Rovos Rail

Rovos Rail is the South African luxury train company that effectively defined what modern luxury rail travel looks like in Africa. Founded by Rohan Vos in 1989 — and still family-owned and family-run — Rovos has been quietly operating from its private station in Pretoria for over thirty-five years, restoring early-twentieth-century rolling stock, building the long-distance routes that nobody else would, and earning the somewhat audacious tagline "the most luxurious train in the world".

The signature routes are exceptional. The classic Pretoria–Cape Town journey is the headline, an unhurried two-night/three-day passage across the Karoo that most luxury South Africa itineraries try to find a way to include. Beyond that, Rovos runs the full African slate: Pretoria to Victoria Falls and Dar es Salaam, the iconic Cape Town to Dar es Salaam grand journey across the spine of the continent, the Pride of Africa across to Walvis Bay in Namibia, and bespoke charters into Angola and beyond. Each train carries a deliberately small number of guests, a 24-hour butler service, and the kind of dining experience that is unusual on rails anywhere in the world.

For UK trade partners, Rovos solves a particular itinerary problem: the multi-day overland luxury experience that does not require a vehicle. It works particularly well as the connector between safari and the Cape, or between South Africa and Vic Falls, or as a ten-to-fifteen-day grand journey for guests who want the slower-paced extended luxury experience. Pricing is structurally premium — but the experience reads as such and the UK trade has long understood how to position it.

At The Annual Africa Tourism Evening, Rovos Rail will be at Pall Mall to talk through 2026/27 itineraries, charter availability, and how UK operators are pricing the longer trans-African routes.