All aboard for the luxury Rovos Rail Train Safari (from/to Durban). Join this three-day safari on one of the most luxurious trains in the world; to experience the splendor of KwaZulu Natal. Take in the Big Five, a battlefields tour with a world-class historian and unusual African ceramics.
Experience the Nambiti Conservancy; a Big Five private bush retreat set on 20 000 acres of malaria-free bushveld in KwaZulu Natal. It has an incredible biodiversity including savannah, grasslands, thornveld, and tall acacia trees. The Sundays River flows through the reserve and has two 40 meter waterfalls with magnificent ravine bush; home to several rare bird species. Situated on an expansive game farm, Spionkop Lodge; which adjoins an 11 000-acre nature reserve; is the perfect base for exploring the mountains, bush, birds, and battlefields of the region.
Ardmore Ceramics is a story about the Zulu people whose sense of rhythm, color, dance, and song; as well as the spirit of the African imagination, is exerting its influence on the other continents of the world. Pay a morning visit to this charming center in the rolling hills of the Midlands; before the train makes its way to Durban.
Midlands Meander
There is at least one departure of the Rovos Rail Durban to Pretoria / Pretoria to Durban; most months of the year (except December, May, June & July) in both directions. Send us your dates and we will try to find the best way to incorporate your luxury train journey.
Rovos Rail Durban to Pretoria Daily Itinerary
Day 1: Ardmore Ceramics
10 am: Depart Durban Station. The train traverses the spectacular Valley of a Thousand Hills. Guests may freshen up in their suites before joining fellow travelers in the lounge car and observation car.
1 pm: Lunch is available in the dining cars. Visit the famous Ardmore Ceramics Gallery. Here, artists are encouraged to express their imagination based on nature and Zulu folklore and tradition.
7.30 pm: Dinner is in the dining cars en route to Ladysmith. Dress: Formal Shortly after Frere, on the left of the track, stands a memorial to Winston Churchill; who was captured here in November 1899; while trying to free an armored train trapped by a Boer ambush.
Day 2: Spionkop & Nambiti
06:30 am: Breakfast is available until departure. Transfer (±30 min) to Spionkop Lodge for the morning. A choice of two excursions is available: 1. Hear the historic tale of the Battle of Spionkop OR 2. Enjoy a game drive in the 11 000-acre Reserve.
1 pm: Enjoy lunch in the dining cars. The Drakensberg Mountains were first named by the Voortrekkers; who thought the unbroken chain of heavily weathered peaks reminded them of the spines on a dragon’s back; hence the name ‘Dragon Mountain’ or Drakensberg in Afrikaans. Enjoy a game drive in the Nambiti Reserve; a private Big Five bush retreat set on 20 000 acres of malaria-free bushveld; with incredible biodiversity including savanna, grasslands, thornveld, and tall acacia trees.
7.30 pm: Dinner is in the dining cars en route to Vooruitsig. Dress: Formal Pass Glencoe; site of the first battle of the Anglo Boer War and now the center of the province’s coalfields; then Newcastle, which has what is reputed to be the largest cella-dome Hindu temple in the southern hemisphere. From here the train descends from Majuba Hill; the site of the decisive battle that ended the First Anglo Boer War.
Day 3: Pretoria
7 am: Breakfast is served until 10 am. Travel northwest across and the goldfields of the Witwatersrand and the Highveld towards Balfour, a small mining town in Mpumalanga, and Heidelberg, site of the first Rand gold strike. 1 pm: Lunch is served in the dining cars. 4 pm: Arrive at journey’s end at Rovos Rail Station, Pretoria
Rovos Rail Pretoria to Durban Daily Itinerary
Day 1: Pretoria
10 am: Depart Rovos Rail Station, Pretoria. Travel southeast across the Highveld and the goldfields of the Witwatersrand towards Heidelberg, site of the first Rand gold strike; and Balfour, a small mining town in Mpumalanga. Guests may freshen up in their suites before joining fellow travelers in the lounge car and observation car.
