Post Last Modified – February 27, 2025 ¦ gr8traveltips.com
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A Closer Look At The Ghan Luxury Train Travel In Australia
One of the most anticipated and the most expensive part of our Australia vacation,
was an overnight journey on the famous Ghan Luxury Train.
I thought I would share our {personal review and experience} with you, on our journey taken a few years ago.
Hopefully this will assist, should you choose to experience a ride on Great Southern Railways …
The Ghan
First, check out my short amateur video I put together showing some of our personal photos taken while on our journey a few seasons back.
The Ghan Luxury Train In Australia – YouTube Video
A Brief Look At The Ghan Luxury Train
Ideally named after Afghan Cameleers who trekked into this vast baron land over 150 years ago, opening a new frontier. Today the train runs from Darwin to the north, all the way down to Adelaide to the south.
The full journey takes 3 days, including a 2 night stay on the train and covers approximately 2970 kilometers in 54 hours.
In service for almost 85 years, it is known as Australia’s National Treasure!
You also have the choice of a half trip as we did, from Alice Springs in the mid point of the full journey, to your choice of north to Darwin or south to Adelaide.
This is about a 24 hour trip with one night stay on the train.
Gold Class Service On The Ghan
After careful consideration and recommendations from our travel agent, and having never experienced
an overnight stay in a train cabin, we decided to treat ourselves to their …
Gold Service
Without going into great detail about the inclusions for both, here is a simple review of our Gold Service experience, and a few recommendations for those of you on strict budgets, as we always are.
Platinum Service is also available for those individuals not budget conscious and looking for top level service.
At the bottom of this article, I have included a link to Great Southern Rails official website for your convenience. You can explore; options, itineraries, prices and much more.
Outback Explorer Lounge
Upon our arrival at the train station and after a comfortable overnight stay in {Alice Springs}, check-in was; quick, friendly and well organized as expected.
Gold and Platinum customers are invited to relax and enjoy complimentary beverages in the Outback Explorer Lounge, while waiting for your private cabin to open.
The lounge is comfortable and well-appointed, with friendly staff always at your service!
* All your drinks, both alcohol and non- alcohol are included in this choice of service and unlimited for the duration of your journey! *
This feature was fairly new, as an added inclusion during our visit.
I would have been very disappointed if this was not the case, only because of the high cost associated with a; Gold Class ticket.
Do keep in mind, that I am comparing; food, alcohol and other expenses, to what they would normally cost back home in North America. In our one month stay in Australia, you can pretty much double what you would pay at home.
You can however, travel to Australia on a strict budget as we did, making it a very affordable vacation.
The Ghan’s Gold Class Cabin Appointment
Cabins in this service are available for; singles and couples. Singles have small appointed private cabins, with shared baths.
We had fold down single beds, equipped with a private bath and shower.
The cabin was quite comfortable for the two of us. My wife did note, that for the cost and the
luxury brand associated with {Gold Class}, our view window had not been cleaned and was dirty.
As well, dusting and thorough vacuuming had not been done in quite some time, in and around the cabin.
We enjoy all forms of travel, from extremely casual backpacking, to wonderful stays in luxury hotels.
What we had to pay for this short journey, we were quite surprised at the lack of attention to detail. 🤔
The Trains – Queen Adelaide Restaurant
Along with access to the Outback Lounge car, Gold and Platinum passengers enjoy First Class dining in the …
Queen Adelaide Car
Without a doubt and for us anyway, this was the highlight of our {Ghan} train journey!
Passengers are treated to a variety of specially prepared 🦘 Australian dishes by onboard chefs.
Excellent service was received from staff serving all our meals, that will leave you satisfied and happy!
This was also a great opportunity to sit with, meet and enjoy the company of fellow passengers on board the train. It goes without saying, the dining and service was the highlite of our trip.
The meals were first class and beautifully presented!
Hats off to the chefs for making this part of the journey simply outstanding!
It doesn’t get any better than this at any fine dining restaurant on land.
Especially with these amazing chefs having to work and prepare these outstanding dishes in such
small quarters!
