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- [00:00]
Progressive Insurance Announcer
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Alison Stewart
This is all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. We continue this hour with another conversation our listeners couldn't get enough of this week. Train travel. Lonely Planet has a book out called Lonely Planet Amazing Train Journeys, the ultimate guide to 60 remarkable rail experiences with stunning photography, route maps and expert insights. We talked about it with Tom hall, vice president and editor of Lonely Planet. He put together a great list for us, so we've asked him to come on back. Hi, Tom.
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Tom Hall
Hello there. Thank you for having me back.
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Alison Stewart
So glad you could come back. And we loved hearing your accounts of your train trips. Our phone lines blew up last time, so we didn't get to everybody. So feel free to call in now. What's the best train ride you've ever been on, either in the US or internationally? What makes a train ride stand out from traveling by plane or car? Maybe you're going to travel this plan year and it involves a train ride.
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Tom Hall
Where are you going?
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Alison Stewart
Our number is 2124-3396-9221-2433 W. I see. Let's get into some some basics when we're booking train travel like the ones we're going to be discussing. What advice do you have for the logistics side of train travel? How far should we book in advance? What should we keep in mind?
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Tom Hall
How far you should book in advance depends really on where you're going. But broadly, you tend to have shorter booking windows than you would do for a flight. So six months is, is almost is is pretty much standard. You get sort of three months in some cases, nine months in some unusual one. Some trains I'm speaking to you from London and the train from London to Paris, you can book up to a year in advance, but the best thing to do is look as far as you can. Most bookings will operate the kind of dynamic pricing that we see on flights. So the earlier you book, the better value that you get. In some cases, if you're going a little bit off the beaten track, you'll still need to get your ticket when you arrive at the station. But generally speaking, the Internet's your friend, just like it is if you're getting on a plane.
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Alison Stewart
All right, let's get back to Your list. There were several that we didn't get to. We're going to start with Switzerland's Glacier Express. Tell us the highlights of this line.
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Tom Hall
Well, Switzerland is just a stunningly beautiful place. I probably don't need to tell your, your listeners that it's railways. They run like Swiss clockwork. And the Glacier Express is arguably the jewel in the crown. I say arguably because pretty much any journey in Switzerland is just stunning. But glass is an eight hour journey from San Moritz. Sounds a bit ritzy. Ditzy. I think it is. And it runs through to. To Zermatt in the shadow of the Matterhorn. And it goes through what you would consider this archetypal Swiss scenery. Beautiful alpine terrain, going across these amazing mountain passes, crosses, I think you know, the hundreds and hundreds of bridges, almost 300 bridges and goes through almost 100 tunnels. It's. It is. It is not a fast train, funnily enough, considering it called the Glacier Express. But you prob probably won't care if you're on. Really is a highlight of any visit to Europe. It's also not cheap. But a tip for people is that there are other trains that run on the same route, slightly faster and slightly cheaper. So look for traveling between San Moritz and CH and Samurit and Zermatt. And you can generally get better deals than you can on the Express itself. But then you don't get the big windows. So take your pick.
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Alison Stewart
Generally speaking, what types of accommodations are there on the train? Is there economy? Is there first class? Is the cost difference great.
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Tom Hall
So you would normally be looking at two classes of service. So your second class economy class and then, and then a first class. The distinction between the two, I think it can sometimes be a false cost to go for first class. If we're talking about Swiss trains, for example, second class is pretty good, economy class is pretty good and you might get open windows and you would still be able to access things like the dining car and things like that. There are cases where it's worth spending a little bit more. I think if you're thinking about a sleeper train or a night train going up in cost, it will get you more privacy, it will get you more space, it will get you more facilities as well. But that has to be balanced with what is higher costs and sometimes lower availability too.
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Alison Stewart
And before we leave the Switzerland Glacier Express, is there an ideal time of year to take this trip?
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Tom Hall
Well, I, I think doing the train in summer will give you this. Just beautiful alpine meadows and wildflower scenery. But funnily enough, if you go in winter and you get the right weather, you will just have incredible snowy landscapes which would be jaw droppingly beautiful. But there is a risk that you go on a day when it's a bit cloudy and a bit misty. So I would say May, June is probably the best time to go.
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Alison Stewart
Let's take a few calls.
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Call Screen Host
Melanie is calling from Lock Arbor. Hi Melanie, thank you for calling all of it.
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Alison Stewart
Where did you go?
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Caller
Hi, thank you. Well, one is the Copper Canyon in Mexico, the Copper Canyon train ride which is sort of like the Grand Canyon of Mexico. And it's really a wonderful trip and you stop along the way, you stay overnight along the way places and it just, you really get exposed to a lot of the culture of the different people that are, you know, in each of the places and it's really a wonderful, wonderful trip. Beautiful.
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Call Screen Host
Thank you so much for calling in. David is calling from Dobbs Ferry. Hi David, thank you for calling all of it.
