail holiday is a significantly more complex arrangement than a hotel stay. A single itinerary may involve six or eight separate train journeys across multiple countries, each with its own booking system, timetable, seat reservation and class of travel, combined with hotel stays, transfers and, in some cases, international flights at either end. Our consultants manage every component, cross-reference connections, and build in sensible margins so that the whole holiday holds together smoothly. That expertise and attention takes time, and it is a meaningful part of what you are purchasing. Clients who have tried to assemble a comparable itinerary themselves usually find it is both more time-consuming and more expensive than working with us.

What kinds of rail holiday can you arrange, and how flexible are they?
Our rail holidays across Europe fall into several types, and all are tailor-made around your dates and preferences. A single-centre holiday pairs a long stay in one destination — the Swiss Alps, the Austrian Tyrol, a Spanish city — with day excursions by train into the surrounding region. A multi-centre holiday links two or three cities or regions by rail, building in enough time at each stop to explore properly rather than passing through. A grand touring itinerary covers more ground across multiple countries, combining rail travel with occasional flights or hire car where the journey warrants it. Separately, we offer holidays built around a specific luxury or scenic train: a journey on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express to Venice, Vienna or Istanbul; the Al Andalus luxury train through Andalusia; or iconic scenic routes such as the Glacier Express and Bernina Express across the Swiss and Italian Alps. These can be taken on their own or woven into a longer itinerary. You travel on your own dates, at your own pace, and we adapt any of our suggested holidays to fit what you have in mind.

What is the difference between a scenic train journey and a luxury train holiday?
A scenic train — such as the Glacier Express from Zermatt to St Moritz, the Bernina Express over the Alps into Italy, or the Eurostar from London to Paris — is a scheduled service where you travel in first class and the journey itself is a highlight of the itinerary. You arrive at your destination and check into a hotel. A luxury train such as the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express or Al Andalus is something altogether different: the train is the hotel. Your compartment or cabin is your accommodation for the night or several nights, meals are served in a dining car, and the whole experience — the restored carriages, the attentive service, the sense of a journey made in style — is the point of the holiday. Both types feature in our programme, sometimes in combination: it is perfectly possible, for example, to travel from London on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, spend several nights in Venice, then continue through the Alps on the Bernina Express to Switzerland.

Which European destinations work well as rail holidays, and is there a best time to go?
Rail holidays work beautifully across almost all of our European destinations, and the right time to go depends on where you want to go and what you want to see. Switzerland is compelling in every season: the Glacier Express and Bernina Express run year-round, the Alps are spectacular under snow in winter and lush in summer, and spring and autumn offer quieter travel with excellent light. Italy by rail — combining the cities of Venice, Florence and Rome, or travelling south through the Amalfi coast and Sicily — is particularly rewarding in spring and autumn when the weather is kind and the crowds thinner. Spain is good all year: the Al Andalus luxury train operates through Andalusia in spring and autumn, the Costa Verde Express runs along the green Atlantic coast of northern Spain, and the main cities are rewarding in almost any month. Central and Eastern Europe — Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Ljubljana, Warsaw — is ideal in spring, summer and early autumn, with Prague and Vienna particularly magical in winter. Wherever you want to go, we will advise on the timing that suits the combination of rail journeys and destinations you have in mind.

What level of hotel do you use on a rail holiday, and can we choose?
All our rail holidays use the same personally selected portfolio of four- and five-star hotels that runs through everything we do at Expressions Holidays. On a rail itinerary this matters more than on a straightforward city break, because the hotels need to work logistically as well as being excellent in their own right — well positioned for the station, suitable for the character of the destination, and worth spending real time in, not just sleeping in between trains. In practice that means a grand city hotel in Vienna or Venice, a mountain lodge or elegant resort hotel in Switzerland, a boutique property in a historic Spanish city, or a characterful country hotel in a wine region. We do not use budget accommodation, and our rail holidays are not designed for travellers whose priority is finding the cheapest available bed. If you are looking for a holiday where the quality of where you stay is as important as the journey between stops, our programme is built precisely for that.