Your experience on night trains
 

Hi,

I'm planning to take a night train from Torino to Lecce (13 hours) on my next trip to Italy. I've never spent the night on a train, so I would love to read about what to expect. Flying is way more expensive, that's why I'd rather take the train.

Thanks!

Last I read everyone here except Mr. Haines and myself has said that sleep and night trains are oxymoronic terms.

My advice: go FIRST (there's a reason they call it that) Class.

Hey, I like overnight trains! As long as you can afford a private cabin, not a couchette sharing with a bunch of strangers. Pack a nice dinner and a couple bottles of wine for the ride. Take a sleeping pill and earplugs if you are normally a light sleeper. Don't do this more than once a week on any trip.

Even first class will not be a guarantee. I look an over-night train from Savona Italy to Munich Germany. Shared my berth with two very paranoid German women who would not open a window...it was August....it was HOT. They were afraid that the Italian men would come in and ravish them....they were 60....I was 28. They bolted themselves in for the entire trip so that I had to stand in the hall and knock to get back in after using the bathroom in the middle of the night. Got some sleep but awoke to realize that the Italian trains were on strike, so we had just shuffled around Genoa all night from one track to another. Luckily I had packed some water, bread, cheese, and salami and a nice bottle of red wine. As a result, I made friends very easily!!!! Had a fabulous visit with folks in other first class sleeper cars, relaxed and didn't stress about being a day late to Munich. The moral to my story is...if you have the time and can save some $...go for it!

I once had an entire couchette compartment to myself from Berlin to Paris. It made no difference. I still did not sleep much. I just find it difficult because trains are noisy.

Having said that, I am supposed to take the Transiberian Express next August (tentative plans). It is a charter train (better class of service) and goes from Vladivostok to Moscow with diversions to places like Ulanbator and Lake Baikal along the way. I suppose, with 12 days on that train, at some point I will just get used to it and sleep. It is two in a compartment with a sink. Toilets are at the end of the cars and the showers are in a shower car.

By the way, the price goes up considerably if you want the shower in your room--1 1/2 times as much--so I have opted for the basic service.

The trip I am booked on is run by Elderhostel. I have had good luck with their trips.

The overnight trains are much better, IMHO, in Europe than in the US. At least when it comes to the private accomodations. I'd not do one without it (we went from Paris to Munich last year, and had a private bathroom with shower - which was very nice!) You may or may not sleep well on the train, but I was happy with the experience.

As seen, opinions will vary; however, I think many people over the age of 25 would agree that a couchette is never advisable.

Personally, I have had two terrible experiences, one involving a stowaway, and will never take a night train again.

I have loved my overnight trips in a little two-person couchette--Or whatever it was. They were both very cozy and comfortable. The first time I went from Lisbon to Madrid, and the second time from Madrid to...Granada, I think. Or was it Sevilla?

The only anomaly was that the young pregnant woman who was sleeping in the top bunk of the Lisbon train apparently was in too much of a hurry to run down to the bathroom in the morning, so she availed herself of the wastebasket. "Hmm," I thought."She obviously lives a little closer to nature than I do." For some reason, I wasn't particularly bothered by her shortcut.

On the Madrid to Granada train there was no one else in the two-bunk couchette.

My suggestions would be two: 1) Don't sit in the train station drinking coffee before your train, as it will necessitate a middle-of-the-night trip down the hall to the rather unappetizing toilet. 2) Bring a bottle of water, as the water in the couchette may not be potable.

I loved both trips! Have fun!

As may have transpired so far, there are people totally not suited to night trains (unless they want to sit up?) - neither couchettes (simple bunks, either 4 or 6 to a compartment, all you get is a blanket of suspect hygiene), or sleeper (private cabins with varying sleeping arrangements, some even with bathroom en-suite) will provide the comfort they need. If you are used to air conditioning, fussy about other people's smells and sounds, a worrier about private belongings, a light sleeper in the first place - this is not for you.

If you are a relaxed and trusting person who takes things as they come, has recently been discharged from the armed services (no kidding), has worked on ships where close-quarters sharing is the norm, or comes form a large and noisy family - you might survive it and actually benefit.

Either way, do not expect anything like a normal night's sleep. But some of us like the sound of the rolling - not all that loud in these days of advanced tracks and rolling stocks, and the screeching of brakes and bumping at stops in the middle of the night, and the PA announcements on the platforms that wake up most pax - it is part of the romance of travel, of which there is not much left (says an oldtimer).

For all kinds of good tips about night train travel and more, check out www.seat61.com.

took a overnight train from paris to madrid. and I didn't get 2 hours sleep. But while I was sleeping my brother in law told me he was praying real hard during that time too. Seems our train stopped for awhile because of the winds on the mountains/hills we were about to travel to and My bil said he could feel the train rocking back and forth and it scared him sh*tless. I'm glad I slept through that part.

