This was published 9 years ago
World’s best and cheapest train trips for travellers on a budget
By Ben Groundwater
It's always the expensive ones you hear about. Whenever there's a list of the world's great train journeys compiled, you can guarantee they'll be the types that will forever be out of reach for your average backpacker.
The Orient-Express, the Rocky Mountaineer, the Blue Train in South Africa – all sound amazing, but they're not designed for budget travellers.
That doesn't, however, mean there aren't some great train journeys out there for those who don't have a lot of cash. In fact these might be even better than the fancy ones.
Bangkok to Chiang Mai
This night train is an absolute riot, from the crush on the station platform before departure to the party that will inevitably be happening within an hour in the dining car. You can mix with Thais from all walks of life on this 10-hour journey north, either while relaxing on a bunk bed in your carriage, or dancing on a table while drinking Thai whisky in the dining car.
How much: From $35 one-way (thairailticket.com)
Chennai to Mumbai
This isn't a party train, and it isn't a tourist train – it's a 24-hour window into everything the "real India" has to offer. As you chug across the country, passing town after town, city after city, with life lived large out the window, there are equally interesting things going on inside. Families share food with you; wallahs stalk the aisles selling everything imaginable; strangers stop by for a chat; people get on, people get off, and this world within a world slowly rolls on.
How much: From $30 (cleartrip.com)
Amsterdam to Prague
There are plenty of journeys you could take with the CityNightLine trains – anywhere that passes through Germany, really. The service, operated by Deutsche Bahn, is a relatively affordable group of night trains that buzzes through Europe, and my favourite trip is between two of the continent's great destinations: Amsterdam and Prague. You'll meet no shortage of fellow travellers as you zip through the night – and part of the day – from one party town to another.
How much: From $229 (raileurope.com.au)
Istanbul to Tehran
This really is a journey into another world, one that will take you from a cosmopolitan Turkish metropolis into one of the Middle East's most misunderstood countries. This two-day journey, mostly aboard the Trans-Asia Express, crosses cultures and countryside (and a lake at the Turkey-Iran border), taking you in surprisingly luxury through places you never thought you'd see with your own eyes. Everyone should do this.
How much: From $56 (iranrail.net)
Trans-Siberian
This is the classic, bucket-list train trip, and one that's easily accessible for those on a budget – the six-day journey averages out at about $150 a night, and that's for a sleeper berth that will carry you across three countries (if you do the Trans-Mongolian route), and five time zones. There's never a dull moment aboard the Trans-Siberian, from vodka sipping in the dining car to exploring the weird and wonderful things on sale at every station, to the changing of the wheel gauges at the Mongolia-China border.
How much: From $920 (realrussia.co.uk)
Beijing to Lhasa
This two-night trip covers nearly 4000 kilometres, takes in the world's highest railway line and the world's highest station, and only costs about $130. You'd be crazy not to. The journey from Beijing to Tibet is one of insanely impressive scenery, and it's a trip that sells out almost as soon as tickets have been put up for sale (60 days from departure if you're booking online). Get in there while you can.
How much: From $130 (chinahighlights.com)
Hanoi to Saigon
The "Reunification Express" used to be just the one train, but it's now a series of them running between Hanoi in the north to Saigon (or Ho Chi Minh City – though the station you'll go to is officially known as Sai Gon) in the south. This is a journey through the two different Vietnams, and one that runs along coastal rails through Hue, Danang and Nha Trang, before arriving in Saigon two nights after departure. This has to be the best way to get around Vietnam; though really, any form of transport that gets you off the road is good.
How much: From $55 (vietnamimpressive.com)
Kyoto to Tokyo
It's maybe not what you'd call cheap, but even budget-conscious train aficionados should ride a Japanese "shinkansen", or bullet train, at least once. One of the classic journeys is from Kyoto to Tokyo, a two-hour ride that whisks you up past Mount Fuji and on to the bustling capital at up to 320km/h. Along the way you'll get to bask in comfort while nibbling on what are probably the best train snacks on offer around the world.
How much: From $90 (hyperdia.com)
St Petersburg to Moscow
The "Red Arrow" is another one of those iconic Russian trains, one that's been running between the country's two most famous cities since 1931. It's a little gaudy and over-the-top, but that's what you're paying for here: train travel from another era, when things had to look good as well as work properly. The Red Arrow is usually filled with tourists, but that doesn't make it any less of an experience.
How much: From $98 (russiantrains.com)
What are your favourite train journeys on tight budget?
Email: b.groundwater@fairfaxmedia.com.au
Instagram: instagram.com/bengroundwater
*Walk In Her Shoes
Are you a traveller who'd like to help the communities you've visited overseas? Then get on board with CARE Australia's "Walk In Her Shoes" campaign next week. "Walk In Her Shoes" is a nationwide walking challenge for Australians to walk 25, 50 or 100 kilometres over a week, beginning next Monday, replicating the distances women and girls walk for water, food and firewood in developing countries. By walking next week you can not only show you want to reduce this burden (one that's overwhelmingly borne by women), but help raise money to build water and food sources closer to communities. Visit walkinhershoes.org.au.
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