The Blue Train Journey

Cape Town - Kimberley (or reverse)

Duration: 2 Days

Departs: Cape Town

Returns: Pretoria

Enjoy a two day trip on the Blue Train from either Cape Town to Pretoria or from Pretoria to Cape Town. This is a unique way of experiencing some of South Africa's magnificent landscapes and landmarks. On the Blue Train luxury assumes a new dimension, you will feel it from the moment you step into your suite, transformed from an elegant spacious lounge by day into a sanctuary of comfort and slumber by night.

The Blue Train offers far more than just a journey. It is an all inclusive experience offering a combination of unsurpassed luxury travel, five star accommodation, fine cuisine, a personalised butler service and routes that offer breathtaking views of the country.

Daily Planner

Day One (Northbound)

Your journey begins with check-in at The Blue Train Lounge, Cape Town Station at 07h50. Enjoy pre-departure snacks and drinks before boarding the train at 08h30. Butlers usher you to your suite. The Blue Train departs from Cape Town Station. You will have time to enjoy the sheer luxury and incredible scenery before brunch is served. The Blue Train arrives at Matjiesfontein

for a 45 minute off-the-train excursion in the early afternoon. On arrival at Matjiesfontein you are invited for a glass of sherry at the bar. The sherry glass engraved with The Blue Train logo is a memento for guests to keep. The Victoria 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.

The Blue Train departs for its northbound journey to Pretoria. High tea is served in the Lounge Car.

After an exciting interlude you are free to refresh yourself and enjoy pre-dinner drinks at any one of the lounges. Remember, dinner is an elegant affair and men are requested to wear a jacket and tie and ladies elegant evening wear.

Meals All meals

Day Two (Northbound)

Breakfast is served on a first come first serve basis. Breakfast can also be served in-suite at your request. The Blue Train arrives at Pretoria Station at 12h50. Butlers usher you to The Blue Train Lounge where your epic journey ends.

Meals Breakfast

Day One (Southbound)

Register and check-in at The Blue Train Lounge, Pretoria Station where you will enjoy pre-departure snacks and drinks. Boarding starts at 08h30 as Butlers usher you to your suite.

The Blue Train departs from Pretoria Station at

08:50. You will have time to indulge in the luxury of the train and the beauty of the scenery before and after Brunch. High tea is served in the Lounge Car. The Blue Train arrives at Kimberley Station in the afternoon. You disembark and assemble at the railway museum, from where you will be ushered to a bus, which transfers you to the centre of Kimberley to join an old tram for a ride down to the mine. You arrive at the Open Mine Museum for a tour of the mine. You are first taken to view interesting and historical sites and then onto an enclosed ramp on the edge of the Kimberly hole. You depart from the Open Mine Museum for Kimberley Station.

At Kimberley Station you are greeted with a glass of sherry. The sherry glass engraved with The Blue Train logo is a memento for you to keep.

The Blue Train departs Kimberley Station for the journey Southbound to Cape Town. After this exciting tour, you are free to refresh yourself and enjoy pre-dinner drinks served at any one of the lounges. Remember, dinner is an elegant affair and men are requested to wear a jacket and tie or dress in traditional attire and ladies in elegant evening or traditional wear.

Meals All meals

Day Two Southbound

Breakfast is served on a first come first serve basis or can also be served in-suite at your request. The Blue Train arrives at

Cape Town Station where the Butlers usher you to

The Blue Train Lounge.

Meals Breakfast

Fine dining

The Blue Train experience is a banquet for all the senses and this is especially true of the dining car. Here the reassuring weight of Sheffield cutlery and crystal glassware on crisp white linen set the tone for the delights to follow. As the sky darkens over the landscape, the day's smart-casual dress code gives way to a parade of elegant eveningwear or traditional attire, in keeping with The Blue Train's classic livery and earthy African décor. Each meal is scored to a selection of tasteful background music, ranging from smooth jazz to light classical to the mellow tones of the Soweto String Quartet. A meal on The Blue Train is an experience in itself. Menus feature a selection of local cuisine from Karoo lamb and ostrich fillet to Knysna oysters accompanied by award-winning cultivars from the Cape winelands, all serving as the perfect complement to the landscape through which you are travelling. Prepared from the freshest produce and ingredients, artfully presented in the finest Silver Service tradition, The Blue Train's legendary cuisine is an irresistible tribute to culinary mastery.

Elegant lounges

Linking the private suites of The Blue Train are two wood-panelled cars: the lounge and club cars. The elegant lounges are ideally positioned for an apéritif, an interlude between meals or an after-dinner conversation over coffee and cognac. You can while away the miles with a game of cards, chess or backgammon, tune in to the big-screen television or browse through a volume from the library while savouring your beverage of choice from the well-stocked bar. Unwind, relax, and indulge.

Jewellery Boutique

The boutique on The Blue Train is a treasure trove of gems and minerals as rich as Africa itself. It allows the discerning traveller the opportunity to purchase treasures from South Africa's best designers. Our current range includes an exquisite collection of wildlife jewellery designed and manufactured by internationally acclaimed jewellers. Competitively priced, exquisitely set and designed, these desirable pieces will prove ideal for a loved one, or as a glittering memento of this unforgettable experience. A selection of elegant art objects exemplifies the distinctiveness of our award-winning craftsmen. Gold, diamonds and quartz are merely a few of the materials from which these objects are crafted. Many of the pieces reflect African culture with wildlife a predominant theme.

Personal Service

Each coach has a butler on call to attend to our guests' every need. Butlers serve a maximum of four suites and are there to ensure that your experience is as memorable and comfortable as possible. The train manager is also on call at all times. Guests can contact him whenever they require assistance or if they would like information pertaining to their journey. On-board services include a variety of delicious snacks and beverages served in your suite on request, a limited on-board laundry and valet service, safes in all the suites for your valuables, and a luggage van for additional luggage that a guest may not need during the journey.

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Highlights

The De Luxe suites 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

Inclusions

Includes Fully inclusive

Excludes Items of a personal nature

Towns visited