Travel from Berlin or Dresden to Munich
 

DH and I are planning 10 days in Germany at the end of Aug and beginning of September. We have never been to Germany so we wanted to visit both Berlin and Munich. We'd like to also visit Dresden. I don't want to lose a day driving from Dresden to Munich so I was wondering if there were a night train from either Dresden or Berlin to Munich. We are in our 50's so if I do a sleeper train, I want to be in a compartment for 2 people only!

Is it possible to do this? I see the Rail Europe City Night Line but it seems that there would be 4 people in the compartment.. Then I found the DB BAHN Capella Train

For an overnight sleeper, without the need to change trains, you will need to leave from Berlin.

You can book a compartment for 2 people only.

Check out www.seat61.com for loads of great information on European train travel, sleeper cars, etc..

If this link works;

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/que...showAvail=yes&

you can see the prices for booking in a 2 person cabin - standard or deluxe.

I'm going to suggest another option: an early morning day train.

I've lived in Europe since the late 1990s and have taken a lot of night trains (traveling in private compartments either alone or with my husband). Now I prefer to take day trains - the night trains really aren't that restful and you miss the scenery. And private compartments aren't cheap.

The day train from Berlin to Munich takes a little over six hours. You won't be giving up a day. Catch an early morning ICE and you'll be in Munich by early afternoon - you can eat lunch on board the train (example: the 6:49 am from Berlin gets in at 12:47 pm). If you're really ambitious and willing to go to bed early the night before, you can catch a 4:37 train that gets you in at 10:44. You get to see some nice scenery along the way (although not til about 7 am or so if you take the 4:37 train).

It's also cheaper than a private compartment. Advance fare first class ICE tickets should be only about 95 euros each (inc. seat reservation). Second class about 75 euros each (again, that includes a seat reservation). FWIW, I always get seat reservations for longer journeys on ICE trains - if I don't need it, well, I've only spent a few euros, not much more than the price of a beer. But if the train is full, then I'm very glad to have it.

Lastly, I highly recommend Dresden. I spent the month of December there and loved it. The new 5* Swissotel will be open for your stay and is offering some good rates to early bookers - as low as 99 euros a night. Great location. Dresden has several other good hotels as well - the Steigenberger, the NH, the Radisson, Martha Hospiz. (Note: the Hilton gets lots of tour groups and would be far down on my list.)
http://www.swissotel.com/EN/Destinat...el+Description

Happy Travels!

Sorry, that should be 6:40 am, not 6:49.

No night trains from Dresden to Munich. Day trains need under 6 hours with one easy change.
Makes no sense IMO to backtrack from Dresden to Berlin only to catch the sleeper.
If you wish to go Berlin-Dresden-Munich, there is no other option than day trains.
If you wanted some extra benefit from it, you could leave Dresden in the regular morning hours, and make a stopover in Nürnberg (where you will have to change trains anyway). Leave luggage and explore the town, have lunch, and go on to Munich.

Thanks so much everyone ... this is so helpful!

If you don't have the itinerary firmed up, I would suggest Dresden, then Berlin, then Munich for two reasons: one, there are direct trains from Berlin to Munich and two, if you do want to make a stopover, some of the direct trains between Berlin and Munich stop in Bamberg. It might be worth considering an overnight there to spend some time in an attractive (the old town is a UNESCO World Heritage site) and smaller city (pop about 70,000) instead of having all your overnights in large cities (Berlin, Dresden, Munich and possibly Nuremberg).

If you do decide to put Nuremberg on your itinerary, then of course Berlin, Dresden, Munich is the better order.