Trains

The time-honoured, elegant, gracious choice for sophisticated travelers – and also very green!

Rail travel is the least polluting means of mass transportation. For example, a passenger on a return flight between London Heathrow and Paris Charles de Gaulle generates 122 kilograms of CO2 compared with just 11 kilograms for a traveller on a London-Paris return journey by train. And even over relatively shorter distances, a full train is at least twice as energy efficient as a full car.

There are so many reasons why travelling by train is a winner. You don't have to worry about checking-in two hours before departure for one thing and you can take as many pieces of hand luggage on board as you like. Gone are any potential arguments over road maps and directions and for the most part, your meal options extend beyond 'chicken' or 'beef'.

The other reason we at The Good Travel Company love train travel is because it's such a sociable way to travel. You’ll meet other travelers and locals and get a taste for the culture of a place, whether it’s gregarious Indians piling onto the carriage and haggling over sweets and tea, or cool Gauls crowding into the smoking car - its simply a great way to get to know a country and it’s people.

We can book you a train ticket just about anywhere in the world; Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, and the Americas. We can get you from A to B, purchase passes such as the Eurail that allows you to explore entire regions with only one ticket, and help you discover great new rail journeys that you might never have known existed.

We also offer tickets for some train journeys which are destinations in themselves. These include the Trans Siberian Railway that stretches from Moscow right through to Ulan Bator, The Legendary Ghan which travels 2,979 kilometres from Adelaide to Darwin, and the luxurious Palace of Wheels in India.

Train Passes

Europe

Inter Rail Passes – Only available to residents of the EU
Prices for Global InterRail pass
All prices for InterRail are in British £

InterRail One Country Passes

There are four price bands for InterRail One Country passes. Choose which country you want to visit and check which price applies.

Price Level 1

Countries: France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Great Britain

Price Level 2

Countries: Austria, Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg are grouped together), Finland, Greece Plus including Attica ferries between Italy and Greece, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Spain and Switzerland

Price Level 3

Countries: Croatia, Denmark, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Portugal and Romania

Price Level 4

Countries: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Turkey

Half-price InterRail passes are available for children from four to eleven years of age. Discounted passes are available for youths (aged between twelve and twenty-five years). There are no age limits for adult InterRailers.

To buy an InterRail pass, you must have been resident in Europe for at least six months. And you can not buy a pass valid for the country in which you live.

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Eurail

The Eurail provides unlimited travel on the rail networks of 18 countries throughout Europe. This pass is for people who reside outside of the EU.

Countries you can explore with a Eurail pass include Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland (Republic), Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

A Consecutive Pass is valid for 15 days, 21 days, 1- 2 or 3 month period (consecutive days). Travel days may be used consecutively or non consecutively .

A day of rail travel is a 24 hour period from midnight to midnight. This allows for unlimited travel on any number of trains for each day of use.

Prices (US Dollars)

* Child Fare 50% off 1st class Adult fare

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USA

USA Rail Passes with Amtrak

Prices (US Dollars)

Please note: a Pass Issuance Fee of $ 12 per pass will be added to the above prices.
Prices are updated weekly due to the Exchange Rate and are guaranteed until Monday 5pm.

Fare Types

• Adult
• Child: 2 - 15 years

Conditions

• Passengers must present their Pass & Passport at an Amtrak Rail office prior to the date of travel for validation.
• Your Pass must be validated within 12 months of date of issue.
• Reservations are required for most trains.
• Amtrak Rail Passes are valid for travel on all Amtrak Rail services except Acela Express, Metroliners, Auto trains, some thruway services and VIA Rail Canadian portions of trains jointly operated with Amtrak.
• A Peak fare will be charged if any period of the Pass falls into the Peak Period. i.e. If a 15 Day Pass is purchased for travel commencing 18 May because the last three days of the Pass fall within the Peak Period then the Peak Pass fare is charged irrespective of whether the traveller wishes to travel on any of these 3 days.
• Children: children aged 2 -15 yrs travel at half price when accompanied by a full paying adult (maximum 2 children per adult). One child under 2 yrs travels free per adult.
• Youth & Seniors: no discount applies.

Refunds

• Tickets must be returned to the issuing office totally unused and within 12 months from date of issue.
• A 25% cancellation fee plus tax applies.

Lost Ticket Policy

• If ticket is lost, the passenger will need to pay for a new ticket. Replacement tickets cannot be issued.
• Passenger may apply for a refund of the lost ticket. If, after a five-month waiting period, the ticket does not show up in the systems as having been spoiled, refunded, exchanged, or lifted, it will be refunded. A USD$75.00 service charge per application will be deducted. Also, if an actual refund is wanted (and not an exchange voucher) and the ticket was not repurchased, a 25% refund fee applies as well.

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Japan

Japan Rail Passes

Explore the ancient temples, countryside and cities of Japan with a Japan Rail Pass.

High speed and safety are features of the JR system where 300 km/h Shinkansens (bullet trains) connect Tokyo with Japan's major cities at intervals of approximately 15 minutes. Long distance trains provide convenient access to all parts of Japan.

With 20,000 kilometres of track, Japan Rail is an intricate rail network that covers the 4 main islands - Hokkaido in the north, the main island of Honshu, and Shikoku and Kyushu in the south. Visit popular cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe, or explore the beautiful regional areas where you'll find the attractions of the Gero Hot Springs, Nagoya Castle, Kenroku-en Garden, Mt Fuji and Himeji Castle (also known as 'White Heron Castle").

Prices

$US price per person

Please note: a Pass Issuance Fee of $12 per pass will be added to the above prices.

Prices are updated weekly due to the Exchange Rate and are guaranteed until Monday 5pm.

Fare Types

• Adult
• Child: 6 - 11 years

The Japan Rail Pass is valid on the following railway, bus and ferry services:

• RAILWAYS
• AII JR Group
• Railways
  * Shinkansen super express (except "NOZOMI"), limited express trains and rapid or local trains (not usable on some trains)
• JR Bus Companies
  * Local lines of JR Bus Tohoku, JR Bus Kanto, JR Tokai Bus, West Japan JR Bus, Chugoku JR Bus, JR Hokkaido Bus and JR Kyushu Bus.
• JR Bus Divisions
  * Local bus lines of JR Shikoku.
• BUSES - JR Highway Bus Lines
  * Morioka - Hiroskai/ Amori / Towadako * Sapporo - Otaru
  * Tokyo - Shizuoka/Hamamatsu/Okazaki/Toyota/Nagoya/Kyoto/Osaka/Tsukuba Centre
  * Nagoya - Kyoto / Osaka - Osaka - Tsuyama Car Shed / Kasai Flower Centre
• FERRIES - JR Ferry
  * Miyajima - Miyajimaguchi, except "BEETLE II" (Hakata - Pusan)
  * There are 2 types of passes available: GREEN (superior class Green cars) and ORDINARY
  * Validity: 7, 14 or 21 consecutive days.
  * Children 6 - 11yrs inclusive: special child rate. One child under 6yrs travels free per paying adult.
  * The full name of the passenger as per their passport including middle name must be provided.
  * A copy of the passenger's passport may be required.

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Carbon Offsetting