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Encounter wildlife, cultural sites and beautiful coastline with savings of £200pp

South Africa Rail Holidays

Exciting and enigmatic, few countries can match South Africa for sheer diversity. Where else could you sunbathe on a sweltering beach in the company of a colony of mischievous penguins? Observe the world's most magnificent wildlife at close range? Or visit a former diamond mine?

These, and many other extraordinary experiences, can be enjoyed on one of Great Rail Journeys' escorted rail tours of South Africa. Travelling in comfort and style aboard a luxury train, you can toast another South African sunset with champagne in the dining car, safe in the knowledge that tomorrow brings another unforgettable adventure.

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10 results matching: South Africa

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Cape Town, the Blue Train & Kruger
Save £200pp
4.4 stars(18 reviews)
2024Nov
2025FebMarOctNov
13 days from
£6,690 pp £6,490 pp
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Save £200pp
13 days from
£6,690
£6,490
per person
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Tour map
  • DestinationSouth Africa
  • Starts / EndsLondon Heathrow
  • AccommodationRail, Hotel
  • TransportFlight, Rail, Coach
Map and accommodation
South African Adventure
Save £200pp
3.9 stars(12 reviews)
2024Oct
2025MarOctNov
19 days from
£8,495 pp £7,995 pp
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Save £200pp
19 days from
£8,495
£7,995
per person
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Tour map
  • DestinationSouth Africa
  • Starts / EndsLondon Heathrow
  • AccommodationRail, Hotel
  • TransportFlight, Rail, Coach
Map and accommodation
Save £200pp
22 days from
£19,990
£19,790
per person
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  • DestinationBotswana, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia
  • Starts / EndsLondon Heathrow
  • AccommodationRail, Hotel
  • TransportFlight, Rail
Map and accommodation
2025 On Sale
16 days from
£9,495
per person
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9 days from
£2,995
per person
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The Splendours of Southern Africa
Save £200pp
5.0 stars(6 reviews)
2024Sep
2025FebMarAprSepOct
16 days from
£6,795 pp £6,595 pp
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Save £200pp
16 days from
£6,795
£6,595
per person
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  • DestinationBotswana, South Africa, Zambia
  • Starts / EndsLondon Heathrow
  • AccommodationRail, Hotel
  • TransportFlight, Rail, Coach
Map and accommodation
10 days from
£3,195
per person
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22 days from
£14,375
per person
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10 days from
£3,995
per person
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  • DestinationNamibia, South Africa
  • AccommodationRail, Hotel
  • TransportRail, Coach
Map and accommodation
Our customers love our South Africa tours
Cape Town, The Blue Train and Kruger National Park
5/Mar
Denise French
5 stars
“The sights hotels and food ( excepting Pretoria ) and organisation very good . Train fantastic -( best ever been on even though scenery fairly unexciting ) and safari fabulous . Table mountain unforgettable . Highly recommend .
Collected by Trustpilot
Victoria Falls, Cape Town and Botswana Safari
27/Feb
Angela M
5 stars
“This was a unique and memorable tour full of interest and diversity from the urban setting of Cape Town visiting Robben Island and enjoying the views from the top of Table Mountain on a clear day, travelling across South Africa in comfort by road and luxury rail, seeing wildlife including lions, elephants and hippos at close quarters in their natural environment in Botswana and walking around the iconic Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. Throughout we travelled and stayed in very good quality, comfortable and secure transport and hotels accompanied throughout by an expert tour manager and informed at each location by local guides. The complex itinerary travelling by road, air and train and making three border crossings all worked like clockwork. Another wonderful experience by Great Rail Journeys.
Collected by Trustpilot
Grand Tour of South Africa
05 Dec 2022
Mr Chris Payne
5 stars
“Superb service from day one
Collected by Trustpilot

Visiting South Africa with Great Rail Journeys

As the UK's leading provider of specialist rail holidays for more than thirty years, Great Rail Journeys has perfected the art of creating escorted rail tours in South Africa which combine the best and most memorable experiences with outstanding value for money.

The cost of your South Africa train holiday covers flights and all other transport arrangements including luxury train travel, an itinerary featuring excursions which showcase South Africa's greatest historical, cultural and natural highlights, quality overnight accommodation and selected evening meals.

Guests on our escorted rail tours in South Africa also benefit from the services of our experienced and friendly Tour Manager and local guides who will be happy to assist guests, answer questions and share their knowledge of the destinations we visit.

Overnight stays are in quality accommodations that we have hand-picked for their beneficial location and for the high standards of comfort, facilities and value they offer. Where possible we choose family-run hotels, enabling our guests to enjoy a more personal service and relax in an informal and hospitable atmosphere.

South Africa Traveller's Guide

The country at the foot of Africa where the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet has a history spanning more than two million years according to the wealth of pre-historic fossils found here. The world's oldest-known cave paintings suggest that man has been in South Africa for the last eighty-thousand years, and whilst the last two centuries proved to be particularly turbulent and challenging South Africa has changed for the better and is embracing a new era of cultural tolerance and optimism.

South Africa's major cities, including Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria and Johannesburg are thoroughly modern and multicultural, offering visitors as much entertainment, nightlife, cultural activities and shopping as they desire. Most visitors are here for South Africa's natural wonders, however.

South Africa's landscapes, all of them sublimely beautiful, encompass mountain ranges, deserts, vast open savannah, rainforest and almost every other terrain in between. Guests on a Great Rail Journeys tour of South Africa will experience the best of this natural beauty both from travelling through it by train and by visiting spectacular locations such as the wine country of Franschhoek and Stellenbosch, Kruger National Park and the Knysna Heads.

South Africa's Climate

Bad weather is rarely an issue in South Africa thanks to a largely subtropical climate which provides year round sunshine and warmth. From May to September - South Africa's winter - there is almost no rainfall. In summer, from October to April, rainfall is usually characterised by heavy downpours which helpfully cool down temperatures typically ranging between 32°C (90°F) and 38°C (100°F).

South African Cuisine

South African cuisine is a tantalising blend of indigenous African cookery and influences inherited from a diversity of historical colonists including Dutch, German, French, Italian, Greek, British and Asian immigrants. South Africans are as least as devoted to their braii (barbecues) as Australians.

Travelling By Train in South Africa

The carriages on our luxury tours of South Africa can claim to be fitted with the most spacious train suites in the world. Five star dining, polished wooden interiors and 24 hour room service make these some of the most luxurious train journeys in the world. On board the train your Tour Manager will take care of tipping but when dining out we recommend a tip of between 10% and 15% the value of a meal.

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