Tracy Collins [00:00:00]:
Epic landscapes, unforgettable journeys and the magic of traveling by rail. With demand for train travel rising globally and European rail bookings reaching the highest levels in years, today we're revealing our top 10 train trips and the dream routes still on our list. Welcome to the Global Travel Planning Podcast. Your host is founder of the global travel planning website, Tracey Collins. Each week Tracey is joined by expert guests as she takes you on a journey to destinations around the world. She sharing travel inspiration, itinerary ideas and practical tips to help you plan your next adventure. Join us as we explore everywhere from bustling cities to remote landscapes. Uncover cultural treasures and discover the best ways to make your travel dreams a reality.

Tracy Collins [00:00:49]:
Hi. Today on the Global Travel Planning Podcast, we're going big. Really big. Doug hi there. Our resident train enthusiast and expert and I are taking you on a journey through the world's most extraordinary train rides. From mountain climbing railways and iconic sleeper trains to coast hugging scenic routes and engineering marvels, we're counting down our top 10 favorite rail journeys of all time. And we're not stopping there. No.

Tracy Collins [00:01:16]:
We're also going to share the three legendary train trips that are still firmly on our bucket list. The so although we've been traveling for many years, we still have not quite managed to do every single train journey in the world that we would like to do.

Doug Collins [00:01:30]:
So before we we reveal the routes themselves, we're talking about the five reasons we love traveling by train and why it remains one of the most enjoyable and immersive ways to see the world.

Tracy Collins [00:01:42]:
Absolutely. So if you're dreaming of epic landscapes, slow travel, unforgettable experiences, or simply want fresh inspiration for future adventures, this episode has got plenty to spark your wanderlust. So Doug, why do I know we love train travel and entire time we've been married for the last 20 odd years we've done so much train travel. But share why train travel so special for you?

Doug Collins [00:02:05]:
Where to start on that? Well, I guess my love of the railways came from being a very, very small lad. My dad worked for the railways in the UK for nearly 50 years and so anytime he was not at work it was always train travel either throughout the UK or across Europe. So that was the start of it and taking TR numbers I have to admit when I was little but it just grew from there. It was, I think it was always assume myself my brothers would enter the rail industry at some point and I did for the longest length of time of my two brothers. So I did many jobs across the railway from building, testing new trains, commissioning trains and working on the operational side of the railway. So it's always continued, you know, from being at work, being at home. It was always trains, trains, trains and trains. And I love it.

Doug Collins [00:02:56]:
I, you know, I become a little boy again when I'm traveling by train and it just, it just illuminates me. I think everything about train travel I enjoy even when it's not going entirely to plan, you know, sometimes, which it doesn't, unfortunately. I still enjoy it, don't I?

Tracy Collins [00:03:12]:
You do, yeah, absolutely. And we do love planning train travels wherever it is in the world and experiencing just being on, on the train, don't we? And I think, I think that's what's important to kind of say is that you, you haven't just got five years experience, 10 years experience, or just a love of this. I think that train travels in your blood.

Doug Collins [00:03:30]:
I think that's fair to say.

Tracy Collins [00:03:31]:
Yeah, absolutely. So now we have got an article on the global travel planning website about our 10 advantages of train travel. But we thought we'd just kind of share five of those reasons of why we love train travel and I guess also why train travel seems to be take. Becoming it'. Revival. I remember maybe 10 years or so ago, sleeper trains were difficult to find and we, we were trying to travel Europe by sleeper train and it was expensive, not that easy.

Doug Collins [00:04:00]:
That's right. There wasn't many services to choose from. No, that's changed.

Tracy Collins [00:04:03]:
Yeah, but that seems to be all changing and I've hearing more and more and more about kind of the sleeper trains and, and what's happening in Europe. So would you want to start sharing some of these reasons why we love train travel, Doug?

Doug Collins [00:04:16]:
Certainly. I think what the, the first one is one of the most important reasons as well. It's one of the most e ways to travel. The train uses significantly less energy than cars and planes and produces far lower CO2 emissions. In Europe, operators are investing heavily in greener rail technology, making trains one of the most sustainable ways to travel around. So taking the train really is the.

Tracy Collins [00:04:44]:
Greener choice and it's just, well, it's just the nicer way to travel. And you know, for some of these short train, short flights, I just wouldn't even think about it. I mean, I'm flying into Paris in March, March and you know, everybody's. Are you just gonna hop on a flight from Paris to Heathrow? No, thanks. I'm going to be getting into Paris and catching the Eurostar into the center of London. I certainly, I'm not, I don't want to Unless I have to, I don't want to fly. Basically, that is kind of my mantra. If I, if I can, I can avoid it because unfortunately, like everybody, you know, we have to travel by plane, but if we can avoid it, we do.

