South Africa’s Luxury Train
Location: Various journeys available across Southern Africa
Style: Old school elegance
Budget: £££
When looking to traverse the breadth of the Southern Africa, what better way to do it than by boarding the luxurious Rovos Rail train and meandering from Pretoria all the way down to Cape Town on one of their famous routes. Soak up the romance of the magnificent train, the delicious food and impeccable service, as well as enjoying the various off train excursions and, of course, admiring the stunning South African scenery you will see along the way.
Staying on Rovos Rail
Depending on your route, you’ll either board the luxurious Pride of Africa train at Cape Town, Durban or Rovos Rail’s private station in Pretoria. Upon arrival at the station your seamless check in process takes a matter of minutes as porters whisk your luggage away, and after a glass of bubbles you’ll be greeted by a member of the Vos family, founders of the company.
Despite the Rovos Rail trains no longer being pulled by steam trains, instead now driven by electric trains, you will likely see one of the impressive original steam engines on show before your journey begins. Each of the luxury trains are named after the daughters of Rohan Vos, who all assist with the smooth running of Rovos Rail making it a real family affair!
With a capacity of up to 72 guests on one journey, the railway train snakes along the track an impressive distance. Made up of several sleeper, dining and lounge cars you can easily get your daily exercise walking up and down the many carriages! Don’t worry about getting lost though as at the entrance of each carriage the names of the suites are listed along with the guests allocated to each suite, quite handy when you forget whether you were three or four cars after the dining car.
The crazy length of the train also makes for a rather impressive photo as you curve around some of the more mountainous stretches of railway, so have your camera at the ready.
There are three types of suite that you can choose to stay in during your journey. The royal suite, the largest and most luxurious complete with a bath tub (imagine relaxing in a bubble bath as the African scenery whizzes past!), the deluxe suites or the more compact but still luxurious Pullmans.
In the deluxe suite that we stayed in, you have a comfortable enough amount of space, especially for a train, with each carriage housing only three suites. Within each suite there’s a large double bed the width of the cabin, a desk space to sit in your room when not in the lounge or dining cars, and a petite bathroom. Rovos kindly provide plenty of blankets (including a delightfully cosy heated one!) and a heating/air conditioning system, which you’ll be very grateful for during your stay. Despite warm weather in some parts of the country, it can get down to negative figures at some places along the route, making for a very chilly morning wake up.
Each cabin is assigned a hostess, who will assist you with any issues you have during your journey and who will also make sure that your bed is made and turned down during morning and evening mealtimes. Should you want or need for anything staff are on hand to assist at all times of the day, there’s even 24 hour room service!
Although the cabins are lovely you’ll probably want to venture out and explore the train, heading straight for one of two lounge cars; one in the middle of the train or the observation car right at the back. With a slightly more open space and an open air seating area at the rear, the observation car tends to be the more popular of the communal spaces to relax in, also incorporating a beautiful wood panelled bar to order your drinks from.
Within the communal spaces of Rovos Rail you can find an assortment of things to keep you entertained on days when you are not out exploring. Rovos encourage guests to leave technology behind, therefore you won’t find WiFi onboard and staff would prefer if you left your laptop and mobile phone in your cabin. Instead test your fellow travellers in a game of chess or scrabble as you watch the world chug by, or sit back in one of the comfy sofas and get lost in good book. Of course all of the above options are perfectly accompanied by a glass of one of Rovos Rail’s carefully selected South African wines.
Dining on Rovos Rail
There are two dining cars on the train, in which you will eat your three main meals, both designed in quite different styles. One, our pick for enjoying lunch in, has a much more open design, with large windows perfect for marvelling at the landscape as you enjoy your lunchtime glass of chardonnay. The second is instantly much more striking, with beautiful wood panelling and pillars, giving a truly lavish atmosphere, and where most people will try to get a table in for dinner. Gongs are sounded to announce each mealtime (excluding breakfast which is at your leisure), although we quickly learnt that to snag the best table you needed to arrive early!
Each morning breakfast is served until 10am, so you have the option to enjoy a lie in and still get a hearty breakfast in before the day’s excursions. Breakfast consists of the usual buffet style starters of cereal, yoghurt and fruit, followed by a selection of yummy hot dishes, including various eggs and a cooked English.
Lunch, usually served around 1pm, is a four course affair, together with matched wines if you wish. From lovely traditional dishes of bobotie (a type of South African beef stew) and melktert (a classic custard tart, similar to a Pastel de nata), to beautifully cooked ostrich fillet (YUM), you will enjoy a delicious meal, setting you up nicely for a good afternoon snooze!
Dinner is also made up of four courses, but is a much more glamorous occasion, with a strict dress code of a jacket and tie for gentlemen and cocktail dresses for ladies. As with lunch, the sommelier will suggest a wine pairing for you, but with such an exquisite and extensive wine list you are free to change it up as suits your tastes! Expect to dig into the likes of mussels with lemon hollandaise sauce, lamb shank with a red wine jus and the classic malva pudding as just some of the delicious dishes Rovos Rail serve.
After dinner retire to your room or meander back to the bar for a nightcap. With a choice of seven pages of wines, and a fully stocked bar including some special small batch gins, numerous whiskies and some South African liquors you could order a different drink every time you sit down and you’d still struggle to try everything on offer! Our top wine recommendations to save you hunting them out are the Le Lude (MCC – South African sparkling), Hamilton Russell Chardonnay and the Raka Cabernet Franc. If wine isn’t your thing, the Six Dogs Blue gin is delicious, and is super cool in that it changes from blue to a pink colour once tonic water is added.
