Your Price Tag for the Most Beautiful Train Rides in the World

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Your Price Tag for the Most Beautiful Train Rides in the World

The old adage says that beauty is in the journey, not necessarily the destination — but sometimes beauty can be found in both places, especially if your mode of travel provides you with the opportunity to sightsee.

Traveling the globe by rail has always been one of the easiest and most romantic ways to indulge in wanderlust. GOBankingRates decided to look at some beautiful train rides so that you know which excursions are worth making a reality.

Click through to read about these life-changing trips that are worth the cost.

Bernina Express

Start: Chur, Switzerland
End: Tirano, Italy
Ticket Price: First-class tickets start at $64.

You can take the journey of a lifetime on this train that climbs as high as 7,392 feet above sea level into the Alps before descending into the Italian city of Tirano. Featuring 55 tunnels, 196 bridges and curvy viaducts, the train route itself has been named to the UNESCO World Heritage List, and the scenery isn’t bad either. In addition to mountains and glaciers, passengers will see orchards, vineyards, forests and even a Swiss castle or two in the picturesque Domleschg Valley.

Additionally, passengers can pre-order platters of sausage, cheese and other alpine-appropriate snacks and drinks, or indulge in food and beverages from the train’s roving minibar.

Blue Train

Start: Pretoria, South Africa
End: Cape Town, South Africa
Ticket Price: Ticket prices for a single adult in a deluxe suite start at $2,066.

Passengers travel almost the entire length of South Africa on this 27-hour, 994-mile journey, taking in mountains and fertile farmland along the way. But the historic highlights of the trip are probably its off-train excursions.

The Pretoria to Cape Town route includes a stop in Kimberley, which transports travelers to the height of the diamond rush days. The train also stops at Matjiesfontein, which retains Victorian charm thanks to its Colonial-era architecture and original, 19th-century London lampposts.

Fares include all meals, high tea, alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks, plus an after-dinner Cuban cigar and off-train excursions. The Blue Train site notes that rates, however, don’t include French Champagne, caviar and external telephone calls and that passengers are expected to dress for dinner.

California Zephyr

Start: Chicago
End: San Francisco (Emeryville, Calif., station)
Ticket Price: A Value Fare for a reserved coach seat starts at $172, depending on the time of year. Value Fares are fully refundable if travel is canceled at least 48 hours before departure.

Want to take a cross-country road trip in the U.S.? Travelers take in the sights between two iconic American cities on this picturesque route. The varied vistas on this 51-hour train ride between Chicago and San Francisco include the Rocky Mountains, the snow-festooned Sierra Nevadas, Donner Lake and some of Colorado’s most beautiful canyons.

Space in a sleeper car will set train travelers back significantly more than a standard coach fare. Those who choose to snooze in their seats can stretch their legs by taking a trip to the dining car, where dinner entrees start at around $16.

Chepe

Start: Chihuahua, Mexico
End: Los Mochis, Mexico
Ticket Price: Fares are $174 for First Express tickets and $100.49 for economy class.

This train travels past fields tended by Mennonites, who moved from Canada to Mexico in the 1920s. Additionally, travelers will see Copper Canyon, a network of gorges that cuts across the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range, passing high plains and waterfalls on the way to the Pacific coast.

The First Express trains offer a dining car and bar, and economy service features a snack car. Travelers can enjoy snacks a la carte. Many train travelers take time to sample local cuisine at stops and enjoy excursions along the route before re-boarding the train at a later date.

Eastern & Oriental Express

Start: Bangkok
End: Singapore
Ticket Price: Fares start at $5,200 per passenger.

The Eastern & Oriental Express also runs between Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, but the Bangkok to Singapore route gives passengers an extra day of onboard luxury. Fares might seem steep, but a steward brings breakfast to your cabin each day, and sleeping quarters offer amenities like an ensuite bathroom.

Lunch in the dining car might be roast duck breast, while dinner could showcase saba mackerel followed by a main course of beef medallions. At the end of the day, enjoy a nightcap in the train’s open-sided observation car.

