15 Bucket List Moments On The World’s Longest Train Rides

There’s a unique kind of magic in traveling by train – it’s not just about getting from point A to point B. It’s about slowing down, watching the world unfold outside your window, and immersing yourself in a journey that becomes part of the adventure itself.

The longest train routes in the world don’t just offer a way to travel; they are experiences in their own right. From crossing vast deserts to winding through towering mountains, these legendary routes take you through some of the planet’s most breathtaking and remote landscapes. Ready to add some unforgettable moments to your travel bucket list? These epic train journeys promise to transform your idea of travel.

Whether you’re chasing the northern lights, traveling through vast wilderness, or passing through ancient cities, the memories will stay with you long after the last whistle blows. Have you ever experienced a long train journey? What’s your dream route?

1. Crossing the Siberian wilderness

Nothing prepares you for the vastness of Siberia from a Trans-Siberian Railway window. Miles of untouched taiga forest stretch to the horizon, creating a hypnotic rhythm as your train chugs along the world’s longest railway.

Winter journeys reveal frozen lakes glistening under sunlight while summer brings vibrant wildflowers painting the landscape. The true magic happens at dusk when the setting sun bathes everything in golden light.

Local families often gather at tiny stations, selling homemade pierogi and berries. Their weathered faces tell stories of generations surviving in this beautiful yet harsh wilderness – a glimpse into a world few outsiders ever witness.

2. Sunset over the Gobi Desert

The Trans-Mongolian Railway delivers a sunset spectacle unlike anywhere else on Earth. As your train rolls through the Gobi Desert, the sky erupts in a kaleidoscope of oranges, pinks and purples that seem to stretch infinitely across the barren landscape.

Sand dunes cast long, dramatic shadows while distant rock formations stand silhouetted against the fiery sky. The temperature drops rapidly, and you’ll feel the desert’s surprising chill seeping through your window.

Occasionally, you might spot nomadic herders guiding their animals home or the distinctive silhouette of a two-humped Bactrian camel wandering the endless expanse – fleeting connections to an ancient way of life.

3. Glacier views in the Canadian Rockies

The Canadian’s route through the Rockies offers front-row seats to some of North America’s most spectacular glaciers. These ancient ice rivers cascade down mountainsides in slow motion, their blue-white surfaces catching morning light in ways that seem almost otherworldly.

Your train slows deliberately through this section, allowing passengers to press against windows or stand in the observation car. The sound of collective gasps fills the air as particularly stunning vistas come into view.

Ravens soar on updrafts while occasional mountain goats perch impossibly on narrow ledges. The landscape feels primordial, untouched – as if you’ve traveled back to a time before humans, witnessing nature in its purest form.

4. Waking up in the Australian Outback

First light aboard The Ghan reveals a landscape that seems to belong to another planet. The Australian Outback stretches endlessly in every direction – a sea of rust-red earth dotted with spinifex grass and lonely eucalyptus trees.

Morning fog sometimes hugs the ground, creating an ethereal effect as kangaroos bound through the mist. The rising sun turns everything golden, then blindingly bright as the day’s heat begins its steady climb.

If you’re lucky, you might spot wild camels – descendants of those imported during the 19th century – or the distinctive silhouette of a wedge-tailed eagle soaring above. This moment, coffee in hand, witnessing Australia’s heart awakening, stays with travelers forever.

5. Tea served in a samovar car

When the attendant announces tea service in the samovar car on the Trans-Siberian Railway, experienced travelers move quickly. This isn’t just refreshment – it’s a cultural institution stretching back centuries.

The brass samovar gleams in the carriage, steam rising gently as hot water is dispensed into glasses held in ornate metal holders called podstakanniki. The tea itself is strong and black, meant to be diluted with hot water to your preference.

Conversations flow easily around the samovar as strangers become temporary companions. Russians share family photos, foreigners practice new phrases, and someone inevitably produces cookies or chocolate to share. These impromptu gatherings create connections that cross language barriers and last long after the journey ends.

6. Rolling through Swiss alpine tunnels

The Glacier Express creates a uniquely Swiss experience as it plunges into mountain tunnels. Daylight vanishes instantly, replaced by the rhythmic clacking of wheels against tracks and the pressure change that gently pops your ears.

These aren’t ordinary tunnels – they’re engineering marvels, some spiraling inside mountains to manage steep gradients. The darkness feels almost magical, building anticipation for what awaits on the other side.

When you emerge, the landscape has completely transformed – perhaps from sunny meadows to snow-covered peaks or from dense forest to open valley. Children (and many adults) count the seconds of darkness, turning these tunnels into impromptu games that mark the journey’s progress through Switzerland’s remarkable topography.

7. Wildlife sightings in South Africa

The Blue Train’s journey through South Africa turns into an impromptu safari when you least expect it. Early risers are rewarded with sightings of springbok pronking across golden grasslands or perhaps a distant giraffe silhouetted against the dawn sky.

Conversations halt mid-sentence when someone spots movement outside – maybe a troop of baboons scrambling over rocks or, if extraordinarily lucky, the tawny shape of a lion moving through tall grass. Binoculars appear from nowhere as passengers crowd windows.

Unlike game drives, these sightings feel special precisely because they’re unplanned. The train doesn’t stop, creating fleeting moments where wild Africa and human civilization briefly acknowledge each other before continuing on their separate ways, leaving you with memories that blend luxury travel with raw nature.

8. Dining car with a moving mountain view

Aboard the Rocky Mountaineer, breakfast becomes an extraordinary experience as servers deliver your meal precisely when the train rounds a bend revealing Mount Robson – the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies. The timing feels magical, though it’s actually carefully planned by the crew.

