Enjoy some of South Africa’s most spectacular and diverse scenery on the 27 hour journey from Pretoria to Cape Town.
From £1,195 per person one way, including all meals, high tea, most drinks and off-train excursions.
The Blue Train is synonymous with luxury and elegance. And whilst totally up-to-date in terms of technology, its style is still anchored in that of a bygone era. The train has 36 classically-styled suites, either De Luxe or Luxury accommodation, all with individual temperature controls and custom-designed foldaway beds.
Every detail is covered by a dedicated butler catering to your every whim. From an early morning wake-up call to a blouse in pressing need of a little tender care, or from high tea in the lounge to post-prandial brandies in the bar.
Journeys aboard The Blue Train are highly sociable affairs and whilst breakfasts and lunches are delightfully informal, evenings are definitely dress-up affairs, the ‘Cordon Bleu’ cuisine and fine Cape wines set off by crystal glassware and crisp linens.
Routes:
• Pretoria to Cape Town – with a stop in Kimberley
• Cape Town to Pretoria – with a stop in Matjiesfontein
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Itinerary & Suggested onward Travel
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Pretoria to Cape Town ::
The train departs from Pretoria main train station at 08:30 and arrives in Cape Town train station at 12:00 the following day.
En route to Cape Town there is a stopover and excursion in Kimberley, where we take a step back in time to the days of the diamond rush.
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Cape Town to Pretoria ::
The train leaves Cape Town at 08:30 and arrives in Pretoria at 12:30, in time for high tea the following day. It stops at Matjiesfontein for an off-the-train excursion.
On arrival at Matjiesfontein guests are invited for a glass of sherry at the bar. The Victorian 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.
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Route Map ::
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Suggested onward Travel ::
Why not combine the Blue Train experience with a wonderful gourmet and wine tour of the Cape Winelands.
[jbutton a_css=”border:2px solid #008db0;” color=”white” size=”medium” link=”https://www.mulberrytravel.com/cape-winelands-explorer”]Explore the wines and gastronomy of the beautiful region around Cape Town[/jbutton]
Exquisite ‘Cordon Bleu’ cuisine, with the finery of sliver service and fine Cape wines set off by crystal glassware and crisp linens.
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Observation Car ::
Gaze at the ever changing stunning scenery from the luxury of your cabin or the observation car.
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Lounges ::
Enjoy a pre dinner aperitif or a post dinner digestive in the grandeur of the bar car.
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De Luxe Suite::
The De Luxe Suite will forever alter your definition of what style and class entail. From your elegant and relaxing lounge during the day, it transforms into a subtly-lit bedroom of indulgence during the night, bedecked with goose-down and 100 per cent percale-cotton bedding, from your individually-controlled air-conditioning system, under-floor heating, opulent marble and gold-fitted bathroom, its scented bath salts and plush monogrammed towels, to the electronic entertainment options on offer.
And then, of course, all this accompanied by the ever-changing vistas of the countryside…
The De Luxe coaches each have four suites that measure 4 by 2 metres. One of these contains a double bed and a ¾ size bath tub with handheld shower, while the others have twin beds with showers.
Your De Luxe or Luxury suites are your home-away-from-home lounges. Need to send an important email halfway across the world or make that urgent phone call? Relax in knowing that all suites are fitted with WI-FI service that is complimentary to all our guests. Use the telephone system in each suite to dial your butler, at no extra charge, for an aperitif or even call family and friends across the Atlantic and relay your Blue Train experience at a minimal fee.
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Luxury Suite::
The Luxury Suite will enchant you from the moment your personal butler ushers you aboard. It extends the offering from a De Luxe suite even further; by an extra metre of your domain, with twin or double bedded suites which offer you long and luxurious bath tubs and a private digital interactive entertainment system, with an inviting selection of music CDs and big-screen movies on Blue-Ray DVD.
Luxury coaches have three Luxury Suites that each measure 5,13 by 2 metres and give you the option of twin beds or a double bed.
An act of alchemy transforms your sitting area into a restful night-time sanctuary. Goose down duvets and pillows and 100 percent percale cotton bedding envelop you as you drift off after a soothing, scented soak or shower in your marble and gold-appointed bathroom, lulled by the rhythm of the whispering wheels.
Your De Luxe or Luxury suites are your home-away-from-home lounges. Need to send an important email halfway across the world or make that urgent phone call? Relax in knowing that all suites are fitted with WI-FI service that is complimentary to all our guests. Use the telephone system in each suite to dial your butler, at no extra charge, for an aperitif or even call family and friends across the Atlantic and relay your Blue Train experience at a minimal fee.
