Rovos Rail: Cape Town to Kruger

Enjoy airport lounge access before boarding your overnight flight to Cape Town, South Africa.

On arrival in Cape Town a private transfer will see you to your luxury waterfront accommodation. With views across Table Mountain and an elegant cocktail bar and indulgent spa, the Victorian-style gem is perfectly equipped for your three-day stay. From here, you'll have the opportunity for everything from cable car rides to Table Mountain to relaxing afternoons on the coast. Head into wine country for cellar-door tastings and some delicious regional cuisine, or visit the African penguin colonies at Boulders Beach – the only penguins on the continent.

You'll head east today into the vineyard-carpeted valleys of the Cape Winelands region, where you'll be staying overnight in an elegant, Cape Dutch-style boutique hotel in Franschhoek. As well as the abundance of award-winning vineyards nearby, you'll find plenty of fabulous places to eat and drink in the town itself, which is one of the oldest in South Africa. Featuring an outdoor pool, a spa, luxurious rooms and exceptional wine tasting experiences, staying here offers a delightful introduction to the Cape Winelands region.

Transfer to the station to board the resplendent carriages of Rovos Rail. Your wood-panelled cabin features an en suite bathroom and plush seating area, which transforms into a double or twin beds come the evening. Enjoy a relaxing cocktail in the bar or stroll along the train to the open-air observation carriage to watch South Africa's wine country whip past the window. At lunchtime, you'll be served a multi-course meal featuring regional ingredients and flavours in the dining car, with time to relax in the afternoon before a delicious formal dinner.

Wake in your cabin and head to the dining car for a delicious breakfast. River valleys, tunnel hops and a chance to explore the colonial-village charm of Matjiesfontein will then see you through to lunch, which you'll enjoy back on board, served to sweeping views of the vast semi-desert known as the Karoo – once an enormous inland sea. You'll then spend a relaxing afternoon taking in more views of central South Africa, either from the bar car, lounge or the privacy of your cabin. Then, having already enjoyed an afternoon tea, you’ll change for a formal dinner, again served in the elegant dining car.

Between a leisurely gourmet breakfast and lunch today, you’ll disembark in Kimberley for an included tour of its Victorian heritage, Diamond Mine Museum and the Big Hole – a great open pit claimed to be the deepest hole excavated by hand. Returning to the train, look out on the left for a 23,000-strong flock of flamingos before the train travels northeast towards Klerksdorp and the broad grassland plains of the Highveld. As with the previous day, tea is served in the lounge and a final formal dinner.

This morning, enjoy your breakfast as the gold-bearing rocks of the Witwatersrand pass by your window. By late morning you'll arrive into Kookrus Station and enjoy an onward transfer to Pretoria, South Africa's proud capital city, where a private driver will take you to your luxury accommodation, a peaceful retreat away from the busy city streets. Enjoy the delightful mix of Italian and African influences, then spend the rest of your day at leisure, perhaps unwinding with a drink on the lawn or venturing into Pretoria's manicured Botanical Gardens for a stroll. 

Stay: Castello di Monte (Superior)

This morning you'll take an included transfer to the airport for a short flight to the Sabi Sands Game Reserve in the heart of Greater Kruger National Park. You'll stay amongst it all, taking guided nature walks and twice-daily game drives into the reserve in search of the Big Five. From rhinos and hippo to lions and even leopards, you'll have the chance to see some of South Africa's most impressive wildlife, returning at the end of each day for fine dining and drinks by the open fire.

Stay: Selati Camp

After breakfast, a final private transfer will see you to the airport for your overnight flight home to the UK.