Rovos Rail to Namibia – travel in style on the iconic luxury train, Rovos Rail either to or from Namibia to Pretoria, South Africa. This journey takes the train from the savannahs of the Highveld to the Atlantic in the west.
Departing from Pretoria, the first stop is Kimberley, the centre of one of the world’s famous diamond rushes; where there is an opportunity to savour the 1870s atmosphere of the mining village. The train traverses the stark vistas of the Northern Cape to the Fish River Canyon; second in size to the Grand Canyon; and Garas Park with its quiver-tree forest.
Guests continue across the untamed beauty of the Kalahari Desert to a cheetah conservation project and a stop in Namibia’s capital for a tour. Windhoek is a lively, cosmopolitan city with a strong German flavour.
Then it’s a short flight to Sossusvlei, a stunning pan in the Namib Desert, for an overnight stay followed by a night in the game-rich Etosha National Park. On the last morning, the train travels the Namib to the perfectly preserved 19th-century German Hansa town of Swakopmund and Walvis Bay; an unforgettable end to a remarkable journey.
Below is the itinerary for the train journey from Pretoria to Namibia. Available in reverse, beginning in Walvis Bay, Namibia to Pretoria, South Africa.
Rovos Rail to Namibia Daily Itinerary ↓
Day 1
11 am: Depart from Rovos Rail Station, Pretoria. Travel south via the goldfields of the Witwatersrand. Guests may freshen up in their suites; before joining fellow travelers in the lounge car or observation car at the rear of the train.
1 pm: Lunch is in the dining cars.
4.30 pm: Tea is in the lounge and observation cars.
7.30 pm: Enjoy dinner in the dining cars.
Day 2
7 am: Breakfast is in the dining cars.
9.45 am: Enjoy a tour of Kimberley’s Diamond Mine Museum and the Big Hole. Kimberley, the capital of the Northern Cape; is well known for the discovery of diamonds that led to its establishment in 1871.
1 pm: Lunch is in the dining cars. The observation car will be leading the train until after tea. Travel through the Karoo, a vast semi-desert region that was once an enormous inland sea. Over millions of years, the volcanic matter was ground down and deposited as silt upon the seabed; to form what geologists call the Karoo system.
4.30 pm: Tea is in the lounge car and observation car at the front of the train.
7.30 pm: Dinner is in the dining cars en route to De Aar, an important railway junction.
Day 3
7 am: Breakfast is in the dining cars until 10 am.
1 pm: Lunch is in the dining cars.
4 pm: Enjoy a walking tour of Upington with a sun downer cruise on the Orange River. The Orange River is the longest river in South Africa (2432km/1511mi). It rises in the Drakensberg Mountains in Lesotho and flows westwards through South Africa to the Atlantic Ocean. It forms part of the borders between South Africa and Lesotho and South Africa and Namibia. Except for Upington, it does not pass through any major cities.
Attorney General of the Cape, Sir Thomas Upington; was principally responsible for liquidating the business activities of all the Orange River pirates. And capturing their leader, Klaas Lucas. When they were finally chased away in 1884; the town was founded on the banks of the Orange River and named in his honor.
4.30 pm: Tea is in the lounge car and observation car at the rear of the train.
7.30 pm: Dinner is in the dining cars en route to Ariumsvlei for border formalities with Namibia.
Day 4
7 am: Breakfast is in the dining cars until 10 am.
12.30 pm: Lunch is in the dining cars. The train travels along the southern reaches of the Kalahari Basin.
Rovos Rail traveling through the Kalahari
2 pm: Board vehicles for the one hour drive to the Fish River Canyon. The Fish River rises in the center of the country before flowing south into the Orange River on Namibia’s border with South Africa. It has formed the great Fish River Canyon; the largest canyon in the southern hemisphere and probably only second to Arizona’s Grand Canyon in terms of size. The vast rocky landscape breaks up into a series of spectacular cliffs. Its size is impressive: 161km long, up to 27km wide and almost 550m at its deepest.
Fish River Canyon
7.30 pm: Dinner is in the dining cars en route to Aus.
Day 5
6 am: Breakfast is in the dining cars until departure.
8 am: Transfer (±60 min) to the ghost town of Kolmanskop followed by lunch in Lüderitz. Lüderitz is known for its museum, colonial architecture and wildlife including seals, penguins, flamingos and ostriches. Look out for the illusive legendary horses rumored to roam the Namib.
6 pm: Return to the train. Depart for Keetmanshoop. The observation car will be leading the train until after dinner.
7.30 pm: Dinner is in the dining cars.
Day 6
7 am: Breakfast is served in the dining cars until departure.
