Ranked, with the working shown

The best train tours in Australia

70 hotel-based trips in Australia had enough verified data to score; hostel and self-guided rail-pass trips are not ranked here. The ranking below is fully mechanical; here is exactly how it works:

  • Eligibility: only hotel-based tours are ranked. Trips built around hostels or self-arranged accommodation are left out, since these guides recommend hotel-inclusive tours for the general traveller.
  • Rail share (35%): the percent of the trip actually on trains, from the itinerary.
  • Value (20%): price per day against the other hotel-based trips on this page (cheaper per day scores higher).
  • Data completeness (25%): full day-by-day itinerary, imagery, inclusions, and verified price.
  • Departure breadth (20%): how many months the operator publishes departures for.
  1. 172.5

    Sydney dinner cruise, then Indian Pacific train Sydney to Perth

    Rail share
    60
    Value
    70
    Completeness
    100
    Departures
    63

    5 days · from $2,254 ($451/day)

  2. 2
    Monarto Safari Stay 2027

    Journey Beyond Rail

    71.6

    Indian Pacific to Adelaide, then safari resort in the Murraylands.

    Rail share
    60
    Value
    66
    Completeness
    100
    Departures
    63

    5 days · from $2,303 ($461/day)

  3. 14-day Australian private journey via Ghan train Darwin to Adelaide, then flights to Melbourne

    Rail share
    21
    Value
    80
    Completeness
    100
    Departures
    100

    14 days · from $5,553 ($397/day)

  4. 4
    Monarto Safari Stay 2027

    Journey Beyond Rail

    68.2

    The Ghan Expedition from Darwin to Adelaide, then Monarto Safari Resort

    Rail share
    67
    Value
    49
    Completeness
    100
    Departures
    50

    6 days · from $3,359 ($560/day)

  5. 5
    Monarto Safari Stay 2026

    Journey Beyond Rail

    67.8

    The Ghan Expedition train to Adelaide, then safari resort stay

    Rail share
    65
    Value
    50
    Completeness
    100
    Departures
    50

    6 days · from $3,277 ($546/day)

  6. 6
    Rail Runner

    Savannahlander

    67.8

    Four-day train journey inland from Cairns through Queensland outback on the Savannahlander.

    Rail share
    65
    Value
    100
    Completeness
    100
    Departures
    0

    4 days · from $851 ($213/day)

  7. Five-day Great Southern train journey Brisbane to Adelaide with one Adelaide night

    Rail share
    80
    Value
    73
    Completeness
    100
    Departures
    0

    5 days · from $2,171 ($434/day)

  8. Independent Queensland coastal rail trip from Brisbane to Cairns

    Rail share
    63
    Value
    96
    Completeness
    100
    Departures
    0

    8 days · from $2,539 ($317/day)

  9. Indian Pacific crosses the Nullarbor to Adelaide with wine touring

    Rail share
    67
    Value
    83
    Completeness
    100
    Departures
    0

    6 days · from $2,363 ($394/day)

  10. The Ghan Expedition Darwin to Adelaide with Adelaide city overnight

    Rail share
    80
    Value
    57
    Completeness
    100
    Departures
    0

    5 days · from $2,435 ($487/day)