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[jbutton a_css=”border:2px solid #008db0;” color=”white” size=”medium” link=”https://www.mulberrytravel.com/luxury-rail-travel”]See Other great rail journeys including Venice Simplon-Orient-Express and the Belmond Royal Scotsman…[/jbutton]
I recently booked a cruise to include tickets to Monaco Grand Prix for a special birthday surprise. Sasha contacted me via email so as not to spoil the surprise. This attention to detail continued along with timely correspondance throughout the whole planning period. The cruise was a great success but the hotel recommendations and even private hire transfers from airport, hotel and cruise port were all part of the very professional service and nothing was too much trouble. I would happily recommend Mulberry Travel to friends and family and will definitely use their services again. Thank you.
Posted 1 week ago
Anonymous
Fantastic service, before, dueing and after by the team
Posted 1 week ago
Hilary Ware
Sasha has been the most amazing partner in planning and arranging travel. Her care, responsiveness and creativity is outstanding. I am deeply appreciative of all she has done and look forward to planning future trips with Sasha.
Posted 1 week ago
Siobhan O'Shea
Thank you Lee for organising our trip so well. So professional, organised, proactive and helpful. It was a wonderful trip and we will certainly recommend Mulberry Travel to friends and family.
Posted 2 weeks ago
Neil Sheridan
Thank you, Mulberry Travel, for putting together an amazing trip to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary to Venice, returning to London via Paris on the iconic and timeless Venice-Simplon Orient Express. Big thanks to Mollie and Sasha in particular for all their efforts to make it such a memorable experience.
Posted 1 month ago
Carl
Mollie, put together a surprise trip for my wife's 50th on the Orient Express to Venice. The whole process was organised and delivered to perfection. Highly recommed their services.
Posted 1 month ago
Amanda Brooker
We unfortunately had a 9 hour delay on the Orient Express and I cannot commend enough Mulberry Travel and in particular Sasha who was in constant communication with us informing and reassuring us along the way. Excellent company.
Posted 6 months ago
Jim Scott
The service rexceived from Mulberry Travel from booking to the lead up to the trip was freindly, seamlessly and efficient taking all the worry out of the process. Many thanks.
Posted 7 months ago
Anita Jones
Booked a holiday on the Orient Express to Venicewith the lovely Sasha she sorted everything for us all we had to do was select the Hotel we wanted to stay in Venice for 3 nights . Nothing was to much trouble and answered any question we had very quickly ... would highly recommend Mulberry Travel to book holidays and so glad we came across them. Thank you all again for your help in booking us a fantastic holiday.
Posted 8 months ago
Fred Seymour
I recently travelled to Vienna and stayed in a five star hotel San Souci. After spending two days in Vienna my son and myself boarded the famous Orient Express train back to Paris and then onto London with Eurostar premium. The whole trip was organised by Mulberry Travel who arranged everything to perfection. I would recommend Mulberry travel to anyone. They took great care to ensure that we did not have any problems with our itinerary. The train ride on the Orient Express was in my opinion one of the best experiences of my life.
Posted 8 months ago
Hilary Ware
Sasha at Mulberry Travel was a delight to work with and she curated a trip of a lifetime. All the transport was seamless, the hotel was fantastic and the event was an event of a lifetime. I will definetly work with Mulberry Travel again.
Posted 10 months ago
Angela Wakefield
Wow is all I can say about the trip that Lee and his team organised for my husbands 70th birthday surprise , Andrea Bocelli in his home town Lajatico celebrating 30 years of performing.
Florence was fabulous , Andrea Bocelli absolutely amazing , and Ed Sheeran “perfect”.
Every bit of the trip was obviously planned and organised with great professionalism and everything went smoothly.
I cannot recommend Lee his staff and Mulberry Travel enough I would have no hesitation in planning future trips with them .
A BIG thank you , Angie
Posted 10 months ago
Wendy Krstenic
Fantastic service from Sasha and the team at Mulberry Travel, they sorted everything to fit our requirements to make a perfect holiday. Thank you again
Posted 10 months ago
Sue
Mulberry looked after us well. All bookings went smoothly and we were well informed with clear documentation. The team always responded to our queries promptly and were very helpful. We recommend Mulberry Travel 100%.
Posted 11 months ago
Christine Derbyshire
My husband tells me that I don't usually "gush" about much as I can be quite critical.
However,I have not stopped "gushing" about the service I have received from Mulberry Travel
From the initial contact with Sasha, seeking a price for a package to the Monaco Grand Prix, to the end of the holiday, the service and attention to detail has been second to none.
Sasha carefully took details of my requirements, being that I wanted a complete package as a Pearl Wedding anniversary present for my husband.
She quickly provided an excellent itinerary which included flights,all transfers and a 2 night, 5* hotel stay in Barcelona prior to a 5 night cruise on the Azamara Pursuit ship. In addition, tickets to the Grand Prix in Monaco (Grandstand K, facing the marina) were included.
The cost of the package was very competitive and I so didn't delay in making a booking.
Sasha promptly issued a full itinerary and advised that as flight times weren't available at the time of booking, she informed me that she would contact me as soon as they were available; this duly occurred, offering the opportunity to book seats with extra leg room for an extra cost. I did this and an electronic confirmation of this was quickly issued.
