The highly-anticipated arrival in April 2025 of slow travel on board the brand-new La Dolce Vita Orient Express in Italy is expected to be ahead of schedule, LATTE can exclusively reveal.
The ultra-luxury product is themed on the 1960s era of rail travel, some 40 years beyond the theme of the classic Orient Express trains styled to the 1920s, says Samy Ghachem, General Manager.
“La Dolce Vita Orient Express is all about passion for love, life, cinematography, film, art and romance,” Ghachem said.
The brand will operate six trains across Italy, the first of which is slated to exit the factory next month in September. Sales for La Dolce Vita Orient Express went live in April 2024, for departures beginning in eight months time.
“We’ll move that up to March pretty soon,” Ghachem said, citing a combination of strong demand for the new product, and the train being on schedule for delivery.
“We may even move open that up a little bit earlier to January and February,” he told LATTE at Virtuoso Travel Week in Las Vegas.
Each of the six trains comprises 12 carriages with 31 cabins (including 18 suites) each with an ensuite, offering all-inclusive journeys that start and finish in Rome, with an exception on the journey from Rome to Sicily. The journeys are either one or two nights in duration, with the train moving at an average of 80 km/hr. Three-Michelin star chef Heinz Beck will design multi-course menus for lunch and dinner at the 40-seat restaurant onboard, with matching wines.
A highlight on the Sicily journey will be the disassembly of the train and its transfer onto ferries to cross the Strait of Messina in a process that will take around 90 minutes, with guests watching while sipping a Prosecco.
There are eight itineraries available, each including an “off board” ground excursion of three-, four- or five-hours duration to “really get under the skin of the destination”. Other options will also be made available, or guests can explore destinations at their leisure.
“It’s a new way of visiting Italy, going to places tourists wouldn’t normally go,” he added.
The product is commissionable for travel advisors.
Ghachem told LATTE he plans to make a visit to Australia in early 2025 to promote La Dolce Vita Orient Express to trade partners and advisors, to heighten awareness and build stronger ties down under.
More on La Dolce Vita Orient Express at orient-express.com/la-dolce-vita.
