r/travel • u/AutoModerator • Mar 21 '19
Discussion r/travel Topic of the Week: 'Trains!'
Hey travellers!
In this weekly community discussion topic we'd love to hear your favourite experiences with rail travel. While budget airlines have been trying to kill long-distance rail journeys, we at times may all enjoy being back in the good old days of Paul Theroux books and enjoy the view of landscapes slowly rolling by the windows, being 'in there' instead of somewhere 'up there' over the clouds at 40k feet. Train trips can feel like proper part of the journey, instead of interruptions of it.
Please share with us all your favourite rail travel experiences and memories of travelling by rail!
This post will be archived on our wiki community topics page for future reference.
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u/TimeLadyJ 20 Countries Mar 21 '19
My biggest train tip. LISTEN when they announce what stop is next. We didn't. We were going from London to Newbury (Highclere Castle!) and all we heard was that Newbury Racecourse was the next stop. We didn't hear what was following. Afraid it would be a whole nother city, we hopped off to see NOTHING. This was just before most plans had good international calling so we were basically stuck. We decided to follow the tracks because we figured they'd go through the real town soon enough. We saw a Sainsburys and almost went in to call a cab but then saw a sign to the station so we continued on to find the cabs lined up near the actual station. We only walked about a mile, but we still felt stupid.
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u/caetanolevante Scotland Mar 23 '19
Please tell me you didn’t walk down the actual tracks?
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u/TimeLadyJ 20 Countries Mar 23 '19
No.. on the sidewalks
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u/yvetteresa Mar 27 '19
I love this.
My first solo international trip I was on my way back to the airport for my 11 hour flight home. I was young, I was on my own and I had just conquered EUROPE - all on my own!!!
Except I hadn't.
I missed my stop, by 1 hour, on a train, in the middle of Germany. Because they called my stop and I wasn't listening!!!
The trains were about to stop. My flight was soon going to go.
So there was my tear stained, little dewy face, sobbing into this kind German woman's arms, who was done work for the day but grabbed my luggage, grabbed my arm and dragged my pity party body onto the train.
And then she sat with me, on the train the entire way to Munich and hugged me the entire time. And I just cried and whabbled like a baby.
She just sat and hugged me.
She sat, for an hour out of her way to hug me.
I made my flight but I want to go back and hug her.
LISTEN TO YOUR TRAIN STOPS!!!! LISTEN TO YOUR TRAIN STOPS!!!!
But sometimes you meet someone who changes your life if you don't.
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u/SlightlyOffDan Mar 23 '19
Found the trains in China to be fantastic and in general super quick and affordable. It can be a little confusing getting around the station the first time you do it, but it quickly became second nature for us. Are currently in Japan, so looking forward to using those trains soon...!
I found www.travelchinaguide.com to be really easy and good for booking trains, and checking train routes while in China, but by the end we use the site just to work out which trains we wanted, and then saved money on booking fees by just buying them at the station.
Also wrote this https://www.slightlyoffthebeatentrack.com/blog/train-travel-in-china about train travel in China, based on our experiences, and step-by-step guide on how to use the system!
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Mar 26 '19
On this note... if you're going to try and take a HSR out of Shanghai... be at the station real, real early. We were not. And missed our train to Suzhou. The rest were sold out for the day. We ended up being out the $15 for the tickets.
Not awful but still frustrating.
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u/elijha Berlin Mar 21 '19
A couple years ago I took a train trip through Central Europe that was amazing because I ended up getting a compartment all to myself for most of it. That combined with how gorgeous the routes trough Slovenia and Austria are made for a great trip.
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u/AdventurersClub United States Mar 22 '19
Take trains from city to city in Europe instead of flying unless going very long distances. Trains are usually about as fast, often cheaper, and train stations are right in the city center while airports are often an hour out of town. Book as early as possible (usually about 3 months out if you can), because prices go up the longer you wait.
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u/ag_sci14 United States Mar 21 '19
Favorite train of all time is El Chepe, Mexico's last passenger train. It starts and ends in Los Mochis, Sinaloa and Chihuahua City, Chihuahua, and takes passengers through a string of very remote towns in and along Copper Canyon, a system of six canyons that are collectively larger and deeper than the Grand Canyon. Plenty of hiking, mountain biking, camping, zip lining, etc. to be had in the area. Beautiful landscapes and waterfalls abound. Due to their remoteness, the towns feel like stepping back in time. The area is home to the Tarahumara, or the Raramuri. They are an indigenous population most well-known for their long distance running abilities. Local towns host "carreras", or races, which can be up to 100 miles in length and stretch from the morning/afternoon into the night. If you're lucky, you may get to witness one while visiting the area. The train itself is an incredible experience. You can travel first class, which offers a beautiful observation car as well as dining car, or travel with locals in second class. Passengers can stand on the connectors between cars, which are "open air" to an extent. The whole trip one-way takes about a day, but you'll want to hop off in one or more of the towns along the way - El Fuerte, Divisadero, Creel, etc. Travel by bus a bit further afield to Urique or Batopilas for even more of an adventure.
