Are Night Trains worth it?

[snorkelman]

You can save time by traveling at night.  I do that when I want to cover a big distance. If you can afford it, pay for the couchette rather than trying to sleep in a normal compartment.

However, night trains still have their drawbacks –<br>1) you either will still pay for lodging if you get a couchette (so you really would only saving time and not money) or you can save money and just sleep in the seats (which pull out so that you can fully recline – but if you travel during the busy season & to popular countries, then expect to have to share the compartment and others may want to sit up (or there may be too many people to recline) – either way, you will not get good rest;

2) you will not get a shower –

3) you will have to plan ahead and bring food and water on the train for your travels (or pay the expensive prices charged in the dining cart (if it is even available!)

4) also, depending on the distance traveled (if you cross several boarders) you MAY be waken up by conductors if you are in a couchette, and you WILL be waken up if you are a cheapskate and just in the normal seats.  When I first traveled, I was real cheap and never got a couchette.  As I learned, I got couchettes when I could afford it. Usually the conductor takes the passports for all of the people that are in the couchette as you board and then if your couchette is full (or if nobody else will be sleeping in the compartment), then you will be able to sleep without interruption from the conductor and without interruption from other passengers looking for a seat. This is because other passengers cannot enter any of the “sleeper cars” because they are locked.  However, expect that on the Czech/Slovak/ Hungarian/Austrian crossings you WILL get woken up, because the conductor doesn't collect the passports on these routes.

Also, when the train crosses the boarder, the boarder police just look at the passports that the conductor took from the people sleeping in the couchettes, and he has no need to disturb the sleeping people. The only exception to this that I have experienced was once when I had a pass that did not cover Austria and I changed my route from Florence to Munich at the last second and I went trough Austria and I forgot that my particular pass did not cover that portion (that went through Austria). Well, the guy came in and explained this to me (in German) and I had to pay right then. This event woke up everyone in the couchette.

Dave - a.k.a. snorkelman

[nitsansh]

I allways travelled by night in a Couchette, and even once in a sleeper. It wasn't much more expensive, and it saved me the need to change compartments at about 4AM. You should be really broke if you can't afford a Couchette. I wouldn't suggest to take a seat, unless you can really get a good sleep sitting up.
An ideal night train is 8-12 hours journey. If it's a shorter trip, you might get to your destination at 5 AM, and just wait till anything opens up.
I never had a problem with food, I always bought enough for the entire journey (and I had journeys of 22-23 hours!).
I can live without shower one day, but for those who can't or won't, many train stations have showers which you can use for a small fee. Or once you check in to a hostel, you can take a shower. Some trains even have showers on-board.
In one case you should not travel by night: If the route is scenic, you better not miss it!

[Cat]

We didn't book a couchette on our way from Holland to Italy. This worked out fine till 5 in the morning. Till then, we had six seats for three people, so we could lie down (more or less). On our way back we had a compartiment to ourselves. Still, i agree, a couchette isn't that expensive, and next time I would book one too. If you do book a seat, remember to keep the curtains closed at trainstations and keep the lights out. Pople will think you are fast asleep and won't disturb you(worked for us, anyway).

[nitsansh]

You take a chance if you count on the train being half empty so you can have space to sleep in horizontal position on 2 or more seats. It's like sleeping on a plane. It's no problem if there's one passenger per 3 seats and each one can have a row for himself, but don't count on it.
In high season, trains on midweek are more likely to be half full, but on weekends (especially Friday and Sunday nights) expect them to be packed to capacity.
Trains also have rush hours. If you have a choice, take early morning, mid-day or late evening trains rather than morning or afternoon. 2nd class compartments are much more comfortable when half full.
Weekend rush hours are friday afternoon from big cities to the country, and sunday afternoon back to the cities.
In off season, there should be no big difference between midweek and weekends. Many passengers are going on business trips and they don't travel on weekends. However, business travellers are likely to take the more expensive accomodation on night trains and not seats.
If you reserve accomodation on night trains, do it ASAP.

[Sophie]

Hi. Im going to europe for a month, and hoping to get in Istanbul from athens (I live in England). Does anyone know if this is feasable, and if so the train from athens to istanbul is 24 hours so (a) how do I reserve/book a cochette on a train (b) how much would it cost (or how would I find this out) and (c) could I use my inter-rail (the english equivilant to Eurail) card to reduce the price (or how and where could I find this out)?

[Karen]

As Snorkelman says, you really can save time and money taking the overnight train. Being cheap, I have never paid extra to use a couchette or the sleeping car. I've always made do with the seats that pull out so that you can fully recline. I lived in Germany for 3 years from 1978 to 1981 (I know -- some of you readers weren't even born yet!) and took the train alot to various places. When my in-laws came over to visit, we took the overnight train from Mannheim (near Heidelberg), to Italy. Being cheap, we did not get the couchettes or the sleeping car. It was not the most comfortable way to travel and I almost froze to death as we went through the Alps (and this was in the summer!) but it was part of the adventure. No one complained - no overnight trip lasts forever and the money we saved on getting the "cheap" seats we were able to spend in Rome!
In 1980, my mom and aunt came to visit us in Germany and also had 3 month Eurailpasses. They used the "cheap seat" method for some overnight trains.
Later on, in 1990, my 67 year old mother, my 9 year old daughter, and I Eurailpassed thru Europe and used a few night trains. Again, we used the "cheap seats" method for our few overnight train trips. If my elderly mom was able to endure a cheap seat, so can a sturdy, young backpacker, so don't be a wuss! We did come across one overnight train with "bus" like seats, or to use another example, with seats similiar to those on AMTRACK in the USA. They were not the most comfortable, because they hardly reclined. Oh well!
I'd say, if you don't want to spend the money on a couchette or the sleeping car, if you are lucky enough to find a compartment with the seats that slide together so you can recline, then go for it! Just grin and bear it and keep your yap shut. If you hate the experience, take day trains or spend the extra cash on a couchette.

[me]

couchettes in Portugal are cool! took an overnight from Lisbon to Madrid, there were just 4 beds in the compartment! But, the next trip, from Madrid to Barcelona, had 6 beds.

[nitsansh]

6-beds is the standart in 2nd class. I bet the 4-beds couchettes were pricier.

[me]

nope. 4 beds was standard for 2nd class. that's what made portugal's trains so cool!

[me]

btw, if travel is only between Schengen countries, wouldn't that eliminate passport checks at borders? mine wasn't checked at portugal/spain border back in 1999.

[nitsansh]

My passport wasn't checked at most border crossing points as far back as 1988, long before Schengen...

[me]

so, borders in eu at night is no problem. you don't need to worry about being awoken for most crossings. No?