The Blue Train to Cape Town
Twenty-seven hours, a butler, and a window that never repeats itself.
Duration
27 hours, one night on board
Group size
2 – 58 guests
Best time
Year round; book months ahead
Departs
Pretoria station
Pricing
Contact us for pricing
The day
One of the great train journeys on earth. A private suite with a butler, two formal dining sittings, an observation car at the back, and 1,600 kilometres of the country sliding past between Pretoria and Cape Town.
The Blue Train is not transport, it is the reason for the day. Suites are panelled in wood with marble bathrooms, and the deluxe suites have a full bath with a window. Dinner is black tie in the dining car; lunch is long; high tea happens whether you are hungry or not. The observation car at the rear has the best seats on the train, and the route crosses the Highveld, the Karoo semi-desert and the Hex River mountains before dropping into the Cape winelands at dawn.
How it runs
- 01
Day 1, 08:50
Pretoria
Board, champagne in the lounge, and the Highveld begins.
- 02
Day 1, 13:00
Lunch
The first formal sitting as the country opens out.
- 03
Day 1, 19:30
Black-tie dinner
Five courses in the dining car.
- 04
Day 2, 07:00
The Karoo
Breakfast as the semi-desert runs to the horizon.
- 05
Day 2, 12:00
Hex River Pass
Down through the mountains into the winelands.
- 06
Day 2, 16:00
Cape Town
Into the city with Table Mountain ahead.
Gallery
On this tour.
6 photographs
Contact us for pricing
Enquire about The Blue Train to Cape Town. Same-day reply.
Every journey is quoted to the group, the season and the number of days. Tell us what you have in mind and our travel desk will come back the same day with a full proposal.
Staying with us? Reserve a suite and we bundle the tours into one itinerary.