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Caller
Thank you. Yeah, I wanted to say I've been across Australia on a train from Perth on the west coast, the India Ocean all the way to Adelaide on the south and then up to Cairns in the north. It's a fantastic wilderness experience. About three days going across east, west to east and at night it's the most fantastic views of unobstructed, very dry and unobstructed atmosphere and the stars are absolutely amazing.
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Call Screen Host
Thank you so much. Let's talk to Mark from the Upper west side. Hi Mark, thanks for calling all of it.
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Caller
Hi. I'd like to recommend the Kyle Line which goes from Inverness in Scotland to Kyle of Lahalsh. And what's amazing about it is it's a relatively short train ride but the scenery changes completely every few miles from possibly snow capped mountains to palm trees and succulents. It's just extraordinary. And they give you a little guide that tells you what to expect at every mile marker.
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Call Screen Host
Thank you so much for calling in. Three good recommendations. I'm speaking with Tom hall, vice president editor of Lonely Planet. We're discussing some of his favorite train rides and destinations to travel by train. We're also hearing from you. What's the best train ride you've been on? What makes the train stand out from traveling by plane or car? Maybe you have something planned this year. We'd like to hear about it. 2124-3396-9221-2433 wnyc Tom, our next train R in New Zealand. Tell us more.
- [07:57]
Tom Hall
Yes, just once again enjoying how well traveled your listeners are with fantastic suggestions There I, I hope mine can, can come up to, to the same bar. So this train in New Zealand, there it is off the, you know, a few hours flight off the coast of, of Australia, the transalpine train on the south island of New Zealand. This is another one, a little bit like Mark, what Mark was saying about the, the Kyle Line in Inverness. And it goes from Christchurch on the, on the east coast of the south island, right across the Southern Alps of, of the south island of New Zealand to, to the, to the West Coast. It's, it's a beautiful mountainous journey, but it is this graded change that you get as you go up and over the mountains that really stays in people's minds. And it is a joy to ride because it has this open observation car that you can go and stand in and it's fresh air that slowly gets colder as you go up and then warms up again as you're descending onto the, onto the West Coast. But superb coastal scenery, superb alpine scenery, and also the gateway to some adventures on the west coast of South Island. Whether you like bungee jumping or exploring glaciers or all kinds of amazing things, it's a really stunning part of the world.
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Alison Stewart
We actually have a caller from New Zealand. He lives in Lakewood right now. Hi, Frank, thanks for calling, all of it.
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Caller
Yes, good afternoon. I just wanted to call and share your sentiment with the train ride on New Zealand's south island through the Southern Alps. I took that ride back in December of 2005. It was absolutely spectacular. You're going through some of the most rugged mountainous terrain and forests in the whole world and you're going at a very slow pace using that observation car that looks like it was built in the 1800s. You're going very slowly because the terrain is not the easiest. It is absolutely spectacular. I recommend it to anyone. In fact, I recommend visiting New Zealand to anybody. It is one of the most beautiful countries in the world.
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Alison Stewart
Frank, thanks for calling in. Frank wasn't from New Zealand. He was a New Zealand caller, I should say. My guest is Tom hall, vice president and editor of Lonely Planet. We're discussing some of your favorite train rides and destinations to travel by train. It's take two this week, Tom, and train rides were very, very popular. I wanted to ask about something. Well, food options. We all know about airplane food. When you're on the train, should you expect to have meals given to you? Do you pack your own? What's expected?
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Tom Hall
So this, this can vary hugely depending on where you are. I have to say it, it is an area where Amtrak long distance services have a really wonderful kind of throwback atmosphere to them. You know, if you're on something like the California Zephyr train that we were talking about last time, you know, you, you will go, you, you'll be sitting with people that you don't know, you're served a meal and you just get to chat to people. It's, it's a really pleasant way to enjoy the journey that is, you know, similar to the experience that you get on some railways in Europe. German trains, for example, Swiss trains still come with them with buffet cars. A little secret actually is that Polish and Czech dining cars are probably the best in the world. They're really fantastic. So, and very good value, especially if you eat on them actually in those countries. But, and there's a big but on here. Increasingly as trains modernize, the area that's set aside for dining tends to shrink and you, and you would get more sort of snacky stuff. So if you're on a French high speed train, for example, it's a very fast train, it's pretty exciting being on it. But the food is not cordon bleu at your seat dining. For that you need to go to a premium service, a premium train of some description which can really be worth it as a, as a one off experience. If anybody's visiting London, there is a day trip which uses rolling stock that's not dissimilar from the Orient Express. It takes you out into the countryside to the south and east of London and you're served beautiful food at your seat. That is a really lovely add on to a day if you're spending a few days here.
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Call Screen Host
We got a text that says, after graduating college in 1982, I enjoyed two months of the great unlimited second class travel provided by what was then called Eurail pass. Does something like that still exist?