1 pm: Lunch is available in the dining cars. The Drakensberg Mountains were first named by the Voortrekkers; who thought the unbroken chain of heavily weathered peaks reminded them of the spines on a dragon’s back; hence the name ‘Dragon Mountain’ or Drakensberg in Afrikaans.
4.30 pm: High Tea is in the lounge and observation cars. The train climbs to Majuba Hill; site of the decisive battle that ended the First Anglo Boer War; then passes Newcastle; which has what is reputed to be the largest cella dome Hindu temple in the southern hemisphere.
7.30 pm: Dinner is in the dining cars en route to Elandslaagte. Dress: Formal Pass Glencoe; the site of the first battle of the Anglo Boer War and is now the center of the province’s coalfields.
Day 2: Nambiti & Spionkop
5.45 am: Breakfast is available in the dining cars until departure. Enjoy a game drive in the Nambiti Reserve; a private Big Five bush retreat set on 20 000 acres of malaria-free bushveld; with incredible biodiversity including savannah, grasslands, thornveld, and tall acacia trees.
11 am: Enjoy brunch in the dining cars. Transfer (±30 min) to Spionkop Lodge for the afternoon. A choice of two excursions are available: 1. Hearthe historic tale of the Battle of Spionkop OR 2. Enjoy a game drive in the 11 000-acre Reserve.
7.30 pm: Dinner is in the dining cars en route to Estcourt. Dress: Formal Shortly after Chieveley, on the right of the track, stands a memorial to Winston Churchill; who was captured here in November 1899 while trying to free an armored train trapped by a Boer ambush.
Day 3: Ardmore Ceramics
7 am: Breakfast is available in the dining cars until 10:00. The train descends the escarpment to Lions River. Visit the famous Ardmore Ceramics Gallery. Here, artists are encouraged to express their imagination based on nature and Zulu folklore and tradition.
1 pm: Enjoy lunch in the dining cars as the train traverses the spectacular Valley of a Thousand Hills.
4 pm: Arrive at the journey’s end at Durban Station. A number of museums and cultural sights, the beautiful botanical gardens, and the superb shark-protected beaches; are but a few of the city’s many charms.
Extend your luxury rail journey to include the journey from either Cape Town or Victoria Falls
Rovos Rail to Durban or Vice Versa Price:
Rates per person sharing: 1st October 2023 until 30th September 2024: Pullman Suite: R31 200 Deluxe Suite: R46 500 Royal Suite: R63 000
Rates per person sharing: 1st October 2024 until 30th September 2025: Pullman Suite: R34 000 Deluxe Suite: R50 500 Royal Suite: R68 000
Single Supplement: 50% on all suites
Rovos Rail to Durban or Vice Versa Departure Dates:
Departure Dates
Pretoria – Durban
Durban – Pretoria
October 2023
13
16
November 2023
17
20
December 2023
N/A
January 2024
19
22
February 2024
9
12
March 2024
22
25
April 2024
12
15
May 2024
N/A
June 2024
N/A
July 2024
N/A
August 2024
N/A
September 2024
6
9
October 2024
4
7
November 2024
15
18
December 2024
N/A
January 2025
24
27
February 2025
14
17
March 2025
7
10
April 2025
11
14
May 2025
N/A
June 2025
N/A
July 2025
N/A
August 2025
15
18
September 2025
19
22
Please note: Day, Itinerary, Departure & Arrival times are subject to change. Dates are specific – Please Check at the time of inquiry. Prices in South African Rand per person sharing. Children Rate On Request. Off-train excursions cannot be guaranteed and will be undertaken only if time permits. Departure and arrival times are approximate and cannot be guaranteed.
To see full information on Rovos Rail and its accommodation options, visit Rovos Rail.
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Places to stay in Durban pre / post Rovos Rail Durban Journey
