sylviam

We are thinking of taking the overnight train from Budapest to Prague. Has anyone done this recently and could you really get a decent sleep. I know that you are interrupted at border crossings and I read a post that you should be sure to bring some type of "extra lock".

Also, which station does the overnight train from Budapest come into Prague?

TopMan

Depends on the accommodation you select. You'll get a much better rest traveling in First than you will in couchettes. You are not necessarily going to be awakened at the border crossing if the "conductor" collects and holds your passport to show to any immigration officials during the journey.

Trains depart from Budapest Keleti-pu station and arrive at the main station in Prague, Hlavni Nadrazi.

suze

It's very individual. I can sleep on overnight trains (in a private cabin anyway, I've not tired sharing a couchette) and I cannot on planes or in cars. You aren't awakened, the steward holds the passports of each person in the car and returns them to you in the morning.

The extra lock would only apply if you were sleeping in a normal seat, or in a shared couchette. In a private car, the door locks.

suze

oops... tried not tired

and my routes were Geneva, Venice, Paris so realized maybe the border and passport situation may differ Budapest to Prauge

Kristinelaine

I wouldn't count on getting alot of sleep. I can't be sure that it is still true, but within the last five years we took an overnight train from Warsaw, through Slovakia, to Budapest and we were awakened over and over for passport control. The conductor didn't take our passports to show the officers. Maybe someone has more up-to-date information.

The other problem is that the couchettes are not very comfortable, and I don't remember the sleeper beds being too much better.

Every time I plan to do an overnight train (usually to save daytime for sightseeing) -- when the time comes and I am trying to get some sleep -- I am really sorry that I made the plan.

I still like the "idea" of an overnight train, but the reality is different. Granted, I have never been on one of the "hotel" trains, so perhaps those would be entirely different.

grandmere

When I was in Europe for the first time at age 21 I slept very well on trains, in private compartments; I doubt I would do so well today! As Suze says, it's very individual; people who can fall asleep very easily anywhere would probably fare quite well. Otherwise, who knows?

Marija

We loved the brand new German night train from Paris to Berlin. We had a first class compartment for two with bath and shower. No need to show passports when traveling within the EU. Wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

nytraveler

A lot depends on how good a sleeper you are. We took anovernight trainonly once and I slept like a baby - but then I can doze off standing up on the Broadway local. My beau is not a good sleeper - he is bothered by "strange" noises, "unusual" lights etc - anything different from what he's used to at home - and he claims he slep hardly at all - but the one time I woke he seem unconscious.

So - its possible - but a lot depends on your capacity/sleep condition needs.

sylviam

Topman: What is the difference between a couchette and first class. There are 3 of us so I would imagine we would all be in one compartment.

indytravel

Screeching wheels, changes in speed, varying roughness of the ride, I don't sleep at all well on trains.

To add insult to my lack of sleep I don't get a hot shower in the morning.

Though I've done them, overnight trains are not for me.

annesherrod

indytraveler - I agree!!!
I always wake up or become more alert as we enter towns, I think it is the speed, etc... I never sleep well on trains. I relax. It is better than a plane, but never a fabulous nights sleep.
I am always afraid I will sleep past my destination.

TopMan

The difference between couchette accommodations and those in First Class: USUALLY a couchette compartment contains up to six individual "bunks" stacked three on each side of the compartment and you share that space with (in your case) three OTHER folks...usually of the same sex. IF you can get one, a First Class compartment MIGHT accommodate three individuals instead of the more usual two persons as some trains will carry 3-bed First Class compartments but I am not certain they are available on your route.

I personally have never been bothered by varying train speeds and have never been aware of "screeching" etc. mentioned above but I am a heavy sleeper (although I cannot sleep on planes if I am forced to "sit upright&quot.

I wish I could offer more specific help but this is the best I can do. I assume you realize that the fastest direct (no changes) DAYTIME trains on this route take about 6 1/2 hours and there are, I believe, no "budget airlines" which fly directly between these two cities.

Regardless, have a wonderful trip.

BTilke

No, I don't sleep well on overnight trains, even though I always book my own private compartment (I would get NO sleep if I were sharing a couchette compartment with strangers!). I used to take the overnight train from Brussels to Vienna fairly frequently (when they still ran it) but got only a few hours of sleep. Now I take the day train...a long ride (9 hours) but I really enjoy the scenery and I'm actually more comfortable relaxing in a first class seat on a DB ICE train during the day, reading, watching the world pass by, dining in the restaurant car, etc.
I've taken overnight trains from Germany down to Milan a few times and again, little sleep. I also encountered the screeching and so on reported above, especially on my last trip. The train had been late throughout its German leg and when it got to Switzlerand, the engineer pulled out all the stops to make up the difference. During parts of the Switzlerand run, it felt like Mr. Toad's wild ride! I finally fell asleep, only to be wakened at 7:30 am by Italian border guards with dogs who wanted to go check my luggage.

