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IRT’s Eleanor Hardy ‘Stars’ in New York Times Travel Section

30 Nov
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Left to right: Society of IRT President Eleanor Flagler Hardy with IRT travelers Esther S. Müller-Meyre, of Scherzingen, Switzerland, and Ron Fischer, of Arlington, VA. They stand before Ireland’s Belmond Grand Hibernian, whose “maiden voyage” the IRT Society chartered. IRT Photo by Owen Hardy

“Traveling by train is a fabulous way to see any country unfold,” Society of International Railway Travelers President Eleanor Hardy tells The New York Times’ travel writer Shivani Vora.

Look for the story’s print version to appear this Sunday, Dec. 4, in the Times Travel section.

The Times shared four of Mrs. Hardy tips: Pick the right train, make sure it matches your budget, pack light and plan wisely.

Her fifth tip — book with an experienced travel advisor — didn’t make the cut. But it’s important nonetheless:

“If you value your time and you want the best value, and the right cabin on the right train — not to mention your piece of mind — book your rail journey with an experienced rail specialist.

“We’ve worked with some of our suppliers for over three decades. They know us. They trust us. That’s especially important when the unexpected happens,” Mrs. Hardy said.

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Society President Eleanor Hardy appeared on cover of the Society’s 2011 tour catalogue. Mrs. Hardy is dining aboard the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express.                 IRT Photo by Owen Hardy

Mrs. Hardy cites VIA Rail Canada’s Canadian and the Rocky Mountaineer as ideal for families with young children. She recommends Golden Eagle’s 21-day Beijing-Moscow Silk Road and Rovos Rail’s 15-day Cape Town-Dar es Salaam tours for a longer, more relaxed rail trip.

For those not worried about pinching pennies, she recommends Europe’s Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, the Belmond Royal Scotsman and the Eastern & Oriental Express in Southeast Asia.

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Taking the perfect photo on the Belmond Royal Scotsman’s outdoor rear platform. IRT photo by Eleanor Hardy

Mrs. Hardy’s rail travel luggage recommendations? “Take no more than one small roller bag and one small backpack per person,” she says.

Finally, avoid the three mistakes “rookie” rail travelers make:

  • Confirm the station from which your train departs (many cities have several);
  • Buy your rail ticket before you leave home (they sell out fast); and
  • Allow plenty of time before and after your rail trip, so you’ll have ample time to make your connections.

“Flights can be delayed…trains can be late,” she tells the Times. “And you don’t want to be ruining your relaxing time on the train worrying about making your flight.”

• • •

For more information or to book a trip, call (800) 478-4881 or (502) 897-1725; email tourdesk@irtsociety.com.

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Snazzy Copy, Graphics, Pixels Prompt Four Magellan Awards!

4 Nov
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Seven Stars Over Japan ad campaign materials. IRT Photo

We’re celebrating!

Travel Weekly magazine just published  winners of its 2016 “Magellan Awards” — the travel industry’s “Oscar.”

And The Society of International Railway Travelers® won four: three Golds and one Silver.

Gold Award — “Seven Stars Over Japan” marketing campaign:

Mission: Introduce the world’s newest and most exclusive train – Kyushu’s Seven Stars – to the Western luxury travel market.

Time frame: 11 months.

Room for error: None. (We’d chartered the entire train!)

Campaign: Email blitz, oversized postcards, blog posts, brochure, web presence, news release announcing our latest “World’s Top 25 Train®.”

Crowning glory: Two specially commissioned Seven Stars posters/postcards, courtesy of our Magellan Award-winning designer, Stephen Sebree, of Moonlight Graphic Works.

Result: The tour sold out in two months!

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Seven Stars in Kyushu poster. Japan’s first luxury train, the Seven Stars was recently named one of The Society of International Railway Travelers’ “World Top 25 Trains®.”  Poster design by Stephen Sebree, Moonlight Graphic Works

2 Gold Awards — IRT Website (www.irtsociety.com):

As a highly focused, independent travel agency, The Society of IRT’s stock in trade is putting our clients at ease – in every situation.

That includes their experience on our recently redesigned website, which we’ve made even more simple yet elegant.

“Bravo” to our web designer, Nick Prebezac, of Nimbus Interactive, Inc.!

