Launch of luxury steam train holidays from Europe to Tehran

A luxury train connecting the capitals of Hungary and Iran left Budapest for the first time earlier this month, with 70 passengers set to cross the Balkans, the Bosphorus and Kurdistan on the way to Persia aboard a set of deluxe railcars.

The two-week trip sets back each participant at least £9,000 ($14,333) and some as much as £25,000 ($40,247) including full service with private bathroom, a sightseeing program and the beautiful scenery that rolls leisurely by for about 7,000 km (4,350 miles).

The tickets for the first train sold out in 10 days, said Tim Littler, the founder of tour operator Golden Eagle, adding he planned four more trains to make the trip next year. “There is a huge vacuum in the tourist industry for people who would like to go to Iran, but want to do it in comfort and safety,” Littler told Reuters while aboard a pre-war sleeper as a steam locomotive pulled the cars through the Hungarian plains.

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Launch of luxury steam train holidays from Europe to Tehran