Ten Day Rail Trip To National Parks Of The West
While exploring new vacation ideas, I recently came across what many insiders say is about to become the modern-day equivalent of the 20th century luxury ocean cruise. Called a rail cruise, it puts travelers looking for a one-of-a-kind holiday experience on board classic trains plying some of America's most picturesque countryside. The outings, which take anywhere from several days to more than a week, offer travelers luxurious furnishings, delicious food and world-class service in an exclusive environment usually limited to only about a hundred passengers.
If you watch TV's Travel Channel, you may already be familiar with rail cruising from a travel guide about one of these tour trains, the American Orient Express (AOE). The train, which was recently renamed the GrandLuxe Express when AOE's parent company changed its name to GrandLuxe Rail Journeys, is made up of polished, aerodynamically-shaped lounge and dining cars that originally hail from the 1940s and 1950s. Inside, mahogany and brass give the cars a stylish art-deco flair that definitely calls forth the Golden Age of train travel.
GrandLuxe Rail Journeys sends its trains on excursions that offer passengers views and experiences never dreamed of by previous generations of steamship cruisers. One of the most breathtaking has to be National Parks of the West, a 10-day luxury pleasure trip that starts its south-to-north leg in Albuquerque, New Mexico. From there, the train winds its way to Santa Fe, Sedona, the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, a choice of Bryce Canyon or Zion National Parks, Salt Lake City, Yellow Stone National Park and ultimately, Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park. There's also a version of the excursion that starts in Wyoming and then moves south (instead of north) to finish up in Albuquerque.
Another unforgettable excursion has to be the 9-day journey that visits four of the Pacific Northwest's most beautiful national parks. For those who start their journey with the the eastbound leg of the Great Northwestern National Parks tour, the trip begins in Seattle, Washington, and heads first to Mt. Rainier National Park, where train passengers can enjoy a stunning view of the Cascade Range's highest peak (14,410 feet). After that it's on to the Columbia River Gorge, beautiful Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, pristine Glacier National Park, Helena, Montana, and finally Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. Westbound travelers start at Grand Teton and finish their excursion in the Emerald City of Seattle.
Mind you, these are high-end tours that offer outstanding comfort and five-star cuisine in a truly unique environment, so expect to pay accordingly. Fares for the 2008 season, which includes eight different departure dates between early May and late June, start at 5,250 dollars per person for the National Parks of the West Tour. The Northwestern National Parks tour starts at 4,710 dollars per person. Included in the fare is the cost of travel, some of the finest cuisine on rails and on board sleeping accommodations in two-person, original Pullman sleeper cars. If you take advantage of the early booking option, you can save roughly 250 dollars off the cost of a normal fare.
If fares like these are just too steep for your wallet, you can still enjoy the luxury of rail cruising. GrandLuxe Rail Journeys also offers rail trips that are significantly easier on the pocketbook. For example, you can cruise from Chicago to Los Angeles for 1,599 dollars or take one of many 789-dollar trips that service like Washington, D.C. and Miami, Denver and San Francisco, Denver and Chicago, and Chicago and Washington, D.C.
Matthew Paolini is Citybook.com's compliance officer for the Eugene, OR online Yellow Pages division.
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