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“Seven Stars Over Japan” postcard. Design by Stephen Sebree, Moonlight Graphic Works

Silver Award — “Seven Stars Color Blaze” oversized postcard (above):

Kyushu, Japan’s southernmost island, is awash in radiant, natural color – a perfect complement to the equally spellbinding decor of the Seven Stars luxury train.

The oversized postcard format is ideal for showcasing these twin beauties.

• • •

So how does winning these awards affect you?

Simple. We want to thrill you.

It might be just an overnight Paris-Venice anniversary celebration. It might be a 25-day St. Petersburg-Moscow-Vladivostok “Grand Tour of Russia.“

We exist to give you the luxury trip of a lifetime — from the first email or postcard you receive to the final welcome-home phone call.

• • •

For info on our luxury rail charters in Peru, Ireland and Japan next year — or any great luxury train trip — contact us. Email tourdesk@irtsociety.com, or call (800) 478-4881; (502) 897-1725.

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Golden Eagle Grabs for Gusto: in Russia, Sicily, Athens, USA

28 Oct
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Natasha Baker, Sales and Marketing Director for Golden Eagle Luxury Trains, left, with Eleanor Flagler Hardy, President of the Society of International Railway Travelers.®

It’s a journey of immense proportions: St. Petersburg to Moscow and on to the Pacific Ocean.

In 26 days, you’ll traverse Russia’s river and rail networks on board the luxurious MS Volga Dream and Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express.

Natasha Baker, Golden Eagle Sales and Marketing Director, broke the news of this exciting trip — and much more — today at our office during a whirlwind U.S. visit.

“It’s the perfect way to see Russia in its entirety,” Ms. Baker said. The Grand Tour of Russia runs July 12 – Aug. 6, 2017.

Beginning in St. Petersburg, the MS Volga Dream takes in some truly incredible scenery as it ventures towards Moscow.

Following three days in the ancient Russian capital, guests board the Golden Eagle for its epic, 5,772-mile journey to the Pacific Ocean.

For details on this landmark tour — it runs just once next year — click here.

Meanwhile, Ms. Baker had more to share for 2017:

  • The Golden Eagle Danube Express, operating from its home base in Budapest — will offer new “superior deluxe cabins” — four to a car — each with a double bed.
  • New GE Danube Express trips next year include Budapest-Athens and Venice-Sicily.

The Sicily trip offers different routes within Italy. Travelers new to Italy should opt for the north-bound tour, she says. Repeat visitors would prefer the south-bound route.

Finally, Ms. Baker honored us with this scoop:

Golden Eagle plans to run two trans-continental luxury rail trips in the U.S. in 2018 — one of which spends two nights in our home town of Louisville, KY! (Those visiting our fair city should be ready for Society of IRT festivities!)

The big 2019 news concerns the 150th anniversary of the Trans-Continental Railway in the U.S. We’ll let Ms. Baker make the announcement in the video below.

(Hint: It has to do with steam.)

(Actually, Ms. Baker said “centenary” in the video. “I really do apologize,” she said later. “I was getting mixed up with 100th year anniversary of the Trans-Siberian this year!”)

No big deal. It’s still great news!

For more information on any of the above, call us at (800) 478-4881 or (502) 897-1725. Email us at tourdesk@irtsociety.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Titanic Visit Gets Personal on Ireland IRT Luxury Train Tour

21 Oct
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Belfast, Northern Ireland’s “Titanic Experience” museum, one of the stops on the Belmond Grand Hibernian seven-day tour.

It’s not often you walk into a huge museum in a foreign country and find your great uncle’s story staring back at you.

It happened to me last month.

I was visiting the “Titanic Experience” in Belfast, Northern Ireland with a group of fellow Society of IRT travelers. Belfast, where the doomed “unsinkable” ship was built, was one of the stops on our Belmond Grand Hibernian journey.

My great uncle was Carlos F. Hurd, a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and the journalist who scored “the scoop of the century,” the museum said: he broke the story of the Titanic.

Here’s how it happened:

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Carlos and Katherine Hurd vacationing in Naples following the “scoop of the century.” Photo courtesy of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Uncle Carlos and his wife Katherine were on the steamship Carpathia heading from New York to Europe for a vacation. Before they boarded, they made a friendly call to Charles Chapin, editor of the New York World, sister newspaper of the Post Dispatch, both Pulitzer newspapers.

