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Planet Rail · Tailor-made luxury train holiday

Rovos Rail – Cape Town – Pretoria – Victoria Falls

Luxury rail journey from Victoria Falls to Cape Town aboard Rovos Rail's Pride of

Illustration of Rovos Rail – Cape Town – Pretoria – Victoria Falls

Planet Rail's 13-day tailor-made package takes you aboard Rovos Rail's Pride of Africa, a luxury train that departs Victoria Falls and travels south through Zimbabwe, Botswana, and South Africa to Cape Town. You spend seven nights on board the classically remodelled train in a private Pullman Suite, with fine cuisine served in the elegant dining cars. The journey includes a game drive in Hwange National Park, visits to the rock art and bushmen caves of Matobo National Park, a day crossing the Tropic of Capricorn and the Limpopo River, a stop in Pretoria with an overnight in a four-star hotel, and a coach tour of Kimberley to see the Big Hole diamond excavation. You also pass through the Karoo, a vast semi-desert landscape, and stop in the historic village of Matjiesfontein before descending into the wine-producing regions of the Cape. The trip ends in Cape Town with two nights in a five-star hotel overlooking Table Bay. This is a luxury experience suited to travellers seeking five-star rail travel, couples wanting a romantic escape, and history enthusiasts interested in southern Africa's colonial and natural heritage.

What to know before you look closer

  • International flights to Johannesburg and a connecting flight to Victoria Falls are not included and must be arranged separately.
  • The package price shown is for a Pullman Suite; a Deluxe Suite upgrade is available at a higher price.

Day by day

  1. Day 1overnight: Victoria Falls

    Arrival in Victoria Falls

    Own flight arrangements to Johannesburg and connecting flight to Victoria Falls. A taxi transfer takes you to the highly rated Victoria Falls Hotel (5 star) for two nights; afternoon to relax or start exploring.

  2. Day 2overnight: Victoria Falls

    A full day to explore Victoria Falls

    Known as ‘Mosi-oa-Tunya’, ‘The Smoke that Thunders’, Victoria Falls is nearly two kilometres wide, with over 500 million cubic metres of water per minute plunging into a gorge more than one hundred metres below; columns of spray can be seen kilometres away.

  3. Day 3railovernight: On board Pride of Africa

    Welcome aboard Rovos Rail’s Pride of Africa at Victoria Falls

    Free morning, check-in at 16:00 at The Victoria Falls Hotel, then across to Victoria Falls station to be greeted by Rovos Rail staff and shown to your private suite. Tea on board as the train begins the ascent towards Malindi; dinner in the dining cars.

  4. Day 4overnight: On board Pride of Africa

    Game Drive at The Hide in Hwange National Park

    Early breakfast then a game drive in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe’s largest game reserve. Lunch on board along the 114km straight stretch between Dete and Gwaai, tea through Baobab country, dinner en route towards the border at Beitbridge.

  5. Day 5railovernight: On board Pride of Africa

    Matobo National Park

    Breakfast on board before a transfer (±45 min) to Matobo National Park to see bushmen caves, rock art and the grave of Cecil John Rhodes. Lunch through baobab country, tea as the train descends to Gwanda, dinner en route to Beitbridge for Zimbabwean border formalities.

  6. Day 6railovernight: On board Pride of Africa

    At Leisure on board – Journey across the Limpopo River and Tropic of Capricorn

    A day at leisure on board as the train crosses the Limpopo River and the Tropic of Capricorn into the rugged South African landscape, with meals served in the elegant dining car.

  7. Day 7railovernight: Pretoria

    Pretoria

    Breakfast on board through the goldfields of the Witwatersrand via Krugersdorp, Germiston and Johannesburg, arriving at the colonial-style Rovos Rail Station in Pretoria. Transfer to your overnight hotel; explore the Union Buildings, Voortrekker Monument, Mahlamba Ndlopfu, or the National Zoological and Botanical Gardens.

  8. Day 8overnight: On board Pride of Africa

    Re-join the Pride of Africa – Enroute to Klerksdorp

    Luxury coach transfer back to the station and welcome back on board. Lunch across the grassland plains of the Highveld, tea in the lounge and observation cars, dinner en route to Klerksdorp.

