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Cherry blossoms at Himeji Castle (April 2023)

I’m writing today to tell you about another Japan Railways “rail pass,” in particular about my recent experiences using the Seishun 18 Ticket (青春１８きっぷ). As for why there have been some Japan-related posts lately, well– I’ve been in Tokyo for a couple of weeks.

What is the Seishun 18 Ticket? It´s essentially a cheaper version of the JR Pass that is only available during three different times in one calendar year:

At just 206 metres (680 feet) above sea level, the Great Orme (below) might be thought of as rather a slight hill. But it looks as imposing as a far greater eminence, as it overlooks the seaside resort of Llandudno, on the north Welsh coast about a 4½-hour drive or train ride from London and just over an hour's drive and two hours by rail from Liverpool. It’s a limestone headland about two miles long and a mile wide where, back in the Bronze Age, copper was mined (but they only discovered the

photo: Alexander Mazurkevich


Since the 19th century, Indian railways have entranced intrigued authors, entranced dreamers, inspired filmmakers and of course tourists who love to see India from deep by experiencing its local life. Covering a long distance from east to west and from north to south, Indian railways carry more than 20 million daily passengers, on 17,000 trains operating on 65,000 km of track at different speeds - different types of trains like Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duranto, Gatiman,

For a long time tourists to Da Lat often toured the mountainous city by walking, biking, carriage riding or driving an old Vespa. Now they can take another means of transport - the classic train that will surely bring a wonderful experience. It is a really good chance for any visitor to behold the charming plateau city on the old train running slowly along mountain slopes, through flower farms, hamlets and hills of pine trees.

To turn Dalat into a convalescent paradise in Indochina, in 1908 the F

We had not been on a train in years, so when invited to experience a weekend getaway on the rails that was “drive free,” we jumped at the opportunity. The adventure entailed making our way to the Diridon Train Station in San Jose, California, and boarding the southbound Amtrak Coast Starlight train bound for Santa Barbara. Here’s how it all went:

Checking baggage

Coast Starlight passengers are allowed to check two bags each, with similar baggage restrictions to those of the airlines. However, our

We didn’t stay very long in Narvik. No sooner had our cruise ship tied up, than we were on to a bus to the railway station. Our objective was a scenic ride on the Otofen Railway. . It doesn’t seem to receive as much publicity as other scenic routes in Norway, probably because it’s operated by Swedish Railways.

The port and the railway owe their existence to the discovery of iron ore in 1902 in Kiruna, in Sweden. It was a convenient port from which to ship the ore, rather than convey it all the wa

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Nithin Coca is a Freelance Writer and author whose traveled to over 44 countries. This is an excerpt from his first book, Traveling Softly and Quietly, now for sale on Amazon.

I looked up as a cute girl walked up and said something in Italian to the man in front of me and then put her bag on the rack above and sat down in our booth. With lightly tanned skin, medium-dark neck-length brown hair, well dressed in a beige suit that went down to her knees, she was very pretty. I wondered if she spoke

The romance of traveling by train never fades. Trains mean a journey. The feeling of travel while sitting on a train is unique. The scenery flows past in a way not like from an airplane or in a car – especially if you’re the one driving and you can’t sightsee, but also because a train crosses countryside instead of following busy roads.

Steam trains especially conjure up romantic images of long black locomotives puffing their smoky way across vast plains in Africa, India or the North American pra

Releasing steam - photo credit: Stephany Wiestling

(reprinted from BestKidFriendlyTravel.com)

My 6 year old boy loves trains, much like any other boy his age, so we HAD to ride the Sugar Cane Train while in Maui.

Initially, our hotel concierge suggested we take the train to Lahaina and then walk to our whale watching tour spot.  However, upon talking to the gal at the Pacific Whale Foundation who said it’s about a 6 mile walk and too far for a little one, we did our train ride into Lahaina on a sig

I can’t say I’ve really visited Tennant Creek. I only know from hearsay that it’s not the sort of place you take your mother for a Mothers’ Day treat. Nevertheless, our train did stop there for a considerable time in the ‘small hours’, while we slept soundly in our sleeper berths.

The reason was twofold; it ensured that passengers saw as much of the Australian landscape by daylight as possible, and that the train arrived in Alice Springs at a fairly civilised hour.

You see, you don’t take an Aust

India has got a number of luxury trains. The Indian royals were for famous for their love of luxury trains. No sooner the luxury trains came in vogue with European royalty during the late 18^th century, the Indian princes were not to be left behind. The train presents a superb chance to explore the fabulous royal destinations of Rajasthan. Savor the regal attractions of Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Udaipur, Jodhpur, etc, besides visiting the iconic Indian attraction of Taj Mahal.  The comforts abroad the t

Old Orchard Beach Maine trains are now traveling eig

We left our B&B so early this morning that we missed the second B. We got across Delhi with no traffic in sight until we got within a block of the train station. Then the throngs appeared. Tuk Tuks and taxis were moving in eight directions. Everyone was honking horns, and there were a thousand people carrying huge bags, balancing bags on their heads and pushing and swarming across the street all trying to be the first lemming into the train station. It took thirty minutes to cover the last block

Amtrak's AutoTrain is wonderfully family friendly, and kids are utterly enamored with trains. At the Lorton,VA station - the northern terminus - there is even a playground.
The train goes to Sanford, FL, just outside Orlando © 2010 Karen
Rubin/news-photos-features.com

The idea of long-distance train travel invariably evokes a sense of romance and nostalgia for the golden years when trains were the high-tech way to travel.

That spirit is still alive here in the United States in perhaps the most une