Outside of mealtimes, you’ll certainly never go hungry and by the end of your time on Rovos Rail you’ll be loosening your trousers! Snacks are regularly provided within the lounge cars and at around 4pm afternoon team is served. If you’ve room, and somehow we always managed to find some, you can tuck into a selection of freshly made finger sandwiches, cakes and fruit to enjoy alongside your glass of bubbly!
Excursions from Rovos Rail
On each day of your journey across the heart of South Africa, you will stop to explore some of the gems along the way. You can find full details of your specific itinerary, and other helpful Rovos Rail information included in a folder in your cabin on arrival. As these times are subject to change due to other trains in Africa causing delays, your friendly train manager will confirm the following day’s proceedings each evening during dinner.
On the Cape Town journey, the first stop is the city of Kimberley, around 500km from Pretoria and home to the first diamonds discovered in South Africa. Make sure you’re ready early as a few minutes before the train pulls into the station you’ll be able to spot a spectacular lake alongside the tracks which is home to huge flocks of lesser flamingos.
On arrival at Kimberley, you’ll be split into small groups and loaded onto minibuses with your guide for the morning. After a short drive to the diamond museum you can see the famed Big Hole, the epicentre of mining activities which began in the mid-19th century and the end result of a rush to find these precious gems.
Alongside this spectacular sight, you will be guided around the museum, exploring the history of the area including the story of the very first discovery of South African diamonds, a replica mine experience and the valuable diamond vault. There’s some spare time following your tour should you wish to purchase any diamond jewellery or explore the museum further, however we recommend keeping your shopping brief and spending some time looking around the reproduction of Kimberley’s old town.
On return from the diamond museum, the team at Rovos will quite literally roll out the red carpet for you, with staff ready to welcome you back onto the train with a glass of bubbles, or perhaps a sherry if it’s a slightly cooler day.
During the second day of your journey, your excursion is to the quaint town of Matjiesfontain. You have the option of taking a guided brisk walk into the town from a station on the outskirts to get some fresh air, or choosing the laidback approach and stepping off the train right in the town centre.
The town itself originated around Lord Milner Hotel, becoming a fashionable place to relax in the Victorian era. All the original buildings remain for you to explore, all located along one straight road in the middle of the Great Karoo. Plucked from a bygone era, the buildings would not be out of place in a South African period drama, with beautiful colours and designs making it a picture perfect spot to visit.
How much does Rovos Rail cost?
How much does Rovos Rail cost?
Rovos Rail prices vary dependent on the time of year, the route you opt for, and also by the level of luxury you choose for your suite.
We travelled from Pretoria to Cape Town, on the Cape Town journey, which costs between ZAR 20,600 – ZAR 41,400 (c. £1,350 – £2,150) per person depending on which form of Rovos Rail accommodation you choose. If you really want to splash out on one of the longer routes prices are around ZAR 100,000 (£5,400), you can find more detailed pricing information on Rovos Rails website.
The Rovos Rail cost includes all meals and drinks including alcoholic drinks (this does exclude Champagne, but with such a wonderful selection of South African sparkling, you definitely won’t be short on bubbles!), 24 hour room service and all excursions as detailed in the Rovos Rail itinerary.
What is a typical day on the Rovos train like?
Apart from any excursions and lunch/dinner times, how you choose to spend the day on board is entirely up to you. As breakfast is served early and late you can opt for a lie in or get up early to find a spot at the rear of the train to marvel as the South African sunrise. Excursions will be planned according to running times on the tracks with mealtimes moved slightly to accommodate any changes to the schedule. Most days lunch is served around 1pm and dinner around 7:30pm. Should you choose to sneak in a nap before dinner or get competitive over a game of scrabble, the time is yours to play with.
What are the Rovos Rail routes available?
Rovos Rail routes vary from short 2 night trips to longer 15 day journeys spanning several African countries. Shorter routes include the Cape Town journey that we enjoyed (more details above), a Durban safari adventure including game drives within private reserves and the scenic journey up to Victoria Falls passing through the beautiful Hwange Park. On these journeys guests sleep on board every night, with some of the daytime spent enjoying the views passing by and a few hours each day spent off the train exploring Southern Africa.
Rovos Rail host three longer journeys, each offering something a little different, from a golf focused journey to an exploration of neighbouring Namibia and an epic 15 day African adventure. With longer journeys, there tends to be a few nights where you overnight at hotels and game lodges en route, providing a chance to stretch out a little after a few nights in your cabin, and they host two themed nights on board offering guests the chance to dress up. Their longest journey, an epic 15 day journey from Cape Town, through Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and ending in Dar es Salaam is a fabulous way to spend two weeks enjoying some of the highlights of Africa.
You can see more detailed Rovos Rail itineraries on their website.
Our final thoughts on... Rovos Rail
If you are a lover of any train journey, and especially if you’re a fan of luxury train travel, Rovos Rail has got to be on your bucket list to experience. As soon as you step aboard the Pride of Africa you will lose yourself in the whimsical world of yesteryear, indulging in the delicious food, sublime wines and impeccable service you will receive on board. With various routes to enjoy guests come back to stay on Rovos time and time again, we can’t blame them, what better way is there to explore Africa than on Rovos Rail!?
Find Out More…
Rovos Rail – https://www.rovos.com
Explore more from South Africa.
Many thanks to Rovos Rail for hosting us on this special journey through South Africa. As always, all thoughts and opinions expressed here are entirely our own, we wouldn’t recommend something if we didn’t love it!