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u/T-Around-The-World Mar 21 '19
I was with a tour group on a hard sleeper train from Beijing to Xi’an in mainland China. The journey took 14 hours. Having the middle bunk allowed me to lay in my bunk and just watch the countryside of China run by till I fell asleep. But I don’t know what is up with the Chinese, but at 6 am sharp, music starts to play and a voice in Mandarin woke us up. Advantage was, we got to see more of the country, but the same thing happened on a river cruise ship as well even though it was our own cabin.
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u/jippiejee Holland Mar 21 '19
I took the train from Jakarta to Yogyakarta last week, crossing half the island of Java in about 7 hours. It was interesting to slowly leave the urban areas of the modern capital through the poorer suburbs to then see the beauty of the island's rice fields and mountains. Exekutiv class is very comfortable with big chairs, A/C, food service, and not expensive at about us$25. Highly recommended.
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u/webmeister2k 500+ World Heritage sites Mar 23 '19
We did this trip in 2016 (though in reverse) and loved it as well. Did your conductor have two armed guards with AK-47s escorting him, or was it just our train?
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u/jippiejee Holland Mar 24 '19
Must have been some temporary threat? Haven't seen any armed police near the trains or station.
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u/rirez Mar 24 '19
Must have been early 2016, when there was a terror attack in Jakarta (after several years of peace). They also super armed guards in airports, the whole country was in tension!
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u/BoilerMaker11 United States Mar 21 '19
I don't have much by way of "stories", but I will say I will always prefer trains over airline. At least in Europe, where everything is close (you won't catch me on an Amtrak train from Chicago to Seattle haha). With trains, all you have to do is show up to the train station, which are always located locally, and you're off. No need to travel 15-20 miles out of the city to get to the airport, get through security, and be at the terminal in time to board 30-45min before takeoff.
You can take a quick tram to a train station and show up 10 minutes before the train leaves and you're good. And zipping by the countryside and taking in all the beauty is always better, to me, than being 30,000 feet in the air, where everything looks the same.
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u/0340am Mar 22 '19
I absolutely love train rides! It's my favorite way of traveling, and I miss my weekly rides from Vienna to Salzburg.
If you're looking for the most beautiful train rides in the world, check out Glacier Express in Switzerland or the colorful trains going from Kandy to Ella in Sri Lanka. Both are absolutely stunning.
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u/regular6drunk7 Mar 21 '19
We generally rent a car when we go on vacation but on our last trip to Italy we traveled exclusively by train. It turned out to be a pleasure and we found out that we really didn't need a car. We spent a month traveling to 8 cities in mostly northern Italy. Traveling by car has been rather stressful in the past because of the hassle of parking and finding your way around especially when you're in the "old town" section of a city with winding streets that are sometimes poorly marked. Many of those streets are so narrow that you have to tuck in the side mirrors just to get through.
As someone else said, the man in seat 61 is a good resource. We also relied on google maps (of course) and rome2rio.com for info on train schedules.
Here is a pointer to our itinerary if anyone is interested.
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Mar 23 '19
The most gorgeous train ride I have ever been on is between Sarajevo and Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Do it during the day. You won’t regret it! Hands down incredible views.
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Mar 22 '19
Trains have always been my favourite way to travel. In 2013 we went to India and the train rides were such great experiences. The 37 hours from Chennai to Delhi was the peak. We were in the 4th class down and somehow seeing cockroaches crawl over sleeping passengers and knowing they would soon be crawling over me in turn didn’t dampen the experience. Met a group of Buddhists who were going to some event who spent many hours talking to us despite neither of us understanding the other. If we’d flown we would have had almost two extra days in Delhi, but when I tell people about that trip I always mention the train ride and rarely the city at the end.
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u/alleeele Israel Mar 22 '19
When I was a kid, my family took the train from where-we-were to the Grand Canyon. Along the way, there was a staged cowboy hijacking, complete with horses galloping outside the train! The cowboys came into our car and pretended to demand money-- my baby brother was terrified and we had a good laugh. That was my first train experience and I remember it to this day.
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u/DrunkTreeFrog Mar 23 '19
I've travelled by fast train network around a lot of Italy, Spain, France and the Netherlands. It's a great combination of speed, price, comfort and convenience in those countries. Generally you can save a lot of money buying tickets well in advance. You arrive at the station 10-20 minutes before the departure time and just board the train and off you go. Often you get a nice view at the countryside wooshing past. For shorter distances I think the only disadvantage compared to flying is that you board and unboard your own luggage, that's only an issue if you have a suitcase, if you have a medium size backpack you're set.
