anybody taken a sleeper from Venice to Vienna?DO you wear Pj's?
 

Seems everyone is taking an overnight train these days so I would like to try it too. I have previously travelled on trains in europe, mainly in switzerland and loved it. Still, an overnight train will be my 1st. Has anyone taken the route from Venice to Vienna? Also, do I change to PJs in a sleeper or do I just stay in my clothes like in an airplane?

In a sleeping compartment, you change into whatever you normally wear in bed. Couchettes are cheaper overnight accommodation with four or six bunks in a compartment which you will share with people of either sex, so people keep their clothes on in a couchette (there is no room to hang up clothes, anyway).

We took a bedroom train from Venice to Vienna a few years ago and it worked out great. Leaves about 8 p.m. and arrives in Vienna early morning. Allows you to spend full day in Venice prior to Vienna.<BR> There are no toilets in your compartment so if nature calls be prepared to have a cover up

I took the train (day) from Salzburg to Venice last year...it was really long, about 6 hours. Vienna adds about 3 hours to the journey.<BR><BR>I've heard mixed things about night travel...personally, I'd avoid it. Part of the joy of train travel is looking out the window and seeing the countryside.<BR><BR>BTW, this year we rented a car and drove from Venice to Vienna. We spent the night in Graz (neat city-college town, no tourists). It was about 4 hours to Graz, and then another 2 to Vienna. Much better option IMO. Or I'd fly.<BR><BR>CoachBoy

I did not wear PJs per se, so that when I went to the WC I wouldn't look wierd. Instead I wore yoga pants and a T-shirt as my makeshift PJs.

Hello there.<BR>If you want to find cheap, good value for money accommodation in Venice then pls send me an email.<BR>Have a nice day.<BR>Jack

I would advise against it. If you are over 5'6" the berths are too small, & on our trip (actually from Vienna to Venice) we got little sleep as the train stopped nearly every hour. (Lights, whistles, jarring stops, etc.) I would take the day train or perhaps break up that portion of the trip as you will be exhausted when you arrive.

<BR>I am 5 gfoot 10, travel in pyjamas, and go along the corridor to the toilet (=bathrpom) in pyjamas and shoes. I never meet anybody in these midnight corridors.<BR><BR>Note on getting the best from sleepers and couchettes are at http://www.twenj.com/tipsnighttrains.htm<BR>Welcome back to Europe.<BR><BR>Ben Haines

I have taken the same overnight train and would not recommend changing into PJs. You never know when the porter, ticket man, or any other person may walk into your sleeper unannounced (as happened to us twice) so better to be prepared. We slept in sweat pants and sweatshirt comfortably and weren't embarassed by the unforeseen interuptions. (Another note: your passports will be needed at the Brenner Pass - border of Italy/Austria - so the ticket person usually collects them just as the train is leaving Venice. However, sometimes they don't collect them until the middle of night and you are awaken by surprise.......as detailed above. Be prepared.)

Sleeper compartment doors have bolts and you should always lock the door during the night so that people can't walk in unexpectedly. Normally in western Europe, if the passports may need to be checked at the border, the attendant will collect passports before you go to bed, and return them in the morning. If you are travelling into eastern Europe (the former communist countries), sleeping car attendants don't collect passports, and you will be woken at the border - so keep the passport with you and you won't have to get out of bed.

I've only taken overnight trains in Russia and China, and both times were in a shared compartment (e.g. me, my companion, and a couple of strangers - fortunately very nice both times!). I wore grey long johns (i.e., not the white really underwear-looking ones). I think my husband wore more like sweatpants & t-shirt.<BR><BR>I agree that SOMETIMES a benefit of train travel is the scenery - but on overnight trains, to me the benefit is one less night in a hotel, and the very convenient experience of going to sleep in one city and waking up in another without the travel time eating into a vacation day (agree about the frequent stops, though - check to see how many stops there are - some routes have more than others).