Doug Collins [00:05:20]:
Yeah. Well, some countries are actually doing away with domestic internal flies.

Tracy Collins [00:05:24]:
Oh, really? Okay. Well, making people get the train if it's, if it's shorter. Okay. So for me, I guess this is a huge, huge thing is that honestly, your holiday starts the minute you board the train. I find it exciting going at the train station. I love sitting in the lounge waiting to catch the train. I think it's really, really good fun. I'm thinking of some of the sleeper trains that we've taken.

Tracy Collins [00:05:46]:
You know, the whole thing is an adventure. I've just come back from Antarctica, I've just taken, I think, eight flights. So I'm not really good talking about here about sustainability and eco travel, because I'm not a very good example. But I've just taken eight flights to get to Antarctica, back from Australia. And honestly it's, it was, it was a lot of, it was tiring and it was a lot of jumping on and off planes, worrying about luggage, getting your luggage, putting your luggage on, all that sort of thing. You don't see anything as well because you flying at 35,000ft, you know, where is. When I get on a trade, I can't, I can't think of anything better than getting on a train and enjoying the scenery and just enjoying, enjoying everything. Not worrying about traffic.

Tracy Collins [00:06:27]:
I don't have to worry about driving, I don't have to worry about getting parked. Like if I hired a, you know, wanting to, for example, gone from London to Bath, I can just hop on the train. I don't have to think, oh, where am I going to park my car in Bath?

Doug Collins [00:06:38]:
That reminds me of a slogan in the UK Railways many years ago. Let the train take the strain.

Tracy Collins [00:06:43]:
Yeah. And that's absolutely perfect. So, yeah, for me it's it, you know, that is what. The minute I know I'm going to get that train, that's the holiday. When I get to the train station, it starts.

Doug Collins [00:06:52]:
Yeah, most definitely agree with that. And number three is. Well, it's, it's a more comfortable way to travel, I think. I mean, there's more space, there's bigger windows, you can look out. The ability to get up and walk around. No seat belts.

Tracy Collins [00:07:05]:
Yeah.

Doug Collins [00:07:06]:
And on some trains, obviously, there's dining cars, lounges and obviously sleepers. We've mentioned with, well, with proper beds In. Yeah, it's really good. And even the standard trains usually offers more comfortable than planes. More cutting cars as well, really.

Tracy Collins [00:07:21]:
Yeah.

Doug Collins [00:07:22]:
And. Yeah, and it is. It's family friendly, I think.

Tracy Collins [00:07:25]:
Yeah. Well, I said kids can get. I remember taking Dominique on the train and she could. She could get up and walk around and I know when I've. I've spoken to plenty of my friends who love train travel and that's what they enjoy. Taking the kids around Europe by train is. It's a lot of fun as well and also an advantage. And I've actually just talked about actually catching the.

Tracy Collins [00:07:42]:
I'll be catching the Eurostar from Paris into London. I'm sent straight into the heart of London. I'll be arriving in St. Pancras International straight into London. You know, you can't get any better. You're literally into the center of where you need to be. So there'll be no transfer, no taxi, no trying to navigate, for example, picking up a car and trying. Well, certainly would never drive in London picking up a car and then having to navigate or anything because it's already.

Tracy Collins [00:08:08]:
Sorry, done you in the middle of the city. And I'm thinking about a podcast we did about our train travels last December when we. We travele around. We had to take some flights, unfortunately, because of time constraints, but we did, you know, a lot of those just trains from the center of the city into the center of city, for example, Warsaw, you know, and then we went to what's going on my head now in Poland for the Krakow. Krakow. That's right. And then from Krakow to Budapest and it was great. So easy to do.

Doug Collins [00:08:38]:
Yeah, that's true. And to me, this is one of the most important ones as well. Is perfect for slow travel in that human connection, particularly I think if you're traveling, traveling alone as well. I mean, the times I've chatted to people, you know, on any train, all trains, and I've met some absolutely lovely people. A perfect example, actually was when I caught the night Riviera down to Penzance from Paddington. I sat with a lady coming back and we've remained in contact since.

Tracy Collins [00:09:07]:
Yeah.

Doug Collins [00:09:07]:
So because we're that engagement, we talk for hours.

Tracy Collins [00:09:10]:
Yeah.

Doug Collins [00:09:10]:
So it's lovely.

Tracy Collins [00:09:11]:
So.

Doug Collins [00:09:11]:
But trains themselves are naturally sociable, I think. You get to meet people, you chat, breathe easier. It's just.

Doug Collins [00:09:20]:
It's just that rhythm of travel. It's just, you know, encourage you to slow down, enjoy the scenery and enjoy the journey. And if you choose a sleeper train, waking up somewhere new is. Well, it's just magical.

