Traveling Balcony Through Africa
A 6,000-kilometer trip through Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Tanzania in the comfort of a high-end hotel: the so-called Pride of Africa – pride being a play on the word for a group of lions – is «perhaps the most luxurious train there is,» according to Claudio Cesarano of Swiss travel operator Atlas.
The Pride is composed of 20 restored train carriages (pictured above) from the 1920s and 1930s. Thirty-six suites house 68 guests; butler service is included and exclusive South African wine accompanies gourmet meals. A balconied salon and observation car are ideal to relax and take in the view as the train floats by steppes, mountains, lakes, and dessert.
Capetown to Dar es Salaam offers travelers wildlife safaris in several national parks, boat trips, city sightseeing, the Great Rift Valley with 300 bridges and 23 tunnels, and the monumental Victoria Falls at the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe. The 15-day journey runs roughly $22,000 per person for a royal suite with double bed, lounge, and en-suite bath.
Like a Royal in Andalusia
Originally used by the British royal family to travel from Calais to Cote d'Azur, «Al Andalús» stood dormant for years. The train's four salon carriages – a «palace on wheels» manufactured from 1928 to 1930 – have been restored and offer an elegant travel option through Andalusia.
An 11-day journey (pictured above) begins from Málaga to Tarifa, onto «white village» Vejer de la Frontera, Sevilla, Jeréz de la Frontera – home of bullfighting and sherry – Cádiz with its picturesque coastal old town, Ronda, in the midst of a rugged mountain landscape, Granada with its sprawling Moorish fortress, the Alhambra, and Córdoba's Mezquita, a gigantic mosque-cathedral dating back to the 10th century.
The trip runs roughly $7,600 per person in a deluxe double or $11,260 for individual travelers.