  9. Day 9overnight: On board Pride of Africa

    Kimberley - Coach Tour of Kimberley, Diamond Mine Museum and the Big Hole

    Breakfast in the dining car, then a guided coach tour of Kimberley, a city shaped by the diamond rush of the 1870s, visiting the Diamond Mine Museum and the monumental ‘Big Hole’, a man-made excavation up to 214 metres deep. Dinner back on board.

  10. Day 10railovernight: On board Pride of Africa

    Matjiesfontein and the Karoo

    Through the Karoo, a vast semi-desert that was once an enormous inland sea. Lunch as the train pulls into Matjiesfontein, with time to discover this charming village, its station museum and historic cars and railway carriages. Numerous tunnels follow, the first 13.5km long, before dinner as the train descends 750m towards Worcester.

  11. Day 11overnight: Cape Town

    Worcester through the Winelands to Cape Town

    Breakfast among grape-producing farms accounting for 25% of South Africa’s national wine production, through the Hex River Valley to Cape Town, where you are transferred to The Table Bay Hotel (5 star). Rest of the day at leisure.

  12. Day 12overnight: Cape Town

    At leisure in Cape Town

    The oldest city in South Africa, set between Table Mountain and Table Bay with views to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was famously imprisoned. Beaches, wildlife, the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens and many museums.

  13. Day 13

    Return home

    Leisurely breakfast, then your transfer takes you to the airport for your flight(s) home.

The moments this trip is built around

  • Day 2A full day at Victoria Falls, where nearly two kilometres of water plunge 100 metres into a gorge, creating columns of spray visible kilometres away.
  • Day 4Game drive in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe's largest game reserve, followed by a 114-kilometre straight railway stretch and passage through baobab country.
  • Day 5Transfer to Matobo National Park to visit bushmen caves and rock art sites before the train crosses into South Africa at the Beitbridge border.
  • Day 9Guided coach tour of Kimberley, visiting the Diamond Mine Museum and the Big Hole, a man-made excavation up to 214 metres deep.
  • Day 10Journey through the Karoo, a vast semi-desert landscape, with a stop in the historic village of Matjiesfontein and passage through a 13.5-kilometre tunnel.

Included

  • 2 nights’ accommodation with breakfast in the Taj Hotel (5 star) or similar in Cape Town
  • 7 nights on board Rovos Rail’s ‘Pride of Africa’ in a Pullman Suite with all meals from Victoria Falls to Cape Town
  • All meals, excursions and beverages, incl. alcohol, on the Rovos Rail journeys
  • 1 night’s accommodation with breakfast in a 4 star hotel in Pretoria
  • 2 nights’ accommodation with breakfast in the Victoria Falls Hotel or similar in Victoria Falls
  • Transfers between the airports, stations and your hotels in Cape Town, Pretoria and Victoria Falls
  • Excursions throughout (as mentioned in the itinerary)

Not included

  • Flights (own flight arrangements to Johannesburg and connecting flight to Victoria Falls)

Questions travellers ask

Is train travel included?
Yes. Seven nights on board Rovos Rail's Pride of Africa are included with all meals, beverages including alcohol, and excursions. International flights are not included.
Is this an escorted tour?
Planet Rail arranges this as a tailor-made package without a tour escort. Rovos Rail on-board staff and hosted excursions are provided throughout the train journey.
What accommodation is included?
Two nights in a five-star hotel in Victoria Falls, seven nights in a Pullman Suite on the Pride of Africa, one night in a four-star hotel in Pretoria, and two nights in a five-star hotel in Cape Town, with breakfast at all hotels.
What meals are included on the train?
All meals and beverages, including alcohol, are served in the dining cars and lounges during the seven nights on board Rovos Rail.
How much walking is involved?
Walking is moderate. The itinerary includes a game drive, a transfer to Matobo National Park, a guided coach tour of Kimberley, and exploration of a historic village; most days involve standard hotel and station walking.
Which train is used?
Rovos Rail's Pride of Africa, a classically remodelled train with wood-panelled coaches, running from Victoria Falls to Cape Town via Pretoria.

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