Travel Ideas for Luxury Train Journeys Across Asia

Luxury train journeys are increasingly popular as a way to start an amazing Asia tour with various landscapes, and rich history and culture. A tour aboard a leisurely train across Asia is definitely something to think about. There are a variety of across-Asia train journeys, all marked by opulence and comfort. In the next section, we'll share our list of the ten most luxurious train trips in Asia, which range from retro excursions to cutting-edge excursions. Each journey may be beyond your imagination when you board a train.

India: Maharaja Express

The Maharaja Express gives you a distinct way to uncover the charm of India. Acquired a reputation as the world's first-rated luxury train tour for five consecutive years, the Express departs from Delhi to Jaipur and finally to Agra and Mumbai. You certainly rest content with the continuously changing sights along the way, from the iconic Taj Mahal, the majestic mountain landscape of the Western Ghats, refreshing waterfalls, and many National parks.

The royal train boasts 21 coaches and 14 luxurious private Rajasthan cabins, each complete with two homelike bedrooms, a spacious living room, and an en-suite bathroom. Every day during your journey, two extravagant dining cars serve tasteful Rajasthani cuisine and other international delicacies. In addition, the facilities like the pub, log cabin, and spa center of the train will enrich your break time on an 8-day (7-night) journey. So plan a regius board-train experience, as Indian emperors once had.

India: Deccan Odyssey

Riding the Deccan Odyssey would be another exclusive travel experience for you in India. The interior of the train is proud of lavishly furnished cabins that come with a wide range of facilities like dining cars, a cute gym, an exhibition hall, a dual-purpose lounge bar, and a traditional Indian spa, Ayurveda. Every second on the express just makes you open-mouthed. Diverse cityscapes and iconic attractions are easily accessible by just bashing into a comfortable seat. It offers six journey routes and each journey is big a thrill lasting 8 days.

Indian Odyssey Route: from Delhi to Mumbai, owns highlights of tiger-spotting in the Ranthambore National Park and fabulous sightseeing at the Taj Mahal.

Indian Sojourn Route: winds away from Mumbai to Delhi, providing imposing images of Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park and Laxmi Vilas Palace.

Maharashtra Splendor Itinerary: through Mumbai, Nashik, and Ajanta Caves gives chances to visit the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Ajanta and Ellora Caves, and taste the traditional Goan feast.

Cultural Odyssey: departs and end with Delhi. The route features views of the holy Ganga River and local villages.

Heritage Odyssey: focuses on sights of majestic forts, such as Mehrangarh Fort and Jaisalmer Fort.

Maharashtra Wild Trail: is a round trip of Mumbai, via cities like Aurangabad and Pench. It is a good trail to do a wildlife safari and discover old rock-cut temples and forts.

Eastern and Oriental Express(E&O): Singapore to Malaysia

The E&O was stopped in 2020 and resumed the operation of its tours from Singapore to Malaysia in February 2024. The journey between Thailand and Singapore cannot be reserved now. We will update the information once the route recovers.

With an extraordinary journey from Singapore to Thailand, the Eastern & Oriental Express Opulent cuts the buck to have thousands of expectations of living an aboard-train life realized. The conspicuous train has both a nostalgic cream and green exterior and a glorious interior. From Singapore to Thailand, it would be a magnificent feast of the dynamic cityscape of Singapore, a vast carpet of jungles dotted with ancient Buddhist temples, forested mountains, imposing rice paddy fields, and local traditional villages along Thailand's coast.

The cross-nation journey offers you world-class services on the 3-day ride. Inside the train, cherry wood panels, Malaysian embroidered carpets, and Thai silk-made coverings of the seats are dazzling ways to impress passengers. The exquisite restaurant cars serve well-displayed Thai meals. You're also served champagne and cocktails in a well-decorated piano bar while appreciating a musical performance of European flavor.

Japan: Train Suite Shikis-Shima

The luxuriously famous train tour takes you from Ueno Station, the center of Tokyo, and meanders its way through the regions of Tohoku and Hokkaido with natural scenery varying by season, and eventually to Hakodate, a port city in southern Hokkaido. There are 4-day/3-night and 2-day/1-night round courses. If you prefer the northernmost view of Japan, you can enjoy a four-day journey exploring the Hokkaido and northern Tohoku regions, catching sight of the Japan Sea and Lake Shikotsu.

The golden-white train is a wonderful blending of traditional Japanese making and future-tech theme elements. The opulent express includes 17 5-star-level private suites on wheels, and its interior is also complete with a lavish dining room, an abstract-art longue with amazing white color, and a Piano Bar. The original observatory cars visualize the ever-changing landscapes out of train windows, by which you can enjoy more seductive scenery of refreshing seawater, lush forest, and locally cultivated fields. More three-course meals on the tour, cooked by Michelin-starred chefs, change every day according to your favorite flavor, making you available for cuisines of different regions.

Japan: Twilight Express Mizukaze

This is a world-class train characterized by a special green. The exclusive journey would be a never-missed experience for every rail fan in the world.

It has a one-way trip lasting one night and two days, or a round course for two nights and three days. You set off in Kyoto, pass tourist cities in Japan such as Osaka, Kobe, and Tottori, and end your tour at Shimonoseki of Yamaguchi located at Honshu's westernmost point. The journey enables you to take photos of diverse landscapes and historic sites across Western Japan. From lush green gardens and a long stretch of coastal line to antique shrines and temples, ever-changing viewings give nothing but incredible enjoyment.

The train has both a retro and designer feel, with 10 Showa-style carriages on the express. Two viewing carriages with wide transparent windows offer spectacular sightseeing day and night. You can also find a restroom with a tiny bar for tea and sake drinking, a dining room offering both Japanese and Western cuisines, and some top-level suites furnished with a separate bath and living room. During the journey, it's impressive to engage in a unique array of activities onboard, like handicraft making, tea ceremonies, and live musical performances of piano, violas, and violins.

