The beautifully restored carriages of Rovos Rail combine luxury travel with the chance to experience living history.
Restaurant cars, observation carriages and sleeping compartments are all restored originals from a bygone era of rail travel, with dark woods and period fittings designed for pioneering travellers and colonial grandees.
Whether you are getting to know your fellow passengers over a drink, enjoying a sumptuous silver-service dinner, or marvelling at the restored steam trains that take you in and out of Rovos Rail’s own station, your time on the train will pass all too quickly.
Start planning your tailor-made trip by contacting one of our South Africa specialists
These activities are designed to give you the most authentic experiences around where you're staying. We work with local guides, who use their knowledge and often a resident's eye to show you the main sights and more out-of-the-way attractions. Our specialists can suggest tours and activities that will introduce you to the local ways of life.
A journey aboard The Blue Train
Following a historic route between Pretoria and Cape Town, The Blue Train is one of South Africa’s finest rail journeys. On board, you can experience fine dining, relax in your own private suite and take in mountain views from the Observation Car.
Cape Town City Tour
No visit to Cape Town is complete without a tour of the "Mother City". Your tour will include visits to the Castle of Good Hope, the Parliament Buildings and Bo-Kaap, plus of course the iconic Table Mountain.
Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden
Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden occupies a large swathe of beautiful land on the lower slopes of Table Mountain. It houses a huge collection of indigenous flora, such as heathery fynbos, flowering proteas and dramatically coloured strelitzias.
Museums of Cape Town
As with any major city there are a number of very good museums in Cape Town and you might like to visit some whilst you are here. Some of the ones that we personally recommend are District Six Museum, Gold of Africa Museum, and the Iziko Museums of Cape Town.
Peninsula Tour
The Cape Peninsula is an area of dramatic natural beauty and huge ecological significance, which manages to retain a wild feel despite its huge popularity with visitors. As you drive south from Cape Town, you pass through the exclusive suburbs of Camps Bay and Clifton before continuing onto Hout Bay and through Constantia, where the road meanders behind Table Mountain and down onto the coast.
Robben Island Excursion
Your tour will be conducted by a former inmate, which gives a truly unique perspective. As well as the communal cells, where most prisoners were kept in conditions of severe overcrowding, you will also see the tiny cells of B-Section, where Nelson Mandela spent much of his incarceration here.
Table Mountain Tour
Guests are taken to the lower terminal for the cable-car up Table Mountain. The cable-car is a very modern affair, and completes a 360º rotation during the ascent, affording you fantastic views over the city.
Wine Tour
In the company of Pietman Retief, who is recognised as one of the leading wine experts in the country, you can experience the Winelands and the history of the area through his passion.
You can enjoy this activity as part of the suggested tours below, or we can weave it into a trip shaped entirely around you.
