See Special Offers on selected Train Tours for 2026 and 2027
Train tours in Australia: the kind of travel that lets you actually see the country
27 January 2026
You know how some trips feel like a blur of airports, hire cars, and “wait—what town was that?” moments? Train travel is sort of the opposite. It’s slower, but not in the boring way. More like… you get a moving window seat to Australia, and the logistics don’t have to become your full-time job.
That’s why I keep pointing people to Train Tours—an Australian booking site that curates rail journeys in Australia (and beyond), with tours built around the big-name routes like The Ghan, Indian Pacific, and Great Southern.
If you’re thinking, “Okay, but where do I even start?”—let’s make it simple.
First: pick your “Australia mood”
1) Red Centre + Top End: The Ghan
If the idea of travelling through the centre of the country sounds appealing (red earth, wide horizons, proper distance), The Ghan is the classic. It’s an outback rail journey between Adelaide and Darwin, with onboard comfort, dining, and off-train experiences along the way.
2) Coast-to-coast: Indian Pacific
Want the “crossing the whole continent” feeling without doing a huge road trip? The Indian Pacific links Sydney and Perth and takes you across the Nullarbor, with off-train touring built in.
3) Summer-ish, east-coast-ish: Great Southern
If you’d rather stitch together coastal towns and wine regions (and still keep it rail-based), Great Southern trips can be a really good fit. Think multi-day rail with curated stops, without needing to drive the whole way yourself.
“But I don’t know what dates I can do.” Start with the year.
One quietly useful thing on TrainTours.com.au is that you can browse by departure year—so instead of trawling a million pages, you can start with what’s realistic for your calendar.
If 2026 is your planning horizon, this page is a clean starting point:
2026 Train Tours
And if you just want to browse everything without overthinking it:
All Tours
Why book through Train Tours (instead of piecing it together yourself)?
I’m not going to pretend there’s only one way to do a rail holiday. But booking through a specialist can remove a few classic pain points—especially with premium rail routes where cabins, inclusions, and dates can get oddly specific.
- Curated rail journeys, not random listings. The site makes it easy to compare Australia’s signature trains in one place.
- Online browsing anytime, plus real humans if you want them. If you’re the type who likes to sanity-check details before committing, you can contact the team directly.
- Australia-based support. Handy if you’d rather deal with local hours and local context.
A practical way to choose the right tour (without spiralling)
If you’re anything like me, you’ll open 17 tabs and then forget why you started. So here’s a calmer approach:
- Choose the train first. Start with the overview page, then click through to the route that suits your vibe.
- Pick your direction. Perth → Sydney feels different to Sydney → Perth, mostly because the landscapes arrive in a different order.
- Decide whether you want “pure rail” or rail + extras. Some itineraries lean more independent; others add guided touring.
- Shortlist 2–3 itineraries and compare calmly. Check inclusions, cabin class options, and the dates that actually work.
Start here:
Australian Rail Journeys
If you’re buying for someone else: gift vouchers exist (and they’re flexible)
This is one of those “good problem solver” options when you want to give a meaningful travel present without guessing dates. Train Tours offers gift vouchers that can be used towards deposits or full payments, which can make planning feel a lot easier.
Booking pointers (the kind you’re glad you read once)
If you’re also thinking about flights or accommodation, it can be worth waiting until your rail booking is confirmed. It’s not dramatic—just… sensible.
You can also review practical info like payments and travel insurance here:
Travel insurance & payments
Ready to browse? Here are the best paths
- All Tours
- Australia tours
- 2026 Train Tours
- The Ghan tours
- Indian Pacific tours
- Great Southern tours
- Contact
If you want a quick recommendation: pick your travel window (even “mid-year” is fine), your preferred start city (Perth / Sydney / Adelaide / Brisbane), and whether you lean more outback or coastline—then match your shortlist from the links above.