TASTE OF THE ORIENT ON THE ( OPULENT )HIBERNIA EXPRESS
Taking a train journey is, for me, one of the great joys of travel. Be it a short hop along the north coast of Ireland, the Coleraine to Derry line, where the route takes you right along Lough Foyle, a point-to-point city train (with a difference) like the Eurostar from London to Paris, or one of the great majestic train journeys of the world like the Blue Train trip from Cape Town to Pretoria, all are exciting in their own way.
I have taken numerous rail journeys around the world over the years – including the three above – and regularly do the Milan to Venice route on a Trenitalia inter-city train, especially in winter when all the direct flights from Ireland to Venice dry up for a few months. Paris to Venice, meanwhile – in daylight – is a superb journey. Leaving Paris just before 7am, you pull into Venice at around 5.30pm.
The scenery is beautiful, the train (two, actually, because you change in either Milan or Turin) is top-notch, really comfortable, you can plug in your laptop, and the dining car does pretty decent food. (The online booking system for French and Italian train travel is also a doddle and surprisingly good value, particularly if you book well in advance.)
In another league altogether, I have been fortunate to have experienced the legendary Venice Simplon-Orient-Express train a couple of times and yes, it is the business. A thing of beauty, it is also a thing of history, and everything onboard is done to absolute perfection. You pay for this luxury and attention to detail, all right, but they really do deliver the goods.
The Orient-Express people (now under the Belmond label – check out belmond.com) offer other train journeys in addition to their signature London-Paris-Venice trip on the Venice Simplon-Orient Express. There are other European journeys as well, for instance, and then, further afield, their Eastern & Oriental train meanders through Thailand and Malaysia all the way to Singapore.
Closer to home, of course, on British soil, the company has for
many years operated the likes of the beautiful British Pullman and the Royal Scotsman.
And now, here in Ireland, we are to get our very own OrientExpress treatment with the introduction of the Grand Hibernian which will operate a number of journeys covering the north and south of the island.
Belmond has bought 10 carriages from Íarnrod Éireann and these will be converted – to utter perfection, no doubt, and using a great deal of Irish talent and expertise – to accommodate up to 40 passengers across 20 ensuite compartments. (The original OE train on the London/Venice route has no ensuite facilities due to the historic nature of the carriages.)
On the Grand Hibernian you will be able to choose between a two-night, four-night and sixnight journey and there will be opportunities for plenty of off-the-rails visits to various tourist sights along the route. (If my experience of the Venice Simplon-Orient Express is anything to go by, however, you won’t want to leave the train.)
Like all of the OE train experiences, this is special occasion territory and the price tag reflects that – starting at €3,200 per person for the two-night journey, inclusive of all food and drinks on board and all excursions.
The good news, though, is that the Grand Hibernian won’t take to the rails in Ireland until the summer of 2016. So you can start saving now...