Tracy Collins [00:09:32]:
Oh, it is. And I was thinking about actually Caledonia Sleeper with that. And, you know, I was going to think about that because I just love leaving London and waking up in Scotland. And actually we talked about human connection. I remember having a fantastic conversation with an elderly lady going into Fort William on the Caledonian Sleeper a few years ago. And I'll never forget the conversation, meeting that lady out, you know, not something unnecessary going to remember from. From a flight. And it was lovely just standing outside.

Tracy Collins [00:09:56]:
We were standing in the corridor outside the birth and just having a chat about. Well, just looking at the scenery and having a chat about. About Glencoe, actually. Yeah. So it, it's that ability to connect, you know, going in, sitting in the lounge car and having, you know, having a lounge, you know, having your. Having your meal, having a drink, enjoying the scenery, going past it. It's absolutely magical.

Doug Collins [00:10:17]:
It's just wonderful.

Tracy Collins [00:10:18]:
We've had some great food on trains. Actually, I was thinking about. Or it must have been. I'm thinking about 2005, 2006. We took Dominique, our daughter, on a round. We did it twice, didn't want round Europe, backpacking and some of the food that we tried. I still remember the goulash on that.

Doug Collins [00:10:34]:
I knew you were gonna say, yeah, that was pretty special.

Tracy Collins [00:10:37]:
Yeah. So it's good. So those are kind of. Those are just five reasons, five advantages, five things we love about it. There are five others. And I will link to the article in the show notes if you want to check out what, what is, is that we absolutely love about train travel. And if you love train travel as well, leave us a message on Speak and tell us what, what, what for you, is the reason that you prefer or choose to do train travel when, when you're, you know, going on, on a trip? Yeah.

Doug Collins [00:11:02]:
Why you find it special.

Tracy Collins [00:11:03]:
Yeah. So next we're going to talk about our top 10 favorite train journeys of all time. So Doug and I had spent a lot of time chatting about these because honestly, we've done a lot of train travel. There is a lot of train travel that we still want to do, but these are the 10 that we kind of nutted out as our topic. Yeah. And we do have articles about rail journeys as well on the global travelplanet.com website. I will also just mention, because Doug talked about his love of train travel is that Doug has recently spent a lot of time in the UK getting footage for videos about traveling around, specifically about the UK, around the UK by train. So you can check out a UK travel planning YouTube channel for those videos.

Tracy Collins [00:11:48]:
And hopefully as well we'll be increasing and including on the global travel planning YouTube channel as well, some more of the fantastic train journeys that we've taken actually around the world because we've got some great footage, we just need to put them together and to share with you.

Doug Collins [00:12:03]:
So that was a nag, was it?

Tracy Collins [00:12:06]:
Can you get on with it and produce those YouTube videos, please? So if you're listening, go over and subscribe to our YouTube channels, UK Travel Planet and Global Travel Planet, and you'll be able to see both Doug and I. And also you're actually going to be able to see video of a lot of these train journeys we're about to talk about.

Doug Collins [00:12:21]:
Most definitely.

Tracy Collins [00:12:23]:
So, yes, we've chosen 10 of our favorite train journeys of all time. But this was really difficult because.

Doug Collins [00:12:28]:
Yeah, this was really difficult. Probably all the most difficult list we've had to put together for quite a while because it's just which ones to leave out.

Tracy Collins [00:12:34]:
Yeah, well, that's it. So basically what we're going to do is we just want to give you a little bit of inspiration, I guess, and maybe some of these you will have heard of, some of these you might not have heard of. But to get the full effect, I think it's probably going to be useful to have a look at the show, notes at the photos, have a look at the articles about each of these train journeys of your particular. Clearly interested if some of them kind of go, oh yes, I really fancy doing that. We do have podcasts on the UK travel planning podcast as well about a couple of these. But I will mention that as we go along. But anyway, I don't expect, because we could probably spend about an hour talking about all these. So we're just going to kind of give you a kind of snapshot where it is and what it is that we loved about it.

Tracy Collins [00:13:12]:
So the first one I guess we're going to talk about is in Norway because you, when you were training to be a nurse, you spent a bit of time in Norway.

Doug Collins [00:13:18]:
Yeah, I had a placement in a volunteer placement in Norway. And so you came out to visit one school holidays was.

Tracy Collins [00:13:25]:
Yeah, it was October half term. I remember it was October holidays in the uk. So I flew out from London to Bergen and then I had to get to you where you was four hour trips. I'd already flown in, had to get trip. But we're there for a week and this was one of the railway journeys that I really wanted to do.

Doug Collins [00:13:41]:
Yeah, we did the flom railway which goes From Flom to Myrdal. Apologies if I'm mispronouncing that, but it was just a wow trip.

Tracy Collins [00:13:50]:
Yep. It's not that long.