White tablecloths and silver service contrast beautifully with the wilderness outside your window. The gentle sway of the train somehow enhances rather than detracts from the dining experience.

Fellow travelers become instant friends as you collectively gasp at particularly stunning vistas. Conversations flow between bites of locally-inspired cuisine – perhaps salmon Benedict or huckleberry pancakes – creating a multisensory memory where taste, sight and human connection blend perfectly against a backdrop of untamed mountain majesty.

9. Endless rice fields in Vietnam

The Reunification Express offers mesmerizing views as it winds through Vietnam’s verdant rice paddies. Geometric patterns of emerald green stretch to the horizon, occasionally broken by the curved silhouette of a farmer in a conical nón lá hat tending crops by hand.

Water buffalo lumber through muddy fields while egrets stalk alongside, creating a timeless tableau that’s remained largely unchanged for centuries. During planting or harvest seasons, entire families work together, their colorful clothing creating bright dots against the green landscape.

When the train slows near villages, children often wave enthusiastically at passengers. This glimpse into rural Vietnamese life – sustainable, communal, and intimately connected to the land – provides a powerful contrast to the urban experiences most visitors seek, revealing the country’s agricultural heart.

10. Ocean views on the Coastal Pacific

New Zealand’s Coastal Pacific train hugs shorelines so close to the Pacific Ocean that you’ll swear you could reach out and touch the waves. The endless blue stretches toward the horizon on one side while dramatic mountains rise on the other, creating a natural corridor of breathtaking beauty.

Fur seals often lounge on rocky outcrops, barely visible until someone spots them and word spreads through the carriage. During migration seasons, lucky passengers might glimpse dolphins or even whales breaching offshore.

The train slows deliberately at particularly scenic points, allowing for photographs of turquoise bays where crystal waters meet golden beaches. These moments of perfect natural harmony – mountains, ocean, and sky in delicate balance – create memories that persist long after the journey ends.

11. Midnight border crossing excitement

Few train moments match the peculiar thrill of crossing international borders at midnight. The Paris-Moscow Express creates this unique experience as it transitions between countries in darkness, with passengers often staying awake despite the late hour.

The train stops completely as border officials board, checking documents with flashlights while you remain in your compartment. The atmosphere buzzes with anticipation – languages change, currency values shift, and even the width of the tracks sometimes requires special adaptations.

Fellow travelers exchange knowing glances during this liminal experience. You’re literally between nations, belonging nowhere for a brief magical interval. When the train finally lurches forward again, there’s often spontaneous applause – a shared acknowledgment that you’ve collectively completed a journey few modern travelers experience in our era of air travel.

12. Rolling fog over Scottish Highlands

The West Highland Line treats early risers to an ethereal ballet as morning fog rolls across Scotland’s ancient landscapes. Mist clings to valley floors, wrapping around the bases of mountains while leaving their tops exposed like islands in a cloudy sea.

Stone ruins occasionally emerge from the fog – perhaps an old croft house or the remnants of a castle – before disappearing again as if they were merely ghosts from Scotland’s storied past. The low sun creates dramatic rays through breaks in the clouds, spotlighting random patches of heather or gorse.

This constantly changing panorama feels almost cinematic, yet entirely unscripted. No two mornings are identical, making this experience impossible to predict but unforgettable when witnessed. The train seems to float through this dreamscape, creating a sense of timelessness that perfectly captures Scotland’s mystical essence.

13. Talking to locals in sleeper cabins

Overnight train journeys create unexpected intimacy between strangers. On China’s Beijing to Lhasa train, which climbs to the Tibetan Plateau, compartment conversations often begin hesitantly but transform into deep exchanges that last through the night.

Chinese businesspeople share family photos while students practice English with Western travelers. Tibetan pilgrims might explain the significance of prayer flags visible from windows or offer homemade tsampa (roasted barley flour) from cloth-wrapped packages.

As oxygen levels thin at higher altitudes, conversations often turn philosophical. Stories are exchanged, cultural misunderstandings cleared, and sometimes lifelong friendships formed. These human connections – forged in the liminal space of a moving train far from either traveler’s home – often become the most treasured souvenirs of the entire journey.

14. First glimpse of Machu Picchu

Peru’s PeruRail Expedition creates a moment of collective awe when passengers get their first view of Machu Picchu from the train. The ancient Incan citadel appears suddenly between mountain peaks, often wreathed in morning mist that parts just enough to reveal stone terraces and enigmatic structures.

The train deliberately slows here, allowing everyone to absorb this UNESCO World Heritage site from a vantage point few tourists experience. Photography becomes frantic as passengers try capturing the perfect shot through windows.

What makes this moment special isn’t just the view but the shared experience. Complete strangers exchange expressions of wonder and disbelief that human hands created something so perfect in such an inaccessible location. This first glimpse often surpasses even the later up-close exploration, carrying a magic that comes from the unexpected revelation.

15. Sunrise from a panoramic dome car

The California Zephyr’s glass-domed observation car transforms sunrise into a 360-degree spectacle that no photograph can truly capture. Arriving before dawn secures prime seating for nature’s daily masterpiece as darkness gives way to painted skies.

Colors shift moment by moment – indigos fading to purples, then pinks, oranges and finally brilliant gold as the sun crests distant mountains. The landscape below gradually reveals itself: perhaps Utah’s red rock formations or Colorado’s river valleys, each detail emerging from shadow like a developing photograph.

Fellow early-risers share this experience in reverent near-silence, occasionally pointing out particularly beautiful formations. Coffee steams from paper cups as the dome car fills with golden light. This daily miracle, viewed from inside a moving glass bubble, creates a peculiar intimacy with the landscape that feels almost spiritual.