The Carpathia set sail the same day the Titanic left Ireland. When the tragedy occurred, the Carpathia was first to the rescue.

And Uncle Carlos jumped into action.

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IRT travelers John and Julia Cordukes pose in front of the Titanic Experience in Belfast, N. Ireland. IRT Photo by Owen Hardy

He interviewed as many of the survivors as he could. Katherine helped too, interviewing female survivors.

But — wary of bad publicity — the Carpathia’s captain tried everything he could to prevent the story from being told.

He confiscated writing paper. He had their room searched. He ordered that no radio messages be delivered to or from my great uncle or his wife.

Katherine scrounged the ship for paper – even toilet paper. And she had to sit on their notes and hand-written stories in their second-class cabin, because the captain wanted to confiscate them.

But he did not count on having such a tenacious reporter on board.

Even though Uncle Carlos never received the radio messages from his boss or Editor Chapin, he knew what the Pulitzer men would say: “Interview all the survivors you can! Throw your story overboard to our tug in New York harbor.”

And that’s just what happened.

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Society of IRT Founder & CEO Owen Hardy with Titanic Experience staff.

Uncle Carlos’ story ran 5,000 words. Family lore has it that he bundled it up, wrapped it in some kind of waterproof material, stuffed it into a cigar box crammed with champagne corks and secured it with string.

As the Carpathia entered New York harbor, tugboats brimming with newsmen — many shouting through megaphones —swarmed the liner. Among the throng, Uncle Carlos spied Chapin, the New York Pulitzer editor.

With sailors struggling to restrain him, Uncle Carlos pitched his story overboard. But the package fell short, landing in a Carpathia lifeboat. And the crew had been advised not to help reporters in any way.

But one sailor sided with Uncle Carlos and disobeyed orders! As the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported: “ A Carpathia sailor freed it, and to the cheers of Titanic survivors, tossed it onto Chapin’s tug.”

By the time Uncle Carlos and his wife touched dry land, an abbreviated story in the New York World and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch was already on the streets. And the next day, his complete, 5,000-page report took up three whole pages of the Post-Dispatch.

Uncle Carlos didn’t pull any punches. He bravely reported that the Titanic sped through the night at nearly full speed, that she was woefully short of lifeboats and that many passengers could not believe that disaster had struck.

titanicexperiece-2“The glassy sea, the starlit sky, gave them the feeling that there was only some slight mishap,” he wrote, “that those who got in the boats would have a chilly half-hour below, and might be laughed at.”

Uncle Carlos died before I was born – but he lived on in the many stories in my St. Louis, Missouri family. My mother adored him and quoted him constantly. He had a dry wit, sharp intellect and mild manner.

His story is a thriller – and we felt the “Titanic Experience” told it well.

To see a St. Louis Post-Dispatch video on Uncle Carlos and the Titanic, click on the link below:

http://launch.newsinc.com/?type=VideoPlayer/Single&widgetId=1&trackingGroup=69016&playlistId=19132&siteSection=stltoday&videoId=24739508

For more information on the Belmond Grand Hibernian, please click here or call (800) 478-4881 or (502) 897-1725; email tourdesk@irtsociety.com.

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Belmond Grand Hibernian: IRT’s Newest World’s Top 25

16 Sep
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IRT Society guests gather for dinner in the “Wexford” dining car, whose tables are arranged for six, allowing for wonderful socializing.   IRT Photo by Eleanor Hardy

With bagpipes peeling and young Irish dancers snapping out lively rhythms, members of The Society of International Railway Travelers® christened Ireland’s first luxury train, the Belmond Grand Hibernian. Our tour ran Aug. 30 – Sept. 5.

We were thrilled to be the first official group on board and to experience the beautiful train —shining navy and chrome outside and muted greys, greens, buff and rose inside.

Such was the beauty, elegance and spirit of the fledgling train and its staff — not to mention Ireland itself —that we were proud to announce on board its new status as one of our  “World’s Top 25 Trains®”

While not perfect, the Belmond Grand Hibernian seems to be clearly aiming for the stars.

We have no doubt it soon will shine as brightly as the other luxury trains in Belmond’s  firmament (the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, Belmond Royal Scotsman, Eastern & Oriental Express and Peru’s Belmond Hiram Bingham, to name a few).

