The Premier Classe was first introduced in 2001 with only four coaches accommodating 24 guests. In 2006 it became a dedicated luxury train with eleven coaches accommodating 84 guests. The Premier Classe departs from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth every Friday, returning from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town every Sunday.

Rovos Rail invites you to travel on the most luxurious train in the world. This epic 14-day journey travels through South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Tanzania and has become one of the most famous train journeys in the world. This is the ultimate African safari, designed for travellers who wish to re-live true adventure and romance in complete luxury, comfort and security.

This spectacular 550-kilometre 24-hour trip runs between Cape Town and George during the summer months and is rated one of the most beautiful in the world. From the Mother City the train, with the Hex River Mountains as a backdrop, travels through the Tulbagh Valley towards Worcester. Grapes are grown in vast quantities in this area, and apart from several cooperative wine cellars, there are a number of brandy distilleries. The KWV Brandy Distillery is visited on the George to Cape Town leg.

The train continues along the Breë River Valley towards Robertson, home of the largest brandy distillery in southern Africa, and then onto Ashton, largest producer in the southern hemisphere of canned fruit, jams and vegetables. On the Cape Town to George leg a stop is made to sample the wines of a local wine estate. Then it is on towards the coast passing through stations such as Merwepoort, and South Africa's third oldest town, Swellendam. Leaving the coast behind the train passes near Mossel Bay, a commercial seaport that enjoyed a boom in the 1990's due to the discovery of offshore oil. George is a quiet inland town, founded in 1811 and named after King George 111.

For many visitors to South Africa, there is no finer way to see the country than on the popular 48-hour weekly journeys between Pretoria and Cape Town. This 1600-kilometre journey is a perfect illustration of South Africa as a world in one country. Travel the grasslands of the gold-rich Highveld to the haunting barrenness of the Great Karoo.

The route between Pretoria and Cape Town is a 27-hour journey of 1 600 kilometres (994 miles), through some of the most diverse and spectacular scenery offered by the African sub-continent. On the Northbound journey, the train leaves Cape Town at 08:50 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.