It fits with another of 2024's travel trends, transitory exploring—instead of seeing the journey as the horror of plane travel before arriving in a place to start a holiday, the focus is on moving slowly through places, normally using multi-modal transport. Sleeper trains across Europe are seeing a resurgence at every price point and hotel chain, Accor, is launching its Orient Express La Dolce Vita luxury sleeper train to Italy this year.
More people currently want to move through borders slowly and in style. One good example is the Coquelicot (French for 'poppy') which is a high-end, Les Bateaux Belmond-operated barge that will take its luxury travelers through the canals of France across the Champagne region—it can be yours for $92,000 a week. The signature touch is the partnership with the world's oldest champagne house, Maison Ruinart. There's even an open kitchen with potted herbs and wildflowers on the deck.
Or try the Trailfinders Vietnam and Cambodia multi-modal 16-night trip including nights on a barge, sleeper train, boat rides along the Mekong Delta and cycling. Alternatively, if you have a bigger budget, you could try the 80-day round-the-world rail trip operated by Railfinders. For $114,000 per person, you can take luxury trains across four continents and 13 countries starting summer 2024.
Jonathan Goldsmith, head of product at Cazenove+Loyd, another luxury tour operator told The Telegraph that the attractive idea around using superyachts (or long-distance rail travel) is that people only need to unpack once and move through places while still saying in the same room. The advantage of a superyacht over a cruise and a train is that it's much more exclusive and you can get into hidden creeks and bays to spend your days. Goldsmith also adds that it's a no-brainer for luxury hotel brands—when they expand into superyachts they get to keep their clients for longer and won't lose them to luxury yacht charters. It's also a highly effective way of moving clients from one luxury property to another.
