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Cape Town, The Blue Train and Kruger National Park

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13 days From £6,690 £6,490 per person
4.4 stars(18 reviews)
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A legendary South African rail experience

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Save £200pp on all Worldwide holidays, when you book by 30th April 2024.

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Mobility Rating 2

2024 Tour code: BKJ24

About the tour

Discover the highlights of South Africa as we journey aboard the luxurious Blue Train from Cape Town to Pretoria. Ascend Table Mountain, sample wines in Stellenbosch, and enjoy fantastic game drives during a three night stay at Kruger National Park.

Unforgettable experiences

Journey on The Blue Train
Journey on The Blue Train
Take a magnificent journey aboard The Blue Train from Cape Town to Pretoria, a truly luxurious rail experience.
Cape Town
Cape Town
Explore vibrant Cape Town, with a cable car trip up iconic Table Mountain and a full day exploring the coastline - including Boulders Beach and its friendly penguin colony.
Stellenbosch
Stellenbosch
Visit Stellenbosch, one of South Africa's most revered wine regions, and enjoy a traditional braai (barbecue) lunch.
Kruger National Park
Kruger National Park
Head into the Kruger Park on two jeep safaris, looking out for the legendary 'Big Five’.
Kimberley
Kimberley
Discover Kimberley, a city founded on diamonds, and visit the 'Big Hole' mining museum.

What’s included

Itinerary

Day 1 - To Cape Town

Our holiday begins with a flight to Cape Town, South Africa's cosmopolitan capital.

Day 2 - Cape Town

We arrive in Cape Town today after our overnight flight. From here, we transfer to our hotel, taking in some of Cape Town's main sights on an orientation tour en route. Your evening is free to begin exploring South Africa's vibrant capital.

Please Note - For departure 09/11/2024 you will stay at The Commodore Hotel in Cape Town.

Day 3 - The Cape of Good Hope and Boulders Bay

We spend a full day today exploring the magnificent Cape of Good Hope, heading to Cape Point on the south-western tip of Africa. Here, we take the Flying Dutchman funicular railway to a lighthouse at the top of the peninsula, admiring views across both the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean, as well as the stunning Cape Peninsula coastline. After lunch at a local restaurant, we travel along False Bay and through Simon's Town naval base to Boulders Beach, a pristine beach with an inviting swimming cove, which is home to a colony of jackass penguins.

Day 4 - South Africa's Vineyards

We visit one of Africa's most famous sights today, taking a cable car up iconic Table Mountain to enjoy the incredible, panoramic views over the city and ocean. We continue by taking a coach out of the city for an excursion that introduces us to one of South Africa's most famous exports, wine. We travel into one of the country's finest wine-producing areas, the Stellenbosch Valleys. We sample some of the excellent local wines and are treated to a delicious 'braai' lunch - an authentic social event that sees loved ones gather together to grill meat on an outdoor barbecue.

Day 5 - Cape Town

Today you're free to explore Cape Town further. The city has some gorgeous natural landmarks, with displays of street art, and brightly-painted buildings along the waterfront. You could visit Robben Island, a UNESCO World Heritage site which, along with Alcatraz, is possibly one of best-known prison islands in the world - where President Nelson Mandela and his colleagues were imprisoned during the final years of the apartheid regime. The island now houses a museum detailing the struggle for democracy in South Africa.

Day 6 - The Blue Train

You have some free time to explore Cape Town further today before we transfer to the station for our iconic journey on The Blue Train. A butler escorts you to your cabin and provides an orientation tour of the train as we begin our journey to Pretoria. The service on The Blue Train is impeccable, and we enjoy all meals and included drinks while on board, including afternoon tea, aperitifs and, after our lavish formal dinner of local cuisine accompanied by wine from the Cape Winelands, a selection of post-dinner drinks.

Day 7 - Kimberley

We arrive in Kimberley, the capital of South Africa's Northern Cape and a town that enjoyed a prosperous past thanks to the discovery of diamonds in the area. Here, we visit 'The Big Hole' mine museum. The hill where diamonds were first found quickly disappeared under the pressure of over-mining and the resulting space became known as the 'Big Hole'. Nowadays the mine is no longer in use, but there is a fascinating museum detailing the history of the site, which includes some preserved or restored period buildings from the early years of the rush. We re-board the train for dinner before continuing on our journey.

Day 8 - Pretoria

After a delicious breakfast on board the Blue Train, we arrive in Pretoria, a city that's home to South Africa's government and Union Buildings. Here we check into our hotel, the Southern Sun Pretoria, where we have dinner this evening.

Day 9 - To Kruger National Park

Today, we transfer to our hotel on the banks of the Sabie River, next to the entrance to Kruger National Park and the perfect base for safari drives. Enroute, we stop at the Graskop Gorge to marvel at spellbinding views of the lush forest more than 150 feet below us. An elevator drops us gently down the cliff face as we admire the plummeting waterfall and indigenous vegetation.

