Blue Train: The ultimate 48-hour luxury trip through South Africa

Forty-eight hours to stop thinking about anything, to let yourself be pampered, to play princes and princesses. The Blue Train, the ultimate luxury travel train experience, crosses South Africa for more than 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) from Cape Town, its southern tip, to one of its three capitals, Pretoria, through fields and slums, urban centers and dream landscapes.

Passengers in the observation car of the Blue Train look on as the train rumbles past a township outside Cape Town, on Feb. 25, 2021.

A Blue Train butler loads passengers' luggage at the departing hall of the train station in Cape Town, South Africa, on Feb. 25, 2021.

The semi-desert landscape of the Karoo is seen in the early morning from the observation car at the back of the Blue Train, on Feb. 26, 2021.

Passengers disembark the Blue Train as it reaches its destination in Pretoria, South Africa, on Feb. 26, 2021.

Esther Ndhlovu, 58, the head chef on board the Blue Train pauses as the train approaches the station in Worcester for a technical stop in the Karoo, South Africa, on Feb. 25, 2021.

A Blue Train butler carries passengers' luggage at the departing hall of the train station in Cape Town, South Africa, on Feb. 25, 2021.

Sechan Pillay, the Blue Train manager, poses in one of the train's lounges on Feb. 26, 2021.

The semi-desert landscape of the Karoo is seen from one of the cabins of the Blue Train, on Feb. 26, 2021.

The Blue Train approaches the Karoo area as viewed from one of the compartments on Feb. 25, 2021.

Kitchen staff arranges food items on board the Blue Train at the departing hall of the train station in Cape Town, South Africa, on Feb. 25, 2021.

The Blue Train, seen at the station in De Aar, South Africa, on Feb. 26, 2021.

Esther Ndhlovu, 58, the head chef on board the Blue Train poses for a photograph on Feb. 26, 2021.

Flowers are seen in the observation car of the Blue Train as it rides through the semi-desert landscape of the Karoo, on Feb. 26, 2021.

A lake in the semi-desert landscape of the Karoo is seen from one of the cabins of the Blue Train, on Feb. 26, 2021.

The Blue Train approaches the station in Worcester, for a technical stop, the Karoo area, South Africa, Feb. 25, 2021.

A general view of the Blue Train observation car at the departing hall of the train station in Cape Town, South Africa, on Feb. 25, 2021.

Linen, crystals and silverware are seen in the dining car as the Blue Train approaches the Karoo area, South Africa, on Feb. 25, 2021.

A lake in the semi-desert landscape of the Karoo as seen from one of the cabins of the Blue Train, on Feb. 26, 2021.

The semi-desert landscape of the Karoo is seen in the early morning from the observation car at the back of the Blue Train, on Feb. 26, 2021.

Blue Train passengers enjoy drinks in the observation car as the train slowly makes its way through the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa, on Feb. 25, 2021.

Commuters stand on the platform while the Blue Train chugs past the departing hall of the train station in Cape Town, South Africa, on Feb. 25, 2021.

The Karoo semi-desert landscape as seen from the Blue Train on Feb. 25, 2021.