PalQ

I've taken dozens of couchettes recently and they all have had locks on the inside of the door; in fact some have two separate locks. So leave your lock at home. But the safety depends on all occupants locking the door when they go out to the toilet and come back. Many do not even though conductors often warn folks to keep them locked. Several years ago couchettes didn't lock and the locks are the result of many publicized robberies on night trains. (A whole car load of pilgrims to Lourdes were robbed.) Couchette cars have attendants, usually one for several cars, who are supposed to monitor whose coming and going. Overnight trains will have couchette cars (couchette from the French word for couch, or bunk bed, a not-so-soft mattress that comes with sheet, blankets and pillow) and sleeper cars, where there typically are single, double and triples; very few sleeper car accommodations require first class tickets (you buy a train ticket, covered by a railpass, and a sleeping supplement, not covered by pass; couchettes run about 17-20 euros currently; sleeping car prices about four times a high often; some trains, such as in France has 4-person couchettes requiring first class tickets or passes, but most are six-berth. Sometimes the couchette may only have a few people in it on slack nights. Couchettes are mixed sex - I've never seen any in the hundreds of night trains i've taken that were sex-segregated, thus you sleep in your clothes or discretely slip on you pajamas. For couchettes you have a choice of low, middle or upper bunk. I always take upper as there is a lot more room for luggage up there as there is a wide ledge at the head of the bunk that extends over the train aisle - not only easier to store luggage but safer. Yet to climb up to the upper level requires the agility of an Olympic gymnast at times! There are ladders but you still must hoist yourself up. Physically challenged should opt for the lower berth. T-3s, Tourist Triples, requiring second class ticket are sex-segregated and run about $50 p.p. Whether you can sleep well or not depends not so much on the type of accommodation but how you cope with noise - the click-clacking of the tracks, sqeeching of train wheels. You will not be disturbed either in couchettes or sleeper cars as the conductor will take your ticket, railpass, and passport if an international train (Yes expect to give up your passport - something that shocks tourists on their first night train - don't worry the conductor will wake you up before your stop and give it back to you then - thus border controls are carried out (if any) by the conductor without arousing you. Couchettes are a bit of a crap shoot, depending on your fellow bunk mates. (3 bunks on each side of an aisle.) Most of mine have been solid types but on occasion you get some stinky noisy types; such as the one in Spain who stunk so much that the conductor moved him out to his own compartment (maybe he learned this technique from Rick Steves, a modus apperendi tip i read once in his book). But generally you'll be with middle class Europeans. Very few sleeper cars have compartments with showers or private toilets, though some newer 'hotel trains' do; sleeper car rooms usually have wash basins. The sleeping car or couchette car attendant also sells snacks, alcoholic drinks, coffee and breakfast in the morning. (extra fee).

kswl

Reading all this with great interest, as #3 son and I will be traveling in a sleeper over night from Paris to Rome. Rail agent talked me out of a couchette, and I'm glad he did.

Thanks for the wonderful information!

julie_Colorado

We just did this from Frankfurt to Prague over the summer. There were compartments of 4 couchettes. There was no first class option. I also tried to buy the 4th bed - no luck. There were 3 of us and they use the extra bed if no one is sleeping in it(doesn't matter if you bought it). The train is loud and pretty hot. The bathroom was dirty. At the border - the passport control person came in our compartment (we were not asked to give the passports to the conductor). We also were at the border for a long time - with a number of guards searching the train - so it was hard to fall back to sleep when we finished. The compartment had 2 bunks - very, very limited room for any luggage or storage - luckily we were travelling very light. We slept - not great... Would I do it again - sure... I saved a bundle vs. flying. And the 4th was a young man backpacking from Amsterdam... that my daugher and niece immediately fell in love with... I never felt unsafe... but I did move my wallet and passports to the safest place I could think of...

tcreath

We took an overnight train from Vienna to Florence in March and really enjoyed it. We booked a private sleeper car (I wouldn't get any sleep at all if I was in a shared couchette). While I didn't get as much sleep as I would have liked, I was able to get some sleep. My husband didn't get as much as I did. The conductor took our passports so we were never bothered.

The worst part about the overnight train was waking in up Florence at around 6:00 a.m. The conductor in our car woke us up with breakfast and we had about 10 minutes to change, pack, eat, and get off the train. We found ourselves standing in the Florence train station at 6 am groggy, exhausted, and totally disoriented. Obviously our room wasn't ready yet. All I wanted to do was sleep, so we found our hotel, dropped off our luggage, and headed back to the train station and to find the first train available that I knew was a popular route to/from Florence. We hopped on a train bound for Pisa and slept the entire way there. Arrived back in Florence about the time our room was ready, took a quick shower and were ready to explore Florence.

ben_haines_london

You cannot get a decent sleep if you sit up in seats cars. So you need to buy your second-class ticket and then a supplement of 12 euros each for a night in a crowded 6 berth couchette or 45 euros each for a night in your own 3 berth sleeper with your washbasin. For fifty percent more than the 3-berth night you can have a night in a 2-berth first class sleeper. You need no extra lock on a couchette or sleeper: they come fitted with locks that only people inside the compartment can open.

The reference library of a city near you may have the Thomas Cook European Timetable. This shows your times. Leave Budapest Keleti 1940, wake for border checks about 2200 and 0030, reach Prague Hlavni 0533. The station in Prague has pickpockets who work in gangs of three: two crowd you while one picks your pocket. You defeat them if while you walk though the station your passport, spare money, and other valuables are deep inside a large piece of luggage. I think that on this train you keep your passports and do not hand them to the conductor: can anybody please correct me?

Some nights in summer you leave Vienna at 2005 and reach Florence at 0700. Italian fares are low, so on other days you can leave Vienna at 1929, reach Chiusi-Chianciano Terme at 0726, have a coffee, take the next train north at 0811, breakfast in the buffet car, and reach Florence at 0921.

There is a note on getting the best from sleepers and couchettes at http://www.geocities.com/rexbickers/...ghttrains.htm/. It is true that people vary in how they sleep on trains: I sleep well.

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platzman

I've always had a fitful night's sleep, if I had any sleep at all.
I've done Munich to Rome, Vienna to Rome, Florence to Paris, Rome to Bern, Rome to Basel, Rome to Innsbruck.
They were all in couchettes.
Interesting experiences, all of them. But I don't think I'd do it again.

hopscotch

I've done overnighters so many times I forget. It is an interesting adventure, especially in the east. You will sleep better in a couchette than if you only book a seat, but the bunk costs more. You'll arrive in Praha so early that it would be good to make sure you can check into your hotel at that time.