Your Route
Pretoria → Witwatersrand → Highveld → Kimberley → The Karoo → Matjiesfontein → Hex River Valley → Cape Town
South Africa is often described as a world in one country, which is the sort of thing tourist boards say. On this route it happens to be true. You leave Pretoria on gold-bearing grassland, spend a day in a diamond town, cross a semi-desert that was once a sea, and arrive under Table Mountain three mornings later.
This is the journey Rovos Rail are best known for, and the one most people picture when they think of the Pride of Africa. It runs between Rovos Rail Station at Capital Park in Pretoria, the private station and workshop complex Rohan Vos built for his own trains, and Cape Town Station at the far end of the country, 1,600 kilometres away.
The first day is the Highveld: the goldfields of the Witwatersrand, then the broad grassland plains that give the region its name. The second is Kimberley, where the discovery of diamonds in 1871 created a town from nothing and left behind the Big Hole, the largest hand-dug excavation on earth. The Diamond Mine Museum tour is included.
The third day belongs to the Karoo. It is a semi-desert roughly the size of Germany, and it was once an inland sea. Volcanic matter ground down over millions of years settled as silt on the seabed and became what geologists call the Karoo system, now one of the great fossil beds of the world. In the middle of it sits Matjiesfontein, a Victorian village founded in 1884 as a refreshment stop and preserved almost exactly as it was, down to the museum on the station platform and the Lord Milner Hotel.
That evening the train works down the Hex River pass through four tunnels, the longest of them 13.5 kilometres, dropping about 750 metres towards Worcester. The last morning runs through the Cape winelands to arrive at Cape Town Station in the middle of the afternoon, with Table Mountain, Devil's Peak and Lion's Head standing over the city.
The Rovos Rail train crossing the Hex River valley in South Africa
Journey Highlights
Kimberley and the Big Hole
The Big Hole at Kimberley is the largest excavation ever dug by hand, 463 metres across and sunk more than 200 metres into the earth by diggers working with picks and buckets from 1871. The Diamond Mine Museum around it tells the story of the rush that created the town, and the tour is included in the fare.
Matjiesfontein
A complete Victorian village preserved in the middle of the Karoo, founded in 1884 by a Scottish railwayman as a refreshment stop and barely altered since. The Lord Milner Hotel, the museum on the platform and a collection of historic cars and carriages are all a short walk from where the train stops.
The Great Karoo
A semi-desert the size of a country, and once an inland sea. The silt that settled on its bed became the Karoo system, one of the richest fossil beds on earth. The train crosses it slowly, which is the only sensible way to see a landscape this empty.
The Hex River Pass
On the third evening the line drops about 750 metres down the escarpment through four tunnels, the longest of them 13.5 kilometres. It is worth being awake for the descent, and worth turning a light on if you are walking through the train.
The Cape Winelands
The final morning runs through the Hex River Valley and the winelands of the Western Cape, vineyards on the valley floors and bare mountain above them, before the Cape flats open out and Table Mountain appears.
The Pillared Dining Car
Dinner is a formal affair in rebuilt vintage dining cars, with polished wood, silver and a South African wine list. All of it, wine included, is in the fare.
Day by Day
Departure from Rovos Rail Station
Check in two hours before departure at Rovos Rail Station on Transnet Avenue in Pretoria. The extra time is worth taking: the station is Rovos Rail's own, built in the grounds of the Capital Park locomotive works, and there is a museum and a walking tour of the yard where the vintage coaches are rebuilt from bare frames.
The train leaves at ten in the morning and crosses the goldfields of the Witwatersrand, the reef that made Johannesburg. Lunch is served as the line runs out onto the broad grassland plains of the Highveld.
Afternoon tea is taken in the lounge and observation cars. Dinner is formal, and the first night is spent on board.
All meals and beverages on board. Station tour and museum at Rovos Rail Station. One night on board.
Kimberley and the Big Hole
Breakfast is served until ten. Lunch follows at half past twelve, and the afternoon is given to Kimberley, capital of the Northern Cape and the town that diamonds built.
