Sleeper Train Rome to Paris
Apr 4th, 2013, 09:42 AM
#1
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Sleeper Train Rome to Paris
Hi folks...
I would like to know what kinds of accommodations are available and the ones recommended.
I'll arrive in Italy ten days earlier and wonder if I should just buy tickets at the station
vs. doing so in advance.
I would like to know what kinds of accommodations are available and the ones recommended.
I'll arrive in Italy ten days earlier and wonder if I should just buy tickets at the station
vs. doing so in advance.
Apr 4th, 2013, 09:59 AM
#2
You need to spend some time here:
http://seat61.com/
Detailed info on how and when to buy tickets. Detailed info on individual trains, including photos.
http://seat61.com/
Detailed info on how and when to buy tickets. Detailed info on individual trains, including photos.
Apr 4th, 2013, 11:14 AM
#4
It's much cheaper to fly (usually around 50€)and flight time is a bit over 2 hours. EasyJet flies Rome to Paris Orly.
http://www.easyjet.com/en
The night train is Thello. Some nights and types of accommodation can sell out (many are booked by groups and tours) and takes about 15 hours.
You can book a 1 person cabin (275€), 2 person (180€), 3 person (140€). There are also 4 or 6 person couchettes. The couchettes often have some discounts.
http://www.easyjet.com/en
The night train is Thello. Some nights and types of accommodation can sell out (many are booked by groups and tours) and takes about 15 hours.
You can book a 1 person cabin (275€), 2 person (180€), 3 person (140€). There are also 4 or 6 person couchettes. The couchettes often have some discounts.
Apr 4th, 2013, 11:29 AM
#5
Actual flight time may be two hours, but you have to add the time to get to the airport, check in and clear security, and the time to get from the airport at the other end. Plus it will be day time, time you could otherwise be sightseeing, not evening/night time.
You have to subtract the cost of a hotel night from the cost of the train, and add the cost of transport to/from the airports, not to mention the additional fees for EasyJet flights (bags, using a credit card, etc) to the cost of the flight.
seat61.com says that couchettes on the Thello start at 35 euro. You leave Rome at 19:25 and arrive in Paris (IN Paris, not at the airport) at 10:18. You can eat dinner and breakfast on the train. See http://www.seat61.com/thello-train-f...s-to-italy.htm
You have to subtract the cost of a hotel night from the cost of the train, and add the cost of transport to/from the airports, not to mention the additional fees for EasyJet flights (bags, using a credit card, etc) to the cost of the flight.
seat61.com says that couchettes on the Thello start at 35 euro. You leave Rome at 19:25 and arrive in Paris (IN Paris, not at the airport) at 10:18. You can eat dinner and breakfast on the train. See http://www.seat61.com/thello-train-f...s-to-italy.htm
Apr 4th, 2013, 04:37 PM
#6
I don't sleep well on O/N trains no matter the accommodations. Comparisons of time, logistics and costs are meaningless if I arrive a basket case with no energy for sightseeing/walking/etc.
But to each his/her own.
But to each his/her own.
Apr 4th, 2013, 04:50 PM
#7
I don't sleep will on trains either and no way I want to share a couchette with five people I don't know. I can take the SitbusShuttle or Terravision bus to the Rome airport for 5€. You can transfer from Orly to Paris for about the same amount.
Apr 4th, 2013, 06:29 PM
#9
"no way I want to share a couchette with five people"
I prefer to share one with three. How well I sleep on trains depends on how rough the ride is and how many people get on and off. I expect I would sleep quite well on the Thello. Actually I sleep best on Thai trains - in second class on Thai trains the bunks are parallel to the side of the train with a curtain between you and the passageway.
I prefer to share one with three. How well I sleep on trains depends on how rough the ride is and how many people get on and off. I expect I would sleep quite well on the Thello. Actually I sleep best on Thai trains - in second class on Thai trains the bunks are parallel to the side of the train with a curtain between you and the passageway.
Apr 4th, 2013, 06:44 PM
#10
Thello doesn't stop as often as many night trains so might be a bit easier to sleep. I'm rarely on a train that the brakes don't screech at every stop.
>>>couchettes on the Thello start at 35 euro.<<<
That's a discount advance purchase fare (if available) for 6 person couchette. The 4 person starts at 55€ (discount).
https://www.thello.com/infos-services/tarifs/index.html
>>>couchettes on the Thello start at 35 euro.<<<
That's a discount advance purchase fare (if available) for 6 person couchette. The 4 person starts at 55€ (discount).
https://www.thello.com/infos-services/tarifs/index.html
Apr 4th, 2013, 11:56 PM
#11
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The flight from Rome to Paris is actually 1.5 hrs. not 2 hours. You are at airport 1.5 hours ahead for inter europeon flights. The travel time from Paris to airport is aprox. 35-40 minutes by RER and costs 10 euros. Can't remember travel time between Rome and airport be do not recall it being much more then 30 minutes.
So travel time from city center to city center , including waiting time before flight is less then 4.5 hours.
I felt no need to pay a bunch of extra fees, I did not reserve seats etc, its only a 1.5 long flight for goodness sake. I did prepaid for one piece of checked luggage and recall it being only 10-15 euros.