Sasha also asked if transfers to the Grand Prix were required - they were - so she told me she would be in touch again once these were available.
A few weeks passed and I was pleased when Sasha contacted me to say that the transfers were now available. I purchased them and this was again confirmed by email.
Time passed until the final invoice payment was required.This was made via the Mulberry Travel secure payment process after which confirmation of receipt was issued.
I was also advised that travel documents would be sent via the post when available and my address was rechecked.
I was really surprised and very pleased to receive my documents altogether in a wallet. All appropriate flight tickets along with boarding passes, hotel and taxi vouchers were included in addition to the all important Grand Prix tickets.
As I had NEVER received documents for a holiday from any other company in this way, I contacted Sasha, just to clarify that I had, indeed, got everything I needed for this special holiday. She assured me that everything was there and all we needed to do was turn up on the day! She also asked me to let her know how the holiday was once we returned.
This,I feel, is excellent, especially for possibly older customers who are likely to feel assured they have everything to hand when going on holiday.
What a superb level of customer care!
The holiday was seamless from arriving at Manchester Airport, being picked up to take us to the hotel, picking us up to take us to the cruise terminal, cruise check in, and return taxi to the airport.
I couldn't fault it at all!
The Ohla Hotel in Barcelona is a 5* hotel, in a central location.
For future Mulberry Travel guests, we found the service there exceptional, the room a little quirky and well appointed and the breakfast very good.There is a beautiful Michelin 1* restaurant and we treated ourselves to a meal there. Nothing was too much trouble.
We stayed on the Azamara Pursuit ship. This was a "boutique " ship , small in size. It was an extremely comfortable, well-appointed ship with possibly the best food we have ever had on a cruise.
Our inside, midship stateroom - 7066 - was conveniently located, well appointed and quiet.
The service on the ship is attentive without being intrusive. The entertainment wasn't the best, but a White Night deck party was lovely. The food on that night was exceptional with lobster, t-bone lamb, succulent beef, fresh fish and salads.
Dessert lovers are spoiled on the Pursuit!
The Grand Prix day was excellent. The transfer to Monaco was quick, with a tour guide who gave relevant information. The walk to the race venue was quick and easy and the organisation around the event was excellent. Food and drink, unexpectedly, was not expensive given the luxurious location.
When we returned from our holiday, I received a Welcome Home email to ask how the holiday went.
I phoned Sasha and we chatted about it. She really seemed genuinely interested and pleased that we had had a brilliant time.
I cannot praise Sasha enough for her professional, personal, attentive and exceptional service and would most definitely contact her again to arrange future holidays!
Brilliant!
Posted 1 year ago
Susan Verrall
Great service, very helpful. Lee went to all the lengths to give us the Orient Express package that we wanted. Polite and knowledgeable.
We will be using them again.
Posted 1 year ago
Neil Dowlman
A very efficient, helpful and professional service. Particularly from Sasha who made our 25th Wedding Anniversary holiday very special with the care and attention to arranging excellent accommodation right down to logistics and some lovely touches on making it a holiday to remember - thank you
Posted 1 year ago
William Young
It is the first time we have used a travel agent to book a package holiday which included the travel, hotel and event as one booking so quite rightly your a little apprehensive that everything goes smoothly.
We were kept informed regularly before leaving and laterly presented with a very good presentation pack which included the itinerary in date order so we got off to a very good start.
The seating arrangements that were pre booked were in a prime position along with the quality of our hotel which Mulberry Travel recommended and could not be faulted due to its uninterrupted views overlooking the coast.
All in all this break represented very good value for money and took away a lot of the stress to organize something special whilst using the knowledge of Mulberry travel to good effect.
So 5 stars for value and quality from me.
Posted 1 year ago
Lizzie
Andrea Bocelli was absolutely sensational!! Probably the best experience of my life thus far! I'll definitely go again next year & the year after. Mulberry Travel did it all so well... every aspect, the hotel in the best location right by the Ponte Vecchio, the pick up from the airport, dinner before the concert was out of a dream... an absolute perfect dream plucked out of my mind 🥰
Thanks a million Lee at Mulberry Travel.... it was all perfectly seamless 😊😊
Posted 1 year ago
Vickie
Thank you to Lee and staff for a magical Trip to see Andrea Bocelli. The casa Del Nero was an amazing experience as well. We will definitely be working with you in the future. All the best.
Posted 1 year ago
Paul Lavelle
Mulberry Travel delivered an incredible bespoke travel experience, making all the arrangements for our trip to Florence combined with attending the Andrea Bocelli concert held in his home village in Tuscany.
All the travel arrangements were perfect, transfers etc were all on time and so professional. The hotel in Florence was fantastic, no complaints at all. The concert was fantastic and the location for the pre-concert dinner was stunning. An experience my wife and I will never forget! A big thanks to Sasha for making all the arrangements, first class customer service throughout.