Ride The Ghan Across Australia
Still to do
Three days across the red centre of Australia on a train named after the camel drivers who opened up the outback.
The adventure
The Ghan takes its name from the Afghan cameleers who carried goods across the outback before the railway came. Today it takes about three days and nearly 3,000 kilometres to cross the continent, from tropical Darwin in the north to Adelaide in the south.
The landscape changes slowly outside the window: from green tropics and the gorges of Katherine to the red desert of the centre, where the earth is the colour of rust and the horizon is impossibly far away. At Alice Springs you step off into the heart of Australia. Dinner in the restaurant car, the train pulling over for a fireside dinner under the stars, and the sun coming up over the desert from your cabin make it feel like a voyage rather than a train ride.
Why it’s epic
- About 2,979 kilometres from Darwin to Adelaide.
- Stops at Katherine Gorge and Alice Springs.
- Dinner under the outback stars at Manguri on the Expedition journey.
What it is
One of the world's great train journeys, running about 2,979 kilometres through the heart of Australia between Darwin and Adelaide, via Katherine and Alice Springs.
How to do it
Book directly with Journey Beyond. Fares include meals, drinks and off-train excursions at the stops.
Top tip
Take one of the off-train excursions at Alice Springs, or break the journey there for Uluru.
Need to know
- The Ghan runs mainly from March to November, with fewer departures in summer.
- It's an all-inclusive premium experience, priced accordingly.
- Book a year ahead for the dry-season months.
Plan this trip
- Rough cost
- £5,000 or more per person, including flights from the UK
- Time needed
- 3 to 4 days
- Best time to go
- May to September
- Fly into
- DRW airport
All-inclusive cabins make this a big splurge.
Make it happen
Why it’s on my list
Not done yet. If you’ve done it and have tips, tell me about it.
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