Train travel in day or night better?

First, fly from Malaga Spain to Paris (CDg), and Berlin (TXL) to Venice (VCE). Easyjet flies these routes.
A week in Paris is enough, so I would take a morning Thalys train to Amsterdam, its a 3 1/2 hour train ride. Amsterdam to Berlin is a 6 1/2 hour train ride. Again, I'd take a morning train and you can get there in just in time to get into your hotel then head out for the evening.

If you want see Florence in a day, you'll need to take an early train, it takes 2 hours, stash bags at the station luggage storage, and you can tour until maybe 7 pm, then take a train to Rome, its is 1 1/2 hours and then get into your hotel and be ready for the morning. I would not be worried about the late hour in Rome

Night trains are being phased out, as long distance traffic is now mostly on cheap airlines and medium distance traffic is on fast trains. There are still a few night trains but on most itineraries they have disappeared.

Thank you Sam! I will follow that exact advice.

I would never travel overnight. Inexpensive and quicker intra-European discount airlines like EasyJet and Eurowings save you time and money. Plus you can sleep at night at your hotel/inn/hostel and wake up refreshed and clean from either showering before bed or when you wake up!

I'd suggest travelling in the day time as you'll have a greater choice of departures, and will also be able to enjoy the scenery. Also some people don't sleep well in trains, so you could arrive at your next destination in a very tired state. Finally, if you arrive in the morning, many Hostels don't allow check-in until some time in the afternoon. You can certainly store your luggage there until check-in time, but you'd have nowhere to shower or rest.

If you're planning on staying in Hostels for the most part, you may consider getting an inexpensive HI Hostels membership as they have good properties in most cities. For Hostel stays, be sure to pack towels, flip-flops and a smaller but good quality Padlock.

I think that you need to get online and look at various route options and prices, as flying with a budget airline such as Easyjet makes the most sense between your destinations, save for Paris to Amsterdam and within Italy, where the train is the best solution.

Amsterdam is a 3 full day city, Berlin 4 days, Venice 3 full days and Rome 4 full days (all minimums) IMO, so I would look at how many places you are trying to squeeze into your latter fortnight, after allowing on average half a day every time you move. This is rushed after your first 2 weeks. You may want to break up your week in Spain and your week in Paris with some shorter stays, but this goes back to route planning.

Hi,

There are numerous night train routes. The Austrian Rail runs them, known as NightJet. Take a night train if you want to squeeze out another day. Which cities do you have in mind to reach by night train.

To reach the Italian cities you listed from Germany, there are night train routes connecting them. A night train starts at 7 pm. On my trips are included at least 2 night train rides, just depends how you want to travel and if a night train can be fitted into your itinerary.

On safety: I have taken several night train rides since 2009 when I started using this option again. Lots of people take night trains and it's best to reserve a seat. No problems on safety, never saw any behaviour not appropriate.

I'm not sure your questions are being answered, though it's a bit confusing what you are asking.

If you are asking about overnight trains on some of those longer trips, then the advice to fly is pretty good. There are still some overnight trains, but they are more and more being phased out. As some have noted, most people don't tend to sleep well even with couchettes, and worse in regular seating. So you wind up the next day very tired and less fresh to see sites. I've done a lot of night trains when I had more time than money, and was much younger. They are very safe.

If you are asking more about taking shorter duration trains during the evening to keep your days free, that is up to you. It can indeed keep your days free for sightseeing, but you lose evenings for meals and don't see any scenery. Whether those are important to you is your choice. Some people enjoy getting a picnic meal and eating on the train, maybe reserving nicer meals for lunchtime.

A few things to know about the advice to fly: there are a lot of discount airlines in Europe that can make for very cheap flights and save lots of time. But know and follow the rules very carefully. Most charge hefty fees for baggage, customer service and are very strict about their policies. It can work well, but just be fully aware.

DIY:

www.skyscanner.com

www.seat61.com

We took the night train from Frankfurt to Berlin. Problem: 2 1/2 hour layover in Hannover, with almost nothing open in the Hbf, and no bathroom, except in the McD. When we boarded the train at 2:45 AM, my wife decided to read the Berlin guidebook for an hour which kept me awake. The next day, we were zombies. Big waste of time, and we did not save that much money.

@ serra....In regards to the availability of night trains, Austrain Rail (OeBB) has a booklet , not just a brochure, on the night train network and schedules covering Italy to Rome, Germany, Croatia, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia. I have this handy booklet to plot out my night routes I intend to take on a trip. You can pick one up at the Reisezentrum in an Austrian train station. If this option fits into your trip planning, do it..

Taking a night train is definitely an adventure. It is nice to arrive at your destination early in the day for sightseeing; however, it's not easy to get a restful night of sleep! I enjoyed the adventure when I was younger.

I don't think the OP ever mentioned anything about night trains. Evening trains, meaning traveling after 6 pm and arriving 10 pm to midnight, as regards to safety in said destinations.

We did take the night train from Brasov to Budapest, where we had a couchette for us 2, and it was comfy and good for sleeping. We also took the night train from Split to Zagreb - again, in a couchette and again comfy enough for sleep. We were delayed on that trip, but traveled as the sun rose through a beautiful valley with lovely fog.

From Brasov to Budapest by night train, that would interesting. I have one planned for east central Europe on the upcoming trip in May going from Vienna to Prague, arr ca. 5 AM something. Doing that from May to Sept is just fine.