Rovos Rail - Dar Es Salaam to Cape Town 2024/2025

Check-in reception at the Kivukoni Room, Serena Hotel, Ohio Street, Dar es Salaam. Transfer to Tazara Station.

Depart from Tazara Station in Dar es Salaam. Guests may freshen up in their suites before joining fellow travellers in the lounge car and observation car, which will be at the front of the train for the first 72 hours - a different aspect that rail enthusiasts enjoy.

Lunch is served in the Dining Cars as the train travels across the fertile lands of Tanzania towards the Selous.

Afternoon tea is served in the lounge and observation cars.

Dinner is served in the Dining Cars as the train heads for Fuga Halt.

Breakfast is served in the Dining Cars until departure.

A game visit to the Selous Game Reserve (the largest in Africa at 55,000sq km) will be made today (time permitting).

Return to the train

Lunch is served in the Dining Cars as the train passes the Udzungwa Mountains and negotiates the dramatic switchbacks, viaducts and tunnels of the escarpment.

Tea is served in the Lounge Car and Observation Car at the rear of the train.

Dinner is served in the Dining Cars en route to Mlimba.

Breakfast is served in the Dining Cars. The train ascends the escarpment negotiating the hills and valleys with dramatic tunnels, switchbacks and viaducts.

Arrive in Makambako where guests may disembark and take a stroll (time permitting).

Lunch is served in the Dining cars as the train passes forests of Baobabs. It then ascends the Rift Valley to the border, almost exactly the midpoint between Africa's two Great Rift Valley lakes.

Tea is served in the Lounge Car and Observation Car at the rear of the train.

Dinner is served in the Dining Cars en route to Mbeya and Tunduma.

Breakfast is served in the Dining Cars.

Lunch is served in the Dining cars as the train travels the TAZARA railway line, an engineering tour de force and one of Africa's best-kept secrets as it passes through remote territory

Disembark at Kasama for an excursion to Chisimba Falls where you can take a pleasant walk down to the rock pools at the base of the falls or admire them from various viewpoints. Return to the train by 18:00.

Chisimba Falls is a series of three waterfalls named Mutumuna, Kaela and Chishimba (Chisimba), which are separated over 300m along the Luombe River. According to Bemba tradition, the nature spirit "Chishimba" lives in a cave behind the falls therefore no bad behaviour (including fights, insults and arrogance) is allowed in this area. Though the Bemba people arrived here in the 17th century, they weren't the first as the land surrounding the falls is dotted with evidence of Iron Age activities including kilns, smelting pipes and iron ore deposits.

Dinner is served in the Dining Cars.

Breakfast is served in the Dining Cars.

Spend the day is at leisure watching the landscape glide by or listen to the on board lectures as the train passes through Zambia en route to Kapiri Mposhi and on to Lusaka, the capital of the country.

Lunch is served in the Dining cars. The train is turned at Kapiri Mposhi and now heads in a southwesterly direction.

Tea is served in the Lounge Car and Observation Car which are now at the rear of the train.

Dinner is served in the Dining Cars.

Breakfast is served in the Dining Cars.

Lunch is served in the Dining cars as the train travels on towards Livingstone and the Victoria Falls at the Zimbabwe border.

Tea is served in the Lounge Car and Observation Car at the rear of the train.

Dinner is served in the Dining Cars.

Breakfast is served in the Dining Cars as the train passes through Livingstone and crosses the bridge over the Zambezi to Victoria Falls.

Disembark with an overnight bag at the incomparable Victoria Falls and walk across to the Victoria Falls Hotel. Luggage will be delivered to the rooms. Welcome address on the lawn followed by lunch at the hotel's Jungle Junction restaurant with its unforgettable views over the gorge and the spray of the Falls.

Plunging over the lip of the Victoria Falls is the largest body of falling water on earth. The mighty Zambezi, fourth longest river in Africa, is about 2kms wide above the falls and cascades dramatically over a precipice 1.6km in length and 108m at its deepest, compressing the vast volume of water into a chasm 50m wide. The sound can be deafening, the aspect magnificent and the memory indelible. In autumn, the spray is so great it inhibits photography while in spring the seasonal flow considerably reduces leaving large slabs of brown basalt exposed on the lip.

Guests to meet at the hotel foyer before departing for a Sunset Cruise on the Zambezi River.

Dinner at the Livingstone Room, Victoria Falls Hotel.

Breakfast is served at the Jungle Junction Restaurant.

The day is at leisure at Victoria Falls to explore on your own or to partake in optional pre-booked activities.

Lunch at the Jungle Junction Restaurant.