9 am: Visit Keetmanshoop and Garas Park (Quiver Trees), home to roughly 300 specimens of the Aloe dichotomy. The prehistoric trees have forked branches that reach up to 5m making for great photographic opportunities.
1 pm: Return to the train for lunch. Depart for Mariental.
4.30 pm: Tea in the lounge and observation cars.
7.30 pm: Dinner is served in the dining cars en route to Rehoboth
Day 7
Please pack a small overnight bag for the stay in Sossusvlei. Tog bags will have been placed in your suite for your convenience. See below for inclusions / exclusions.
7 am: Breakfast is in the dining cars in the dining cars en route to Windhoek.
9 am: Transfer to the airstrip. Depart in a light aircraft for a one hour flight to Sossusvlei. After check-in, enjoy lunch and an afternoon at leisure. The dunes of the Namib were created by sand carried by the wind from the coast. The sand here is over 5-million years old and is red due to its iron-oxide content. As the light changes during the day so do the appearance of the dunes’ characteristic color allowing for interesting photographs at any time. The wind in the Sossusvlei area blows from all directions causing the sand to form a star shape with multiple arms, hence the name “star dunes”.
Excursion to Dune 45, Sossusvlei
4.30 pm: Afternoon desert drive and a bush dinner after sunset. Overnight at the lodge.
Day 8
An early wake-up call with tea and coffee. Enjoy a desert drive with breakfast in the vlei. Return to the lodge to use the facilities, check-out and transfer to the airstrip.
11 am: Depart in a light aircraft for the one hour flight to Windhoek.
1 pm: Lunch at Windhoek Country Club followed by a city tour. Visit the Trans-Namib Transport Museum, the Independence Memorial Museum, the Evangelical Lutheran Church (a striking landmark) and the Namibia Craft Centre in the old Breweries Building. Situated in Namibia’s central highlands, Windhoek is an attractive city surrounded by clusters of hills and the impressive Auas and Eros Mountains. The Trans-Namib Transport Museum outlines Namibian transport history, particularly that of the railway. The Independence Memorial Museum focuses on the anti-colonial resistance and the national liberation struggle of Namibia.
Light aircraft flight in Namibia
6 pm: Depart for Kranzberg.
7.30 pm: Dinner is in the dining cars.
Day 9
7 pm: Breakfast is in the dining cars until 10 am.
12.30 pm: Lunch is in the dining cars.
2.30 pm: Transfer (±60 min) to a cheetah conservation project in Otjiwarongo. Founded in Namibia in 1990, the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) is dedicated to saving the cheetah in the wild.
7.30 pm: Dinner is in the dining cars en route to Otavi.
Day 10
Please pack a small overnight bag for the stay in Etosha. See below for inclusions/exclusions.
7 am: Breakfast is in the dining cars until 10 am. Transfer to your lodge in Etosha National Park. Check-in and enjoy lunch. Etosha National Park (22 270km²) offers great game viewing. It gets its name from the Etosha pan (4760km2), a large salt pan forming part of the Kalahari Basin. Etosha means ‘Great White Place’.
Etosha Safari
3 pm: Afternoon game drive (approximately 3 hours).
7 pm: Dinner at the lodge and overnight.
Day 11
An early wake-up call with tea and coffee. Enjoy a game drive in the Etosha National Park. Return to the lodge for breakfast and check-out. Transfer (60 min) to the train at Tsumeb Station.
1 pm: Lunch is in the dining cars.
4.30 pm: Tea is in the lounge and observation cars.
7.30 pm: Dinner while the train travels southwest towards the Atlantic Ocean.
Day 12
7 am: Breakfast is in the dining cars until 10 am. Traverse the Namib Desert towards Walvis Bay. The Namib Desert stretches for more than 2000km along the Atlantic coasts of Angola, Namibia and South Africa. The name is of Khoekhoegowab origin and means “vast place”. Having endured arid or semi-arid conditions for roughly 55-80 million years, the Namib may be the oldest desert in the world. The geology consists of sand seas near the coast while gravel plains and scattered mountain outcrops occur further inland.
12 pm: Arrive at the Rovos Rail Namibia journey’s end in Walvis Bay.
Pretoria to Walvis Bay 2nd – 13th April 2024 30 April – 11th May 2024
Walvis Bay to Pretoria 15th – 26th March 2024 15th – 26th April 2024 17th – 28th May 2024 15th – 26th November 2024
Rovos Rail Namibia Rates Include:
Accommodation, all meals, all beverages on board the train, room service, limited laundry, excursions with a qualified guide (where applicable), entrance fees as per itinerary, government tax. The rates also include the light aircraft flights to / from Sossusvlei and your overnight bag.
EXCLUDED:
All off-train beverages, international/French Champagne, gratuities, personal expenses, visas, travel insurance, pre and post-tour transfers and international flights.
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