Journey 3-6 October 2022 Cape Town to Pretoria. Much like earlier reviews of Rovos Rail, Mr Vos replied to my email with a long explanation of what went wrong with our trip. It seems our travel agent was well informed and notice of delays should have been passed onto us. We were informed we would be on the train for another night but not the reason why. I’d seen a newspaper article in early 2022 which stated that another luxury train journey was having difficulties with the rails and overhead cables. We asked our travel agent about this and was reassured that all was ok with Rovos Rail. I feel that travellers should know the full picture before booking Rovos Rail. So who should be responsible for that? Mr Vos's response to my email reminds me of the pan coating ‘Teflon…nothing sticks’! In Mr Vos’s reply, I felt there were some inaccuracies between what the log and what the train manager conveyed. My concerns are: To reach our final destination, some 68 kms away, we had to dismount the carriage on makedo steps and walk over uneven tracks to get onto a coach. Two of our party had mobility difficulties. Mr Vos said ‘Regrettably there is no proper platform at Fochville so our own stairs needed to be used down onto ground level. Although less than ideal…….’ What about Health and Safety? We were stationary for long periods. The track is never very far from a main road and passengers would be defenseless in the event of an attack. If you are thinking of taking the Rovos trip I hope this review gives you a clearer insight of what to expect. We were very disappointed. Date of experience: 03 October 2022

Just got off what can only be described as the farce that is Rovos Rail. Given the astronomic cost of a passage on ‘the most luxurious railway in the world’, it was an enormous disappointment to us and it seems most of our fellow passengers. While the accommodations are passable, the food is not. It has the feel of a second rate airline business class offering (only with very minimal choice) and the portions are frankly insulting in size. One starter we had could have fitted comfortably on a small cheese cracker! Operationally it’s a bit of joke too. The constant stopping and starting makes for little comfort and explains the reason why it takes 3 days to get from Pretoria to Durban. Our locomotive broke down for a whole day. Except for the last couple of hours, the scenery is pretty uninspiring with shanties being the most common sight. Communication with passengers about ‘operational delays’ was very poor and we never quite knew what we were doing. One day we spent three hours n a coach because they were unable to offer us a serviceable train. The staff, while trying very hard to please us, we’re very inexperienced and seemed to be struggling, unable to even open a bottle of wine. The final insult was a chaotic arrival in Durban on to a dark platform and total chaos. We were so looking forward to this trip and had such high expectations which were not even partially met.

This was our second trip with Rovos from Cape Town to Pretoria, now 3 nights on the train compared to 2 last time. And we needed 3! Load shedding and other non programmed delays made it difficult to do it even with 3 nights on board! In stead of arriving Pretoria at 1120 on the last day, we arrived (by bus) at Rovos station at 1900 hrs.!! Not a problem for us as we were staying with friends, but others had bigger issues! And where was Plan B that day? We raised our concern with Mr. Vos personally and he responded immediately by giving reasons for such delays. Our Plan B under such difficult circumstances would be always to have 2 buses driving towards the train from Pretoria on the last day of the journes. In "good" days the buses could meet the train in Meyerton. In "bad" days they could meet the train much further away from Pretoria, still allowing all passengers to reach Rovos station in time for their next destination. The cost of such an emergency service is nothing compared to the price we pay to enjoy The Pride of Africa, the worlds most luxurious tran. But, the facilities, the service and food and wine are still excellent!

Certainly an experience of a lifetime! As with all the previous reviews, the train worked on Africa time and we appreciated the massive effort from everyone on board to make it as enjoyable as possible. This trip is for the adventurous and if you’d rather play it safe then perhaps reconsider. I will say however, I do not recommend the Cape to Pretoria route. I would much rather opt for one of the more scenic routes (to Vic Falls) as unfortunately, totally out of Rovos Rails control, the South African railway system is a dilapidated mess and routes you through some of the ugliest parts of this country. So be warned, you will romanced by the train but sadly the scenery will leave you unimpressed. That’s being said, if the train was stationary in the middle of the Karoo it would still garner many visitors and bucketlisters as it is absolutely INCREDIBLE in terms of the service, food offering and wine selection.

As a couple in our seventies we joined Rovos rail at Victoria Falls bound for PRETORIA, in February. Our journey came to an abrupt end in Messina because between the South African railway system being in a dilapidated mess and the adverse weather, we were not able to continue with our luxury train journey. Consequently we were loaded on to a bus with 3 other couples and an American group, with barely enough snacks etc, for an 8 hour journey to JOHANNESBURG. We were dropped at a Joburg hotel, at 10pm where the surrounding area was pitch black because of load shedding. South Africa is suffering with the lack of tourists because of politics, safety, and load shedding issues. The Americans who were staying at this hotel were looked after, we were abandoned and never made it to Pretoria!! The kind hotel receptionist called Uber for us and we took a taxi to our hotel. The food and service for the two days on the train were excellent, but in the event of track disruption (not uncommon in South Africa) Rovos totally neglected us, have taken no responsibility and shown no remorse. Do not book a journey with them as a couple because your mental health, well being and safety are totally compromised and not what you expect when you have paid for a luxury rail journey.

A luxury train with excellent staff. But, subject to the vagaries of the South African rail network. Our train from Pretoria to Durban in March was delayed 7 hours due to power failures and broken down trains ahead of us on the line. Our tour schedule went badly awry as a result. On the same day, apparently, the Cape Town to Pretoria train was running 24 hours late. On board staff say these problems are common. So, do your research thoroughly, don't rely on what your travel agent might tell you about punctuality.......and don't expect to be on time.

The train itself is great. The coaches were lovely, clean and well stocked with all sorts of goodies. The shared spaces such as the lounge and dining car were very comfortable and the food was amazing. All the staff were very friendly and couldn't do enough for you. The problem is not Rovos Rail itself but the rail system it runs on, which is very unreliable. There are frequent power cuts which cause the train to stop. On our journey we had a delay of 9 hours, stuck in a cutting for all that time while the electricity cables were mended and stuck trains removed from the line. This delay had a knock on effect for our weekend trip. So if you book Rovos Rail be prepared to be stuffed with food and have very friendly service but also be prepared for delays and stoppages which may effect your whole trip

I have rated this four stars instead of five purely because I think we picked the wrong cabin. When we went for the Pullman, when I think the very least you should go for is the deluxe, the Pullman cabin is quite small, that’s just the negative side of it, the pluses far outweighed it, brilliant service really good food and tremendous staff . They are really well trained and seem to enjoy their jobs. The wines were fantastic. All in all a trip to remember.

This was our first time traveling by rail and we loved it. Food was amazing, service was top notch, and everything was extremely well done. We had a very small room (berth) which we warned about, but it was fine so don't let that stop you from trying something new. We were with a largish group of people (25) so I don't know if this was something the tour group did or if is standard, but everything was gratis: drinks, food, snacks, everything. We had zero issues.

We travelled on the Rovis Rail train from Johannesburg to Capetown 3rd week of April 2023. My wife was really looking forward to our 4 days and 3 nights on this luxurious , old world ambiance train. The decor lived up to it's advertising. My wife is dairy intolerent and this was explained at the time of booking and we were assured that this would be no problem . When we boarded the train ,the chef visited our suite and again assured my wife that she would not have any issues with her meals. Alas for the duration of our time aboard no arrangements had been made for her diet. Everything seemed to contain dairy products in one shape or another . Even an alternative milk was very difficult to get from our servers and on a couple of occasions even this was unavailable. My advise is if you have any dietary concerns avoid this train and spend your money on The Ghan or The Rocky Mountaineer both of which we have travelled on and been totally satisfied