The World’s Most Beautiful Train Journeys

2020 changed a lot of things, including how we think about travel. In the absence of any holidays or travel plans, many of us took to ‘virtual’ travel – viewing the wonders of the world from the comfort of our sofas.

Whether you wanted to visit the local zoo, tour the Great Wall of China or take on a VR scuba diving trip, the horizons of our screens have been well and truly broadened!

For many of us, this has only fuelled our desire for real-life travel when we are able to explore the world once again. But this time, we can take all our friends along by sharing our experiences on sites such as Instagram.

So for a truly unique adventure, why not take on one of the world’s most Instagrammable luxury train journeys?!

These journeys not only allow us to enjoy a new perspective on some of the world’s most beautiful scenery, but enhance the joys of travelling at a slower pace – something we could all appreciate a little more!

Bernina Express, Switzerland

The most Instagrammed luxury journey, the Bernina Express follows a stunning route through the Swiss Alps into Italy. You simply can’t miss the incredible mountain views on offer thanks to windows spanning the entire length of the train. Interestingly, a single adult standard ticket will only set you back around £52 – making it a pretty affordable way to get your luxury mountain fix!

 

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The Jacobite Steam Train, Scotland

In second place is Scotland’s iconic Jacobite steam train, made famous thanks to its starring role in Harry Potter. Not only is the train itself absolutely beautiful, but the entire journey takes you through some of Scotland’s most magical scenery.

Travellers here will experience Britain’s most westerly mainland railway station and enjoy views over the deepest freshwater loch in Britain. An adult standard ticket will set you back just £43, well worth it for this wonderful journey!

The Trans-Mongolian Express

You’ll have certainly heard of the Trans-Siberian Express, but have you heard of the equally incredible Trans-Mongolian Express? Serviced by the luxury train The Golden Eagle, this journey follows an ancient tea-caravan route from China to Russia through Ulan Bataar and passes through destinations such as Beijing, Moscow and St Petersburg.  The full journey takes 20 days and shines a light on the unique joy of train travel.

The Marrakech Express

The romance of train travel is particularly prevalent on the Marrakech Express. This route winds from Casablanca to Marrakech and has inspired a number of songs and films, as well as many Instagram hashtags!

Eastern & Oriental Express

Described as ‘a fabled journey through the exotic East’, the Eastern and Oriental Express takes in some of Asia’s most incredible and interesting sights, all from the most luxurious setting. Travelling from Bangkok to Singapore, this is a journey that really takes you back to the days of train travel as a glamorous adventure. Do be prepared to dip into those savings though, with fares for this route at approximately £2,163.55!

Venice Simplon-Orient-Express

Ah, the train journey to end all train journeys! The Orient Express is undeniably one of the world’s most famous trains in the world, with the more modern Venice Simplon-Orient-Express covering all the routes of the original train, including Paris to Istanbul. This journey just oozes glamour and sophistication, with some incredible views to boot.

The Orient Express has an incredible total of 86,916 hashtagged posts on Instagram, making it clear that the draw of this iconic journey remains as high as ever. It does come at a cost though, with fares starting at £4,000 per passenger.

To identify the most Instagrammable train journeys in the world, RantCasino.com analysed Instagram hashtag volumes to reveal which popular, luxury routes around the world travellers love to post about the most!