Great Rail Journeys Reviews 

I was on the phone for hours to make my reservation and had to talk to two agents. Both agents said it would only take 5 or 10 minutes, but there kept being issues with the "system" and it took forever. One agent said that they would call me back but never did, and then went off shift. I had to call back again and got a different agent. I had to ask for mistakes to be corrected multiple times. In the end, they took my deposit, but said that there was "something wrong with their system" and they could not guarantee that the reservation went through until Monday (it was Friday). On Monday, I didn't receive any follow up correspondence regarding this issue, and had to email again.

Easy and straight forward booking process, Paul was very helpful

Have been looking at trips by GRJ for a while and finally booked for 2027 at a good discounted price. Booking process was easy by telephone.

Booking process was easy, and the representative explained everything yo us clearly.

Friendly and helpful agent answering questions fully and then guidance through the booking process.

Nice to speak to people who can answer all queries and helpful in explaining questions on luggage, hotels etc.

I wanted to experience not only the railway sections of the tour, the towns of New England but also the changing foliage and glorious colours. This is what I found.

The Tour manager was due to meet us on our arrival. This never happened. She ‘went off piste’ too often meaning we only had one stop to photograph the changing tree colours. Taking pictures through a coach or train, moving at 100 mph plus, window is nigh on impossible. Frequently, one thing was planned and it never happened. The itinerary in the brochure was more or less ignored.

Too much time was spent in ‘free time,’ frequently as long as three hours in the middle of small towns or on a promontory with nothing else other than other than a lighthouse.

The small towns were basically one short street. After buying a sandwich and walking the length, there was nothing else. The visit to Salem revealed an inappropriate exploitation of its history, more Harry Potter than the Salem Witch Trials. Wolfeboro was similar; while British history is of little interest, it could have been mentioned that the USA could be speaking French if not for General Wolfe.

We used three hotels. The last, the Aloft, was not suitable. It did not have a dining room so breakfast was taken in the bar with the party sitting at the bar or at bar tables. The cutlery was plastic knives, forks and spoons; the crockery was paper plates and cups. The food was cold. The rooms were serviced every other day and not well equipped – ‘spartan’ would not really describe them

Excellent response, fast telephone response,
very pleasant people;
all questions answered very well

Very helpful staff and made booking easy.

Informative website, easy booking process and responsive reply to query

Agent Paul was very helpful it was good to be served by a cheerful person who knew all about the holiday I was intending to book.

Goodvholiday and great hotel and especially theFood!

A lady called lynne was so helpful to get ourselves and our friends booked on the same holiday, seats on the plane together, rooms together in our hotel. Thank you

A friendly and helpful telephone experience. So great to talk to a real person who understood what you wanted and made everything simple.

it was very easy to book my holiday via telephone call

Easy to book and questions answered

Lynn's was very helpful and knowledgeable about the holiday we were booking.

We had a very negative experience with Great Rail Journeys (formerly Vacations By Rail). We took the Iconic Alaska tour late May to early June 2026 and, although Alaska was beautiful, the experience with Vacations By Rail was extremely disappointing for what we paid. We met other travelers while riding the Alaska Railroad who had booked their travel directly through Alaska Railroad. They were booked on the same excursions and in the same hotels we were but booked directly through Alaska Railroad. Not only did they save the middle-man expense but they were receiving important communications that we were not. We found ourselves dependent on our fellow travelers for updates because we were not receiving any. The most frustrating lapse was when an excursion that we were booked on in Talkeetna was cancelled due to too much ice in the river. Our fellow travelers were all made aware and were assisted in finding alternatives. When I finally was able to speak to someone at Vacations By Rail, the agent was unaware of the situation. In fact, she said, "thanks for letting me know." She didn't seem embarrassed that our roles were reversed. She did say that the excursion would be refunded to our credit card. However, I believe she was distracted in her job because I could hear her children in the background. I am not apposed to people working from home unless it means they are unable to focus on their job. Several weeks later, we had not received a refund so I went through the process of figuring out whom to contact. The contacts for the sales team (which are robust and responsive) are not the same as after you've given them your money. It is now late October and we have not received a refund and I need to try, once again, to get someone to respond. For a much better experience and a better price, I recommended that you book directly through Alaska Railroad.

I am still awaiting confirmation of my trip by rail and return by rail in May to Rome and Puglia!