Experience the elegance of rail travel on one of the most luxurious trains in the world. Rovos Rail combines the opulence of pre-war travel with subtle modern innovations. Join the Rovos Rail Pretoria to Durban luxury train for a 2 night/3 day safari. At the same time you experience some of the splendours of KwaZulu Natal in South Africa.
Take in the Big Five on a game drive, or enjoy a tour of the Battlefields with a world-class historian. Afterwards visit the world-famous Ardmore Ceramics with its unusual African ceramics in the Natal Midlands before travelling the Valley of a Thousand Hills down into Durban.
Your accommodation is in air-conditioned suites with exquisite wood panelling and period Edwardian features. All the suites are equipped with a writing desk, a personal safe, and a bar fridge filled with the drinks of your choice. 24 hour room service is available. The bathrooms combine original fittings with the modern technology of hot showers, hair dryers and shaver plugs. The observation car allows you to watch the unfolding scenery of the great interior of South Africa from a fascinating perspective.
You have the option of 3 different type of suites.
The Pullman suite - (±7 sq metres/±76 sq feet) are equipped with a comfortable sofa-seat during the day with a conversion to double or twin beds for the evening, and also have an en-suite bathroom with shower.
The Deluxe suite - (±10 sq metres/±108 sq feet) accommodates two passengers in either twin or double beds and have a lounge area and en-suite bathroom with shower.
The Royal suite - the suites, each of which take up half a carriage, are spacious and elegant measuring ±16 sq metres in size. Each has its own private lounge area and full bathroom with Victorian bath and separate shower. The air-conditioned suites accommodate two people offering the option of side-by-side twin or spacious double beds.
Note: This Rovos Rail Pretoria to Durban journey has set departure dates – typically only one per month – but with no trains between May and July when they are conducting some of the longer routes. So please enquire about the dates that are available. It is also offered in the opposite direction with the same off-train excursions, so from Durban to Pretoria. It's a perfect end to a safari in the Kruger, or a self-drive holiday in Limpopo & KwaZulu Natal.
Rovos Rail Pretoria to Durban:
2025: 24 Jan, 14 Feb, 7 March, 11 April, and then 15 Aug, 19 Sep, 17 Oct, 14 Nov
2026: 30 Jan, 6 Mar, 10 April, 18 Sept
Rovos Rail Durban to Pretoria:
2025: 27 Jan, 17 Feb, 10 March, 14 April, and then 18 Aug, 22 Sep, 20 Oct, 17 Nov
2026: 2 Feb, 9 Mar, 13 April, 21 Sept Sep
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Use the scroll button to see the full itinerary.
You set off at 10am, travelling southeast across the Highveld and the goldfields of the Witwatersrand towards Heidelberg, site of the first Rand gold strike, and Balfour, a small mining town in Mpumalanga. The train traverses the Drakensberg Mountains, then climbs to Majuba Hill – site of the decisive battle that ended the First Anglo Boer War – then passes Newcastle, which has what is reputed to be the largest cella-dome Hindu temple in the southern hemisphere.
19h30 – Dinner is served in the dining cars en route to Elandslaagte. Dress: Formal
The following morning you enjoy a game drive in the Nambiti Reserve, a private Big Five bush retreat set on 20 000 acres of malaria-free bushveld with incredible biodiversity including savannah, grasslands, thornveld and tall acacia trees.
In the afternoon you have a choice of excursions – either a nature/game drive in Spionkop Game Reserve OR an escorted battlefields tour of Spionkop. (We recommend the latter!)
19h30 – Dinner is served in the dining cars en route to Estcourt. Dress: Formal
The train descends the escarpment to Lions River. You enjoy a morning visit to the famous Ardmore Ceramics Gallery. Ardmore Ceramic Art is a story about the Zulu people whose sense of rhythm, colour, dance and song, as well as the spirit of the African imagination, is expressed through ceramics.
In the afternoon, the train traverses the spectacular Valley of a Thousand Hills. You arrive at journey’s end in Durban at approximately 4pm.
This is a set tour using specific camps. However many tours can be adapted. Chat to us about your options. It excludes international flights but includes an estimate for all domestic or regional flights within the tour.
Accommodation; all meals; all beverages; room service; limited laundry; excursions with a qualified guide (where applicable); entrance fees as per itinerary; government tax.
EXCLUDESInternational sparkling wine; gratuities; personal expenses; visas; travel insurance; pre- and post-tour transfers, accommodation and flights; items of a personal nature.
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