Sri Lanka: Blue Train

Certainly, the Sri Lanka train on Expo Rail is proud of its unparalleled luxury and gorgeousness. Most passengers first gravitate toward its quaint and pastoral exterior based on its fresh blue. Acclaimed as one of the most fascinating train tours in the globe, this blue-key ride features unique natural views in a unique way to explore Sri Lanka.

The train departs Colombo by way of a crowded stop in Kandy and heads to Ella. You'll be inundated with flitting scenery during this thumping seven-hour adventure on the train. Every first-ranked carriage comes with 24-hour air conditioning and spacious soft seats with large opening windows to shoot Sri Lanka's signature Ceylon tea plantation, sublime St. Clair's waterfall tucked away in the forested valley, and even spot hard-farming women and playful children living in small villages. While taking in Sri Lanka's green-flavoring landscapes, you're well served by scrumptious meals ranging from Sri Lankan Ceylon tea and gold coconut to different flavors of international cuisine. If you're seeking a nostalgic start, never miss memories of such a bygone age.

Vietnam: Victoria Express

Since the wide spread from north to south, it may be a tricky way to explore the country's beauty for several long days. You deserve an exclusive 10-hour overnight journey to embrace Vietnam's extraordinarily tropical scenery aboard the world-opulent Victoria Express.

You'll go through the major cities of Hanoi, Hue, Da Nang, and Nha Trang and reach the terminus of Sapa. From Hanoi to Resort Sapa, travelers are intoxicated with the magnificence of local cultural heritage like glorious palaces and temples and the beauty of the rustic landscapes, from peaceful lakes and extensive terraced rice paddies to rising layers of green mountains.

The inside of Victoria Express features polished teak wood panels and amber ceiling and wall lights. Seats, blending with Indochinese style, are Vietnamese embroidered and complete with oversized woodcarving windows for the best-elapsed viewings. You may be sweet on a comfortable teak-made bed, especially in one of the two kingly sleeping carriages. There is a dining carriage for European passengers to enjoy authentic home cooking.

China: Golden Eagle Shangri-La Express

Praised as one of the ten most lavish trains in the world in 2009, the Golden Eagle Shangri-La Express emerges victorious among the world's most luxurious train journeys. Many of the optional routes to Shangri-La distinguish the train from others in China and even Asia. Each journey takes you around 12 days to discover the charm of Western China.

The outside of Shangri-La Express is particularly outstanding, and its interior is amazingly all-inclusive. The public carriages include a little cafe, karaoke room, cinema, and piano bar, all on-board facilities with the ambiance of China's 1980s. You may pleasantly find out the intricately tiled floor, retro animal trinkets on the counter, and familiar pictures on the walls. You also have last-century magazines and newspapers to read. The private part is a deluxe, oversized suite for two with traditional Chinese adornments, a safe box, and an all-day shower. On-board meals, both Chinese and Continental, depend on the traveler's preference.

This very Chinese-flavored ride never skimps on epic scenery. The snow-capped Himalayas in Tibet, endless fields and sacred Sayram Lake in Xinjiang, the Gobi Desert in Gansu, and a variety of historic palaces and temples are all there for you to admire.

Mongolia: Trans-Mongolian Express

As one of the worthiest routes across Asia, the Trans-Mongolian Express stands out for passengers experiencing unique Mongolian culture. The train winds its way through Moscow, Russia, to Beijing, China, via Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The journey is full of a variety of events at every stop.

You can expect to have a private view of the Kremlin in Moscow and indulge in the Naadam Festival held in Ulaanbaatar, the vibrant capital city of Mongolia. The traditional local celebration includes horse racing, archery, wrestling, throat singing, and more. Such off-train explorations give you a chance to melt into the immemorial nomadic culture. If not, flat expanses of open grasslands dotted with distinctive gers are also breathtaking when seen from train windows.

Inside the express, a bottle of champagne in a minibar and a live musical performance by a local brass band and pianist are praiseworthy ways to entertain guests. If you own one of the Imperial Suites, you'll have your own private guide and travel car during every off-train excursion.

China to Russia: Orient Silk Road Express

Have you ever imagined traveling from Asia to Europe in a walking-free way? Aboard the Orient Silk Road Express, short for Silk Road, the plush railroad voyage never fails to impress. The onboard tour leads you through seven countries, from Beijing and Shannxi in China to Almaty in Kazakhstan, Tashkent in Uzbekistan, and Moscow in Russia. It can be a treasured memory to spend around 15 nights taking in superb accommodation and amenities, as well as history and culture.

Housing over 140 passengers, the Silk Road features different national styles in every carriage with blessedly familiar furnishings and adornments. There are hotel-level suites with a big, comfortable bed and en-suite toilets, and two dining cars serve both local and international meals. Travelers have their entertainment in the piano bar, tasting a sip of vodka. For journey viewings, guests are fully treated to The Great Wall, Terracotta Warriors, the Historic Center of Bukhara, the Walled City of Baku, and more landmarks at each stop.

It's a pretty excellent decision to go on a leisurely train journey across Asia during vacation. The sights and sounds along the journey would be precious memories of your life. Asia is home to colorful nature and a number of time-honored countries, which offer diverse sights of spectacular natural beauties and cultural creations all the way. If you're spoiling your choice, contact us. We're happy to recommend the best tour for you. Besides those world-famous train tours, some niche but likewise nice tours can also be listed in your favorites. You can visit Odynovo for more useful information on tickets, seats, and service on each train. We'll make an individualized train itinerary according to your needs to ensure the best view and experience.