Your Route
Cape Town → Matjiesfontein → Kimberley → Pretoria → Madikwe → Botswana → Victoria Falls → Zambia → Chisimba Falls → Tanzania → Nyerere → Dar es Salaam
There are longer train journeys in the world, but there is nothing quite like this one. Sixteen nights from the Atlantic seaboard of the Cape to the Indian Ocean at Dar es Salaam, crossing five countries, two great rift valley watersheds and most of the landscapes southern Africa has to offer, with a doctor and a historian travelling on board the whole way.
This is the journey that made Rovos Rail's international name, and the one that shows up on every list of the world's great railway journeys. It runs about 5,800 kilometres through South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Tanzania, and it takes seventeen days to do it.
The first four days are South Africa at its most varied: the Cape winelands and the climb up the Hex River pass, the Victorian village of Matjiesfontein in the Great Karoo, the Big Hole at Kimberley, and a city tour of Pretoria with lunch at Rovos Rail's own station at Capital Park.
Then the train stops for three days. Madikwe Game Reserve, on the Botswana border, is a malaria-free Big Five reserve in a transition zone between North West Province bushveld and Kalahari thornveld, with volcanic intrusions, open plains and the riverine country along the Marico. Guests move into a lodge for two nights and take five game drives before rejoining the train at Gaborone.
From Botswana the line runs into Zimbabwe and along the eastern edge of Hwange to Victoria Falls, where there is an overnight at the Victoria Falls Hotel, lunch at Jungle Junction, a sunset cruise on the upper Zambezi and dinner in the Livingstone Room. The train then crosses the Victoria Falls Bridge into Zambia.
The northern half is the part few travellers ever see. The Kafue Railway Bridge, 477 metres of steel truss on thirteen spans. Lusaka. The Tazara line, built through remote country in the 1970s and still one of the great engineering feats of the continent. Chisimba Falls in Zambia, where the Bemba say a nature spirit lives in the cave behind the water. The Tanzanian border, almost exactly the midpoint between Lake Tanganyika and Lake Malawi. The switchbacks, viaducts and tunnels of the Udzungwa escarpment. And, on the second-last day, a game drive in Nyerere National Park, at 30,000 square kilometres the largest in Africa.
The Tanzania landscape
Journey Highlights
Three Days at Madikwe
A two-night lodge stay and five game drives in a malaria-free Big Five reserve on the Botswana border. Madikwe sits in a transition zone between bushveld and Kalahari thornveld, which gives it an unusually broad species list and more than 300 resident and migrant birds.
A Night at the Victoria Falls Hotel
The 1904 colonial hotel above the gorge, with lunch at Jungle Junction, a sunset cruise on the upper Zambezi and dinner in the Livingstone Room. The train crosses the Victoria Falls Bridge the following afternoon.
The Tazara Line
Built through remote southern Tanzania and northern Zambia in the 1970s, the Tazara is one of the least travelled and most impressive railways in Africa. The descent of the Udzungwa escarpment through switchbacks, viaducts and tunnels is the highlight of it.
Nyerere National Park
At around 30,000 square kilometres, Nyerere is the largest national park on the continent, bigger than Belgium. The game drive there on the sixteenth day is the last excursion of the journey and one of the best.
Chisimba Falls
Three waterfalls on the Luombe River in northern Zambia, spread over 300 metres. Bemba tradition holds that the spirit Chishimba lives in a cave behind them, and that no fighting, insults or arrogance are permitted anywhere near.
A Historian and a Doctor On Board
The long journeys carry an on-board historian who lectures in the lounge car through the trip, and a doctor. Both are included, and on a seventeen-day crossing of five countries both are worth having.
Day by Day
Departure from Cape Town
Check in two hours before departure at the Rovos Rail Lounge, 1 Adderley Street, Cape Town. The train leaves Cape Town Station at eleven in the morning.
Lunch is served as the line trundles through the winelands of the Western Cape towards Worcester, and dinner as the train climbs about 750 metres up the face of the escarpment.