Whether train travelers are in the open-air car or seated before one of the expansive windows, they’ll take in sights that include temples and tea plantations. Stops include iconic sites such as the River Kwai Bridge and the gold-domed Ubudiah Mosque, crafted with imported Italian marble over a century ago.

The Ghan Expedition

Start: Adelaide, Australia
End: Darwin, Australia
Ticket Price: Tickets vary based on service, season and cabin selection. Gold Service single-fare, single-cabin tickets for the high season (May 2018 through August 2018) cost about $2,068.

The Ghan transports travelers from Adelaide, Australia’s cosmopolitan capital on the southern coast, to the Northern Territory. On the way, you’ll pass mountain ranges, mallee scrub and ochre-tinted outback.

Off-train excursions include a stargazing stop in the outback and an off-train excursion in Katherine, where passengers can take a cruise on the Katherine River or spend the day with aboriginal people, learning about the culture and trying their hand at traditional crafts.

Along with other perks, the Ghan’s Gold Service fare features a private cabin, all-inclusive dining, beverages — including Australian wines, beers, base spirits and nonalcoholic drinks — and excursions at key stops. Gold Service single cabins offer shared bathroom facilities, while twin cabins have upper and lower berths and a private ensuite bath.

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Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express

Start: Moscow
End: Vladivostok, Russia
Ticket Price: A Silver Class ticket costs $15,895 for travel between May 6 and May 20, 2018.

This 15-day tour starts in the heart of Russia’s capital city, where passengers can take in the sights and historical significance of Red Square. Next, they’ll board a train that will transport them through landscapes that include the Ural Mountains, which divide Europe and Asia, and the shores of Lake Baikal, the world’s deepest lake. The Golden Eagle also dips into Mongolia, where passengers can see traditional yurts, livestock and the nomadic natives before returning to Vladivostok.

Among other amenities, a ticket includes breakfast, lunch and dinner each day, as well as a “generous drinks allowance” with lunch and dinner for all passengers. Higher-priced tickets also include drinks from the bar car at other times of day. The Golden Eagle package offers guided off-train excursions to help passengers explore stops along the route and some nights at top-tier hotels.

Harz Mountains

Start: St Pancras International Station, London
End: St Pancras International Station, London
Ticket Price: A six-day, round-trip package from Rail Discoveries starts at $1,181 per person for the April 15, 2018, departure.

The Rail Discoveries package includes a guided walking tour of the historic German city of Goslar, where passengers have time to explore on their own. The itinerary features a stop in Quedlinburg, which boasts hundreds of distinctive, half-timbered buildings and other architecture dating back centuries.

Among the many benefits of this journey is the opportunity to travel on nostalgic, steam-hauled trains over narrow-gauge railways through the Harz Mountains. The package price includes five dinners, five nights of hotel accommodations and breakfast each day.

Reunification Express

Start: Hanoi, Vietnam
End: Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam
Ticket Price: Fare for an upper-bunk spot in a four-bed cabin costs about $90, depending on time of year.

The route runs along the South China Sea, passing jungles, forests, beaches and islands. Between city stops, passengers will also view vistas populated by rice paddies and water buffalo.

Snacks, drinks and some meals are available for purchase on the train, but this isn’t a luxury line. Instead, consider disembarking at stops to explore attractions and sample the cuisine before re-boarding on another day.

Rocky Mountaineer

Start: Vancouver, Canada
End: Banff, Canada
Ticket Price: Fares start at $1,590 for the “First Passage to the West Classic” package for the 2018 season, which begins in April.

The Rocky Mountaineer offers other routes, but this ride through the Canadian Rockies is a perennial favorite thanks to stunning scenery and historical heft. The “First Passage to the West” trip is the only passenger rail service on the route that connects Canada from east to west and takes train travelers by sights, including the Black Canyon, the Hoodoos — people transformed into pillars by witches, according to legend — Kicking Horse River, the Spiral Tunnels and Castle Mountain.