Red Class Service On The Ghan
During our journey, we were able to check out the {Red Class Cars}. We found them to be quite comfortable, with spacious and comfortable looking reclining chairs.
There was also a well-appointed casual diner offering; assorted snacks, light meals and beverages both alcoholic and non-alcoholic available for purchase.
You also have access to washrooms and shower facilities in this class. All in all, very comfortable for individuals traveling on a tighter budget.
I must say and after our experience taking the {24 hour} leg of the journey, this would have been a much better choice for us traveling on a budget.
The fare paid for Gold service and for our own personal needs, we found it to be way too expensive.
This, especially when you convert the currency to Canadian funds. This is my personal opinion only and for what we had anticipated and had expected.
The train has very comfortable looking cars and service offered for; {Red Class} passengers.
Certainly something to consider, if you’re wanting to experience and take a more budget minded trip on; The Ghan.
We certainly would recommend this for a more casual and budget minded train journey, and it’s way less expensive!
Disappointing Scenery On Our Train Travels
If you plan on taking the train from {Alice Springs to Adelaide} only, and not the entire journey as we did, then best prepare yourself for a view of pretty much … Nothing!
This is something that I certainly wished I had researched further prior to travel. It appears that the scenery must all be to the north of {Alice Springs}, enroute to Darwin.
This was a great disappointment for us overall and was definitely something that both of us, were really looking forward to on this expensive train trip.
Not a 🦘 kangaroo to be seen, nor 1 of the million or so wild camels roaming the land!
Who goes to Australia and doesn’t see a 🦘 kangaroo
Apparently us!
This was entirely my fault and something that I would have liked our {travel agent} to have pointed out to us, prior to booking this leg of the trip.
On our long bus trip from {Ayers Rock to Alice Springs} taking several hours, we saw nothing new or exciting after spending 24 hours on the train, that was any different from the long bus ride.
The Ghan Luxury Train – List of Pros and Cons
Pros
Access to Outback Explorer Lounge;
Unlimited Alcoholic Beverages;
Private Well Appointed Double Sleeper Cabins;
Access to Queen Adelaide Restaurant;
Meals and service – {highlight of journey};
Friendly and helpful staff.
Cons
Cabin not cleaned to luxury expectations;
No access to open air or view window cars;
Very rough ride;
Scenery disappointing from Alice Springs to Adelaide;
Shuttle service to/from hotel not included for Gold Class.
So, to quickly wrap things up here on our personal experience only. If you are considering a trip on The Ghan and unless you are planning on taking the entire journey,
I would Not Recommend the southern portion of the route that we took.
Check with an experienced travel agent who is familiar with train travel in Australia, prior to booking. As well, take a little time to search for and read more reviews, such as TripAdvisor.
Also, check out my post here on the …
Benefits Of Booking With A Travel Agent
Do keep in mind, this is a review of our experience only and our personal opinions,
of our time spent on this historic train.
For more complete details and information, be sure to visit their official website.
Gold Service Update
I received this email in my inbox from their {Journey Beyond Travel Club} newsletter.
Some great news to hear, on their new look and renovations completed in Gold Class for 2024!
“Today, we’re introducing a whole new style of travel, available on our 2024 season on board The Ghan and Great Southern. Gold Premium features our newly designed, contemporary cabins, exclusive access to the Gold Premium Lounge, and an enhanced Gold Dining experience.”
I’ve listed the 🦘 Official Australia Tourism link below to their website page.
It’s filled with excellent information on everything this beautiful country has to offer!
🦘 Tourism Australia 🦘
Footnote Is taking a vacation to Canada in your future travel plans Experience A Train Vacation In Canada! Canada Rail Vacations have been providing unforgettable Canadian Rail Tours for clients
since 1995.
100% Canadian owned and operated, their team of experts have compiled a host of amazing train vacations to best suit you and your budget.
Discover & Explore Canada By Train
Safe and Healthy Travels!
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Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.
Did You Know …
“The First Police Force In Australia Was Made Up Of The Most Well Behaved Convicts.”
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