Lectures by the on-board historian run throughout the journey in the lounge car, and a lecture sheet is left in each suite.
All meals and beverages on board. On-board historian and doctor throughout. One night on board.
Matjiesfontein
Breakfast is served until ten, and guests disembark at Matjiesfontein for a stroll through the village. Founded in 1884 by the Scottish railwayman James Douglas Logan as a Karoo refreshment stop, it survives almost unchanged, with a museum on the station platform and a collection of historic cars and railway carriages beside the Lord Milner Hotel.
From ten the train traverses the Great Karoo, a vast semi-desert that was once an inland sea. The silt that settled on its bed became what geologists call the Karoo system, one of the richest fossil beds in the world.
Lunch, afternoon tea and dinner follow as the train runs north towards Kimberley.
Guided visit to Matjiesfontein with entrance fees, all meals and beverages. One night on board.
The Great Karoo on the second day, once an inland sea
Kimberley and the Big Hole
Breakfast is served until ten, and the morning excursion visits Kimberley's Diamond Mine Museum and the Big Hole. The diamond find of 1871 created the town from nothing, and the hand digging that followed removed 22 million tonnes of rock and left a crater 463 metres across, the largest excavation ever dug by hand.
Lunch, afternoon tea and dinner are served on board as the train travels on to Union.
Guided tour of the Kimberley Diamond Mine Museum and the Big Hole, entrance fees, all meals and beverages. One night on board.
Pretoria and Capital Park
An early breakfast at six, then a transfer of about ninety minutes to Pretoria for a city tour, followed by lunch at Rovos Rail Station and a walking tour of the station and the museum. This is where the vintage coaches you are travelling in were rebuilt, in most cases from bare frames.
The return transfer is another ninety minutes. Dinner is served as the train travels on towards Zeerust.
Pretoria city tour, lunch at Rovos Rail Station, station walking tour and museum, all transfers. One night on board.
Into Madikwe
Pack a small overnight bag; tog bags are provided in the suites. After breakfast there is a transfer of about ninety minutes to a lodge in the Madikwe Game Reserve for a two-night stay, with lunch served on arrival.
Madikwe is a prime malaria-free Big Five reserve on the Botswana border. It lies in a transition zone between the North West Province bushveld and the Kalahari thornveld, with enormous volcanic intrusions, wide open plains and riverine country along the Marico River. The result is a remarkable diversity of species from both ecosystems, with more than 300 resident and migrant birds.
Afternoon tea and a game drive of about three hours, then dinner at the lodge.
Lodge accommodation, all meals, preselected local wines, beers and soft drinks, an afternoon game drive and all transfers. One night at the lodge.
A Full Day at Madikwe
An early morning game drive of about three hours, then breakfast at the lodge. Lunch is at half past twelve, followed by afternoon tea and a second game drive.
Dinner is at the lodge. Spa facilities are usually available at your own expense.
Lodge accommodation, all meals, two game drives. One night at the lodge.
Madikwe to Gaborone
A final early morning game drive of about two hours, then breakfast and check-out. At half past ten there is a transfer of about an hour to rejoin the train at Gaborone in Botswana. Border formalities take place en route at Kopfontein and Tlokweng, and guests present themselves to the officials.
Lunch is served on board as the train crosses the Tropic of Capricorn and the eastern edge of the Kalahari Basin. The Kalahari, known as Kgalagadi in Botswana, extends to about 900,000 square kilometres and is not a true desert: parts of it see up to 250 millimetres of rain a year. The basin around it covers more than 2.5 million square kilometres and reaches into Namibia, South Africa, Angola, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Afternoon tea and a formal dinner follow. The on-board historian takes bookings for Victoria Falls activities between half past four and six.
Morning game drive, transfers, all meals and beverages. Border formalities handled by the train staff. One night on board.
Across Botswana to Zimbabwe
A day at leisure on board. Border formalities take place at Francistown in Botswana and Plumtree in Zimbabwe.
In the evening the train travels along one of the world's longest stretches of straight railway line, 114 kilometres between Gwaai and Dete, running along the eastern edge of Hwange National Park.
