I'm looking into booking overnight train from Florence to Munich on 4/27. On D Bahn site looks like I'd price it at 413 euro for 3 adults in a 4 couchette compartment. Does this price include the regular fare as well or do I need to also purchase a second class ticket. - we would prefer a 3 person (T3) Economy compartment - but they don't appear to be available.
Also - is there any advantage to booking on RailEurope site instead ???
Just don't want to mess up this purchase.
Without discussing the "virtues" of what you are planning, that, 413€, is the entire price of your ticket, rail part and accommodation surcharge. The accommodations surcharge for 3 person with 2nd class tickets in a 4 person couchette is 90€.
Avoid RailEurope!
It doesn't look like 3 persons in an economy 3-person cabin (458€) is available. There are still 3-person Deluxe cabins available at 645€.
Thanks Lee - "Virtues", might you suggest something different? Also didn't see the fares you mentioned. Maybe I'm doing something different on the D Bahn site. What do you think about booking on ItaliaRail ?
Also - looks like ItaliaRail site is going to request Passport numbers - that is a current problem, as our passports are in renewal right now and we won't have them back for a few weeks.
When I look at the 4/27 CNL Florence to Munich I see, 336.80 in a compartment, 383.10 for 3 in a 6-person couchette, 413.1 for 3 in a 4-person couchette, 645.30 3 in a 3-person deluxe cabin, 705.30 for 3 in a deluxe double cabin. Those are the choices for that date. Trenitalia or Raileurope can't put anymore cars on the train, it's run by CNL (Deutsche Bahn).
Other ideas?
Sure, skip a long sleepless night on the train and fly a low cost airline. Cheaper, faster - the potetial downside is packing heavy can be expensive, but packing heavy is a hassle boarding atrain too.
The hardest part about sleeping isn't so much the noise and movement, it's the jossling at stations when cars are separated for different destinations.
Since I can sleep anywhere, I like night trains. And the CNL trains are the best night trains in Europe.
However, if you decide to fly, Air Dolomiti would be your only budget airline that offer non-stop service.
Just an FYI - please be aware that an 8 hour train trip DOES NOT equal an 8 hour night of sleep. Train personnel will be by around 11:00 to collect your passports for the evening (assuming your train departs on time), and you'll be awakened around 5:00 for breakfast. This train also makes 9 stops along the way...If you're lucky, this equals a MAXIMUM of 5:00 hours sleep. Most people are lucky to patch together 2 hours :-(
Before I spent $500-1000 for a night on the train, I'd try really hard to see if I couldn't spend a night along the way and split the trip up into two day trains; I'm looking at Bolzano. go see Otzi ;-) Bolzano would be a change of scenery from Florence and Munich; if you can take more time, go farther up into the mountains. This would be closer to around 75€ pp, depending on your choice of train, plus a hotel for the night.
Whatever you do...DO buy the train tickets online ASAP! the discounted tickets are fading.fast. DON'T use Rail Europe! Use Bahn.com and Trenitalia.com.
A couple of other thoughts about that train :-
and I hope you have success whatever you decide.
If you don't fill the couchette compartment or pay for the whole thing there's a better than even chance that you will share it with occupants of the other "beds". They may be in residence from a previous stop - the train originates in Rome - or could join at either Bologna (23:15) or Verona at 1:01am. Even if that doesn't happen in your compartment it may in an adjoining one and may be quite noisy. There's also no guarantee that everybody will ride all the way to Munich. You may have people getting up so that they can leave the train at 04:31, 04:58, 05:16, 05:27 or 05:50 before your Munich arrival.
I only mention this in case you are unhappy the following day if you have lost sleep.
Yes, I forgot to mention the activity in and around your compartment. If you envision a room right off a small hotel lobby with less than a door between you and the lobby, that's about what you get.
If it was me, my first choice would be to take the train from Florence to Munich that leaves at 11:00, arrives in Munich at 18:21 and has only one train change in Bologna within an hour of leaving Florence. Check it out -- especially the map on the DB Bahn site. You will see lots of fantastic scenery. We have made that trip from Munich as far as Verona and it is not to be missed.
My second choice would be to fly Air Dolomiti over the Alps. It will take much less time, even with the airport check in madness. A few years ago we flew from Florence to Stuttgart via Air Berlin. It was a turbo prop plane that didn't go very high over the mountains and I found it fascinating. It looks like the Air Dolomiti flight uses an Embraer 195, a jet, so the view wouldn't be that great. Go to Skyscanner.com or Air Dolomiti to search for flights.
After many attempts (slow learner), under no circumstances will I ever take an overnight train again. Lots of people have already told you why to avoid it.
I'm sure glad I did not post any questions on this Forum before my first trip. You people would have talked me out all my fun.
1. Don't book a Sparpreiss ticket on arrival.
2. Don't go to Oktoberfest.
3. Don't go to Rothenburg.
4. Don't backtrack.
5. Don't take the K-D boat all the way from Mainz to Cologne, just the Rhine Gorge.
6. Don't take a night train.
Did all that and everything worked out fine and had a ball. OK, I probably will now only take night trains as a last resort, but once or twice? Like they say, you don't know you don't like it until you've tried it. My mom told me that about eating broccoli (and putting my hand on a hot stove).