The IRT Society chartered the entire Belmond Grand Hibernian — a first in our company’s 33-year history. Our itinerary was the seven-day “Grand Tour of Ireland.”

The result was a rolling, rollicking party among friends old and new. From breakfast in the two beautiful diners through days of touring Ireland’s iconic sites to live music or storytelling nightly in the bar car, the merriment seldom flagged.

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Belmond Grand Hibernian staff Mark O’Doherty and Stevie Devine ham it up for a photographer on the Belmond Grand Hibernian. IRT Photo by Owen Hardy

We enjoyed sumptuous meals: delicious appetizers, inventive main courses—the freshest seafood, for example—with tasty, freshly baked breads and wonderful desserts — all locally sourced and prepared on board.

Chef Alan Woods outdid himself. Previously head chef at the Michelin-starred Thorton’s in Dublin, he showcased the very best and freshest Irish ingredients.

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Tea time aboard the Belmond Grand Hibernian. All food is locally sourced and prepared fresh on board. IRT Photo by Owen Hardy

Dishes included roast Killarney venison loin, fresh seafood from the Beara Peninsula, Donegal turf-smoked salmon and traditional seafood chowder. All were spectacular.  And with drinks included in the fare, we put a serious dent in the bar car’s stock as well.

We visited such landmarks as Blarney and Ashford Castles and Connemara National Park. We tried our hands at falconry, tasted triple-pot distilled whiskys at the Jameson works, enjoyed afternoon tea with Lord and Lady Waterford — and toured the famous crystal workshop that bears their name.

We visited the amazing Titanic Experience in Belfast. Almost all these visits were exquisitely arranged — and often private or after-hours.

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IRT travelers (at left) Maria Vera Rossell and Jose Becerra Martin, and (at right) Orlando Herrera, enjoy a “jaunting cart” ride through Connemara National Park to the Lakes of Killarney. IRT Photo by Eleanor Hardy

Most special of all, though, was our time aboard the Belmond Grand Hibernian itself.

The train  truly is an “Irish country house on wheels.” The stylish Belmond Grand Hibernian, with its navy blue and chrome livery, and its friendly, eager-to-please, youthful staff shared the spotlight for “best in show” on this trip.

“You can teach people to do tasks,” said J.P. Kavanaugh, Belmond Grand Hibernian General Manager. “But you can’t teach attitude.”  And an upbeat, can-do, super-friendly attitude was what they delivered.

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Belmond Grand Hibernian Second Chef Ursula Fischer poses behind bread and pastries just out of the on-board ovens. IRT Photo by Owen Hardy

To be sure, the maiden run of anything as unusual as a privately owned, five-star hotel on wheels is going to have glitches. That’s especially true on government-owned tracks and under the supervision of a publicly operated railway.

For the Belmond Grand Hibernian, they ranged from the most serious — a carriage door, which temporarily malfunctioned — to occasional tardiness filling breakfast orders and coffee cups or a trashcan not being emptied.

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IRT traveler John Cordukes prepares to “launch” his “falcon” (actually, a Harris hawk) during a        “Hawk Walk” sponsored by the Irish School of Falconry at the Ashford Castle.                                                    IRT Photo by Owen Hardy             

But overall, the trip ran quite smoothly, both on train and off. (The carriage door malfunction meant that the train could not travel, as planned, to Belfast. We did that by motorcoach.)

And in the “off-train” category, we need to single out our indefatigable, silken-voiced guide, Marie Fitzpatrick. She was all the things you hope for in a person you’ve entrusted to spend a week telling you where to go and what to see.

As our first-ever train charter, the IRT Society had plenty riding on this trip. Our sold-out Belmond Grand Hibernian (capacity: 40 passengers in 20 luxury cabins) was the result.

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Wearing her evening uniform, a Belmond Grand Hibernian staff member tidies up in dining car “Wexford.” The train’s cars are named after Ireland’s counties. IRT Photo by Owen Hardy

And how certain are we that the Belmond Grand Hibernian has a brilliant future?

Just this: I traveled on it Aug. 29 on a pre-tour “test drive,” after which I immediately requested a charter for 2017. I know it will be that popular — and that space will be hard to get.

Our Belmond Grand Hibernian departure for next year will be Aug. 29-Sept. 4, 2017. Click here for more information.