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u/lucianohg Mar 23 '19
Took the Rack Railway to Montserrat and it was very beautiful. The monastery and the view from up there are very beautiful
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u/saviour__self Mar 26 '19
I’m going to Barcelona in a week and was thinking about making this trip. But I was going to just take the bus. Did you use the local train and then the rack?
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Mar 23 '19
My daughter and I took a train from Oslo to Bergen a few years ago. It is still one of my favorite travel memories. The scenery as you cross the spine of Norway is absolutely breathtaking. Waterfalls, pristine lakes, and a high altitude landscape that was both barren but incredible. My only regret is that we didn't get off in a spot or two to hike. It would have been amazing. The descent into Bergen was also incredible with sights of the fjords. Highly recommended!!
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u/poppyxvv United Kingdom Mar 24 '19
Its on my list to do that train journey! I’ve heard nothing but great things about it and I love Norway
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Mar 23 '19
Taking a train from the Transylvanian city of Tirgu Mures to the capital Bucharest had some absolutely astounding long parts that are fantastic in all seasons. It crosses the Carpathian mountains and as it climbs up on the Transylvania side, many idyllic villages and valleys then one gets to the ski resort altitudes, and then the Prahova Valley... After it crosses the mountains and descends toward Bucharest, it becomes rather monotonous and nothing remarkable, but first half is well worth it :)
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u/kvom01 United States 50 countries Mar 23 '19
Some excursions I've enjoyed:
Durango-Silverton RR
Train at the End of the World - Ushuaia Argentina
Devil's Nose - Alausi, Ecuador
Peru Rail to Machu Picchu
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u/kohkay Mar 24 '19
I took the train from Munich to Venice a couple of years ago, it was one of my favourite parts of the trip honestly! Watching the landscape change from farm land to The Alps and then turn to winery’s and the beautiful hills of Italy was incredible. I had my own compartment for the whole trip which was lucky. It was truly a fantastic experience, beautiful and relaxing!
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u/onthelambda Mar 24 '19
What are the best, most interesting long-distance trains? Ideally, long-distance trains that run through beautiful or interesting places? I was thinking about making a thread until I realized this was the topic of the week :) I'd like a 3-4 train ride through snowy mountains, for example...
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Mar 24 '19
Me and my parents went up on the train last year to meet my sister's and her husband first child at just 3 days old.
Funniest moment was in Spain can't remember where my parents and I were going, but one person decided to hold his suitcase to their ear because a mobile phone went off.
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u/smart_cereal United States Mar 25 '19
Trains are my favorite form of transportation.
I've taken the train from Brussels to Amsterdam a few times and I love it.
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u/MeGustaMamacita Mar 22 '19
Just bought 3 2-week Japan JR tickets for unlimited train travel in Japan. Is it possible to travel japan with only the JR line trains? want to keep travel as simple as possible.
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u/blarg_means_love Mar 22 '19
Yes it is very much possible especially with the major tourist cities. Though it might be worth getting a Pasmo or Suica card to use the other subway lines and busses. I used the JR for traveling city to city and my Suica card for local. R/JapanTravel has a lot about the public transportation.
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u/TravelwithThem Mar 24 '19
Rail is such an incredible way to travel. You get to still enjoy the beautiful landscapes and scenary. We're headed to Cusco Peru and plan on taking the train to Machupicchu it should be an incredibly beautiful ride. Stay tuned for photos of that.
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u/Whatthedarknessdoes Mar 26 '19
The machupiccu train is so lovely, did it in 2016. One of my favorite days for sure.
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u/TravelwithThem Mar 28 '19
That's awesome. Really good to know. Did you take the luxury train or the standard one?
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u/Doubledoor Mar 24 '19
If you're planning to visit India and travel by train, especially North India, do not go for anything lower than 3AC (Third AC). You'll end up sharing your paid for seats with others.
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u/iputmylifeonashelf United States Mar 24 '19
I took a sleeper train from Yangon to Bagan in Myanmar. These are separate cars they only latch onto the train if they sell the seats. You cannot get to other cars from yours, the only way in and out is to the platform.
Mine had four beds and I was fortunate to be shut off from the world with two people I really clicked with. Next time, I would just get the entire car to myself.
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u/itslazza 4 lived, 9 visited Mar 24 '19
The night train from Chiang Mai to Bangkok was one of the highlights of my time in Thailand. I'd recommend timing your departure with the sunset/late afternoon as the views of the countryside south of Chiang Mai are beautiful – that's what I did, even though I ended up on the older train set instead of the new Chinese-made one leaving an hour later.
