Rail holidays to Eastern Europe

Luxury, bespoke rail holidays to Eastern Europe

The countries of Eastern Europe offer a rich combination of possibilities of holidays by train, enabling you to experience the historical threads, cultural differences and similarities, wealth of scenery from forested mountains to fertile plains, from pretty lakes to magnificent cities, from the comfort of your railway carriage. Expressions Holidays offers you tailor-made, luxury rail holidays to Germany, Austria, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovenia. We offer you a mixture of city combinations, but also single-centre stays and scenic journeys. Our rail holidays are tailor-made for individuals, and are not set group departures. If you are a group of friends or family, we can, of course, put together a tour for your own party.

Our suggested rail itineraries can be used as a starting point and adapted to your requirements or booked exactly as they are, although there is a wide choice of hotel accommodation in every place.

As with our rail holidays to other destinations, Expressions Holidays will tailor-make your rail holiday according to your needs, navigating through the options to select the most convenient trains and most appropriate hotels. You may also choose to travel one way by train and one way by air, instead of by train both ways.

The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express also travels into Eastern Europe on selected dates throughout the year. Perhaps combine a journey on this iconic train with one of our tailor-made rail holidays in Eastern Europe.

All Expressions rail holidays are tailor-made for individuals (they are not set group departures) according to your requirements. We offer complete flexibility on the duration, date of travel, number of places visited, the number of nights in each place and the type of hotel you stay at. From a single-centre stay in a destination that is reached by train to a touring holiday that visits multiple locations, we cater for your interests.
How our rail holidays to Eastern Europe work
We feature suggested itineraries that you can book as they are or adapt. You choose your date of departure and the class of travel. We will put together a tailor-made price based on best available train fares and hotel rates. We will offer you upgrade options and we can arrange local entrances, sightseeing, guides and opera and concert tickets too.
Train travel to Eastern Europe
A rail holiday to Eastern Europe starts with the Eurostar from London St. Pancras, Ebbsfleet or Ashford stations probably to Brussels if you are heading for Germany or Paris if you are taking a route through Switzerland.
Eurostar offers almost hourly departures every day, allowing you to travel, non-stop, from the centre of London to the centre of Brussels in just under 2 hours and Paris in just over 2 hours. Some trains stop at the Ebbsfleet and Ashford stations in Kent, and parking is plentiful at both stations and it allows you to avoid London. Check-in is 30 to 45 minutes prior to departure, customs formalities are completed before boarding and there is no limit to the amount of baggage that can be taken on board. The Eurostar trains have 8 coaches which are split into Standard Class, Standard Premier and Business Premier as well as 2 cafeterias. Standard Premier customers are served a light cold meal and enjoy a more spacious environment than Standard Class, while Business Premier customers receive a hot meal and unlimited beverages as well as lounge access.
You may wish to stay for a night or two in Paris or Brussels – we can arrange overnight accommodation for you in characterful, good quality, central hotels on request.
Nightjet trains are owned by the OBB Austrian Railways and operate overnight sleeper services from various European cities to Austria and on to Budapest. There is a choice of single, double and triple compartments, offering a standard (small wash basin) and a deluxe (with own shower and WC, wash basin, shower gel and towels). The compartment can be locked by the passenger, and an intercom system allows direct contact with the train team. There is a food service on board that provides hot and cold food and beverages.
The Nightjet runs to Vienna (and on to Budapest) from Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg, Munich, Venice, Rome, Florence, Verona, Milan and Zurich.
Railjet trains are owned and operated by the OBB Austrian Railways and connect numerous European cities with all of Austria, with a top speed of 230 kms per hour. Two Railjets run between Vienna and Salzburg every hour. Every two hours there is a Railjet from Prague to Graz via Vienna. Twice a day Railjet travels from Vienna to Venice. Railjet also offers a service from Zurich via Innsbruck, Salzburg and Linz to Vienna in about 8 hours. From December 2018 Bratislava is also included in the network. These trains are modern, efficient, comfortable, with first and second class, and have an excellent restaurant on board.
ICE are German high-speed trains covering long distance journeys, for example from Berlin to Munich (a journey time of just under 4 hours). ICE offers comfortable seating with good legroom, free wifi, quiet zones, socket at your seat and on-board catering with meals, drinks and snacks. Other long distance trains might be the IC (Intercity) and the EC (EuroCity) connecting German cities to ones in neighbouring countries. The EuroCity might be operated by more than one nationality of the route, so a journey from Berlin to Prague might be operated by a Czech EuroCity although a service continuing to Budapest might be operated by the Hungarian EuroCity.
Venice Simplon-Orient-Express travels into Eastern Europe as follows:
15 May 2019 Venice to Prague to London
1 May 2019 Venice to Budapest, Vienna, Paris and to London
6 June 2019 London to Paris and Berlin
8 June 2019 Berlin to Paris and London
23 August 2019 Paris to Budapest, Bucharest and Istanbul
30 August 2019 Istanbul to Bucharest, Budapest and Paris
Contact us for prices combined with additional travel and hotel requirements.
Our hotels
Expressions Holidays has put together a personal selection of hotels in all the destinations in Eastern Europe we are offering you. Our hotels are selected to provide exceptionally high standards of character, comfort and service. Many of our hotels are among the most highly acclaimed in each country we feature. Others are full of charm and character or provide rest and relaxation amid an atmosphere of luxury and style.
Star ratings are an important indicator of facilities and price, but, just as important as a star rating is character and ambience. We believe that whatever the official star rating of our hotels, each hotel has unique qualities and a sincere individuality of its own.

