Melbourne based Safir Tours, a bespoke DMC, is promoting Great Australian Rail Journeys for 2018-2019 in the Indian market. The packages are – The Ghan train that departs Adelaide every Sunday for Alice Spring; and the Indian Pacific train that takes travellers across the coast of Australia – East to West from Sydney to Perth or vice versa. Highlighting the key attractions for Indian travellers, Nayaz Noor, CEO, Safir Tours said, “It offers the Indian traveller a different way to see and experience the central part of Australian outback and its vast stretches of landscape that is completely different from the rest of the continent. A unique journey that is unmatched. It combines luxury with the rugged scenic beauty of the Australian red soil terrain. Most of all it offers the Indian traveller bragging rights to have done a journey in Australia that is once in a life time and so different from the others.”
With a continent as large as the USA, train travel on The Ghan and Indian Pacific gives a different perspective to the experience one encounters, pointed out Noor. It is an all inclusive experience. Informing about the facilities, he added, “The trains have Platinum and Gold Class services each with their own lounges and restaurant area for the guests. Three course meals for Gold Class and five course for Platinum. All beverages including wines, spirits are included. Coffee/tea/canapes in the lounge throughout the journey, commentary on the train, its history and sights along the way on a channel in the cabins, streaming music on other channels, en-suite bath rooms for Gold and Platinum twin cabins, water and tea/coffee making facilities on board, a small souvenir shop.
Reminding that journeying from South to North or East to west or vice versa, the stark emptiness is in itself an attraction, Noor mentioned that the itinerary is a total contrast to visiting just the cities in Australia. “Learning about the indigenous culture in the off-train excursions allows one to become a part of it in some ways,” he stated.