The Blue Train - Luxury Rail Travel in South Africa
The Blue Train has an aura of mystique about it. Kings and presidents have travelled on this magnificent moving five-star hotel. Its very name has become synonymous with the ultimate in luxury and personal service. The trains ensure that your experience is as reliable and sound as it is luxurious, safety and technical excellence are of paramount importance on The Blue Train. The Blue Train’s suspension, braking, lighting and under-floor heating systems have been designed and customised with our guests’ comfort as the primary consideration, allowing them to savour the experience of a smooth, pleasurable ride. Every modern convenience, including a telephone service and a choice of digital entertainment channels, serves to make the journey all the more memorable. Personal service of the highest calibre is standard on The Blue Train. As our guest, you will have a dedicated butler at your beck and call to ensure an unforgettable experience.
The Suites, Lounges and Dining Cars of The Blue Train
The Suites on the Blue Train are the ultimate definition of luxury in motion. You’ll note it from the moment you step into your suite, which is transformed from an elegant, spacious lounge by day into a sanctuary of comfort at night. All the suites are equipped with 100% percale cotton linen, goose down duvets and pillows and private bathrooms with marble vanity basins, marble wall and floor tiles, gold fittings, and a choice of shower or bath. The suites include wardrobes with hangers. All the suites have a writing desk, ideally positioned next to the window, where you can enjoy the view in style or write a postcard to someone special. Each suite is a world on its own, with individually controlled air-conditioning and an entertainment centre with a choice of movie and radio channels.
The suites also have under-floor heating in the rooms and bathrooms. The suites extend the choice of radio and movie channels even further by including a private digital entertainment centre and an inviting selection of music CDs and big-screen movies on DVD. The Deluxe Suites on feature either twin beds with a shower, or double beds with a bathtub and handheld shower. The Luxury Suites extend your personal domain by more than a metre, and the twin or double-bed suites offer deep, long baths for slow, luxuriant soaking.
Elegant Lounges with large windows allow for panoramic views of the passing countryside. The interior, resplendent with original works of South African art adorning the walls, plush and comfortable couches and bouquets of flame lilies complementing the plush dècor, makes the lounge car the ideal setting for sharing an apèritif with fellow guests, an interlude between meals, or after-dinner conversation over coffee.
The club car has the relaxed atmosphere of a gentlemen’s club, with card tables, a small library and a fully-equipped bar. Guests can watch a short film about the train’s route or enjoy a Cuban cigar and cognac before retiring for the night.
Fine Dining is the order of the day on the Blue Train. All our meals are freshly prepared on board the train by executive chefs. Carefully selected South African wines complement the gourmet cuisine served on The Blue Train. In keeping with the classical ambience of the dining car, lunch is a casual affair while dinner is formal with men requested to wear a jacket and tie and ladies elegant eveningwear. Guests may also wear traditional attire to dinner.
The Routes of the Blue Train
The itineraries on the Blue Train are made up of two regular routes that take guests through some of the most breathtaking countryside to be found anywhere in the world. The route between Pretoria and Cape Town is a 27-hour journey of 1 600 kilometres (994 miles), through some of the most diverse and spectacular scenery offered by the African sub-continent.
On the southbound trip, the train departs from Pretoria main train sation at 8:50 and arrives in Cape Town train station at 12:00 the following day. En route to Cape Town there is a stopover and excursion in Kimberley, where we take a step back in time to the days of the diamond rush.
On the northbound journey, the train leaves Cape Town at 08:50 and arrives in Pretoria at 12:30, in time for high tea the following day. It stops at Matjiesfontein for an off-the-train excursion. On arrival at Matjiesfontein guests are invited for a glass of sherry at the bar. The Victorian buildings and original nineteenth century London lampposts impart to the traveller, the uncanny sense of entering a colonial time warp – an oasis suspended in a different age.
In addition to the Blue Train, we sell two other luxury trains that traverse South Africa. For more information on these or Train Travel in South Africa, please Email us
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