Also, third class in local commuter trains is a great way to visit Ayutthaya from Bangkok – it's like 15-20 baht for a one way. I took the same sort of trains to Don Muang Airport during rush hour and faced no problems with traffic or it being "sketchy" as a lot of people online like to say. On the contrary, I found it to be the best (and cheapest, 5 baht!) way to get to Don Muang. I had plenty of time for my flight even though the train ran about 25 minutes late.
1
u/capoo89 Mar 25 '19
Well, I traveled so many times in Amtrak through California, usually from Santa Fe Depot Station in San Diego to Irvine. All the time was a nice view of the beach and some other communities around the rails and I loved it. I was always listening music looking through the window and enjoying the beautiful view I had just right in front of me. I certainly loved it and so far I miss it because I am not in California anymore.
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u/saviour__self Mar 26 '19
The Amtrak is so expensive. I’ve wanted to take my kids on the train from OC to San Diego and it’s cheaper and faster to just go by car :(
I’ve thought about taking the train to Seattle as well and it takes days.
1
u/toxikshadows Las Vegas + DC Mar 25 '19
Although it's more of an "experience" train, my most recent train adventure was from the Sacred Valley in Peru to Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu). Amazing scenery and fairly comfortable, although it's made for the tourists. The train is a great choice to get to MP!
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u/britfoodtravel Mar 25 '19
I love travelling by train and have enjoyed many train trips across Britain, Japan, Europe, and the Americas. Tied for my favourite would either be riding through Mexico's Copper Canyon one Christmas or the time I took Amtrak across the US from Chicago to Seattle and woke up as we were passing through Montana's Glacier National Park. Looking out the window, I saw bear splashing in the river in the early morning sun.
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u/niinam Mar 26 '19
We love trains and always opt for a scenic train journey instead of driving or flying! I had dreamed about traveling to Mostar by train for many years since seeing pictures from that leg. We managed to do this epic trip in 2017, when the trails between Sarajevo and Capljina were reopened (the trains are still running). This article sums the experience and shows the views: https://www.bizarreglobehopper.com/blog/2018/08/02/train-journey-mostar-sarajevo-capljina-croatian-coast/. Still, it took me by surprise that the train journey from Budva to Kolasin in Montenegro was even more stunning!
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u/Drag0nPrince33 Mar 27 '19
A few years ago my whole family took a 7 week trip going through a few countries in Europe. We mostly took trains all the way and it made the trip that much better. We got to see all the feild and landscapes of some beautiful countries. Plus past through amazing cities. My favourite one. If anyone gets the chance take The Glacier Express. A panoramic view as you ride through the Swiss Alps. Absolutely beautiful.
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u/Darthlentils Mar 28 '19
My 2 favorite train ride were from Seattle, WA to Vancouver, BC. Slow but amazing landscape of the Pudget Sound, it was a clear day and we left early, enjoying some gorgeous spring morning light.
Second was taking the Transmongolian railway last August from St Petersburg all the way to Beijing. We stopped along the way to visit Russia, Mongolia and China. Probably the most epic train you can ever take in your life. Without stopping it would take like 6 days to do it all. But we took 5 weeks and it was amazing. Affordable and really safe as well. Man in seat 61 has all the infos you need to plan it.
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u/upsidedownbat Where to next? 🐒🌴🍜 Mar 21 '19
I love trains! It's in the FAQ, but www.seat61.com is hands-down the best resource for learning about train travel in most countries. It even has pictures of the different classes of different trains and advises which departure time will have the best/newest cars (#9 from Bangkok to Chiang Mai leaving at 6:10pm beats all the other departures!)
Unfortunately, it's not perfect. On my recent trip to Thailand and Burma/Myanmar, I planned to take the overnight train from Bagan to Yangon. The train system in Burma is pretty low-tech and tickets are hand-written in person and only go on sale a few days before. Seat61 recommends using the 12goasia travel agency to get tickets, and I used them before last year to make sure I could get 6 tickets together on the #9 in Thailand which was great. I paid for my Bagan-Yangon tickets a few weeks before I left, and the idea is that someone from the agency would go to the train station a few days before my scheduled departure and buy tickets in person.
But they didn't. The train was sold out, and I got an email that they were refunding my money the day before I was meant to leave. I was really disappointed. We ended up taking an overnight bus which was cheaper and faster, but I didn't want cheaper and faster, I wanted to take the train!
In order to get *a* train ride in on the trip, we spent the following afternoon on the Yangon Circular Railway https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yangon_Circular_Railway which was pretty fun. Lots of people selling snacks on the train, and fun to watch the scenery out the window.