Night Train reservations
Jan 2nd, 2002, 03:40 PM
#1
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Night Train reservations
My family of four and I will be taking two night trains this summer--one from Munich to Venice, and the other from Venice to Naples.<BR><BR>Two questions--Is it a good idea to book the two extra spots in the couchette so that my family can have the compartment of six all to ourselves?<BR><BR>Also, how important will it be to reserve these trips more than two days in advance? I could spend the extra money to reserve from the states two months in advance, or I could wait till I get to Germany two days prior to the night train.<BR><BR>Thanks in advance for any advice.
Jan 2nd, 2002, 07:26 PM
#4
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Scott, <BR><BR>In leiu of Ben, I will take a shot. Usually there is compartments for 4 available on NT's. We just took one from Salzburg to Florence. It all depends on the train, but with a little research you should be able to get that information. Check out what's available and make reservations as soon as you are sure of your dates. NT's can fill up pretty fast, espically in the summer. You should be able to do it all using this Website "http://mercurio.iet.unipi.it/misc/timetabl.html". This has all national railway timetables. Use the Swiss site it is the most user friendly. If you have anymore questions you can e-mail me directly if you would like or check in with Ben, he is the best. Happy planning.<BR><BR>Greg<BR>
Jan 4th, 2002, 02:09 PM
#11
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Scott<BR><BR>Here's a copy of an article by Ben that he posted on www.twenj.com (no longer available, sadly). It may be slightly out of date, but there's a lot of good info there. www.google.com/search?q=cache:z3ElvDbMw24C:www.twenj.com/tipsnighttrains.htm++site:www.twenj.com+twenj+hain es&hl=en<BR><BR>Looks like we topped at the same time. Great minds, of course...
Jan 4th, 2002, 02:37 PM
#12
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I can only speak of the Munich to Venice night train that we took in Oct. 2000. Quite an experience! Did not get much sleep. We booked from here (US) and paid the extra for the piece of mind. We were very glad we did as the sleeper cars were all booked and some people without a reservation were left to single seats for the night. Unless things have changed, there were only 6 person 2nd class couchettes on that train. I had checked to upgrade to a sleeper with more privacy and discovered they were not available. I just checked my Thomas Cook timetable and the codes only show the couchettes. This table is, however, from 2000. Good luck!
Jan 5th, 2002, 11:25 AM
#16
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I see from another thread that Mr. Haines left for Serbia on Dec. 27. I imagine he'll be back in a week or so. You could also try e-mailing him at [email protected] -- either way, I'm sure he'll answer.<BR><BR>I'd suggest you look at www.euraide.de--they could make your reservations for $59 ($35 handling plus 8 reservations at $3 each). According to their website, there are 4-couchette compartments on the Munich-Venice train; no information as to Venice-Naples. These trains can get very crowded in the summer--I've seen people sleeping in the aisles on the Munich-Venice train--so I think reserving ahead of time might be worth the $59.
Jan 12th, 2002, 10:35 AM
#17
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<BR>I came back from Serbia and Transylvania last night. Sorry I didn't check the internet: I was staying privately in Transylvania and net-reading would have been a touch discourteous - and less fun than conversation and outings. <BR><BR>You've had a good answer from Jahoulih on the couchette from Munich to Venice. German Rail run that car, and on all their couchette cars they offer 4-berth use for a small extra fee. The train leaves Munich at 2340, but you can board and go to sleep about 2310, to have a longer night.<BR><BR>Italian rail are not so helpful. For Venice to Naples you'll have a 6-berth compartment, and if you want exclusive use you'll pay not just two more couchette supplements, but also two more rail fares. So a better plan is to book two type T2 compartments, which are second-class and have two berths each. The couchette supplement on that train might be 12 US dollars, and the berth supplement in T2 might be 40 US dollars. I'm not sure that this train, the Marco polo, has sleepers that stop in Venice Santa Lucia: you may need to cross by train to Venice Mestre, and board there.<BR><BR>In summer trains can become full, so I'm afraid you ought to book in the Astates now. I suggest you use Euraide, as Jahoulih says, or DER travel office in the USA. German Rail owns them, and they know their onions. The web site is http://www.der.com/. Do please avoid RailEurope: they take shocking service fees and don't know their work.<BR><BR>Please write if I can help further. Welcome to Europe.<BR><BR>Ben Haines, London<BR><BR><BR> <BR>