Expressions Holidays is an independent specialist tour operator which was established in 1989 and offers tailor-made rail holidays within Europe and further afield, providing personal service with a professional approach. We pride ourselves on interpreting your demands and requirements to provide you with the holiday that you want, ensuring a successful match between client and holiday. Not only are your holidays tailor-made to your individual requirements, but you also have the chance to deal with one person from beginning to end, offering you confidence and security and the best possible prices.

Personal and professional service
We personally know the majority of the hotels that we feature, and we put together our holidays with our clients in mind. Contact with Expressions Holidays means contact with the people who know the holidays, who will share their knowledge and experience with you – our team of travel consultants know the country and culture very well, and operate a concierge service that helps you to explore every aspect of special interest or activity that fits with your holiday.
All aspects of your holiday are personalised, from the itinerary to your holiday confirmation and documentation which provides you with information that is relevant to you. From the point of initial contact with us, you will deal with the same sales consultant, who will handle all aspects of your booking and ticketing.
We approach your holiday in a way that offers you the arrangements you want, not to slot you in to pre-existing arrangements. This might mean juggling dates, securing the last available room at a hotel or tailoring a complex itinerary involving numerous components. Your holiday is as individually fashioned and tailor-made as you want it to be.
How we price your holiday
All prices mentioned on our website and in our brochure are simply guides, as there are many variations that might affect the price including exchange rates, flight costs and special offers. To find out exact prices for the holiday that you are interested in, contact us for a tailor-made quotation.
All our holiday arrangements have been designed to afford you maximum flexibility and freedom of choice. We include travel arrangements, whether it be flight, ferry or tunnel crossing or rail travel as well as many nights' hotel accommodation as you want, in as many different places.
Our Price Guarantee
We guarantee that once you have made a firm booking with a deposit payment, there will be no increases in the price of your holiday due to currency movements. If, for any reason, there have been changes in the price of the holiday you want, you will be advised at the time of booking.
Full financial protection
Full financial protection is offered when you book a holiday with us. Our air holidays are ATOL protected, and we are a member of the Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited to protect non-flight packages. We are also members of ABTA and AITO (the Association of Independent Tour Operators), an organisation of some of Britain’s best specialist tour operators.