The Most Luxurious Train

Rovos Rail brings the luxury and decadence of the olden days back to train travel. Get ready for a ride to remember -- with butler service, gourmet meals, and authentic cabooses nicer than any hotel you’ve ever visited.

You can choose from an array of African adventures from Cape Town to Dar es Salaam. You can get South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Tanzania off your bucket list with minimal re-packing along the way.

Tour the vineyards of Klein and Great Karoo, explore Cape Town, Pretoria, and Dar es Salaam, get up close and personal with wild animals at the Selous Game Reserve, spend two nights at the luxurious Madikwe Game Reserves’ lodge, walk along the edge of Victoria Falls, and take a sunset cruise on the Zambezi.

The 172-sqft cabins have a mini bar, full A/C, a private lounge area, and an en-suite bathroom with shower and Victorian tub. The cost? Only $18,900. Mingle with others who have more time and money than sense in the Observation Car, which is at the back of each train and features bigger windows as well as open-air balconies. 

Meals -- all made from fresh, local ingredients (and local game) -- are served in restored Victorian Dining Cars, and obviously come with a boatload of South African wines. OBVIOUSLY a gong heralds lunch and dinner, which in turn heralds a really intense Pavolvian effect because all you're doing on that train is waiting for food anyway. Formal attire is required for dinner; a jacket and tie are the minimum for men.



The endless, rugged African landscape, the train ch-ch-chooing along, its relaxing rumble lulling you to sleep/ into a 14-day coma. Well, we hope this looks relaxing to you, cuz "in maintaining the spirit of travel of a bygone era, there are no radios or television sets on board". Yup. Smartphones and iPads are banned from public areas.