ConceptOriel is a fictional company designed by Arclight. Journeys, prices, dates and reviews are invented; nothing can be booked.
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Small-group rail journeys · France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece
Twelve travellers at most, hand-picked family-run stays, and your luggage goes ahead of you. All you do is look out of the window.
Small enough for a family kitchen, a quiet boat, and a table where everyone can hear.
Centre to centre with the scenery included, and far less carbon than flying the same route.
Bags travel between hotels without you. You travel with a day bag and both hands free.
Move your dates at no cost until two months before departure. Plans change; journeys can too.
The Journeys
Every price is per traveller sharing a room, with trains, hotels, luggage and the experiences listed included.
Showing 6 of 6 journeys
Marseille → Nice → Genoa → Vernazza
The coast road's best view is from the train. Nine days from the Vieux-Port to the Cinque Terre, by the line that hugs the sea the whole way.
From, per traveller
$3,890
Next: 18 May 2027
Naples → Sorrento → Positano → Capri
Pizza where it was born, lemons where they grow, and the Amalfi Coast seen from the water rather than the traffic.
From, per traveller
$3,450
Next: 27 Apr 2027
Verona → Bolzano → Val Gardena → Cortina
From Verona's arena to the high meadows, with cable cars doing the climbing and mountain huts doing the cooking.
From, per traveller
$4,280
Next: 15 Jun 2027
Lisbon → Sintra → Porto → Douro Valley
Tiled Lisbon, the palaces of Sintra, Porto from the river, and a slow train up the Douro to the terraced vineyards.
From, per traveller
$3,190
Next: 20 Apr 2027
Madrid → Córdoba → Seville → Granada
High-speed rail between the great cities of the south, and slow evenings in each: flamenco, tapas and the Alhambra at dusk.
From, per traveller
$3,560
Next: 6 Apr 2027
Athens → Naxos → Paros → Santorini
Athens by its own metro, then the islands by fast ferry: three Cyclades, chosen so you see the quiet ones as well as the famous one.
From, per traveller
$3,980
Next: 4 May 2027
Featured Journey · 9 Days
Marseille → Nice → Genoa → Vernazza · from $3,890
The coast road's best view is from the train. Nine days from the Vieux-Port to the Cinque Terre, by the line that hugs the sea the whole way.
Meet your host at the hotel, then a welcome dinner on the Vieux-Port as the fishing boats come in.
A morning boat into the limestone inlets east of the city, with a swim stop, and the afternoon free in Le Panier.
Two and a half hours by train along the water. An evening walk through the Old Town and the flower market.
Up to Èze for the view the painters came for, and lunch in a family kitchen in the hills behind it.
The train into Italy, through the tunnels and the lemon terraces. Focaccia, the old palazzi and the port by night.
A slow boat round the headland to the harbour, with the afternoon to swim or walk to the lighthouse.
Settle into Vernazza, then walk the cliff path to Monterosso with a host who knows where to stop.
Swim, read, or join a pesto lesson in Manarola. Farewell dinner above the harbour.
Your luggage and a transfer to La Spezia for trains to Pisa, Florence or Milan.
Twelve seats per departure, never more.
$500 deposit today. The rest is due 60 days before you travel.
Why Rail
A flight shows you the clouds. The train from Nice to Genoa shows you the whole Riviera, one bay at a time, and leaves you in the middle of town instead of an hour outside it.
No security lines, no transfers, no weight limits on the bag you are not carrying, and far less carbon than flying the same route.
How It Works
Filter by the kind of trip you want, compare dates and see exactly how many seats are left.
Hold your place with a deposit. The balance is due 60 days before you travel, not before.
Tickets, hotels, luggage, tables and a host who meets you at the first station.
Stays & Tables
Family-run hotels in the old towns, chosen because we would stay there ourselves, and tables our hosts book for their own birthdays. Five dinners and three lunches on every journey are already taken care of.
Travellers Say
Sample reviews, written for this concept.
“We saw more of Italy from the train window than we ever have from a car. And nobody had to drive.”
“Twelve of us, and it never felt like a tour. Our host in Porto had us eating where she eats.”
“Our luggage was waiting in every room. That alone changed how the whole trip felt.”
Good To Know
Every train and ferry between stops, hand-picked hotels with breakfast, luggage moved between hotels, a local host on every leg, and the experiences listed on the journey. Flights to the start and home from the finish are not included.
Twelve travellers at most, usually eight to ten. Solo travellers are welcome; a room of your own costs extra on most journeys.
If you can walk for two or three hours at an easy pace with breaks, you will be fine. Each journey lists its walking level, and the longer walks always have an easier option.
Change your dates for free until 60 days before departure. Cancel before then and your deposit becomes credit for any journey in the next two years.
No. Oriel is a concept, designed by Arclight to show what a travel booking experience could feel like. Nothing on this page can be booked, and no details are collected.
Be on the terrace for it. Amalfi & The Bay leaves in April, May and September.
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