Doug Collins [00:13:51]:
No, it's not that long, but you've done a couple of the fields first and then we caught the train up. Up the. The mountain. Yeah, in essence. And it was just.

Tracy Collins [00:14:01]:
Wow.

Doug Collins [00:14:01]:
It's a windy, twisty railway and slow speed, but the views.

Tracy Collins [00:14:06]:
Oh, it's spectacular. Actually, I'm going to say if you're going to do that. I would. I would actually do that. What we did is we went to Goodwangen and we caught the. We caught a boat through the fjord, which then dropped us off in Flom. And then at that. That point we caught the railway up to Myrdal and then back down again to Flom.

Doug Collins [00:14:23]:
That's right.

Tracy Collins [00:14:24]:
Which was spectacular. So I know a lot of people will do cruises to the Norwegian fjords, but honestly, if you get a chance to do this, I just think it blew everything out.

Doug Collins [00:14:35]:
It was December as well, wasn't it?

Tracy Collins [00:14:37]:
No, no, it was end of October. End of October, because the end of the half term. So what was particular spectacular about that? You get a fantastic view of fjords. You get waterfalls.

Doug Collins [00:14:45]:
You get waterfalls.

Tracy Collins [00:14:46]:
I think we stopped to take a picture of a waterfall.

Doug Collins [00:14:49]:
You do. It stops at one point and then you continue.

Tracy Collins [00:14:51]:
And what is it. What do you say when it comes to waterfalls?

Doug Collins [00:14:53]:
Doug.

Doug Collins [00:14:55]:
Shouldn'T say this, really. Wherever we are in the world, I say that's not a waterfall. I've been to Norway.

Tracy Collins [00:15:01]:
Absolutely, you do. Sorry, the. The. The. The waterfalls in Norway are spectacular.

Doug Collins [00:15:09]:
They really are.

Tracy Collins [00:15:10]:
So for. We have got a couple more episodes about podcast episodes about Norway, if you're interested. Go and check those out. And we also have got articles about Norway and actually that whole Gudewangen to Flom trip on the global travel planning website. So check that out.

Doug Collins [00:15:26]:
Most fantastic train.

Tracy Collins [00:15:27]:
Train. So that's Norway. So that's one in Europe. The next one we are still in Europe, but we're actually. The next two are going to be focusing on the uk. So these are. One of these I've done multiple times and one of these I have not done yet, so I'm a bit jealous. But the first one that we're going to talk about in the UK is a Caledonian sleeper.

Doug Collins [00:15:43]:
Yeah. And we've done this many, many times. Even before I met you, I've been. I was doing the Caledonian. Caledonian sleeper on the older trains where you could open the windows. Oh, happy days. When you wake up In Scotland and you can open the windows and you got the smell of the pine. It was.

Tracy Collins [00:15:56]:
Well, you can still wake up in Scotland and see the beautiful views.

Doug Collins [00:15:59]:
You can, but when you could smell, open the windows.

Tracy Collins [00:16:02]:
So, yeah, I would say this is probably. It's just a journey that I do just about every time I get back in the uk, Even January this year, I did the trip. I went from London up to Inverness and we actually stayed in Edinburgh. About went all the way to Inverness on the super train, just so I could wake up and enjoy the view. We've done it numerous times to Fort William.

Doug Collins [00:16:19]:
Yeah. That's the Highlander sleeper. That goes from London Houston to Inverness Stroke Fort William.

Tracy Collins [00:16:26]:
Yeah. Actually, we should say when we're talking about the Caribbean suit, we're actually talking about the Highlander in particular. The Highlander is the one that we recommend. The Highlander is the one that we absolutely love the Highlander. We've got two podcasts on the UK Travel Planner podcast and multiple articles about it. And we just love the Caledonia. Yeah.

Doug Collins [00:16:41]:
The Lowlander goes to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, which, you know, serves a purpose. And I've done that. And. Yeah, and it's. It's magical, but it's not quite the same.

Tracy Collins [00:16:52]:
I don't think so. I think magical is waking up in the Highlands of Scotland. Yeah, that's what's magical.

Doug Collins [00:16:57]:
So it's the south to the north.

Tracy Collins [00:16:59]:
Yes. So if you're gonna do it, go London up to the Highlands, wake up on your way into Inverness or on your way to Fort William, because you can't beat that. You really.

Doug Collins [00:17:07]:
That is special.

Tracy Collins [00:17:08]:
Right. The third one is one you've recently done when you're on your recent trip. The UK and I have not done this one yet. We have got a podcast on UK travel planning, podcast all about this. So talk to number three.

Doug Collins [00:17:19]:
So the third option for our journals of all time is the Great Western Railways train service. It's called the Night Riviera. So this runs from London Paddington all the way down to Penzance, which is in Cornwall. And I did this in September and it was absolutely magical. I cannot tell you how fantastic this was. A. The whole experience at Paddington using the lounge and the staff were absolutely magnificent. I really say.

