TAKE A LOOK | What it's like to travel on the Rovos Rail, Africa's most luxurious train | Life
The journey between Pretoria and Cape Town is one of the world's most revered train trips, and features luxuries like en-suite rooms with showers, bath tubs, and double beds, formal four course dinners, and daily wine pairings.
This article forms part of the archives of Business Insider South Africa, which was published as a partnership between News24 and Insider Inc between 2018 and 2023.
Review
- The Rovos Rail is one of the most luxurious trains in the world.
- Suites have double beds and private bathrooms with showers - some with Victorian bathtubs, too.
- The family-owned business has survived crises like near-bankruptcy, Covid lockdowns, and crumbling national rail infrastructure - but remains one of the world's best.
- On-board luxuries include black-tie dinners, twice-daily wine pairings, and a club lounge with an open-air observation car.
- All food, drinks, and excursions are included in the price.
- And the constantly shifting South African scenery is dramatic.
- Here's what it's like to travel between Pretoria and Cape Town on the Rovos Rail.
When South Africa's Rovos Rail began in the late 1980s, it was the first train in the world to feature on-board luxuries like double beds and en-suite bathrooms. And despite some modern-day difficulties, it's still the most luxurious train in Africa that sits comfortably among the top five in the world.
The Rovos Rail is a family-owned business that has averted multiple near-disasters in its 34-year history. These include early business missteps like sending an empty train to Dar Es Salaam, lockdowns during the Covid-19 pandemic, and current struggles with state-run rail infrastructure, load shedding, and cable theft.
Founder Rohan Vos, who still runs the company and is often on hand to greet arriving or departing guests, says when he presented the idea of a luxury train to travel agents, most thought he was crazy.
"You must appreciate that nowhere in the world was there a train with a bathroom en-suite," Vos said shortly before departure from Pretoria. "That was totally unheard of. And to have a double bed? That was really going over the top!"