I Like traveling by train. They came in made up the seats into bunks and I thought it was pretty cool. The next morning walked on down to the coffee shop for breakfast.

The station in Paris was nuts, really busy and crowded and I was worried about getting ripped off, many shady people hanging around. I hung out next to the cops most of the time. And we arrived at the madrid train station about a month after the bombing, so that made it a somber arrival. Security was super tight too.

Last summer, my mother and I took the nite train from salzburg to Paris. luckily i'd reserved the bottom bunks, but had to oust one woman who had gotten on earlier and tried to nab one of our bunks. Other disadvantage of getting on at a later stop was that all the storage for luggage was taken except that up by the top bunks. No way myself and 78 y/o mother could lift, and no place anywhere else (esp as 2 travellers had those huge frame backpacks). I tried to put it in the hall outside our 6 person couchette, but luckily the porter warned me that it would be stolen during the nite -she locked it in a neighboring compartment that was empty. The next am, my mom was first up, so the porter let her use the empty compartment, where we had breakfast and then got a couple more hours of more peaceful sleep. I was trying to save money, but after this experience, I'd say pay the extra for space to accommodate only the number of travellers in your won party. If more costly than flying, fly.

great, highly recommended. saves you time during the day for visiting.i particularly took 2, paris-venice, and rome-paris. do it, it will save you time.

I love night trains. You save travel time plus the cost of a hotel. The internet site http://tinyurl.com/y57vft has tips on using overnight trains.

I love night trains and I love discount airlines. It depends on how long the trip is, cost of flight, and how long the train ride is. I've taken about a dozen night trains and slept on them all. However, I have the wonderful gift of being able to sleep anywhere, so I'm not sure that helps you. I find there is something magical about night trains though.

Some over night trips are not safe, even if you have a private, First Class compartment. I made the mistake of taking the night train from Prague to Budapest. We bordered late at night and the porter told me to be sure to use the toilet before the train left the station because after that it would not be safe for me to leave my compartment until we arrived in Budapest. He told me not to unlock/unchain my door for anyone because they had had many robberies on the train. Scarey!

LOL..don't let ANYONE, even the railroad try to convince you that a "couchette" is "First Class" because it isn't!

Many people are confused by the different types of sleeping accommodation. Couchettes come in first- and second-class versions (with four or six bunks in a compartment), but it is very basic sleeping accommodation. Sleepers are neither first nor second class (despite what many people think) and you can use sleepers in many cases with a second-class ticket. Confusingly, someone using a sleeper with a second-class ticket will travel in much greater comfort than someone in a first-class couchette. All sleeping accommodation is private, with compartment doors that can be locked. You may have to share with strangers if you don't pay for a whole compartment; in couchettes, you usually share with people of either sex, but sleepers are only shared by strangers of the same sex. Sleeper compartments have a wash basin and space to hang clothes, and it's normal to undress before going to bed; couchettes have no space for hanging clothes and you sleep in your day clothes.

Hi C,

>Flying is way more expensive, ...<

Have you checked air fare at www.whichbudget.com?

((I))

On our very first trip to Europe in the late '70s we took a couchette twice. While we slept, we decided that wasn't for us.

On subsequent trips we took a private sleeper. On one trip we did it a few times. I wouldn't do it more than once on a trip. While we slept (kind of) we just didn't get a decent night's sleep. Not really worth it.

This past June I decided to take a late afternoon (4:20) train from Prague to Budapest. I didn't want to be awakened twice in the event we did fall asleep.

The trip went alot faster than we expected and we arrived in Budapest 11:30PM. Essentially, we really didn't give up very much time by leaving at 4:20PM instread of later at night.

Lie down on an ironing board and have a few friends toss you up and down for awhile. If you enjoy the experience, take the night train.

I once had a compartment all to myself from Venice to Geneva. It was great. Slept very well. A couple other times I shared a compartment with others and it was terrible. Guaranteed if it is hot the others will want the windows closed or if it is cold they will want them open. They will want to read when you want to sleep etc. Night trains are great if you have a private compartment and that is not cheap.

Larry J

Back in 2000 I had a sleeper all to myself in the ride from Vienna to Zurich. I had no problem falling asleep, I even had to set my alarm clock to make sure I woke up in time to get ready to get off in Zurich. In point of fact, I tend to sleep better in trains than in planes...

In a couple of weeks my daughter will be riding the night train from Berlin to Paris. Besides FauxStMarie, has anybody else taken that long ride?

Hi again,

Thanks WallyKringen and HopScotch for the links about the tips when taking an overnight train!

Thanks Ira for the link about budget flights!

Thanks BasingStoke2 for that hillarious way of illustrating what sleeping on an overnight train is like!

Thanks everybody else for sharing your experience!

