Sleeping on Trains?
 

Wondering how well a night's sleep one can get on a train. Considering booking an overnight Eurorail train. Have you tried this? Is it better to book a private compartment?

Spike, Just returned from Europe where I took the night train from Vienna to Brussels. I opted for a 4 person sleeper and was worried about sleeping, strangers, etc. It was actually a pleasant experience. Made friends with a fellow passanger from Graz and slept like a baby the whole night. The breakfast was better than I expected. I would do it again. Good luck.

Brilliant! Thanks for the reply.

Spike, one other thing, I would recommend booking the night train in the U.S. It's cheaper and you avoid standing in line at the train station.

I once shared a seated (not sleeper) compartment with my sister, my mom, and 2 students. It was hard sleeping and the students tossed a LOT! We all finally really fell asleep and missed our stop.<BR><BR>On my last trip, I shared a sleeper from Munich to Prague with one other person, who was friendly and a good roomie. That was fine, we slept well, and it was a pleasant trip. I had a sleeper from Paris to Frankfurt by myself, and that was good, too! I would have booked a sleeper with another person on that train, but I had soooo much luggage I would have taken the whole compartment and did not want to be unfair.<BR><BR>I know there are people who are finicky about where they sleep, but if you are not too finicky the sleeper cars are comfortable and you'll do ok.

Spike,<BR><BR>Although this was about 7 years ago, I took an overnight train from Vienna to Prague with my boyfriend and we did the 4-person car. I slept fine, as I am 5'2&quot;, but it was a little harder for him, as he was 6'1&quot;. <BR><BR>No problem sharing with 2 strangers, they were very nice. Actually helped us deal with the conductor who only spoke German and Czech (of which I speak neither). They were French, and since I knew a little French, we were able to converse in French, and then they talked to the conductor for us in German! <BR><BR>It is a fun experience!

Two years ago we took a night train from Paris to Rome. It was a very nice trip. We had a private sleeper berth. We went to dinner and met a very nice couple from South Africa which was fun. When we returned to the &quot;room&quot; the beds were made down and it was a good nights sleep until we arrived in Rome the next morning. The only thing we noticed was that we were a little &quot;dizzy&quot; the first few hours on solid ground. We have travled on trains before but never slept lying down. I thought that might have caused the temporary condition. Go for it!

Hi<BR>I haven't taken a sleeper yet, but if you do a search here on Couchette you should find some excellent past comments and hints.<BR><BR>One of the best things I've read here was written by the redoubtable elvira. I've cribbed the information and am posting an abridged version here:<BR><BR>“If you're an uneasy or light sleeper, get your own sleeper; otherwise, you won't sleep well (I can sleep on bricks, so I had no trouble). The other consideration is couchette etiquette. Once you have your bunk, get in and do your unpacking, whatever, on the bunk. There is just a very narrow walkway between the bunks, so standing in the aisle disrupts everyone. I made sure everything I'd need for the night was in my small daypack, so I didn't have to open up the suitcase. Be sure to have a bottle of water and lozenges (why does one always get a nasty coughing fit when it will disturb the most people?), and scope out where the WC is (so if you have to go in the night you won't have to do a search!).&quot;