Doug Collins [00:17:49]:
I don't say that lightly, but they were just so, so keen to please. They were happy their jobs and nothing was too much trouble. And the birth, there's only standard class on this, there's no first class, so everybody is the same. And it was just amazing.

Tracy Collins [00:18:07]:
I think I'm Gonna have to do this one.

Doug Collins [00:18:09]:
So, yeah, so you wake up on the way down and the weather was not particularly very nice, but you woke up and I'd arranged for my breakfast in the. In the lounge. So I sat on the wet on the left hand side and as the train approaches down towards Penzance on the coastline there, I said, having a sausage sandwich and a cup of tea.

Tracy Collins [00:18:30]:
Well, it sounds really good and I'm gonna. If you want to learn more about that, do listen to the UK Chop plan episode about that and I'm very jealous. So that is one that I'm hoping to do next year.

Doug Collins [00:18:40]:
I recommend it.

Tracy Collins [00:18:41]:
So that's another. So that we've had one in Europe and we've. Well, three in Europe, one Norway, two in the uk. Now the fourth one is we're going to Asia and we're heading to Vietnam. And that was for the Reunification Express.

Doug Collins [00:18:52]:
Yep. We thoroughly enjoyed this, didn't we? Because it was. It was not quite out of our comfort zone because it was so different.

Tracy Collins [00:18:58]:
But it was really good. I was actually suffering from pneumonia at the time, so I'm glad we actually had booked. I think it's classed as first class. So we had a birth to ourselves. Two single beds opposite each other on there and it was really comfortable. It was really funny because everybody walked past and was being very nosy checking it out, but it was really comfortable. Really enjoyed it. So we went actually from Hanoi down to Da Nang.

Tracy Collins [00:19:22]:
Highly recommend that. I think you have to book. We booked that quite a way in advance to get that kind of first class. I'm glad we did because I had been sick and in hospital so it made my life a lot easier. But yeah, that's a very famous train trip and something we enjoyed. I think we were very comfortable.

Doug Collins [00:19:41]:
Yes, it was very comfortable. The bed was, yeah, very nice. Yeah.

Tracy Collins [00:19:45]:
So we're sticking in Asia and we are going to our fifth pick and to be honest, I couldn't really choose one specific trip for this one because this basically is any bullet train that we took in Japan.

Doug Collins [00:19:58]:
Yeah, the Shinkansom. This was on my Bullet bullet list, my bucket list for. For many, many years. This was just to get to Japan to show on these trains and it's just a. A unique train experience from anywhere else I've been. It was just that, that perfection, the acceptance of perfection for a train service from the staff. The smartness, the cleanliness, the precision of the operational side of it and obviously the trains themselves from an ex engineer.

Tracy Collins [00:20:27]:
And speed.

Doug Collins [00:20:29]:
Yeah, it's Just magical.

Tracy Collins [00:20:30]:
They are great. And I know then we want to go back to Japan and experience more of the trains. We did quite a few. We loved every single one. We did send our luggage ahead so we didn't have to worry about taking luggage to them at any point. But yeah, it really is something very special. Very different. Actually I was talking to friends the other day about their experience in China on the train.

Tracy Collins [00:20:50]:
So maybe that's something we need to explore.

Doug Collins [00:20:51]:
That's right.

Tracy Collins [00:20:52]:
But anyway, Japan was fantastic. So number six, we're gonna stay kind of, I guess over this side of the world, but we're heading a bit further south from Japan and we're going down to New Zealand. Yeah, and New Zealand, south island where we were privileged to take the Transalpine from Christchurch to Greymath and pass back.

Doug Collins [00:21:11]:
Yeah, that was really good. There was a. I should say, but English type coaching stock. I think they possibly were English at some point, these coaches and lovely staff, lovely scenery. It was just a. The overall the staff was so helpful and friendly, but it was just again, the scenery you get in New Zealand is just magical.

Tracy Collins [00:21:33]:
It's really, really beautiful. So we enjoyed that trip particularly. It was a. It was a day trip, not cheap, I have to say, but I guess none of these train journeys are going to. Are particularly.

Doug Collins [00:21:43]:
But one thing that was nice about that was the observation car as well. It was freezing cold mine. But we. The. The views are just spectacular.

Tracy Collins [00:21:52]:
Yeah. Yeah. Well, I should say actually I don't think the train journey that Vietnam wasn't too expensive or a couple of the other ones that I'll be talking to about in a minute but often they can be a little bit more pricey some of these trips, but worth it. Now, talking about prices probably because I'm thinking of the next one that I'm going to mention now. You haven't taken this particular train, but you have done the route and that. The Bernina Express from Toronto in.