Unless you book MONTHS in advance in high season you will likely NOT get some cheap fare on the train, and you will not get a cheap walk up fare on either train or plane, cheapest prices are always when booked furthest out from travel date. So at worst a flight is about on par with train ( even including a night in a proper hotel room for 100 euros, a room with a private bathroom not one down the corridor shared with dozens of other strangers yuck)
Trains can be more expensive , they take longer, and worst of all for some( not all) people is they simply do not get a good nights sleep ( and sorry that's a day of my holiday I am not refreshed and raring to go ) especially if they cannot afford the private couchettes and have to sleep on a ledge with 3 or 5 other people in the room with them .
.I am not anti train, I quite enjoy train trips during the day time , when at least one can enjoy some scenery ( not much to see on night trains!) and eat a nice picnic lunch, and for journeys of up to 5 or 6 hours.
I just spent too many years when my kids were younger, rving around in a 30 foot mobile home to see any fun or romance in being in even less space then that and possibly with strangers.
So travel time from city center to city center , including waiting time before flight is less then 4.5 hours.
I felt no need to pay a bunch of extra fees, I did not reserve seats etc, its only a 1.5 long flight for goodness sake. I did prepaid for one piece of checked luggage and recall it being only 10-15 euros.
Unless you book MONTHS in advance in high season you will likely NOT get some cheap fare on the train, and you will not get a cheap walk up fare on either train or plane, cheapest prices are always when booked furthest out from travel date. So at worst a flight is about on par with train ( even including a night in a proper hotel room for 100 euros, a room with a private bathroom not one down the corridor shared with dozens of other strangers yuck)
Trains can be more expensive , they take longer, and worst of all for some( not all) people is they simply do not get a good nights sleep ( and sorry that's a day of my holiday I am not refreshed and raring to go ) especially if they cannot afford the private couchettes and have to sleep on a ledge with 3 or 5 other people in the room with them .
.I am not anti train, I quite enjoy train trips during the day time , when at least one can enjoy some scenery ( not much to see on night trains!) and eat a nice picnic lunch, and for journeys of up to 5 or 6 hours.
I just spent too many years when my kids were younger, rving around in a 30 foot mobile home to see any fun or romance in being in even less space then that and possibly with strangers.
Apr 5th, 2013, 02:45 AM
#12
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We travelled Paris to Venice on the Thello night train in December.
It was fantastic fun.
Couple and three late teen kids, we booked a 6 bed couchette - 6th seat booked in our dog's name was empty when she didn't show - so we had thwe privacy of the whole cabin to ourselves.
I think it was 35 euro each (210 euro for the whole cabin).
We left Paris at about 8, after having the day to enjoy Paris (Musee d'Orsay), then caught the Metro to Gare de Lyon.
We picniced on the train - food and wine that we had bought from our local shops on rue St Antoine, then settled down for the evening.
Long stop at the Swiss border during the night - lots of snow around - then pushed on through northern Italy.
Stepped off the train in Venice about 9 am - walked out of the station straight on to the Grand Canal, and caught a vaporetto the few minutes to our hotel at Rialto.
It was cold doing the toilet runs to the end of the train carriage, but otherwise we slept fairly well - aware of stopping and people getting on and off, but we were locked securely in our private cabin.
Saved a night's accommodation cost, and the sightseeing days at either end of the journey - although it would have been nice to be able to shower in the morning (left baggage at our hotel, and returned early afternoon to check in).
We did it for the novelty of racing across Europe on a train at night.
But I'd happily do it again - although wouldn't want to share space with strangers in a cabin.
I booked directly on the Thello website - had to wait for the Winter timetable to be loaded, but I think the tickets are normally for sale 120 days before travel dates, and high-demand, cheaper tickets seem to sell quickly.
(Our dog still doesn't know that she missed a great trip, and no one seemed at all interested in why the other "person" in our booking did not show up.)
It was fantastic fun.
Couple and three late teen kids, we booked a 6 bed couchette - 6th seat booked in our dog's name was empty when she didn't show - so we had thwe privacy of the whole cabin to ourselves.
I think it was 35 euro each (210 euro for the whole cabin).
We left Paris at about 8, after having the day to enjoy Paris (Musee d'Orsay), then caught the Metro to Gare de Lyon.
We picniced on the train - food and wine that we had bought from our local shops on rue St Antoine, then settled down for the evening.
Long stop at the Swiss border during the night - lots of snow around - then pushed on through northern Italy.
Stepped off the train in Venice about 9 am - walked out of the station straight on to the Grand Canal, and caught a vaporetto the few minutes to our hotel at Rialto.
It was cold doing the toilet runs to the end of the train carriage, but otherwise we slept fairly well - aware of stopping and people getting on and off, but we were locked securely in our private cabin.
Saved a night's accommodation cost, and the sightseeing days at either end of the journey - although it would have been nice to be able to shower in the morning (left baggage at our hotel, and returned early afternoon to check in).
We did it for the novelty of racing across Europe on a train at night.
But I'd happily do it again - although wouldn't want to share space with strangers in a cabin.
I booked directly on the Thello website - had to wait for the Winter timetable to be loaded, but I think the tickets are normally for sale 120 days before travel dates, and high-demand, cheaper tickets seem to sell quickly.
(Our dog still doesn't know that she missed a great trip, and no one seemed at all interested in why the other "person" in our booking did not show up.)
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