Meet at the station platform.

Depart Victoria Falls on Rovos Rail.

Dinner is served in the Dining Cars en route to Bulawayo.

Breakfast is served in the Dining Cars as the train heads on towards Botswana.

Botswana border crossing formalities take place at Plumtree.

Lunch is served in the Dining Cars as the train heads south through Francistown and Serule.

The train crosses the Tropic of Capricorn and the eastern edge of the Kalahari Basin. Known as 'Kgalagadi' in Botswana, the Kalahari (which extends to 900,000 km2 and covers much of Botswana, parts of Namibia and South Africa) is not a true desert as it does experience small amounts of rain, with some areas enjoying up to 250mm. The surrounding basin covers over 2,500,000 km2 extending farther into Botswana, Namibia and South Africa and encroaching into parts of Angola, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is part desert, part plateau. The only constant river, the Okavango, flows into a delta in the northwest forming marshes that are rich in wildlife.

Afternoon tea is served in the Lounge and Observation Cars.

Dinner is served in the Dining Cars.

Breakfast is served in the Dining Cars.

Transfer (about 90 minutes) to a lodge in Madikwe for a two-night stay. Border formalities will take place en route and guests are required to present themselves to officials (luggage may be searched). Lunch is served upon arrival.

Madikwe is a prime malaria-free Big 5 wildlife reserve bordering Botswana. It lies within a transition zone between the North West Province bushveld and Kalahari thornveld with enormous volcanic intrusions, wide open plains and the riverine environment along the Marico River. As a result, the region is host to an incredible diversity of species from both ecosystems with a rich assortment of vegetation and more than 300 resident and migrant bird species.

Afternoon tea and game drive (Approx. 3 hours).

Dinner is served at the lodge. Dress is casual.

Early morning game drive (Approx. 3 hours).

Breakfast is served at the lodge.

Lunch is served at the lodge.

Afternoon tea and game drive (Approx. 3 hours).

Dinner is served at the lodge. Dress is casual.

Early morning game drive (Approx. 2 hours).

Breakfast is served at the lodge, before checking out.

Depart the lodge and transfer by road to Zeerust where you re-board the train.

Lunch is served in the Dining Cars.

Afternoon tea is served in the Lounge and Observation Cars as the train traverses the Magaliesberg Mountains - a range of low hills stretching 120 kilometres due east-west from Pretoria to Rustenberg.

Dinner is served in the Dining Cars.

Breakfast is served in the Dining Cars as the trains approaches Pretoria through the goldfields.

Transfer (approximately 1 hour) to Pretoria for a city tour followed by lunch on the Rovos Rail Station platform. Enjoy a walking tour of the station and locomotive workshops (weather permitting). Return (approximately 1 hour) to the train.

Afternoon tea is served in the Lounge and Observation Cars.

Dinner is served in the Dining Cars.

Breakfast is served in the Dining Cars.

Approximately 10 minutes before the train arrives into Kimberley, it passes Kamfers Dam, a shallow lake where there are usually spectacular flocks of Lesser Flamingos.

The train arrives into Kimberley where you disembark. Enjoy a tour of Kimberley's Diamond Mine Museum and the Big Hole. Capital of the Northern Cape, Kimberley is well known for the discovery of diamonds that led to its establishment in 1871.

After guests re-board the train, it departs Kimberley and continues its journey towards Matjiesfontein.

Lunch is served in the Dining Cars. Travel the 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 upon the seabed to form what geologists call the Karoo system.

Afternoon tea is served in the Lounge and Observation Cars.

Dinner is served in the Dining Cars.

Breakfast is served in the Dining Cars.

There is an opportunity for guests to disembark the train at Whitehall Sidings and walk the five kilometres into Matjiesfontein, accompanied by a member of staff.

The train arrives into Matjiesfontein where you disembark for a chance to stroll around this historic little village. Of special interest is the museum on the platform and a collection of historic cars and railway carriages to the right of the Lord Milner Hotel.

The train departs Matjiesfontein and passes through Touws River before descending the Hex River Pass which consists of four tunnels, one of which is an impressive 13.5 kilometres long.

Lunch is served in the Dining Cars as the train descends the face of the escarpment, through the Hex River Valley, a beautiful, tranquil oasis, known to many as the "Gateway to the Cape" and on through the town of Worcester. The valley is the largest producer of table grapes in South Africa and is not only known for its grapes but also the wine that is produced there.

Afternoon tea is served in the Lounge and Observation Cars.

Dinner is served in the Dining Cars.

Breakfast is served in the Dining Cars.

The train arrives at journey's end at Cape Town Station