The package includes two breakfasts and two lunches aboard the Rocky Mountaineer, as well as hotel accommodations for one night each in Vancouver, Kamloops and Banff. You’ll also get onboard snacks and drinks, including wine, beer, spirits and nonalcoholic beverages. Other perks include a National Park Pass to help train travelers explore the sights in each city along the rail route.

Semmering Bahn Scenic Train Route

Start: Gloggnitz, Austria
End: Semmering, Austria
Ticket Price: Prices for a Eurail Austria Pass currently start at $135.

Impressive engineering — especially for the mid-1800s — and awe-inspiring scenery helped the Semmering Railway land a spot on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The stretch between Gloggnitz and Semmering includes 16 viaducts and 15 tunnels. When it’s not cutting through mountains, the route offers stunning views of alpine scenery that will evoke scenes from “The Sound of Music.”

Semmering Bahn trains typically offer snack trolleys, showers and bathroom facilities. And a Eurail countrywide pass covers the cost of other scenic routes, including Arlbergline, also in Austria.

Shongololo Express

Start: Pretoria, South Africa
End: Victoria Falls (on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe)
Ticket Price: The Emerald fare for a Sept. 6, 2018, departure is $5,983.17.

Considered one of the continent’s most scenic train rides, the Shongololo Express’ Southern Cross route makes stops in South Africa, Swaziland, Mozambique and Zimbabwe during its 12-day journey before ending at the Zimbabwe/Zambia border. Along the way, passengers will take in the Drakensberg Mountains, parks, wildlife reserves and historic sites, including the Great Zimbabwe Ruins.

This trip is more about off-train excursions than the onboard amenities. But, when train travelers aren’t viewing stunning African sights and marveling at the wild game, they can eat and drink in the train’s dining and bar cars, though beverages and lunches aren’t included in the fare. All cabins include private ensuite bathrooms.

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Train Suite Shiki-shima

Start: Ueno Station, Tokyo
End: Ueno Station, Tokyo
Ticket Price: Double-occupancy fares start at $6,580 for four-day, three-night round trips departing from July through September 2018.

Scenic stopovers on this all-suite luxury train include Aomori, site of the ancient Sannai-Maruyama Ruins, and the Aomori Museum of Art and Hakodate, home to the historic Hakodate Morning Market. The site boasts around 250 stores, some of which offer seafood so fresh diners can catch it themselves.

Train travelers might want to save their appetites, though. The onboard cuisine is crafted from local ingredients to reflect the regions the train passes through. Space is limited on the Shiki-shima, so applications are accepted during a set period, and reservation requests are selected by lottery if there are more applicants than available spaces. The current application period is for trips departing from July through September 2018.

TranzAlpine

Start: Christchurch, New Zealand
End: Greymouth, New Zealand
Ticket Price: A one-way Flexi Fare, which allows you to stop anywhere along the route, costs $179 for a Sept. 1, 2018, departure.

This trip takes travelers on a one-way journey across New Zealand’s South Island. The train cuts through the plains of Canterbury to the seemingly impregnable Southern Alps, where it ascends along a route that’s considered a masterpiece of altitude-defying engineering.

On the way up, riders will catch glimpses of the icy Waimakariri River, pass through tunnels and viaducts — including the 72-meter-high structure aptly named the Staircase Viaduct. Those who aren’t too acrophobic can also observe breathtaking views of Mount Binser and the edges of Arthur’s Pass National Park. The last leg winds through river valleys and along the banks of Lake Brunner.

The round-trip route runs every day except Christmas, and travelers often take advantage of the train’s frequency by hopping off to take an alpine hike or throw out a line at Lake Brunner. The Great Journeys of New Zealand, which operates the TranzAlpine, also offers buses to take tourists to destinations beyond the tracks.

TranzAlpine carriages feature skylights, panoramic windows and audio commentary systems mounted in the side of each chair that can be accessed with a pair of complimentary headphones. The train also offers open-air carriages and, if you can tear yourself away from the scenery, a Cafe Carriage with food and non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks.

