Overnight Train Questions

Old Feb 8th, 2016, 03:46 PM
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Overnight Train Questions

I am considering taking an overnight train from Munich to Amsterdam on July 4th. There are 5 in our party. I went onto the website www.bahn.de and tried to look for prices for July but the website said there were unavailable. I tried a date in April and received a price of 245 euro. My questions are:

- How far out is pricing for trains typically available?
- When I was booking the fake April date and received the price of 245 euro, I was never asked what type of sleeper car I wanted - did I miss it?

- I assume I want to book a 3 person and a 2 person sleeper?

- I went on the seat61 website and it mentioned a bed in a 2 bed sleepers for 105 euro. I assume this would be 105 euro per person, not per sleeper car? If this is the case I would be looking at approximately 525 euro for the 5 of us to take the overnight train. Is this correct?

Thanks for assistance in helping better understand the process.
Lisabu is offline  
Old Feb 8th, 2016, 04:15 PM
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Overnight Train Questions
Posted by: Lisabu on Feb 8, 16 at 7:46pm


Here is an illustrated intro to night trains: http://www.enjoy-europe.com/hte/chap17/rail3.htm.
I suggest that you look for a T6, assuming you are all of the same gender. A stranger may occupy the 6th bunk. The site may be giving you a bulk price. I suggest that you first get the price established for one person in a 2nd class T-6. For your July date you probably must wait until May to make a booking. Contact http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/ for the best up-to-date information and ticket purchase.
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Old Feb 8th, 2016, 04:41 PM
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Since last year, the 6th bunk always stays empty in T6 couchettes on City Night Line overnight trains.

When I checked a dummy date in April on bahn.de, I did get several options. Not sure how far in advance you can book saver fares on international overnight routes. For domestic travel it would be some 90 days, I 'think' I read somewhere that it was two months for international routes.

But you should make that inquiry for all 5 people (just add addtional passengers when making the inquiry) anyway.

In my case the search showed the aforementioned couchette (one for 5pax), and a combination of one 3pax and one 2pax sleeper.
The fare quote is always the total for all passengers.
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Old Feb 8th, 2016, 09:47 PM
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Hi Lisabu,

Booking for international trains starts at about 92 days from the DB site, so long as the train either starts or ends in Germany. I often book from Germany to Paris or Switzerland, and I do it at about 90 days early. I'm going to book a night train from Orvieto to Munich for around 14 May, and right now they are only taking bookings up to 7 May.

I'm afraid if you wait for two months, the cheapest options might be gone.

Have fun as you plan!

s
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Old Feb 8th, 2016, 11:16 PM
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Yes, couchettes are now all 5-berth.

Booking should open 92 days ahead, so no rush. You'll find cheap prices is you book 3 months ahead soon after booking opens.
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Old Feb 9th, 2016, 01:15 AM
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The OP says, "There are five in our party" but does NOT say whether or not these five are all the same sex, a family, or what. In terms of couchette travel that may make a difference, am I correct about this or simply asking yet another inconvenient question?
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Old Feb 9th, 2016, 02:00 AM
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According to NSInternational you can book a CNL 180 days out.

https://www.nsinternational.nl/en/trains/nighttrain

I just tried booking and it came up with July 4th, no problem.
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Old Feb 9th, 2016, 03:07 AM
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Gender and relationships don't matter in couchettes.
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Old Feb 11th, 2016, 07:32 AM
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Thanks for the information. I will be traveling with my teenage kids 2 boys and 2 girls. I just tried to book using the link provided by hetismij2 and it said I can only book 3 months ahead. I am confused because some of the posts say 90 days which matches the website information. However, hetismij2 was able to book 180 days.

Does it matter that I am not booking from two locations in Germany? I am trying to do Munich to either Brussels or Amsterdam (still trying to decide if we want to do a bit of Belgium before Amsterdam).

I am thinking that I need to wait for the 90 day mark, but I am curious about the 180 day situation.

Thanks
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