Any Victoria Falls activities should be booked with the on-board historian before lunch.
All meals and beverages on board. Border formalities handled by the train staff. One night on board.
The Victoria Falls Hotel
The train arrives at Victoria Falls at eleven in the morning. Disembark with an overnight bag and walk across to the Victoria Falls Hotel, where there is a welcome address on the lawn and lunch at Jungle Junction. Luggage is delivered to the rooms.
In the late afternoon there is a sunset cruise on the upper Zambezi, and dinner is served in the Livingstone Room. Dress is smart casual, and the hotel is firm about it.
Plunging over the lip of the falls is the largest sheet of falling water on earth. The Zambezi is about two kilometres wide above the drop and falls over a precipice 1.6 kilometres long and 108 metres deep at its lowest point, compressed into a chasm 50 metres wide. In autumn the spray is heavy enough to make photography difficult; in spring the flow drops and slabs of brown basalt appear on the lip.
One night at the Victoria Falls Hotel, all meals, preselected local wines, beers and soft drinks, the Zambezi sunset cruise.
Victoria Falls, with an overnight at the Victoria Falls Hotel on day nine
Victoria Falls and the Bridge
Breakfast at the Jungle Junction Restaurant until ten, then a day at leisure in Victoria Falls. Helicopter flights over the gorge, white water rafting, game walks and a tour of the falls themselves can all be booked. Lunch is at Jungle Junction.
Guests meet on the station platform at three, and at four the train crosses the Victoria Falls Bridge into Zambia. Afternoon tea is served in the lounge and observation cars during the border formalities.
Dinner is served in the dining cars. Dress is formal.
Breakfast and lunch at the hotel, dinner and all beverages on board. One night on board.
The Kafue Bridge and Lusaka
A day at leisure. In the early afternoon the train crosses the Kafue Railway Bridge, a 477 metre steel girder truss structure of thirteen spans, each 33 metres, carried on concrete piers.
Afternoon tea and dinner follow as the train passes Lusaka, the Zambian capital.
All meals and beverages on board. One night on board.
Onto the Tazara
The train joins the Tazara railway line, an engineering tour de force built through remote country in the 1970s and still one of Africa's best-kept secrets. It runs for the rest of the day through territory almost no visitors see.
Dinner is served as the train travels to Kasama. Dress this evening is an Africa theme, or smart casual for anyone who did not pack for it.
All meals and beverages on board. One night on board.
Chisimba Falls and the Tanzanian Border
Breakfast at six, and at eight an excursion to Chisimba Falls, a series of three waterfalls on the Luombe River spread over about 300 metres. Guests can walk down to the rock pools at the base or take them in from the viewpoints above.
Bemba tradition holds that the nature spirit Chishimba lives in a cave behind the falls, and that no bad behaviour of any kind is permitted in the area. The Bemba arrived in the seventeenth century but they were not the first: the land around the falls is scattered with Iron Age kilns, smelting pipes and iron ore deposits.
Lunch is served as the train climbs to the border, almost exactly the midpoint between Africa's two great rift valley lakes. Border formalities at Nakonde and Tunduma follow dinner. Put your watch forward an hour before turning in.
Guided visit to Chisimba Falls with entrance fees, all meals and beverages. Border formalities handled by the train staff. One night on board.
The Rift Valley and the Southern Highlands
The train traverses the Rift Valley and baobab forests towards Mbeya. The Southern Highlands of Tanzania are covered with grassland, savanna, woodland and forest. Miombo woodland predominates at lower elevations, while the higher mountains hold Afromontane evergreen forest, grassland and shrubland, part of the Southern Rift montane forest-grassland mosaic that extends into Malawi and Zambia.
Afternoon tea and dinner are served as the train travels to Makambako.
All meals and beverages on board. One night on board.
The Udzungwa Mountains
Breakfast until ten, with an optional stroll through Makambako before departure at nine if the schedule allows.
Lunch is served as the train travels towards the jungled Udzungwa Mountains and negotiates the dramatic switchbacks, viaducts and tunnels of the escarpment. This is the finest railway engineering on the route and the observation car is the place to watch it from.