Venice Simplon-Orient-Express

Start: London
End: Venice, Italy
Ticket Price: Fares start at $3,442 per passenger for the train that leaves June 28, 2018.

This two-train trip begins at London’s Victoria Station, where passengers board the Belmond British Pullman train to enjoy brunch and Bellinis while crossing the countryside and the English Channel. Once in France, train travelers board the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express for a four-course dinner and a night on the rails. It’s also worth noting that this iconic train offers other routes to cities such as Prague, Paris and Budapest.

Passengers are treated to breakfast in bed, where they can lounge until lunch is served in one of the train’s restaurant cars. But most will likely want to revel in the passing Alpine scenery and admire the train’s antique fixtures and Art Deco style over meals. Disembark at Santa Lucia Station, which provides direct access to Venice’s Grand Canal.

Save on tickets by traveling in the off-season.

White Pass Summit Excursion

Start: White Pass Summit, Skagway, Alaska
End: White Pass Summit, Skagway, Alaska
Ticket Price: Ticket prices are $125 for an adult and $62.50 for a child for the round-trip excursion.

Head to the 49th state to indulge in a train ride through these snow-kissed mountains and tundra-filled landscapes. The White Pass train takes off through the Alaska panhandle, starting its journey in the city of Skagway and traversing the original Klondike Trail of ’98 with plenty of glaciers, gulches, waterfalls and panoramic views along the way.

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The Jacobite Steam Train Excursion

Start: Fort William, Scotland
End: Mallaig, Scotland
Ticket Price: A first-class ticket for an adult on the excursion, which includes a return trip, runs about $84.

Get transported to one of the most storied stretches of railway in the world — all in the heart of the U.K. The Jacobite train excursion takes you on an 84-mile journey from Fort William, Scotland through a variety of breathtaking landscapes. It features views of the highest mountain in Britain — Ben Nevis — as well as scenes familiar to film junkies — both action film “Highlander” and teen-favorite “Harry Potter” have been shot along this stretch.

Kandy Rail Journey

Start: Colombo, Sri Lanka
End: Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka
Ticket Price: The ticket price for the rail journey comes out to $4.

Head to the picturesque tea country hills in central Sri Lanka for a lush rail journey for the ages. Hop the Nuwara Eliya-Kandy leg of this rail journey to be whisked away to a paradise of highlands and greenery in the heart of the Far East.

Panorama Express

Start: Flüelen, Switzerland
End: Luzern, Switzerland
Ticket Price: A first-class ticket for the rail journey is about $46.

To experience the Swiss Alps in the most quintessential way, hop aboard the Gotthard Panorama Express for a ticket into your Swiss fantasies. Formerly called the Wilheim Tell Express until 2016, this journey combines the best of both worlds in many ways — both a boat and train ride are required, as palm trees and snow-capped vistas both dot the landscape.

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Conway Scenic Notch Train

Start: North Conway, New Hampshire
End: North Conway, New Hampshire
Ticket Price: During the train’s tour season from June to October, tickets for the premium upper dome are $85 for adults and $55 for kids.

Nestled in the heart of New Hampshire’s White Mountains, Conway Scenic Railway takes riders through the wooded, picturesque Crawford Notch complete with sheared bluffs, woodland vistas and babbling brooks.

Shinkansen Bullet Train

Start: Tokyo, Japan
End: Akita, Japan
Ticket Price: To ride you’ll need a Japan rail pass — which is $274 for seven days at ordinary class travel rates.

For some people, the Shinkansen bullet train is just a part of life on their day-to-day travels, whereas for others it’s a magnificent, beautiful rail journey that takes travelers through some of Japan’s idyllic countrysides and below Mt. Fuji’s intimidating presence.

Inca Rail at Machu Picchu

Start: Ollantaytambo, Peru
End: Machu Picchu, Peru
Ticket Price: It’s only $98 to get aboard the Inca Rail to Machu Picchu.