Tracy Collins [00:22:19]:
Italy to K. I can never pronounce it in Switzerland. I used to live in Switzerland. I think I'll be able to pronounce it. It's UNESCO route. Yeah, beautiful. I actually took my niece about 10 years ago on this route and we absolutely loved it. It was, it was gorgeous.

Tracy Collins [00:22:34]:
It's just pretty, pretty, pretty. And it's exactly what you'd expect a Switzerland. You've just got the, you know, the, the mountain peaks, you've got the, the. The chalets. Obviously we did it in summer so there was no snow. Well, there's probably snow right near the top where the glass here is. But it was just. It was a very lovely trip.

Tracy Collins [00:22:53]:
The only thing I would say is to make sure that you do book your seat. And we had booked window seats for myself and my niece and we had a particularly unpleasant man who was determined that he was going to sit at the window. So I had to really kind of hold our standing ground. Stand our ground. That's it. To keep the seat. But after, actually after a while that the train emp it out and we had plenty of chance to kind of observe. But that was a lovely.

Tracy Collins [00:23:18]:
And you've done that route.

Doug Collins [00:23:19]:
I've done that. That's one point to sort of. Just sort of state really that some of the, the. The flagship sort of express trains on some of these routes, you can do them a little bit cheap by catching the normal service trains that run because run across the same line. So sometimes you can do them a little bit cheaper. You just need to do your homework or talk to the experts like us.

Tracy Collins [00:23:40]:
Yeah. And I'm in Swiss travel. There's lots of other different ways that you can.

Doug Collins [00:23:44]:
That's right.

Tracy Collins [00:23:45]:
Swiss travel passes and stu. We do have an article all about the Bernina Express. So do check that out and other stuff on the podcast about train travel in Switzerland. I say I used to live in Switzerland. My parents lived in Switzerland for a long, long time. So it's a country that we know pretty well for train travel. We're pretty hot in Europe, to be honest with train travel. Yeah.

Tracy Collins [00:24:05]:
So that. But we're going to hop from Switzerland. So I guess we're going all around the world. We are going back to. We're actually going to a train trip that we did this year and that was in Sri Lanka. We have got a podcast all about our trip to Sri Lanka, sharing our itinerary. And one of the highlights absolutely was to take the train. And we did the.

Tracy Collins [00:24:23]:
Rather than doing the. The classic Candy to Ella, we did actually Ella to candy backwards, which we did this because we booked our trip. Our train travel around Sri Lanka quite late. So we actually went anti clockwise rather than the traditional clockwise around Sri Lanka. It was a beautiful train journey.

Doug Collins [00:24:40]:
Oh, it was just amazing. Again, lovely people.

Tracy Collins [00:24:43]:
It.

Doug Collins [00:24:43]:
When you, when you travel, it's just that social sound which you've already mentioned. You just find yourself talking to people, particularly when you're in. In a country where, you know, you don't speak that language and you find yourself with other travelers who do speak your language and you sort of sometimes group.

Tracy Collins [00:25:00]:
I guess it was a very it's very touristy, so. Oh, it sort of is, yeah. And we, we. I'm trying to think what class we sat in. Was it second, second, second or third? So the open windows. Open windows, which is what you want.

Doug Collins [00:25:14]:
Doors as well, actually.

Tracy Collins [00:25:15]:
Yeah. So that you can, you know, a lot of people waving out the doors. Yeah.

Doug Collins [00:25:18]:
Just be safe if you do.

Tracy Collins [00:25:19]:
Yeah. And just, just the, the view, the tree. Tree plantations. It was really. Just lush. The scenery was really, really lovely.

Doug Collins [00:25:25]:
It was.

Tracy Collins [00:25:26]:
I just remember though, I have to mention this. I think there was a family from Germany that were in front of us and I think they had two, three or four children, but they had a teenage boy and he sat the entire, the entire time on his. Was it laptop or phone or something? Yeah, he's. The entire time did not look out the window. We were like, oh. Anyway, it was just funny sometimes. Sometimes some kids don't.

Doug Collins [00:25:49]:
Don't always appreciate.

Tracy Collins [00:25:51]:
Exactly. Most of the time they do. So I'm sure I'm going to get people going. Oh, my kids love it. I'm sure they do. But it just was really funny that this kid was just kind of, to.

Doug Collins [00:25:58]:
Be fair, it sort of amused at the parents as well.

Tracy Collins [00:26:01]:
It was really funny. Right. The ninth one is something that Doug has not done.

Doug Collins [00:26:06]:
Not yet.

Tracy Collins [00:26:06]:
Not yet is I was lucky enough to do the toy. One of the toy trains in. In India, which was from Kunur to Ooty, which is. I think it's called the Nilgiri Mountain Railway. So I did that kind of Kuna UTI part of it. So much fun. Absolutely loved it. We ended up, the train stopped at one point because I think we had an antelope on.