• • •

Once the Belmond Grand Hibernian returned to Dublin’s Heuston Station, we said our fond goodbyes. Then a group of nine IRT travelers continued the party with a visit to, among other places, a jaw-dropping country estate known as Ballyfin.

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IRT President Eleanor Hardy plays “Downton Abbey” while breakfasting at the Irish country estate turned resort, Ballyfin. Behind her are other IRT guests. IRT Photo by Owen Hardy

If you’re a fan of Downton Abbey, and you want to get as close as possible to living the life of a titled gentleman or lady, Ballyfin is the place to indulge your fantasy.

Our post-tour itinerary included a visit to Birr Castle, built in the 1620s and ancestral home to the Seventh Earl of Rosse, Brendan Parsons.

Lord and Lady Rosse hosted our group for a private luncheon, a tour of the castle, and a stroll through the magnificent grounds (including a look at the gigantic telescope “Leviathan,” constructed by an ancestor in the 1840s and the world’s largest until 1914.)

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IRT post-tour group members pose with Brendan Parsons, Seventh Earl of Rosse, in front of Birr Castle, constructed by an ancestor in the 1620s. IRT Photo by Eleanor Hardy

Again, for more info on our Belmond Grand Hibernian charter next year, as well as pre- and post-tour itineraries, please click here or call (800) 478-4881; (502) 897-1725. (We have already booked 10 rooms at Ballyfin. Please let us know if you would like to be among the lucky ones to stay here.)

• • •

After we bade farewell to our Ballyfin friends, Eleanor and I spent two nights trying out the Sheen Falls Lodge, a Virtuoso hotel and Relais & Chateau property in Kenmare, County Kerry.

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The view from the balcony of our suite at Sheen Falls Lodge, Kenmare, County Kerry. IRT Photo by Owen Hardy

We highly recommend it for its obvious pleasures: the cozy fires in the many fireplaces, the roaring waterfall in full view from our fantastic suite, and the lovely candlelit dining.

But its staff also was vital for their expert advice:  dining at Kenmare’s incredible new restaurant, the Mews, and hiking at Gleninchaquin, a working sheep farm with magnificent views, waterfalls and people (don’t leave before enjoying Pete’s homemade scones and conversation at the tea house.).

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View of the ever-changing Irish countryside on an Irish Rail train bound for Dublin. IRT Photo by Owen Hardy

The Sheen Falls folks also helped us plan our Irish Rail transportation.

We rode Irish Rail for the post-Ballyfin leg of our trip. I’m happy to report the experience — while not the Belmond Grand Hibernian — was relaxing and pleasant. We  enjoyed it thoroughly — punctual and clean, with pleasant food service from the trolley.

• • •

We’d be remiss if we did not report on our warm welcome to Ireland at the fabulous Virtuoso hotel, The Merrion, in Dublin. It was all we hoped it would be—and more.

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Dublin’s Marrion Hotel. IRT Photo by Owen Hardy

Historic, gorgeous, fantastic dining and great service—spectacular afternoon tea. Our welcome cocktail party here in the historic Wellington Room was one of the best ever, our guests proclaimed.

Suffice it to say that we will recommend The Merrion to all of our Belmond Grand Hibernian guests.

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IRT On Luxury Safari

3 Jun

If you’re planning an adventure on Africa’s Rovos Rail or the Blue Train – two of our World’s Top 25 Trains® – don’t make the trek without adding a safari extension for some up-close animal encounters.

That’s our conclusion after our recent study tour to East Africa with one of the world’s top safari partners — Micato.

Read on for highlights!

          An elephant family on its daily march to the swamps in Amboseli National Park, Kenya.                     IRT Photo by Rachel Hardy.

Scene 1:
Trundling along in Kenya’s dramatic Laikipia Conservancy, our guide stops suddenly to admire a giant male elephant with enormous tusks playing in the river below, splashing and spouting.

         A mother and her cubs watch us with casual curiosity in the Maasai Mara National Reserve.              IRT Photo by Rachel Hardy.

The elephant swims across the river, lumbering through a pod of dangerous hippos. He trumpets angrily, seeming to scream, “Let me pass!” The hippos scatter.

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Wildebeests leap across our path in the Serengeti. IRT Photo by Eleanor Hardy.

