ABANG AFRICA TRAVEL®    SHARE AFRICA TRAVEL®     FAIR AFRICA TRAVEL ®

Abang means to Share in local Sotho-language and this is what Abang Africa stands for.

Come with us and travel with heart and soul.  

Cultural Experiences; meet and share with the local community. Visit projects we liaise with, cook with African mamas or discover townships on a bicycle.

Help conserve Africa’s fauna by visiting wildlife outreach projects. Volunteer; combine your holiday with volunteering and benefit the local community by supporting them directly.

Go Fair; accommodation, excursions, operators, projects and itineraries are carefully selected following our Responsible Tourism policy (download pdf ), ensuring that the people whose land and knowledge are used benefit from tourism

Pure and different; spend a night within the local community in traditional homesteads, sleep in a tree house, thatched beehives hut or ox wagon. Stay near unspoiled beaches, in vibrant cities or in the midst of pristine wilderness or choose luxury safari camps and lodges. It is all possible!

Usual Highlight Tour; we organize your usual highlight trip in a fun and responsible way. Meet and share with Africa’s people while you enjoy the legendary nature and wildlife highlights. We offer tailor-made tours and packages for both self drives and small groups. We organize meet & greet, detailed route descriptions and national accredited guide services in various languages.

Contact us and tell us what you have in mind. We will gladly recommend you original destinations, accommodation and tours, showing you the natural and cultural diversity of southern Africa; that best suits your interests, budget and timeframe.

Travel with Abang Africa Travel & Trust; Travel with heart and soul

 Travel southern Africa by Train
Choice of Projects
      
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 Price:  from ZAR 110 pp
   
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Associated Projects:
BAFANAKIDS
Beautiful Gate - Cross Roads
Donkey Awareness Project
Streetwires Studio

The Southern Cross Adventure - Shongololo This 16 day journey travels across six countries. The route is carefully crafted to deliver stunning experiences every day. The train travels leisurely between Victoria Falls and Johannesburg making numerous calls at destinations in Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. As the tracks unfurl you’ll gain rare insight into the cultural and geographical cocktail that makes Southern Africa so vibrant and exciting.

Premiere Class: a weekly luxury train service between Johannesburg and Cape Town. The new train boasts the elegance of airconditioning, technological sophistication in its new dining/lounge cars, a conference coach and a fully equipped smoking lounge with flip-down plasma screens and DVD players as well as more spacious compartments with lavishly appointed bathrooms to name but a few new additions.

Route Shosholoza Meyl : Johannesburg - Port Elizabeth - Johannesburg, Johannesburg - Durban - Johannesburg Timetable
Cape Town - Durban - Cape Town, Johannesburg - Cape Town - Johannesburg. Tourist Class is a sleeper-4 accommodates 4 passengers per compartment and 2 per coupé.
On Board Services: Food and snacks are available. Customers have a choice of enjoying their food in the air-conditioned Dining Car or making use of the trolley service and enjoying their meal in the compartment. Customers can also purchase a bedding ticket on the train the day of departure.


 
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TOUR INFORMATION

Contrary to what you may have heard, taking the train is a civilised, safe and enjoyable way to travel between cities in South Africa.  There are several completely different train services.

The Blue Train:  A world-famous luxury train from Cape Town to Pretoria once or twice a week.  The Blue Train costs from 7,900 Rand one-way including meals, wine and even cigars.

Shosholoza Meyl tourist & economy class trains:  South Africa's cheap and safe long-distance passenger trains are one of South Africa's best-kept travel secrets.  Cape Town to Johannesburg takes just over 24 hours, passes exactly the same wonderful scenery as the expensive Blue Train, but costs only 350 Rand one-way including a bed in a 3- or 6-berth sleeper, or 520 Rand with a bed in a 2- or 4-berth sleeper.  Durban to Johannesburg is even cheaper.  Shosholoza Meyl's tourist class trains have comfortable modernised sleeping-cars and a restaurant car.  The sleepers even have hot showers at the end of the corridor..!  A great alternative to flying and not seeing anything, or the nightmare of being stuck in a long-distance bus seat for whole days and nights.  Shosholoza Meyl also offer Economy Class with ordinary seats.

Premier Classe:  An affordable twice-a-week deluxe service between Cape Town & Johannesburg, previously attached to the regular Shosholoza Meyl 'Trans Karoo', but from May 2006 run as a separate train.  The fare is from 1,970 Rand per person. Please enquire about low season promotional rates. The fare includes all meals and tea/coffee (although alcoholic drinks are extra) and Premier Classe passengers can use the luxury 'Blue Train' VIP lounges at Cape Town and Johannesburg stations Highly recommended. 

Metro trains:  Suburban trains around the big cities, run by Spoornet's Metro Rail division.  Metro trains are not safe around Johannesburg (which is why some South Africans will incorrectly tell you that all South African trains are unsafe), but with common sense they can be used around Cape Town to reach Stellenbosch, Paarl, and Simonstown. The Simonstown suburban train line even has a restaurant carriage, on which passengers can enjoy a lovely breakfast along the False Bay coast. 