The tour takes in the Diamond Mine Museum and the Big Hole itself, the largest excavation ever dug by hand. Diggers working with picks, shovels and buckets took out 22 million tonnes of rock between 1871 and 1914, leaving a crater 463 metres across. The museum around it reconstructs the boom town that grew up on the rim.
Dinner is served in the dining cars and the second night is spent on board.
Guided tour of the Kimberley Diamond Mine Museum and the Big Hole, entrance fees, all meals and beverages. One night on board.
The observation car, with about 32 seats and an open balcony at the rear
The Karoo and Matjiesfontein
The train crosses the Great Karoo, a vast semi-desert that was once an enormous inland sea. Over millions of years volcanic matter was ground down and deposited as silt on the seabed to form what geologists call the Karoo system.
After lunch there is an option for anyone who fancies stretching their legs: disembark at Whitehill Siding and walk the five kilometres into Matjiesfontein, accompanied by a member of the train staff. Everyone else disembarks at the village itself.
Matjiesfontein was founded in 1884 by James Douglas Logan, a Scottish railwayman who turned a refreshment stop in the middle of nowhere into a Victorian spa village. It has barely changed. The museum on the platform is unusually good, and to the right of the Lord Milner Hotel there is a collection of historic cars and railway carriages.
About an hour after leaving, the train reaches the first of four tunnels on the Hex River pass. The first is 13.5 kilometres long, so take care walking through the train and turn a light on if you need one. Dinner is served as the line drops about 750 metres down the escarpment towards Worcester.
Guided visit to Matjiesfontein with entrance fees, optional guided walk from Whitehill Siding, all meals and beverages. One night on board.
The Winelands and Cape Town
Breakfast is served until ten as the train runs through the Hex River Valley and the winelands of the Western Cape. Lunch is served on board. Have your luggage ready fifteen minutes before arrival.
The train arrives at Cape Town Station at three in the afternoon. Guests are collected at the Rovos Rail lounge at 1 Adderley Street, a short walk from the platform and from the V and A Waterfront.
Most guests stay on in Cape Town for several days. Table Mountain, the Cape Peninsula, Robben Island and the Stellenbosch and Franschhoek wine estates are all within easy reach, and we are happy to arrange hotels and excursions alongside the rail booking.
Breakfast and lunch on board. Cape Town hotels and excursions can be arranged by us.
Cape Town, cradled by Table Mountain, Devil's Peak and Lion's Head
What Is Included
All Accommodation
Three nights on board in your chosen suite, each with an en-suite bathroom, air conditioning, a safe and a dedicated host or hostess.
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
A guided tour of the Kimberley Diamond Mine Museum and the Big Hole, and a walking visit to the historic Victorian village of Matjiesfontein, both with 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 £5,480 |
| Deluxe Suite | from £4,120 |
| Pullman Suite | from £2,850 |
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.
2026 Departures
| Month | Departure dates |
|---|---|
| October | 2*, 9, 16, 30 |
| November | 13, 27 |
| December | 11, 25 |
2027 Departures
| Month | Departure dates |
|---|---|
| January | 5*, 8, 22, 29 |
| February | 12*, 23* |
| March | 5, 12 |
| April | 2*, 16, 30 |
| May | 14, 28 |
| June | 11, 25, 29* |
| July | 9, 23 |
| August | 6, 17*, 20 |
| September | 10 |
| October | 1, 5, 15, 29 |
| November | 12, 26 |
| December | 10, 23 |
2028 Departures
| Month | Departure dates |
|---|---|
| January | 6, 14, 28 |
| February | 18, 24 |
| March | 3, 17 |
| April | 7, 21 |
| May | 4, 26 |
| June | 2, 23, 29 |
| July | 7, 21 |
| August | 11, 17, 25 |
| September | 8, 15, 29 |
Departure dates are taken from Rovos Rail's published 2026 to 2028 schedules and are subject to change. Dates marked with an asterisk are sold in Pullman Gold, Deluxe and Royal Suites only. Please confirm your chosen date with us before booking flights.