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Tom Hall
Eurail passes are still going strong and they can still represent excellent value, especially if you're a younger traveler. They're not just for young people. If you're over 26 and indeed there are senior versions that are available too, they can be good value. To put a just a note on them though is if you're just doing four to five point to point journeys, maybe you're going, I don't know, from Rome to Florence and sort of Venice to Vienna or something like that, it may well be better value to just book a seat on the train as you would do normally. So depends how much travel you're actually going to do. But the passes are still there and they exist on your mobile phone now rather than as a. A pad of paper.
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Call Screen Host
Susan from Astoria is calling us. Hi, Susan. Where'd you go?
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Caller
Oh, I went since a few years ago, but I went from Cusco in Peru to Machu Picchu and stayed there a night in Aguas Calientes and went on. Then we went on to, like the continue longer on to Lake Titicaca in Peru. That's, I think, one of the highest bodies of water inland. And it's Aymara Indians lived there. And we did this the cheaper way. And we stayed with Indian. It was usually the Indian culture. We didn't take a tourist train. You just take the regular train. But from Lake Titicaca, we went across, across the lake, actually on an old, old English boat. And then we. Then we continued on from there across the altiplano. It's very high and 11,000ft.
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Call Screen Host
I think it sounds like I'm going to dive in there. It sounds like you had a wonderful trip. Thank you so much for calling in. Let's go to Louise in Brooklyn. Hey, Louise.
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Caller
Hi. How are you? Allison, I have a question. I would like to know what your guest has to say about the Canadian Rockies. We're talking about maybe going in September.
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And I'd just like to know if.
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That'S a good time to go.
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And what does he think about the.
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Train that does make that trip?
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Call Screen Host
Tom, what do you think?
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Tom Hall
Oh, well, I would definitely encourage. I'd definitely encourage Louise to go. I think there's two different ways you can do it. In brief, there's the regular Canadian VIA Rail service, which is like, you know, their equivalent of Amtrak. There's also a premium train, which is the Rocky Mountaineer. Both of them will, will take you, you know, roughly from Vancouver up, you know, up into the, into the Rockies. And it's a, it's a wonderful journey to be. To be honest with you. That time of year is very good for full foliage, and you get fewer, fewer crowds than you would do if you were doing the trip in July or August. So just pack waterproofs just in case. But I would think, yeah, great time to go.
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Alison Stewart
And this is your final train. You're from the UK So I imagine you're familiar with your last pick. London to Fort William on the caled sleeper. You describe this as one of the world's most iconic train journeys. What's special about it?
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Tom Hall
Okay, so if you're traveling on the Caledonian sleeper, you leave London in the evening. You doze off as you're chugging through The English Midlands. But you awake in the Scottish Highlands, you know, with this rugged, remote scenery on a single track line. Maybe a spotting deer from the train you will get. You know, you could have breakfast in the, in the lounge car. This train has a lovely lounge car. The evening before, we'll serve you a whiskey and you pull into Fort William in the shadow of Ben Nevis. It's really very lovely. Consider extending your journey from Fort William to a place called Mallague. There's a daily steam service in the summer called the Jacobite. You'll cross the Glenfinnan viaduct, which will be familiar to anyone who's seen Harry Potter as the bridge that the train goes over on its way to Hogwarts.
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Alison Stewart
I have to ask you, I read a review of this train and one stood out to me. The person on the train, Mr. Connection. It was late. That is something to consider when you're taking the train.
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Call Screen Host
You might get caught up in the romance of it.
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Tom Hall
Right?
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Alison Stewart
But you should be careful about the rest of your trip.
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Tom Hall
Yes, it is true, things can go wrong with trains as they can with planes as they can. When you get in your car, missed connections can be a reality of it. The, the great thing is that trains generally pull into city centers. So if you did find yourself stuck somewhere for an additional night, you're not going to be far from finding somewhere to stay. And also, if you're traveling in a lot of places in the world, there, there aren't. There isn't just one train a day, there are many trains. So you'll generally get where you need to get to with just a small delay.
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Call Screen Host
Let's talk to Alan in New Canaan. Alan, you have 30 seconds to tell us where you went.
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Caller
I saw the Bergen, but the best part is Miradal, which is in the middle of the Norwegian mountains. You take a train that goes down through the waterfalls to a place called Slum, on which from which you can grab a boat to go the rest of the way to Bergen. It's the most incredible waterfall train journey in the world. You can also walk it. You can also bicycle it. You can do one way bicycle the other way train. I highly recommend it. I've done it many times.
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Call Screen Host
Alan, thank you so much. And thank you to Tom hall, vice president and editor of Lonely Planet. We were talking about trains.
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Alison Stewart
Thanks again.
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Call Screen Host
Tomorrow.
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Tom Hall
Thank you so much. Cheers.
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Progressive Insurance Announcer
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