Your Route
Pretoria → Bela-Bela → Modimolle → Limpopo → Beitbridge → Bulawayo → Hwange → Victoria Falls
Very few train journeys end with a sound you can hear before you see anything at all. The Zambezi drops 108 metres into a chasm barely 50 metres wide, and the noise carries for miles. Three nights earlier you boarded in Pretoria, and almost everything in between has been Africa opening out in front of the window.
This is the northbound run of the journey Rovos Rail have operated since the company began, and it remains the most direct way to reach Victoria Falls in the style the route deserves. The train leaves Rovos Rail Station at Capital Park in Pretoria, the private station Rohan Vos built for his own trains, and turns north through the goldfields of the Witwatersrand towards the bushveld.
The landscape changes character by the hour. Warmbaths, now Bela-Bela, is named for the mineral springs that still draw people from Johannesburg. Nylstroom, now Modimolle, was christened by Voortrekkers who followed a north-flowing river and decided they had found the source of the Nile. Beyond them the Limpopo Province opens out, and by the second morning the train is crossing the semi-arid Limpopo valley that Kipling made famous, all set about with fever trees.
Zimbabwe brings baobabs, the industrial city of Bulawayo passing to one side, and then one of the strangest stretches of railway anywhere: 114 kilometres of dead straight track between Gwaai and Dete, laid along the eastern edge of Hwange National Park. The game drive there is the wildlife heart of the journey. Hwange covers 1.46 million hectares and holds one of the largest elephant populations in Africa.
Rovos carry a maximum of 72 guests in 36 suites, so the train never feels crowded. There are no televisions and no radios in the suites, which is deliberate. What there is instead is an observation car with an open balcony at the back, a pillared dining car where dinner is a formal affair, and a great deal of Africa going past.
Rovos Rail passing through North West Province
Journey Highlights
The Game Drive in Hwange
Hwange National Park runs to 1.46 million hectares and shelters one of the largest elephant populations on the continent, along with lion, buffalo, giraffe and more than 400 recorded bird species. The drive is included in the fare and led by a qualified ranger.
One Hundred and Fourteen Kilometres of Straight Track
Between Gwaai and Dete the line runs dead straight for 114 kilometres, one of the longest straight stretches of railway in the world. Watching it unwind from the balcony of the observation car is a peculiarly hypnotic pleasure.
Crossing the Tropic of Capricorn
Somewhere in the Limpopo Province the train crosses the Tropic of Capricorn. There is no fanfare and often no marker, but the vegetation on either side tells you soon enough that you have moved into a different Africa.
Baobab Country
North of the Limpopo the train travels through baobab country. These are trees that can live for well over a thousand years and store thousands of litres of water in their trunks, and they give the Zimbabwean bushveld a silhouette that belongs to nowhere else.
The Pillared Dining Car
Dinner is served in rebuilt vintage dining cars with polished wood, silver and starched linen. Dress is formal, the wine list is South African and generous, and the whole thing is included in the fare.
Arrival at Victoria Falls
The train pulls into Victoria Falls Station on Mallet Drive, a short walk from the Victoria Falls Hotel and from the falls themselves. Helicopter flights, sunset cruises on the Zambezi and white water rafting can all be arranged for the days afterwards.
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.
The train pulls out at ten in the morning. Lunch is served in the dining cars as the line runs north through Bela-Bela, named by the Tswana for the mineral springs that bubble up there, and Modimolle, which the Voortrekkers called Nylstroom in the belief that its north-flowing river was the headwater of the Nile.
Afternoon tea is taken in the lounge and observation cars as the varied country of the Limpopo Province opens out. 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.
The Limpopo and the Border at Beitbridge
A day at leisure on board, which on this train is not the same as an empty day. The line crosses the semi-arid Limpopo River valley, the great grey-green greasy Limpopo of Kipling's Just So Stories, all set about with fever trees. Border formalities take place at Musina on the South African side and Beitbridge on the Zimbabwean.
By afternoon tea the train is in baobab country. In the evening it skirts Bulawayo, the second city of Zimbabwe and the capital of Matabeleland, before dinner is served in the dining cars.
This is the day most guests settle properly into the rhythm of the train: coffee on the balcony, a book in the lounge car, and the long unhurried business of watching a continent go by.
All meals and beverages on board. Border formalities handled by the train staff. One night on board.
The open balcony on the observation car, the best seat on the train
Hwange National Park
The train travels the 114 kilometre straight between Gwaai and Dete, running along the eastern edge of Hwange National Park, and in the afternoon guests leave the train for a game drive in the park itself.
Hwange is Zimbabwe's largest protected area and one of the great wildlife reserves of southern Africa. Its elephant population is among the biggest anywhere, and the park also holds lion, buffalo, giraffe, sable antelope and a bird list well over 400 species long. The waterholes, many of them pumped, concentrate game in the dry months and make for remarkable viewing.
Dinner is served as the train runs on towards Thompsons Junction, and the last night is spent on board.
Game drive in Hwange National Park with a qualified guide, entrance fees, all meals and beverages. One night on board.
The included game drive in Hwange, Zimbabwe's largest wildlife reserve
Arrival at Victoria Falls
Breakfast is served until half past nine, and the train arrives at Victoria Falls Station on Mallet Drive at ten in the morning. Have your luggage ready fifteen minutes before arrival and your passport to hand.
The falls are a short walk away, and so is the Victoria Falls Hotel, the 1904 colonial pile that still has the best terrace in central Africa. Most guests stay on for at least two nights. There are helicopter flights over the gorge, sunset cruises on the upper Zambezi, white water rafting below the falls, game walks and golf, and we are happy to arrange any of them alongside your rail booking.
Breakfast on board. Arrival transfers, hotels and activities at Victoria Falls can be arranged by us.
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 game drive in Hwange National Park with a qualified ranger, and the excursions set out in the itinerary, 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 £6,480 | /tr>
| Deluxe Suite | from £4,965 |
| Pullman Suite | from £3,475 |
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 | 8, 15, 22, 29 |
| November | 19 |
2027 Departures
| Month | Departure dates |
|---|---|
| January | 28 |
| February | 11, 25 |
| March | 4, 18 |
| April | 1 |
| September | 9, 23 |
| October | 7 |
| November | 4, 11 |
2028 Departures
| Month | Departure dates |
|---|---|
| January | 20 |
| February | 3, 10, 24 |
| March | 9, 23 |
| April | 6, 20 |
| May | 18 |
| June | 15, 29 |
| July | 13, 27 |
| August | 10, 31 |
| September | 7, 21 |
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.