Today's ultimate destination, Kruger National Park, was founded in 1898 to create a protected area for wildlife, away from developers and poachers. Today, it's the largest National Park in South Africa, and one of the most famous safari parklands in the world. The rest of the day is free for you to settle in to your attractive surroundings, maybe making the most of the lodge swimming pool and wonderful viewing deck where you might like to relax with a drink.

Day 10 - Kruger National Park

We enjoy a full-day game drive, the perfect opportunity to spot the iconic wildlife of Kruger National Park. We head out by Jeep with a local, skilled ranger, whose expert insights will allow us to visit the best locations to see the different species' and point out animals whose camouflage makes them almost impossible to spot. We start by tracking the big cats, still out from their night spent hunting. The park is also home to the 'Big Five' (lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo), all of which we hope to see. Returning to our hotel mid-afternoon, enjoy the rest of the day to relax.

Day 11 - Kruger National Park

Enjoy a second day discovering the incredible wildlife of Kruger on a game drive, hoping to see yet more of the famous 'Big Five'. There are also many other species to be seen, large and small, as well as fascinating plants and colourful birds. Later, after returning to our hotel, you could unwind in the spa or by the swimming pool. Or, take advantage of the nature reserve by the hotel and enjoy some extra game viewing. A fascinating variety of bird life can be spotted, and bush walks can be organised by the hotel (payable locally).

Day 12 - Kruger to London

Enjoy a free morning in Kruger, a great opportunity to enjoy the excellent facilities at our hotel. Later, we transfer to Johannesburg airport for our flight home.

Day 13 - Home

We arrive back in the UK today, where your tour concludes.

Additional information

Please note

Please note that while every departure of this tour will feature the same excursions, the order may differ from that shown above.

Departure times

Provisional departure and return times, where available, can be found together with our dates and prices by clicking on the 'Prices & Availability' button. We write to all booked customers approximately 10 weeks prior to the start of their tour to advise the exact departure and return time for their particular group.

Mobility information

Due to the nature of our tours they are generally unsuitable for those with restricted mobility. If you’d like to discuss any particular holiday with us in this respect, then please don’t hesitate to call us.

Hotels

Southern Sun The Cullinan, Cape Town

Southern Sun The Cullinan, Cape Town

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The Commodore Hotel, Cape Town

The Commodore Hotel, Cape Town

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Kruger Gate Hotel, Kruger

Kruger Gate Hotel, Kruger

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Train

The Blue Train

Enhance your holiday

Upgrades

Flight upgrades
Upgrade your cabin on the Blue Train
London Hotels
UK rail connections

Extend your holiday

The Garden Route
The Wonder of Victoria Falls

Reviews

4.4 stars4.4 / 5 · 18 reviews

  1. 5 stars
    (13)
  2. 4 stars
    (2)
  3. 3 stars
    (1)
  4. 2 stars
    (2)
  5. 1 star
    (0)

Denise French

5 stars

Submitted 5/Mar

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

Margaret Creed

5 stars

Submitted 4/Mar

It was a well organised and varied trip - city sightseeing, luxury train ride and 2 full day safaris. Local guides were friendly and knowledgeable.Hotels and food were excellent.

Collected by Trustpilot

Customerpeter

5 stars

Submitted 29/Feb

Kruger National park was excellent

Collected by Trustpilot

Marilyn Overfield

5 stars

Submitted 29/Feb

The whole tour was very good. Our tour manager Chris was excellent and very attentive and the local guides were very good. Whilst enjoying the whole holiday I would like to point out that the accommodation on the Blue Train and the size least suited our needs but that is a preference. Parts of the train could do with a bit of TLC but that doesn't take anything away from Great Rail.

Collected by Trustpilot

Judi

5 stars

Submitted 05 Dec 2023

Wonderful holiday. full on but covered everything we wanted. The excursions from Cape Town were well designed and our South African guide there was excellent. The Blue Train journey was memorable. Delayed by cable theft, the train team pulled out all the stops to make sure we enjoyed the enforced wait. The game drives in the Kruger were excellent. Our ranger, Amos, was very knowledgeable and enabled us to see the big five. We thoroughly enjoyed the whole trip.

from Great Rail Journeys
Dear Mrs Gowing, Thank you for your review and those fantastic photos. That is wonderful to hear! Kind regards, Sophie.
1 comment

Collected by Trustpilot

A Davies

2 stars

Submitted 04 Dec 2023

Great Trip and the staff on the train were amazing

from Great Rail Journeys
Dear Mr Davies, Thank you for your review. I'm glad to hear that you had a great trip and that the staff were amazing! I can see that this is a 2 star review, so we'd love to hear how we can improve this tour in the future. Feel free to contact our Customer Service at XXX@XXX with any feedback. Kind regards, Sophie.
1 comment

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