Tracy Collins [00:26:28]:
On the track again. Beautiful views of tea plantations. Just beautiful. A lovely, lovely trip. Very hot. Again, we had the windows open.

Tracy Collins [00:26:40]:
But yeah, that was. That was really interesting and fun. And I did do some other train travel in India which was a little bit more like, I think 20 hours. No, 19 hours and third class trip that we took, which was a little bit more challenging. So this toy train was a lot more fun, I have to tell you, than some of the longer trips in India. But I also can't wait to take you back to India and to experience something.

Doug Collins [00:27:03]:
Yes, that'll be good.

Tracy Collins [00:27:04]:
And the last one, we're heading over at the U.S. actually, she.

Doug Collins [00:27:07]:
Yeah, that's right for the Amtrak Coast Star Line. That one's down the west coast of America. We caught this one from Seattle to la. But that was pretty magical.

Tracy Collins [00:27:17]:
It was. It was good and I guess We've not taken an Amtrak train and I certainly would be interested in taking some more Amtrak train journeys in the States. And I know that many, many, if you're listening from America, train travel is not generally that popular, but there are some great train train journeys that you can take across.

Doug Collins [00:27:37]:
Yeah, well, we enjoy.

Tracy Collins [00:27:38]:
Sure, we did enjoy it. You found it a little bit frustrating because it was quite slow.

Doug Collins [00:27:41]:
Oh, yes, it was very, very slow. So you can talk about expressing. You think, well, it's actually going walking pace.

Tracy Collins [00:27:47]:
But. But. Yeah, but then you could enjoy the.

Doug Collins [00:27:50]:
That. That's right. I mean, if you want to read and move around, it's easy because.

Tracy Collins [00:27:53]:
Yeah. And that was also a sleeper train. Yeah, just say that was a sleeper train as well, because we do love our sleeper trains and that. So that was a sleeper train that we took on the west coast of the us so we wanted to put that one in. So we'll kind of COVID Covered. Covered North America. We've covered Europe, we've covered some Asia, we've got kind of Australasia, Oceana, whatever we want to call it. What we.

Tracy Collins [00:28:13]:
What is missing from this is any African train journeys and any South American train journeys. So I think we need to be working hard over the next 10 years, Doug, to include some of those.

Doug Collins [00:28:24]:
Oh, yes. There's always going to be trips we want to take. The bucket list just keeps growing.

Tracy Collins [00:28:30]:
Unfortunately, every time we do so it does. So now we're going to talk about our three bucket list training train journeys. So if you are out there and you are PR for any of these train journeys, we would happily come on and experience these train journeys with us. So do get in touch. Now, the first one is close to home and it's one that I've been wanting to before we actually moved to Australia. And that is the guard.

Doug Collins [00:28:49]:
Yeah, I mean, this is the Australian.

Tracy Collins [00:28:51]:
Oh, it's actually Gan. I've got the garden.

Doug Collins [00:28:53]:
But it's actually, again, so, again, short for Afghanistan.

Tracy Collins [00:28:55]:
Yeah.

Doug Collins [00:28:56]:
But this is one of the. The flagship train service in Australia. Really?

Tracy Collins [00:29:01]:
Yeah.

Doug Collins [00:29:02]:
And this runs from Adelaide to Darwin and vice versa.

Tracy Collins [00:29:06]:
In fact, one of them, I think, is three nights and one is four nights. I might be wrong on that, but Darwin to Adelaide or Adelaide to Darwin, Right through the red center of Australia, it seems to me. I've spoken to a lot of people recently. It seems to be a kind of right passage for retirement in Austria that everybody goes and takes the. The Gan. Actually, I've known plenty of people actually from the UK who've flown over to Australia to take it, because it really is. Is one of those top iconic and luxury. It is a luxury train journey.

Doug Collins [00:29:34]:
It is. And if you're traveling from Europe, really, it's probably once in a lifetime adventure.

Tracy Collins [00:29:38]:
I think even for us to live in Australia, it'll be a once in a lifetime, I think so adventure. Certainly it's. It's not cheap, but I've heard that it's fabulous.

Doug Collins [00:29:46]:
Rewarding.

Tracy Collins [00:29:47]:
Yeah. So then we're gonna head back over, I guess, North America. We're going to Canada this time again with a train journey that we've wanted to take for a long, long time. And we've had friends who've done this. And that is the Rocky Mountain Mountaineer.

Doug Collins [00:29:59]:
Yeah, that one's from Vancouver. We've visited Vancouver a few years back.

Tracy Collins [00:30:02]:
Yeah. But we never managed to take the trip.