NOT for me. many are seduced by the fact that they are combining getting to their next destination without paying for a hotel. sounds great, but it's not (at least for me it's not).

however, let's wait for mr haines to present the other perspective.

We took an overnight from Barcelona to Madrid in a couchette and slept thoughout the shole travel. Being nicely horizontal on a soft (bunk) bed is way better than sitting, even with the spacious First class.

Having said that, a couple of years ago, we took a 1-hour Air One flight from Brindisi, the closest airport to Lecce, to Milan and IIRC it wasn't that expensive. It also beats spending time-wasting hours in a train.

<i>Author: basingstoke2
Date: 12/29/2006, 07:40 am
Lie down on an ironing board and have a few friends toss you up and down for awhile. If you enjoy the experience, take the night train. </i>

You should not sleep on the floor of the mail car.

I've had three different overnight train experiences, two of which were awful, one passable. The more awful overnight was from Oslo to Copenhagen on a second class regular seat. Despite making an inquiry two weeks in advance, all sleeper or couchette seats were taken. Our luck was to share the car with soccer/futbol fans going to the Euro cup games. They drank, they smoked (in a non-smoking carriage), they pinched girls' rear-ends and had a great time. We slept a total of 9-1/2 seconds, though did enjoy moving about loudly as morning approached and we had to disturb the drunken hooligans passed out on the floor as we wove our way to a restroom.

Second experience was six person couchette from Zurich, I recall, to Amsterdam. No room for luggage, all of us snored, the train made ker-clunk noises on the tracks all night and we slept perhaps 1 hour. Better than the Oslo seats, but not great.

Third, and best by far, was a two person sleeper from Copenhagen to Oslo. It was cramped and we thought we'd never get the door latch unopened, but we did sleep 3-4 hours. Felt and looked like crap the next morning, but as described above, could have been worse.

Personally, when you add the fact that you see none of the scenery of a country, I'd skip night trains unless no other options presented themselves.

I think one of the things I like best about overnight train travel is that after a night of jumping every time another train goes by and rattles the windows, sleeping on a hard &quot;bed&quot; in an airless compartment, and being awakened a dozen times during the night by all kinds of things, it's so nice to relax in a nice large steamy shower and then get dressed to face a new day -- since you can't get into your hotel for hours after arrival.

Yes, my tongue did just make a big dent in my cheek.

As Geoff clarifies, I had a second class train ticket but with a private sleeper (wagon-lit) added to it.

Awful experience and we had a private sleeper car. Hot, noisy and didn't sleep much. I never do it again.

We took the night train from Paris to Rome about a week ago. I purchased 4 first class tickets - we were in a 6 person couchette with just the 4 of us. We were fairly comfortable. We each had a sleeping bag type sheet, a blanket and a pillow and the cushion on the couch was OK.

We took wine and food and had a great picnic. We slept fairly well. I woke when we stopped a couple of times but went back to sleep.

It wasn't until the morning, when I wandered the train looking for coffee, that I realized we weren't in first class, we were in second. I suspect it's because the first class sleepers on this train only accomodated 3 people.

The temperature was comfortable but that's because it was winter and frosty out. I suspect it would have been much less comfortable in the summer.

We took the CityNightLine from Amsterdam to Zurich and enjoyed the journey. We had a private deluxe cabin with an ensuite shower/toilet. It was very comfortable and definitely a unique experience. We slept really well and they served breakfast in the cabin in the morning. I would say take a night train only if you can get a private cabin/compartment.

Castellanese, are you a pretty heavy sleeper or no? That would make a difference as well. I'm a heavy sleeper so I'm OK on first class sleepers. On one (Paris - Frankfurt), I had the cabin to myself, and it was not bad. On another (Munich - Prague), I lucked out and had a very nice room mate. Although these were non-smoking cabins, I could definitely smell smoke during the night. that was the one uncomfortable thing for me.

Another time, I was in a regular cabin--6 seats (I can't remember) in a cramped compartment. I was with my sister and my mother, and across us were two Korean students. The girl directly across me kicked hard during the night so I got almost no sleep.

What is the price difference between flying and training for your destinations?

I had a terrible experience taking a night train from Paris to Florence. And I had first class tickets. If you're a heavy sleeper and don't mind being stuck in a couchette with complete strangers, then a night train would be OK. But flying is faster and can be cheap on a low-cost airline, like http://Volareweb.com, http://Ryanair.com or http://MyAir.com. You can use http://skyscanner.net to find a low-cost airline that flies within Italy for less than $100 roundtrip.

I rather enjoyed our overnight train experience myself, although I admit that I didn't sleep very well. There is something romantic about overnight training around Europe, but just know what you are in for. We arrived in Florence, from Vienna, at around 6:30 in the morning utterly exhausted and with no place to go. We dropped our bags at our hotel and hopped on a train bound for Pisa just so we could take a nap for an hour or so.

Tracy