Five epic rail-and-sail journeys to book for 2027

If you believe the romance of travel is dead, think again, because it’s not all about speed and convenience. The growing appetite to relive travel’s golden age on classic ocean voyages, twinned with unforgettable train journeys, means more people are discovering that the journey can be as important as the destination. From the classic pairing of Alaska and the Rocky Mountaineer to less common combinations such as Japan’s bullet trains followed by a cruise around the archipelago, here are some rail and sail escapes to plan ahead. Australia’s Great Southern railway and Great Barrier Reef The Great Southern Train travels between Adelaide and Brisbane (Photo: Journey Beyond) Pair one of Australia’s most spectacular natural wonders with a man-made one, riding the rails for almost 2,000 miles before leaving land behind. Guests board the Great Southern Railway in Adelaide for a two-night ride that cuts through the rolling hills of the Grampians National Park and snakes along the New South Wales coast to Queensland, finishing up in Brisbane. After four nights in the city, you’ll join Grand Princess for a week-long voyage to the Whitsunday Islands and Cairns, gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. Enjoy the contrast between the 28-carriage Great Southern train, holding up to 214 guests, and the classic-style Grand Princess, holding 2,610 passengers. Departs 8 Dec 2027, from £4,599pp, including flights, fredholidays.co.uk Shorts Alaska and the Rocky Mountaineer The Rocky Mountaineer approaching Jasper in Alberta (Photo: Steve Stringer Photography/Getty) It’s easy to see why the Rocky Mountaineer train is such a popular add-on to Alaska cruises. Canada’s spectacular mountain scenery is the perfect complement to the starkly beautiful wilderness along Alaska’s Inside Passage. The six-night Canadian portion of the trip starts in Calgary, after which you’ll explore the Unesco-listed national parks around Banff before embarking on a two-day rail journey to Vancouver, hopping off to stay overnight in hotels en route. There follows a 10-night voyage from Vancouver to Seward aboard one of Viking’s sleek ships, unlocking misty fjords and breathtaking glaciers, where you can take off on floatplanes to spot bears catching salmon, or head out by boat in search of humpback whales. Departs 26 Aug 2027, from £11,094pp for the 17-night package, including flights, viking.com South America and Machu Picchu There are bucket list moments aplenty on this trip. From Peru’s capital, Lima, you’ll fly to Cusco, where the luxury Belmond Hiram Bingham train travels for three hours up to Aguas Calientes for the Inca ruins at Machu Picchu. After an overnight stay at the Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel, guests catch the train back to Cusco before returning to Lima. From here, there’s a flight to Buenos Aires for two nights before joining Celebrity Equinox for a 14-night round-trip voyage, which includes stops at Montevideo in Uruguay and the Falkland Islands before rounding Cape Horn to call at Argentina’s southernmost city, Ushuaia, and Punta Arenas in Chile. Departs 18 Feb 2027, from £8,299pp, including flights, rolcruise.co.uk Japan by bullet train and ship There’s a frisson of excitement surrounding Japan’s legendary bullet trains, which whisk passengers at lightning speed between cities. On this 17-night adventure, you’ll spend a few days in Tokyo, during which time you’ll be swept aboard a sleek Shinkansen to Mount Fuji – another Japanese icon. This is followed by an 11-night sailing aboard Celebrity Millennium – one of the line’s classic midsize ships, which holds around 2,200 passengers. It sails to some of Japan’s key cities, including Kobe, Nagasaki and Osaka – passengers can travel from the latter to the country’s cultural heart in Kyoto (inset above) with its evocative collection of temples and shrines and fascinating geisha culture. Departs 15 Apr 2027, from £4,199pp, including flights, iglucruise.com Glacier Express and Rhine cruise A carriage on the Glacier Express train (Photo: Stefan Schlumpf/Glacier Express) Known as “the window to the Swiss Alps”, the Glacier Express offers a rooftop view of Switzerland as it glides between snow-capped peaks and deep gorges on an unforgettable journey from the foot of the Matterhorn. It’s a highlight of a 10-night escorted tour that starts with a different type of train as guests take the Eurostar to Brussels, before swapping trains to Cologne to join the Amadeus Cara river ship. The one-week Rhine cruise includes calls at Koblenz, Boppard and Heidelberg, with a memorable passage through the breathtaking Unesco-protected Rhine Gorge. It is followed by a two-night stay in Zermatt, from where the Glacier Express departs, and one night in Switzerland’s oldest town, Chur. Departs 5 Aug 2027, from £4,499pp, including return Eurostar rail travel, greatrail.com