See the world by rail
Great Rail Journeys, the UK’s market leader for escorted holidays by rail, has launched its 2011 Worldwide Holidays by Rail programme featuring new itineraries across the five continents.
“2010 has been a great year for rail travel”, says marketing manager Richard Adams, “and our confidence in this growing market is shown by the creation of nine new ‘great rail journeys’ within an expanded programme of 29 Worldwide holidays.”
The brochure showcases 11 different tours in Canada and the USA, three itineraries within India, two new itineraries in China and three holidays in South Africa which feature both the luxurious Pride of Africa and The Blue Train.
“Add the iconic Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express and other famous rail journeys such as the Eastern & Oriental Express to Singapore and The Ghan through the heart of Australia and this is certainly the most comprehensive Worldwide programme in the company’s history,” says Adams.
Among the new holidays are ‘The Transamerican Rail Tour’. This three-week odyssey from San Francisco in the west to New York in the east, takes in the natural grandeur of America’s National Parks, its ‘wild west’ history and its modern cities in a holiday of a lifetime. Travelling for the most part by daytime Amtrak services, with just two journeys on sleeper trains and most nights in quality hotels, this is a comprehensive yet civilised itinerary.
Vintage rail trips on the Grand Canyon Railway, the Durango and Silverton Railroad and Pike’s Peak Cog Railway combine scenery and history and other memorable excursions include Yosemite’s Bridal Veil Falls, the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls as well as the sights of San Francisco, Las Vegas, Denver, Chicago and New York. This holiday is offered on 15 departure dates between April and October 2011, with prices starting from £2,875 per person twin share.
In Peru, ‘Machu Picchu & the Andes’ is introduced, with a 15-day itinerary from Lima that includes visits to Arequipa, Colca Canyon, the Altiplano and lakes of Lagunillas and Umayo as well as Titicaca. Memorable rail journeys on the Andean Explorer and the superb Vistadome carry travellers up to the highest peaks and, by staying at Machu Picchu itself, the itinerary allows plenty of time over two days to explore the lost city of the Incas.
Most of the 13 nights’ of this tour are spent at Casa Andina Private Collection hotels which offer both luxurious boutique style and authentic Peruvian hospitality, with individual properties ranging from a colonial manor house to a lakeside pueblo-style hotel. With five departure dates between May and October 2011, the holiday costs from £3,045 per person.
The other new itineraries in the 2011 programme are:
• LA to New York by Rail: 15 days from £2,175
• Whistler & the Rocky Mountaineer: 12 days from £2,395
• The Silk Road: 21 days from £8,395
• Hong Kong, Three Gorges & Lhasa: 19 days from £8,995
• The Eastern & Oriental Express: 11 days from £2,798
• The Namibian Explorer: 16 days from £5,995
• Cape Town, The Blue Train & Kruger: 12 days from £5,250
In all cases, prices are per person based on two sharing, and include return international flights, all transfers, all travel within the destinations, a full programme of sightseeing and the services of a tour manager throughout. The board basis for each holiday varies.
For more information, visit: GreatRail.com
