I know the olympics are over a year away, but I already started planning now. My plans were to take the overnight train from Rome to Torino. We wanted to stay in Torino for the day see our event and visit the Olympic village. Then that night take the Train back to Rome. Is this a good idea to spend two nights on a train? Please explain to me what a couchette is, and how comfertable are they for a family of four? Any information would be a great help.


Thanks
-Matt

Couchettes are compartments with six seats that convert at night into six bunks. Some have four bunks. It's a cheap way of lying down on an overnight train, but wash basins and toilets are at the end of the carriage and you sleep in your day clothes (there's nowhere to hang clothes anyway).
I'm a great fan of overnight travel, but I'd normally pay extra for a sleeping berth which is much more comfortable. I wouldn't do consecutive nights on trains partly because of the limited washing facilities. Pictures and descriptions of overnight trains are on www.seat61.com.

If you are a family of four, you could reserve a full couchette compartment of 4 bunks in a modernized "Vettura Comfort", for as little as 45 Euros per bunk, with the new "Liberta' di Viaggiare" Trenitalia promotion advertised on their website.

A couchette in a "Vettura Comfort" compartment measures 27.6 inches in width and 75 inches in length. Couchettes are stacked in pairs on either side of the small compartment (the same size as a standard first class compartment on a traditional Intercity train). Each compartment has a window and air conditioning. Toilets are at the ends of each railcar.

Don't confuse the 4-bunk "Vettura Comfort" with the older 6-bunk compartments on unmodernized EXP trains. When searching a particular train on the website, make sure that it offers "Couchette C4 Comfort" and not "Couchette C6". The six-bunk compartment can be had for as little as 30 Euros per bunk, but is much less comfortable that the C4 compartments on the "Vettura Comfort". Also, you'll be sharing with strangers!

Couchettes are not extremely comfortable, but are usually adequate for most adults and virtually all children. If the night is very muggy, you must keep the air conditioning on, as opening the window is not a good option.

If by Olympic village you mean where the athletes stay, that's probably going to be tough to do. You'll need some IOC clearance to get in. Such are the times we live in.

There is a note on getting the best from sleepers and couchettes at http://www.geocities.com/rexbickers/...ghttrains.htm/. It explains how couchettes and sleepers vary. The note describes 6 berth couchette compartments, but the night trains on this route have no such cars, but only 4 berth couchette cars, and 1 berth and 2 berth sleepers.

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Matt - Have you thought of flying?

AirOne fly the Rome (FCO)-Torino route.
www.flyairone.it

Steve

What would be the price of fares during the olympics? probably much higher than usual I am assuming. How about the airport? how far is it from downtown Torino? I only plan on spending one day there and I want to make the most of it.

The airport's about 20 minutes from the city by train or twice that by bus. These days, the trains run every half-hour, though I imagine that would change during the Olympics.