Great rail journeys help you explore Africa’s wealth of natural highlights like the spectacular Victoria Falls, Namib Desert’s Sossusvlei sand dunes and Cape Town’s iconic Table Mountain. You will travel in style from the moment you arrive at the platform with pre departure drinks and canapes.
Once on board, your private butler will escort you to your cabin, show you where everything can be found before you have time to settle in. It’s then time to enjoy the journey, watching landscapes through enormous glass windows and the changing colours in Africa’s sky.
Few people have the opportunity to experience a luxury train journey through Africa. It is a phenomenal feeling to be a pampered passenger on a luxury train that travels through such beautiful scenery and halting at various iconic destinations along the way.
Comfortable cabins, delightful cuisine served in elegant dining rooms and cocktails savoured at sunset in the bar car. Here is the collection of Africa’s luxury trains and we can incorporate any of them into your tailor-made safari holiday itinerary.
When to Go
All of the luxury trains in Africa are scheduled departures and run throughout the year, with more limited dates over the Christmas period. It depends on which routing you wish to travel as to the frequency. The most popular and regular routes are with Blue Train and Rovos Rail between Cape Town and Pretoria. The longer journeys are more infrequent except with Shongololo who has fantastic regular departures on various routings.
Good to Know
Schedules are set 2 years in advance and cabins sell out quickly. There are sometimes specials available to us where a free night is offered at either the start or the finish of the journey. There are different cabin categories and the differences are all based on the space available to you. The trains are mostly all inclusive luxury experiences where you will want for nothing and marvel at everything inside and outside your window.
Blue Train
The Blue Train is South Africa’s iconic luxury train and can trace its origins to 1923. With ample carriages, the company has enough to make up two trains which means a more impressive schedule than ever before. There is a Cape Town to Pretoria and vice versa itinerary with one night on the train and a stop enroute. Another route is Durban to Pretoria just twice a year and subject to change at any time based on interest. With panoramic views, lovely service, fine dining and outstanding cabins you will truly enjoy this experience. Itineraries, dates and rates available on request.
Rovos Rail
Rovos Rail is known as the Pride of Africa and was created in 1989 by Rohan Vos. It takes guests through southern Africa with north and southbound journeys between Pretoria and Cape Town. This is a popular 2 night journey where you see beautiful landscapes like grasslands, mountain ranges and Victorian towns. Another popular route is two night Victoria Falls to Pretoria and vice versa. This takes you through South Africa, Botswana and into Zimbabwe. The epic journey is Dar es Salaam to Cape Town over 14 days, taking in Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa. Itineraries, dates and rates available on request.
Shongololo
Zulu for millipede, Shongololo is certainly a long and impressive train as it travels across the plains of Southern Africa. There are numerous suite categories to choose from and all accommodation options are comfortable with bed and ensuite bathroom. Shongololo is an elegant affair with lounge and dining car. The point of difference is that excursion vehicles are transported with the train so it’s totally effortless. Journeys include Cape Town to Johannesburg over 13 days, The Southern Cross from Johannesburg to Victoria Falls in 16 days, The Dune Express from Johannesburg to Windhoek and in reverse over 12 days plus the Dr Livingstone Tour Johannesburg to Dar es Salaam in 15 days. Itineraries, dates and rates available on request. Finally, one of our favourites, the Lernidee African Explorer travelling either direction through Namibia and South Africa in 14 days.
