The Blue Train is one of the world’s most luxurious trains — a five-star hotel on wheels that has carried royalty, heads of state and discerning travellers across South Africa for generations. Gliding between Pretoria and Cape Town across the vast, silent Great Karoo — and, on select dates, north toward the wildlife country bordering the Kruger National Park — it pairs wood-panelled elegance and personal butler service with some of the most spectacular scenery on the continent.
Every journey is all-inclusive: sumptuous suites, gourmet cuisine paired with fine South African wines, high tea in the lounge car, and a dedicated butler for each suite. There are just two grades of accommodation — Luxury and De Luxe — and never more than a handful of guests, so the service is genuinely personal from the moment you step onto the red carpet. Single travellers pay a 50% supplement.
The classic southbound journey, roughly 1,600 km over about 27 hours across the high plains and the Great Karoo.
The northbound journey reverses the route, climbing from the Mother City back across the Karoo to Pretoria.
On a handful of dates each year the Blue Train runs north toward the lowveld, combining on-board luxury with a taste of the African bush. Strictly limited departures.
This departure is currently sold out. Leave your details and we will contact you the moment a cabin becomes available.
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The dining car is the heart of the Blue Train experience — elegant multi-course lunches and black-tie dinners showcase contemporary South African cuisine, from springbok carpaccio to Cape crayfish, matched with a cellar of the country’s finest wines. Between meals, settle into the wood-and-leather lounge car for afternoon tea, retreat to the club car for a cigar and a cognac, or take in the passing landscape from the rear observation car.
Breakfast, lunch, dinner, high tea and all beverages — including fine South African wines and spirits — are included throughout your journey, along with butler service for every suite and the off-train excursion. Two grades of accommodation, a maximum of a handful of guests and a red-carpet welcome make the Blue Train one of the most personal luxury-rail experiences in the world.
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Everything on board is included: your suite, all meals, high tea, all beverages (including fine South African wines and spirits), butler service and the off-train excursion.
