Ranked by each train's own cheapest standard cabin or seat, not its top suite — an apples-to-apples look at what it actually costs to board, in US dollars per person.
| Rank | Train | Cheapest cabin | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Golden Eagle — Silk Road Express (Central Asia) | $26,900 | Asia |
| 2 | Al Andalus (Spain) | $7,190 | Europe |
| 3 | Venice Simplon-Orient-Express | $4,934 | Europe |
| 4 | Maharajas' Express (India) | $4,890 | Asia |
| 5 | Eastern & Oriental Express (Malaysia) | $4,650 | Asia |
| 6 | Rovos Rail — Pride of Africa (South Africa) | $2,920 | Africa |
| 7 | Train Suite Shiki-Shima (Japan) | $2,150 | Asia |
| 8 | Seven Stars in Kyushu (Japan) | $2,020 | Asia |
| 9 | Rocky Mountaineer (Canada) | $1,635 | Americas |
| 10 | Belmond Andean Explorer (Peru) | $1,400 | Americas |
No matching rows.
The cheapest berth is a twin-share Silver Cabin on an 11-to-16-day journey across Central Asia — Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan among the stops. Golden Eagle's older, better-known Trans-Siberian route has largely given way to this one since 2022, when the operator stopped running trains through Russia.[1]
A seven-day loop through southern Spain — Seville, Córdoba, Cádiz, and Toledo — aboard restored 1920s carriages once used by British and French royalty on the Calais–Côte d'Azur run. It marked its 40th anniversary in 2025 by adding Madrid to the route for the first time.[2]
The cheapest fare is a shared Historic Twin Cabin on the one-night Paris–Venice run — no en-suite bathroom, just a fold-down basin, with the reward of one of the most photographed dining cars in the world. Longer multi-country routings run considerably higher.[3]
Operated by India's state railway, IRCTC, on a twin-share Deluxe Cabin basis for its shortest itinerary. Longer week-long routes through Rajasthan's palaces and forts push well past $8,000, and the Presidential Suite alone can top $24,000.[4]
The entry-level Pullman Cabin on the relaunched Singapore–Malaysia route, which revived the train's tiger-emblem livery in 2024 after a four-year pandemic hiatus. The original Bangkok–Singapore routing it was famous for no longer runs.[5]