SA trains named among the world's most Instagrammable and luxurious

You don't have to head overseas to board two of the globe's swankiest trains

12 October 2021 - 13:11
A Rovos Rail train making its way to Cape Town.
A Rovos Rail train making its way to Cape Town.
Image: Rovos Rail Tours

Both Rovos Rail and the Blue Train have been named among the globe's most luxurious and Instagrammable trains.

That's according to data compiled by French travel and tourism operator Club Med.

Club Med used information from Tripadvisor and the respective websites of various train operators including reviews, ticket prices and the sights you’ll see on your journey to score each train out of 100.

These scores were used to create a ranking of the top 20 best luxury trains in the world.

Then, taking into consideration the way social media is changing the way people plan trips abroad, rankings from Instagram and Pinterest were used to score trains out of 100 and create a list out of the top 20 most Instagrammable trains in the world.

HOW DID SA FARE?

On the list of the top 20 most Instagrammable trains, Rovos Rail came in 10th position and the Blue Train 17th.

In terms of the top 20 most luxurious trains, Rovos Rail was ranked sixth and the Blue Train 19th.

The Blue Train is a place to eat, drink and be merry.
The Blue Train is a place to eat, drink and be merry.
Image: The Blue Train

Rovos Rail kicked off its first journey in 1989 and today is renowned for its itineraries around Southern Africa, with its furthest journey being to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. Ticket prices start from R24,250 per person sharing for a one-way, three-day trip.

The Blue Train travels between Pretoria and Cape Town and Pretoria and the Kruger National Park. A three-day return trip between Pretoria and Cape Town starts from R28,915 per person sharing, while the three-day return trip from Pretoria to the Kruger National Park starts from R42,145 per person sharing.

THE WORLD'S MOST LUXURIOUS TRAIN

The most luxurious and Instagrammable train journey according to the data collected is the The Rocky Mountaineer, which travels in Canada between Banff and Vancouver. It clinched the No 1 spot on both lists.

Click here to see Club Med's full rankings. 


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