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Venice Simplon-Orient-Express Announces 2014 Istanbul Sales

By Owen C. Hardy

Hungarian military band greets Paris-Istanbul Orient-Express in Budapest. IRT Photos by O. Hardy

Is the Orient-Express Paris-Istanbul on your bucket list?

If so, maybe it’s time to move it from “bucket” to “book it.”

The per-person cost of a Cabin Suite on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express’ once-a-year historic route is dropping $2,580: from $19,900 this year to $17,320 in 2014.

IRT Society President Eleanor Hardy in a Double Cabin
IRT Society President Eleanor Hardy in a Double Cabin

(A Cabin Suite is two adjoining Double Cabins connected by a private, interior door. A Double Cabin has a sink, plus upper and lower berths, which fold down by day into a comfortable sofa. Many IRT couples sharing a compartment prefer a Cabin Suite, so both can have a lower bed and a sink of their own.)

Also for next year, you can book Paris-Istanbul in a Double Cabin. Per-person cost is $9,000. A Cabin Suite is the only option this year.

In other words, this year, a couple can’t do this itinerary for less than almost $40,000. Next year, you and your sweetheart can “rough it” on the Orient-Express’ most sought-after route for a total of $18,000. (Just be clear who’s climbing the stairs to the top bunk.)

The 2014 prices are lower for another hot Orient-Express itinerary, Istanbul-Venice: $9,000 per person for two people sharing a Double Cabin; $17,320 per person for two people sharing a Cabin Suite. The train’s remaining itinerary prices also are less next year, although not by as much.

Cabin Suite as seen from station platform
Cabin Suite as seen from station platform

Finally, for those who simply can’t get enough of the world-famous, 1920s-era, Art Deco luxury train, you’ll get a discount if you book both itineraries — Paris-Istanbul (Aug. 29-Sept. 3, 2014) and Istanbul-Venice (Sept. 5-10, 2014) — back to back:

Istanbul station platform
Istanbul station platform

The cost is $31,180 per person for two people sharing a Cabin Suite. It’s only $16,200 per person for two people sharing a Double Cabin (again, just be clear on who’s up and who’s down).

For more information or to book a trip on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express — or any of  Society’s other “World’s Top 25 Trains®,” please call (800) 478-4881 in the U.S. and Canada or (502) 897-1725 elsewhere. For more information on the Orient-Express, please click here.

A full-service, international Virtuoso travel agency, The Society of International Railway Travelers can help you with hotels, transfers, flights, guides, add-on cruises and other itineraries. Contact us for a free, 15-minute consultation.