Dinner is served as the train travels to Fuga Halt.
All meals and beverages on board. One night on board.
Nyerere National Park
Continental breakfast until eight and brunch from half past ten. At midday, weather permitting, guests take a game drive in Nyerere National Park, formerly the northern part of the Selous Game Reserve and at around 30,000 square kilometres the largest national park in Africa.
In the late afternoon the train traverses the fertile lands of Tanzania. Dinner is served as it travels to Gwata, with a nineteen-twenties theme, or smart casual.
Game drive in Nyerere National Park with a qualified guide, entrance fees, all meals and beverages. One night on board.
Nyerere National Park, at 30,000 square kilometres the largest national park in Africa
Arrival at Dar es Salaam
Breakfast is served until ten. Have your luggage ready fifteen minutes before arrival and your passport to hand.
The train arrives at Tazara Station on Julius K. Nyerere Road in Dar es Salaam at eleven in the morning, seventeen days and about 5,800 kilometres from Cape Town. Zanzibar is a short flight or ferry away and makes an obvious extension, and we are happy to arrange it.
Breakfast on board. Onward transfers, Dar es Salaam hotels and Zanzibar extensions can be arranged by us.
What Is Included
All Accommodation
Fourteen nights on board in your chosen suite, two nights at a lodge in the Madikwe Game Reserve and one night at the Victoria Falls Hotel, all included in the fare.
All Meals
Breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner throughout, served in the wood-panelled dining cars. Dinner is a formal affair and the kitchen works from fresh South African produce.
All Beverages On Board
A curated selection of local and international wine, beer, cider, spirits, liqueurs, mixers, soft drinks and a cocktail menu. International sparkling wine may be pre-ordered at extra cost.
Guided Excursions
Two nights at a lodge in the Madikwe Game Reserve with game drives, a night at the Victoria Falls Hotel with a sunset cruise on the Zambezi, a game drive in Tanzania's Nyerere National Park, city and station tours in Pretoria, the Kimberley Diamond Mine Museum, Matjiesfontein and a waterfall visit in Zambia, all with transfers, guides and entrance fees.
Room Service and Laundry
Twenty-four hour room service and a limited laundry service, both included in the fare. Each suite has a dedicated host or hostess who services it daily.
Entrance Fees and Taxes
Entrance fees as set out in the itinerary, preselected local wines, beers and soft drinks on excursions, and government tax.
Not included: all other beverages, international sparkling wine, gratuities, personal expenses, visas, travel insurance, and pre and post tour transfers, accommodation and flights.
Fares and Departures
We price every journey in sterling once your dates and suite are confirmed. The table below shows the suite category guide prices, but these are subject to fluid pricing and currency fluctuations. Call or email us for a confirmed sterling price.
| Suite | Per person sharing |
|---|---|
| Royal Suite | from £25,600 |
| Deluxe Suite | from £19,800 |
| Pullman Suite | from £15,200 |
Fares are per person, one way, and include everything listed above. Single occupancy carries a supplement. Please call for a confirmed sterling price for your chosen departure.
2027 Departures
| Departure | Journey dates |
|---|---|
| Cape Town to Dar es Salaam | 27 February to 15 March 2027 |
| Cape Town to Dar es Salaam | 3 to 19 July 2027 |
| Cape Town to Dar es Salaam | 9 to 25 October 2027 |
2028 Departures
| Departure | Journey dates |
|---|---|
| Cape Town to Dar es Salaam | 10 to 26 January 2028 |
| Cape Town to Dar es Salaam | 28 February to 15 March 2028 |
| Cape Town to Dar es Salaam | 3 to 19 July 2028 |
| Cape Town to Dar es Salaam | 9 to 25 October 2028 |
Rovos Rail publish the Dar es Salaam route as a long journey with a small number of departures each year. Dates are taken from their published 2027 and 2028 schedules and are subject to change. An on-board historian and a doctor travel with the train on this route. Please confirm your chosen date with us before booking flights.