The Indian Pacific is one of the world’s great rail journeys, taking you the entire width of Australia (4,352km) between Sydney and Perth. The four day, three night all inclusive adventure takes place on board a luxury train which will have you feeling like you’ve stepped back in time.

There is so much to love about this journey: from the ever changing landscape to the incredible food, wine and of course the people you meet and share it with.

If you’ve been dreaming of making an epic trip across Australia one day, here’s why we think it should be on board the Indian Pacific. If you’d like the full low down on the journey from start to finish you’ll find it in this post.

10 Reasons the Indian Pacific Train should be on your bucket list

1 - To experience a journey you’ll never forget

It’s rare that I’ve ever had a memorable flight (and usually it’s for all the wrong reasons!) but I can honestly say the train journey across Australia on the Indian Pacific is one that I will never forget.

It’s the landscape - the chance to really see it, and watch it change little by little across the journey. It’s the the thrill of waking up and realising you’re somewhere new; spotting a kangaroo or emu in the most unlikely location, and of course the people you meet, which brings us on to reason two.

2 - To meet amazing people from all over the world

The day before we set off, I loaded up my Kindle with books. I knew I was perfectly happy staring out the window for hours on end, but the Indian Pacific is two nights longer than any other train journey I’d ever taken and I wasn’t sure whether it would start to get old. In the end I didn’t read a single page.

What I hadn’t realised is that this was one of those rarer and rarer opportunities to meet people from different walks of life and share an epic adventure with them. The fact the journey is four days long means that you quickly get to know people and you feel like old friends by the end of the trip.

We shared a lounge with architects, fire fighters, estate agents, writers, photographers and everyone had an interesting story to share. It was one of the true highlights of the journey and made it all the more memorable.

If you’re a bit of an introvert like me, don’t worry because you always have the opportunity to retreat to your cabin to recharge your batteries.

3 - You’ve dreamed about crossing the Nullabor for years

Many Australians we’ve met have this dream, and after living here for a few years we were no different. Crossing the Nullabor is almost like a rite of passage.

For those who may not know, the Nullabor Plain is 1,675km long and has both the longest straight road and stretch of railway (478km) in the world! It is known to be one of the most inhospitable places in Australia, Nullabor is Latin for ‘no trees’ - although we were surprised to find it is not completely lifeless!

However, we’ve spoken to many people who’ve driven the Nullabor and actually found it a bit of a chore after the first few hours. To those people we say: you should have done it by train! By train you have the chance to stand up and move around, chat to people, eat until your heart’s content, play games and of course simply sit and stare out the window.

I found the Nullabor scenery to be quite hypnotic and enjoyed every minute of it in a way that I know I wouldn’t have from a car, where the thought of sitting for two days straight makes me feel a bit twitchy.

Yes, the scenery doesn’t change much but that gives you a greater comprehension of the sheer size of this beautiful country.

4 - To travel the entire width of Australia in style

As a Brit (or perhaps anyone!), it’s hard to fully comprehend the size of Australia, and we dream of doing the full lap one day. In the meantime, taking a long journey across the entire width of the country, ocean to ocean, was a great adventure.

I loved watching the changing landscape and as we made our way from Western Australia, through South Australia and on to New South Wales.

It was also incredible to make the journey on board the most luxurious train we’ve ever been on.

As well as the comfy lounges you have your own private cabin with ensuite (in all cabins except gold singles which share several large bathrooms) which is set up as a long sofa during the day and made up into beds with mattresses and linen as you have your dinner. They even leave a chocolate on your pillow! After breakfast they’ve set it up for day use again.

Barista made coffee and alcoholic drinks are available in the lounges all day, and you’ll find a range of board games to play between meals and off-train excursions. We felt thoroughly spoilt and the Indian Pacific has probably ruined us for all future train trips!

5 - Because you’ll never laugh as hard as when trying to shower on a moving train

Yes, you will have the chance to shower on-board, no matter whether you’re in gold or platinum class. For the most part you get used to moving around on the train pretty quickly, and the drunken-like staggering is only when there is a particularly jolty section… or when you use the shower. Let’s just say I was grateful for the rail to hang onto because trying to wash my hair was definitely hilarious!

6 - To experience parts of country that you’d never otherwise get to see

We absolutely love the outback, and there are some places that the train stops that we would never have got to see ourselves. We’re talking really remote places - Cook, population four, and Rawlinna, population two!

Needless to say, neither destination has a wealth of things to do, but that’s why the short stops there were perfect!

You get to experience a true outback ‘town’ without having to commit to driving for hours and spending the night.

*Early morning breakfast stop at Rawlinna, Western Australia*

At Rawlinna you’ll also have either an early morning breakfast or an evening dinner under the stars, depending on which direction you’re travelling in.

7 - To watch a beautiful sunrise every morning without even having to leave your bed

There are few things in life I love more than watching the sunrise, but there are few things I find more torturous than a hideously early alarm call.

Travelling on the Indian Pacific gives you the chance to watch a spectacular sunrise every morning from the comfort of your own bed.

It doesn’t get much better than that!

The sunsets were also glorious but we were usually doing something (for something read eating!) at that point so the quiet sunrises from the comfort of our own cabin were extra special.

8 - To indulge in amazing regional food and wine with an ever changing backdrop

It’s fair to say that I love dining with a view. If there is a special occasion coming up you will inevitably find me googling ‘restaurants with a view in Sydney’. The train allows you to have your meals with a different view every day.

Not only that, but the food itself is seriously good and it’s hard to believe it comes from a tiny kitchen on a moving train.

Dining is a-la-carte and any diet will go out the window. Each day I told myself tomorrow I won’t have all three courses, and each day I saw the menu and reneged.

The food focuses on great regional produce; as does the wine list. In general, we are not fans of all inclusive dining as it usually goes hand in hand with big portions of low quality food.

This is definitely not the case on the Indian Pacific. Everything is high quality and I was surprised to see that they had wine from one of my favourite vineyards in the Hunter Valley!

Bring an appetite and stretchy pants!

9 - To truly relax and switch off for a few days

There are a lot of great things about staying so easily connected in today’s world, but there are a lot of downsides too.

I know that I’ve personally gone from not getting a smartphone until a few years ago to looking at my phone far too many times a day.

There is little chance to use the internet on board the train (Telstra users will get signal every now and again) and I found that wonderful both for switching off, and socialising.

Chatting, playing games and ‘just being’ are the name of the game here, and I left the train feeling like I’d had a much needed digital detox.

It’s amazing how quickly and easily you stop reaching for your phone when you know it is going to be really slow or not work at all.

10 - To travel in a way which feels like stepping back in time

I grew up dreaming of travelling on the Orient Express. The idea of long train journeys with dining carts and sleeper cabins sounded so romantic, and so different from modern day adventures which usually involve air travel and no concept of what’s going on at ground level in the areas you pass.

*Somewhere outside the Blue Mountains, NSW*

Life on board the Indian Pacific was exactly like I imagined the Orient Express to be all those years ago. There’s just something about falling asleep to the rocking and swaying of the train and waking up to a new landscape each day which makes you feel like you’ve stepped into the pages of a novel. Add to that the different characters you meet on board and it’s a journey like no other.

*Few people can pull off a moustache like Jos!*

Whilst I’ve always enjoyed overland travel, I’ve done it a lot less in recent years and this trip really had me remembering all the reasons why I love it. Is it too early to start googling The Ghan?!

Edit November 2020: We are just back from an amazing trip on The Ghan, you can read all about that experience here!

We travelled on the Indian Pacific as guests of Journey Beyond, all thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are - as always - our own.

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