Scene 2:
Quietly approaching a female lion in our Land Rover, we admire her from about 20 feet away. She looks at us placidly, and then, deciding us worthy, she pads into the woods and returns — with her two-month-old cubs.

Scene 3:
Perched on a road in the middle of the Serengeti, we witness an incredible sight: the beginning of the great migration — 1-2 million wildebeests and about 600,000 zebra and other hooved animals —heading north to grassier, wetter Masaai Mara. The roaring wildebeests cross single-file in front of us.

Scene 4:
Lying in our luxurious tents, we listen, enchanted, to the sounds of nature all around us: weaver birds flitting and chirping, hyenas crunching the bones of their prey, the honk of a hippo in the river right outside our tent, the seemingly thousands of birds waking us in the morning.

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A rainbow comes out over Amboseli National Park during our nightly “sundowner,” where our guides serve us drinks and snacks atop a lookout point. IRT Photo by Eleanor Hardy.

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          A Maasai welcome for IRT’s Rachel Hardy as we step off our bush plan and into the                        Maasai Mara Reserve. IRT Photo by Eleanor Hardy.

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Giraffes in Serengeti National Park. IRT Photo by Eleanor Hardy.

For both of us, traveling together made everything extra special: seeing our lodgings for the first time, admiring the beauty of the zebras (Rachel’s favorite) and spying our first family of elephants (my favorites!).

We hadn’t gotten to spend so much time together in years!

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We loved what our guide called the “little five hundred.” A sampling of the feathered little five hundred: top left: guinea fowl, center left: mating crowned cranes, bottom left: weaver bird, center:                          malachite kingfisher, top right: saddle-billed stork, bottom right: ostrich.                                IRT Photos by Eleanor & Rachel Hardy.

 

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We loved visiting a Maasai village in Amboseli National Park, Kenya. Here, the women prepare to greet us with a traditional song and dance. IRT Photo by Rachel Hardy.

Interested in joining one of our South or East African departures? Space fills up early and quickly for journeys on Rovos Rail & the Blue Train – and of course for all the prime safari camps. Call us: (800) 478-4881 or (502) 897-1725. Email us: tourdesk@irtsociety.com Or vist our web site: http://www.irtsociety.com. 

Eleanor Hardy, IRT President & co-owner, and Rachel Hardy, IRT’s newest travel associate, were honored to be invited to join Micato’s study safari in Kenya & Tanzania. Many warm thanks to Micato owners Jane & Felix Pinto and the entire Micato team!

 

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Pounce Like a Leopard for Luxury Rail Africa 2016, 2017

15 Apr
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©The Society of International Railway Travelers® Poster design by Stephen Sebree, Moonlight Graphic Works

 

Dreaming of an African luxury train vacation?

Better shake a leg. Here’s what’s still available this year and next on Rovos Rail’s Pride of Africa, one of our favorite trains anywhere:

2016

African Collage (9 days)

  • May 19-27, Pretoria to Cape Town – 4 Deluxe Suites
  •  Nov. 14-22, Cape Town to Pretoria – 2 Deluxe Suites

Cape Town to Dar Es Salaam (15 days)

  • July 2-15 – 2 Deluxe Suites
  • Sept. 24-Oct. 8 – 1 Deluxe Suite

Dar Es Salaam to Cape Town (15 days)

  • July 19-Aug. 2 – 1 Deluxe Suite
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©The Society of International Railway Travelers® Poster design by Stephen Sebree, Moonlight Graphic Works

2017

Cape Town to Dar Es Salaam (15 days)

  • July 1-15 – 1 Deluxe Suite
  • Sept. 30-Oct. 15 – 1 Deluxe Suite, 2 Pullmans

Dar Es Salaam to Cape Town (15 days)

  • July 18-Aug. 1 – 2 Deluxe Suites, 2 Pullmans
  • Oct. 17-31 – 2 Pullmans

Namibia (9 days)

  • April 16-24, Swakopmund to Pretoria – 2 Deluxe Suites, 2 Pullmans
  • April 27-May 5, Pretoria to Swakopmund – 2 Deluxe Suites
  • May 7-15, Swakopmund to Pretoria – 2 Deluxe Suites, 2 Pullmans

African Collage (9 days)

  • May 18-26, Pretoria to Cape Town, 2 Deluxe Suites, 2 Pullmans
  • Nov. 13-21, Cape Town to Pretoria, 2 Deluxe Suites, 2 Pullmans
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©The Society of International Railway Travelers® Poster design by Stephen Sebree, Moonlight Graphic Works

As long as you’re in Africa, don’t miss an overnight on the Blue Train. Totally different from Rovos Rail, but also a luxurious dream, it runs between Cape Town and Pretoria.