Travel back through time, taking in the sights of the ancient 15th-century ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru. For just $98, you receive an all-inclusive round-trip ticket from Ollantaytambo to the landmark sites in Machu Picchu — getting an up-close-and-personal view of the historic ruins of years gone by. In case you’re traveling from Cusco to Ollantaytambo, you’ll need to hop a bus to get there.

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Demodara Loop

Start: Demodara, Sri Lanka
End: Ella, Sri Lanka
Ticket Price: A ride on the Demodara Loop is only $0.61.

Widely viewed as one of the world’s engineering marvels, hop aboard the Demodara railway loop to bask in the magnificent greenery and get off the beaten path in the Sri Lankan countryside. Legend has it that the spiral loop rail was inspired by a farmer’s suggestion to “build the railway similar to the way a turban was tied,” leading to the 441-foot-long loop.

Neiwan Line to Miaoli

Start: Hsinchu, Taiwan
End: Miaoli, Taiwan
Ticket Price: Truly a bargain for travelers, this rail excursion is only $3.25 per ride.

Hop about the Neiwan Line from Hsinchu to Neiwan for a gorgeous trek through the Taiwanese greenery. For an insanely affordable $3.25 ticket, you can hop aboard a train that will take you through the scenic western edge of Taiwan along the eponymous Taiwan Strait through to the Miaoli countryside.

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Driverless Dubai Metro

Start: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
End: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Ticket Price: The cost to ride the Dubai Metro for a standard class silver card is just $2.05.

Dubai is widely regarded as a playground for wealth and technology, so it should come as no shock that a futuristic, TRON-esque driverless train found its home in the UAE. Hop aboard the Dubai Metro to snake through the sea of lavish high rises and opulent neighborhoods — all without anyone at the helm.

Oslo to Bergen Rail Expedition

Start: Oslo, Norway
End: Bergen, Norway
Ticket Price: After currency conversion, this journey is only $121.36.

For a first-hand trip through the Nordic highlands, hop aboard the Oslo to Bergen rail expedition. For about $121, you can embark on a seven-hour journey through one of Europe’s highest mountain plateaus and explore Scandinavia from the comfort of your rail car.

Catania Centrale to Taormina Coastal Rail

Start: Catania Centrale, Italy
End: Taormina-Giardini, Italy
Ticket Price: To hop aboard this Sicilian coastal rail adventure, it’s only $11.14 for a ticket.

Hop on the Catania Centrale to Taormina leg of the Sicilian coastal rail for a true Italian “avventura.” Running along the oceanside through the gorgeous landscape of Sicily, your expedition offers plenty of opportunities for scenic detours for those who want to extend their adventure longer than the 49 minute travel time.

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InterCity 125 on the South Devon Railway

Start: Buckfastleigh, United Kingdom
End: Totnes, United Kingdom
Ticket Price: For a day on the rails in the British riverside, it’s only $18.56.

Take a trip back in time to a land of simpler pleasures, lush orchards and scenic greenery in the British countryside. Described on their official website as “[hugging] the River Dart offering beautiful, tranquil views of one of Devon’s most scenic valleys, with hardly a road in sight and little evidence of habitation.”

Montenvers Mer de Glace Red Train

Start: Chamonix, France
End: Montenvers, France
Ticket Price: It’s only $40.22 to take a scenic rail trip through the French Alps.

Hop aboard the Montenvers Red Train to take a scenic trip through glaciers, ice caves, and “the Temple of Nature.” See the snowcapped mountains and a seven-kilometer-long glacier — the longest in the world.

Kuranda Scenic Train

Start: Kuranda, Australia
End: Cairns, Australia
Ticket Price: For just $59.02 you can board this three-hour scenic expedition.

Venture into North Queensland’s Wet Tropics to see a slice of the world many never get to experience. Hop aboard the Kuranda scenic train to see “twelve hundred species of flowering plants, eight hundred different rainforest trees, spectacular orchids, strangler figs, exotic palms and hundreds of unique creatures inhabit this lush green world,” according to their website.

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Charlene Oldham contributed to the reporting for this article.