Forget crowded airports and hours-long flights. If traveling the world is on your bucket list, Adventures By Train is set to offer a new and unique experience to do just that — all in 100 days.
The tour operator recently announced its round-the-world trip by train and the first departure is scheduled for March 17, 2026.
More and more people are looking for a sustainable way to travel and a trip by railway fits the bill.
“People are becoming increasingly concerned about their carbon footprint and the impact that flying, in particular, has on the planet,” Jim Louth, director of Adventures by Train, tells CNBC Make It.
“This is a greener way of exploring the world without taking a flight.”
Only 12 people will be able to join the trip, and the cost per person is £112,900 or $146,184 USD. Though, booking as a couple, will bring the ticket price down to $116,468 each.
“We want to keep it quite an intimate experience and the best way to do that is by going with a small group,” Louth says. “We’re mixing the experiences so some legs of the trip will be really authentic and down to earth and others will be, on the whole, a more luxurious experience.”
One of the stops of the rail tour is Istanbul, Turkey.
Adventure by Train
The company will allocate $100 per person per hotel for laundry services and recommends passengers travel with bags that can fit in overhead compartments.
Passengers will also be joined by a dedicated tour leader who will escort the group on all the trips. They can expect their journey to start and end in London.
“Doing the actual travel by train presents the opportunity to mix in and meet local people, try the local foods, and most of all, see the country up close through the train window,” Louth says.
Louth says it took about six months on-and-off to put the trip together, but it was actually something he had been dreaming about for years.
The trip will include a mix of rail travel and immersive experiences across 14 countries: France, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Japan, Canada and the U.S.
Travelers will board the Queen Mary 2 to cross the Atlantic Ocean.
Adventure by Train
The 100-day itinerary has trips through the Swiss and Austrian Alps, China’s high-speed train, California Zephyr Amtrak route through the Rocky Mountains and more.
Some immersive experiences planned for the trip include classical concerts in Vienna, wine tastings in Georgia and street food tours in Kyoto.
The train tour also includes 23 days on the North Pacific Passage Luxury Cruise from Tokyo to Vancouver and a seven-night Atlantic Crossing on the Queen Mary 2. Another set of sea crossings included in the trip will go from Azerbaijan to Kazakhstan and from Shanghai to Osaka.
And as if all of that wasn’t enough, the rail tour also includes hotel stays at the Fairmont Peace Hotel in Shanghai, Shangri-La in Vancouver, The Langham New York Fifth Avenue and Pera Palace Hotel in Istanbul.
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Source: CNBC