To get a great DVD about Rovos Rail (free within the U.S. and Canada), or for more info, send us an email.

Or call (800) 478-4881 or (502) 897-1725.  You can also fill out a booking form on our website.

 

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Venice Simplon-Orient-Express Soon to Unveil Its 2017 Schedule

7 Apr
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Marquetry panel from dining car 4110 “Etoile du Nord” VSOE Photo

The train whose name whispers “elegance” — the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express (VSOE) — opened for its 35th season several weeks ago.

As always certain trips sell out more quickly than others. The longer, once-a-year Istanbul trips — Paris-Istanbul and Istanbul-Venice — always are in short supply.

 

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Detail from VSOE diner “L’Oriental,” with Chinese lacquered walls. IRT Photo by Owen Hardy

Success in Booking the Orient-Express

“Those truly interested in an Istanbul trip need to plan far in advance,” says IRT’s president, Eleanor Hardy. “We’re taking names for fall, 2017.” (Contact us now to get on the ‘list.’) If the past is any indication, next year’s trips should be announced soon.

Other limited runs include:  Venice-Prague-Paris-London, Venice-Vienna-Paris-London and Venice-Budapest-Paris-London.  Also popular with IRT guests: IRT’s Romantic Italian Holiday, which includes the VSOE between London or Paris and Venice.

Then come two nights each at over-the-top, five-star hotels: the Hotel Cipriani in Venice and the Villa San Michele in Florence. Both are operated by Belmond (as is the VSOE).

In other news, the VSOE has air-conditioned its three dining cars as well as its bar car, which also has been redecorated.

And Head Barman Walter Nisi has added tantalizing specialties to his bar menu. See the full story here.

For more info or to book, send an email, call (800) 478-4881 or (502) 897-1725. Or book directly from our website.

 

 

 

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Japan’s ‘Seven Stars In Kyushu’ Named A World’s Top 25 Train®

25 Mar

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The Seven Stars’ Deluxe Suite A, at rear of train, offers unbeatable views. Photo courtesy of JR Kyushu

The Society of International Railway Travelers® is proud to announce that the Cruise Train Seven Stars in Kyushu, as it’s officially known, is the first Japanese train to be awarded status as a World’s Top 25 Train.®

We are also proud to announce that The Society of IRT is the first agency/tour operator in the Western Hemisphere to charter the Seven Stars. (Download the tour program here.) And IRT is the first to sign a contract to obtain other dates in October and November of 2016 for our honored travelers.

Operated by JR Kyushu, the Seven Stars began service in  October, 2013. The luxury train was an immediate hit. Space on the train — which accommodates a maximum of 30 guests — routinely sells out many months in advance.

High demand has caused JR Kyushu to hold periodic lotteries to determine who gets to ride the Seven Stars.

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The Seven Stars’ Deluxe Suite A, the train’s largest accommodation, includes a picture window in the back wall. Note the woodwork in the ceiling, windows and floor. Photo courtesy of JR Kyushu

“That’s not a big problem for most Japanese, who are just a bullet train ride or two away” from Fukuoka, Kyushu, where guests board the Seven Stars, said Society of IRT CEO & founder Owen Hardy.

“But basing your travel plans on winning a lottery is unworkable for most travelers from the Western Hemisphere, who need to book flights, hotels, and itineraries months in advance.”

The Society of IRT’s package, conducted in English and accompanied by a professional English-speaking guide, solves this issue beautifully – and takes care of every other conceivable detail along the way.

Although our group trip is wait list only, we are delighted to announce we are adding other departures for individuals — seeing the wonders of Japan and enjoying the new Seven Stars and Sweet Train offerings.

Participants will spend 10 days touring some of Japan’s most famous cities – among them

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Seven Stars staff are friendly and efficient. IRT Photo by Owen Hardy

Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Miyajima. They’ll ride several of Japan’s famed bullet trains. And they’ll ride special trains such as the Odakyu Romance Car and the Yurikamome Train.  They will also enjoy the fabulous Sweet Train.