Cruise trains through southern Africa:  There are several all-inclusive 'cruise' trains run by companies like Rovos Rail or Shongololo. The train travels between destinations in Namibia, Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe

Historical train pulled by a steam engine which travels between George and Mossel Bay morning and afternoons. The two-hour ride includes the Great Brak River, the Outeniqua Transport Museum and the Diaz Museum Complex.
R140 return for adults (R110 single) and for children 12 and under R70 return (R60 single, children under 3 free)

Please inform with us and we will assist you in organizing and booking the train trip that matches your interest, budget and timeframe and fits into your holiday perfectly!

Heaven on earth; die hel may sound as a very uninviting place but those who have visited it speak of a paradise on earth. To top that this tour takes you through the Baviaanskloof World Heritage Site and have the opportunity to meet inspiring people. This 12 day 4x4 breakaway is for anyone who believes in getting the most out of a life.
Travel and experience Mandela’s Africa. See the various cultures and rich nature. Learn about Xhosa - Mandelas tribe. Experience the rich history of Africa, this trip takes you along various World heritage Sites, the first settlers in Mapungubwe, Cradle of Human Kind, St Lucia and Robbenisland. See Mandelas birth place. Experience the abudance and variety of wildlife South Africa has on offer.

This 12 day self drive is for the leisure traveller. Drive down our wonderous coastline. It is packed with fun locations and even takes in a touch of history and culture. This trip shows the Rainbow of our Nation, taking in the world famous Garden Route ending in the Cape.
Enjoy a guided overland trip with one of southern Africa’s leading overland companies. In 8 days you will discover the Kruger National Park, the Makgadikgadi Pans in Botswana and the Victoria Falls in all its glory.Camping in two person dome tents, Multishare huts in a tribal village.

Taking the train is an environmental friendly, civilised, safe and enjoyable way to travel between cities in southern Africa. Train services vary from basic to the ultimate luxury. The views are spectacular and the whole experience is great. Plus you just get a window onto so many different aspects of South African life, just in terms of whom you meet.

We have selected and experienced these excursions forthand. Feel the passion of the operators we work with. If you book with us part of the income goes to our non profit Abang Africa Trust – to uplift and support community projects in southern Africa. Your visit benefits the people you meet! 

Discover a beautiful South Africa in 12 days.Spend a day with farmers on a fair-trade citrus estate and enjoy the environmentally rich Venda area.Relax at Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape with its abudant wildlife.Explore famous Panorama Route and Kruger National Park and experience Soweto on bycicle.
Meet an African King, track desert elephant and rhino on foot with a local guide. Enjoy a tribal fire, share a traditional meal and listen to the tales told by village elders. See bushmen paintings, stay in a Tsandi Royal Homestead and look for Wildlife in Etosha National Park. Explore the land of contrasts in 14 days - go on the Real Namibia Tour.

In 16 days you Experience Johannesburg, enjoy the sunny stretch of the Wild Coast and explore the magnificent Mountain Kingdom Lesotho. Learn to cook African cuisine & spend time with people of  different cultures. Overnight in unique and off the beaten track accommodations.

Sondela - Zulu for "Come Closer". Sondela with South Africa its rich culture and people in 15 days in an original way. Stay in traditional villages, see wildlife in Kruger National Park & experience Shosholoza Meyl; the local train from Joburg to Cape Town.

See in 19 days the best of Limpopo, Krugerpark and Cape Area.Get to know Venda and Shangaan culture, meet potters and carvers in their village life. Spot the big 5 in the famous Kruger National Park & see the impressive Tsitsikamma National Park. Drive route 62 (the African version of route 66), the beautiful Garden Route & discover the Wine-area.
12 day experience in the beautiful Cape regions. Stroll through "Mother City" Cape Town. Do the Karoo & ride ostriches in Oudtshoorn. Enjoy the scenery along the Garden route. See Elephants in Addo and the magnificent hanging bridge in Tsitsikamma park. Taste and dine in the wine-lands. Choose from a variety of uplifting projects of your interest.

Visit Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal & Kruger National Park. Look for the Big 5. Hike and explore in the Drakensberg, Swaziland and Zululand and meet the people in their communities. See the highlights, view the wildlife and visit community projects. Experience in 23 days everything South African people are proud about.

14 days of adventure; encounter wildlife in Kruger National Park and Zululand. Meet Swati and Zulu people in their local communities. Hike in Royal Natal National Park. Have the opportunity to visit wildlife breeding projects, a ghost mining village and different school and health projects on your way.

Get the best of South Africa and Namibia in 19 days; Cape Town, the wine area Stellenbosch and Olifants River Valley. Experience part of the rooibos heritage route. Walk in world's 2nd largest Canyon & see wildlife Etosha National Park. Lodge near some of world highest desert dunes. Meet friendly local people in their communities, singing traditional songs and designing beautiful craft.

This 12 day self drive immerses you in the cultures of the African people. Enjoy the mountain Kingdom of Swaziland, a true Monarchy within the borders of South Africa. Search for the Big 5 in the world renowned Kruger National Park, as well as a variety of local Arts and Crafts.

 
 
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