Doug Collins [00:30:03]:
We didn't get a chance to do it. But it looks so special.

Tracy Collins [00:30:07]:
Yeah. I just want to go and experience Canadian Rockies on the Rocky Mountaineer and just you see those cars with a fantastic view in, you know, the domes.

Tracy Collins [00:30:17]:
Yeah. So, yeah, Rocky Mountaineer. If we get back over to Canada and to the west coast, Canada, that is absolutely on our bucket.

Doug Collins [00:30:24]:
That is definitely a must to.

Tracy Collins [00:30:26]:
And the third one, again, this is incredibly difficult to choose because there are so many train journeys we want to take. And obviously I'm thinking about the Orient Express. Orient. They really should be on this list, but they're just kind of there hovering in the background.

Doug Collins [00:30:40]:
But we've done all the routes of the Orient Express. We've done the whole route that they'll cover.

Tracy Collins [00:30:44]:
But the next one I want to do is Rovos Rail, which is from Pretoria to Cape Town in South Africa. Now, when I went to university in South Africa, I used to watch the Blue Train, which again is another train journey I would like to take, which, which again is from. I remember that used to go from Johannesburg to. To Cape Town, probably is Pretoria as well. Down in Cape Town. Ros Rail is one that my parents took a few years ago and they are still raving about it because it was so fantastic. So again, this is a luxury train journey.

Doug Collins [00:31:11]:
I'd love to do this one. There's also a blue train in America I'd like to take as well.

Tracy Collins [00:31:15]:
Okay. So. And I believe the ros Rail as well goes all the way up to, I think up to Zambia. It might go further. I'm sure Victoria Falls. So actually maybe I want to do that from Victoria Falls all the way down in Cap Down. How cool would that be? We'll do both.

Doug Collins [00:31:28]:
We'll go there and back.

Tracy Collins [00:31:29]:
Right. Well, when we've run. When we've run the lottery or we're getting invite by the lovely Rovos Rail people.

Doug Collins [00:31:34]:
Yes.

Tracy Collins [00:31:34]:
When we're in South Africa, we will go and take the Rovers Rail. That would be amazing trip, because it is definitely. So those are, in fact we've chosen, I have to say, rather embarrassingly, we've chosen three luxury.

Doug Collins [00:31:46]:
Three luxury. Most expensive ones.

Tracy Collins [00:31:48]:
But there are some other train journeys around the world that we want to take there just. Just for the sake of take. Well, they're not luxury ones, are just things that we want to do.

Doug Collins [00:31:56]:
No, but I'll reiterate what I said to start with. We love Vale travel.

Tracy Collins [00:32:00]:
Yes.

Doug Collins [00:32:00]:
You know, short journey, long journey, you know, we embrace it and we enjoy it from start to finish.

Tracy Collins [00:32:06]:
Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, as I say, we'll be sharing lots more on the YouTube channels and you can check out all the photographs and information about the 10 train journeys we chose on the global travelplanning.com website. As I said, do get in touch on Speak Pipe if there's a particular train journey here that you've share some information about it. What. What did you love about it? We'd like to know.

Doug Collins [00:32:27]:
I'd love to hear that.

Tracy Collins [00:32:28]:
Yeah. Is there something that we. We're missing from our list that you go, oh, you've got to do this list, you've got to do this train journey. Because it's amazing. Because, yeah, we want to know, want to hear from you. So there'll be a link to Speak Pipe so you can leave us a message in the show notes. But I think, I mean, I think that's about it for this episode. We can talk trains forever, can't we?

Doug Collins [00:32:45]:
I certainly can, yes.

Tracy Collins [00:32:47]:
So, yeah. So, I mean, thanks for joining us for this special rail trip travel episode. We do have on the UK Travel Planner podcast, lots about train travel in the uk. We do have other episodes on the Global Shovel Planner podcast, all about trains as well. We're a bit train obsessed. There's lots on the website about trains and there'll be more and more going on. And As I say, YouTube is another place to. To check us out.

Tracy Collins [00:33:12]:
So until next time, I will say that we are taking next week off for the holidays, but we are back for the very last episode of 2025, just with a roundup of the favorite destinations that we've been to this year and a little bit of information stats about how the podcast is going as well. Just if you're interested, but until two weeks time. So until next time, it just leaves for me and Doug to say Happy Global Travel Planning.

Tracy Collins [00:33:41]:
Thank you for joining us on this episode of the Global Travel Planning Podcast Podcast. For more details and links to everything we discussed today, check out the show notes@globaltravelplanning.com Remember, if you enjoyed the show, please consider leaving us a review on your favorite podcast app because your feedback helps us reach more travel enthusiasts just like you. Anyway, that leaves me to say, as always, happy Global Travel Planning.

Tracy Collins [00:34:10]:
Sam.