The tour’s “grand finale” will be the four-day trip on the Seven Stars, which is the pride of Kyushu, Japan’s southernmost island.

“During my two-day trip last year, we were greeted at every station by throngs of smiling locals, waving flags and greeting us like royalty,” Hardy said. “They ranged in age from young children to aged grandparents. Unbelievable!”

Why the hysteria over a train — even a luxury train?

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JR Kyushu bullet train. Photo courtesy of Japan National Tourism Organization

“The Seven Stars is truly a work of art on wheels,“ said Hardy, who had a test ride last November.

“Everywhere I turned I saw stunning fabrics, gorgeous glasswork, richly hued posters, shimmering porcelain. Most spectacular of all was the intricate floor-to-ceiling woodwork from a variety of trees of varying colors.

“The cuisine is “as beautiful as it is tasty,” Hardy continued. “And the expert staff exude a combination of Asian elegance and hospitality with genuine warmth.”

The Seven Stars more than deserves its “World’s Top 25 Train®” status, he added, placing it among such luxury rail stars as the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, the Belmond Royal Scotsman, and the Golden Eagle.

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JR Kyushu’s beloved “Sweet Train” Photo courtesy JR Kyushu

IRT is also holding space on Kyushu’s equally popular Sweet Train, which runs between Sasebo and Nagasaki. Much like its “big sister,” the Seven Stars, the Sweet Train is a delightful amalgam of design, delicious food and impeccable service, Hardy says.

Space on the “Deluxe Rail Journey of Japan” group tour is now wait list only. But to receive the Society’s 24-page booklet on our package, click here.  We will send you all the new dates and pricing for our other travel dates for this package.

Or contact The Society of International Railway Travelers® as follows:

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Golden Eagle Danube Express Introduces Snazzy New Bar Car

19 Feb
Bartender in GE Danube Express bar car

Bartender hard at work in the Golden Eagle Danube Express’ new bar car. Golden Eagle photo

The Golden Eagle Danube Express now boasts a stylish, new bar car — making travel on the train even more enjoyable. It began service late last season.

Unlike the luxury train’s former lounge car, the new car has an actual bar area, says Golden Eagle’s Ian Lomas.

“There is a piano central to the car and various types of seating arrangements — tables and chairs for two and four, plus sofas and bar stools.”

The car seats 30, Mr. Lomas says.

“That ties in with the size of the overall group on board the Danube Express, so it’s not much problem for guests to get seating. And not everyone is in the bar car at the same time.”

Enjoying music in the bar car.

IRT Society guest Jack Swanberg enjoys music in the Danube Express’ previous lounge car on last year’s Venice-Budapest “Balkan Odyssey” tour. IRT Photo by Angela Walker

 

Operating from its home base in Budapest, the GE Danube Express is a “supremely comfortable train,” says IRT Society President Eleanor Hardy, “And the lounge car always has been a big reason for its congenial ambiance.”

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The new GE Danube Express lounge car features tables for two and four, as well as sofas and bar stools. Golden Eagle photo

“But more seating and an actual bar will make a good thing even better.”

Ms. Hardy has ridden the Danube Express twice: from Istanbul to Budapest, and from Warsaw to Budapest.

“But what I’d really like to do is the Budapest-Venice trip, the Balkan Odyssey,” she says. “The itinerary fascinates me.”

The tour offers “so much in a relatively short amount of time — on some days visiting two countries,” said  IRT’s Angela Walker, who made the trip with a Society of International Railway Travelers group last year.

And the history of the region is fascinating, she says. Example: guests see the place where Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated — the event that ignited World War I.

Danube Express Bar Car Menu

Danube Express bar car menu. Most drinks are covered in the fare. Golden Eagle

The 12-day, 8-country Balkan Odyssey tour operates June 1-12 and July 4-15 this year. To download a complete itinerary in PDF format, please click here. To see the itinerary on the IRT society website, please click here.

Other Golden Eagle Danube Express tours include Central Europe & Transylvania and the Venice-Istanbul Balkan Explorer.

For more information, call our office at (800)478-4881, or (502) 897-1725. Email: tourdesk@irtssociety.com.

 

 

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