Morning or Evening- Train trips
 

I was wondering if anyone had a preference between morning trains or evening trains. We are heading to Europe this fall and for trips less than 6 hours, I have planned on taking trains in the evening (arriving in our destinations around 9pm). Any thoughts?

I think it probably just depends on your schedule and why you are going by train. It sounds like you are talking about taking a train to "move" to another city and then check into a hotel. I personally prefer earlier trains because I often travel alone and I do not want to arrive in an unfamiliar city in the evening, in the dark, and then get to a hotel and check in -- in the Fall, in particular, it would be dark at that time. Also, if you arrive at a hotel at 10 pm, you will have to make sure they hold your room for you and there is no misunderstanding as to that--you'll probably have to contact them that you plan late arrival. Also, in the Fall it gets dark very early (maybe even 5 pm), so a lot of the trip will simply be in the dark and one reason I like trains is to view the countryside.

I think it also it depends why you want to leave one city so late in the day -- if you have someting in particular you want to do there, it could make sense. However, this will also then involve checking out of a hotel in the morning, having them hold your bags for you and then returning to the hotel later to fetch them. For all these reasons, it seems like a bit of trouble to do this without a definite need for that kind of schedule.

Some trains can be very busy in the later afternoon runs if they involve people returning from a long weekend on Sunday night, also, or just returning from business. If you have a reservation, that probably won't matter. For example, I was on a TGV run on Sunday night from Tours to Paris once that was completely full and you could not have gotten on that train without a reservation a bit in advance.

I like the morning trains for one of the reasons Christina mentioned: darkness. I love to look out the windows and see the world go by. I enjoy the voyeuristic aspect of looking into peoples back yards as the train pulls in and out of small towns. Of course, you don't get back yards, only bigger vistas, if you're zipping along at 180mph on a TGV. :-)

I never thought about it that way- the main reason we were thinking of traveling in the evening is to rest after a day of sight-seeing - but we might have to re-consider. Thanks for the tips!

When possible, we like to travel mid-day. That's when cities are the busiest, for one.

Have a leisurely breakfast, maybe time for a bit of walking or shopping, pick-up a picnic lunch (and wine!) to eat on the train.

Then get to the next city mid-afternoon when tourist sights have calmed down, so you have a chance, and the energy to enjoy some sights before dinner.

As early as possible, so if there is a problem and you must delay for your own reasons or in case of rail delays, you have a chance to make another connection and arrive the same day as scheduled.

I don't like to arrive in an unfamiliar city in the dark. If you know the place where you are going, I guess that wouldn't be a problem.