Night Trains

I didn't even think about taking the night train - some people love 'em and some hate 'em, I'd maybe take one if it seemed worth the cost and lack of sleep. I took the day train - 6 hrs, no changes, €29 purchased 3 months in advance (non-refundable, specific train). I love trains when I can watch the scenery go by, relax, and get caught up on writing in my journal, working with my photos, reading, etc..

Here's the website to book the night train:

http://www.bahn.com/i/view/GBR/en/prices/europe/overnight-travel.shtml

Also check out seat61.com for more info on trains. It's a very good resource.

I would agree that night trains aren't super restful, but the benefit is that you save on a night's hotel and don't loose a day to the 6hr daytime train. If you're on a tight schedule and have a busy day on arrival in Munich it could be a good deal. Especially if you splurge on a compartment with a bathroom to get ready in the morning. It could also be fun if both of you are up for an adventure and haven't traveled overnight by train before.

If you are simply sightseeing and aren't super pressed for time, it could be less stressful to travel during the day. That would be my personal choice.

I am tossing it around because my wife and I have never done anything like that before. Plus I was thinking I could kill two birds with once stone by saving a night and be ready to jump off the train and continue the adventure. I would be getting the sleeper with the shower just so we could be ready to go when we get there. My question is how do you actually book the sleeper room?.. Can you book it all at one time?

I love night trains. But I would not take a night train shorter than nine hours. Six hours is not enough time to sleep. Ticket and passport checks will keep you from going straight to bed and you'll need to be up at least twenty minutes before arrival. That means you might get four and a half hours sleep if you lucky.

In answer to the booking question, yes you get the tickets and reserve a sleeper at the same time.

You just book it the same as any other train ticket. Just search for for trains from Berlin to Munich on www.bahn.de and you'll see a list of options. One of the trains listed will be the direct (0 changes) that departs around 9-10pm and arrive the next morning in Munich. There will be a button to click that says "check availability" and when you click it it takes you a page where you can select a regular seat, a couchette, or a sleeper.

DJ

Great info Jen.. Thanks DJ. I figured out why I could never find the trains with sleepers....... That is a option box you must select near the advance section... It looks like most trains are at LEAST 9 hours that sounds like a great option the more I look at it.. We really did not want to make a trip to Germany and not see Berlin..

have taken them 3 times between Italy and Germany and vice-versa, but won't anymore.

1 trip went perfect. On another City Night Lines (which is part of Deutsche Bahn) actually changed the train makeup and the coach we were supposed to be in was not on the train; unhelpful conductor eventually found us a spot in a cheaper class of accomodation than we paid for (lot of fun to be doing this at 10pm), and Deutsche Bahn never refunded the difference after we filled out a claim. On 3rd trip, again on City Night Lines, the A/C didn't work. Trains get hot sitting in the sun all day, so our choices were open the windows and get the screaming noise and wind, or close it and sweat.

If you take it, let us know how it goes.

Check out this YouTube of the inside of the CNL trains: https://youtu.be/11wRhpIfJG0

It even has euro dance music.

Hi,

You can absolutely do the Berlin-Munich route by night train. It's a CNL night train, Germany's best. My last trip in early June 2015 I took that route at night on the CNL, Munich to Berlin but not on a sleeper (Schlafwagen), too expensive, don't need it. I choose the reclining seat in the Ruhesessel general seating area, the absolute cheapest, got into Berlin Hbf at 0800. There is no disturbance because of ticket checking. The controller is there before you even know it, say within 10 mins or less after the train departs. I'm basing this on three CNL night train experiences...all satisfactory and pleasant, no problems at all.

You can see from the schedule, that the night train takes 9 1/2 hours for a trip that takes 6 hours during the day. The night train will park at various times during the night so it doesn't arrive too early at the destination city. Remember, the train makes stops throughout the night, although this one has no stops between 20 past midnight and just after 6 am.

You do save some sight seeing time, but no money, since a compartment for 2, even when bought with a discount well in advance, exceeds the cost of a comfortable German hotel room.

Here is an alternative, book the trip during the day with a stopover at no extra charge. Bamberg would make a nice place to stop for 3 to 4 hours. If buying a discount nonrefundable ticket, you need to specify the exact trains you will use, but it is no added cost. Most train stations have luggage lockers (including Bamberg). so instead of 9 1/2 hours over night, you can make the trip of the same duration in daytime with a 3 to 4 hour break built in.

When you arrive in Munich, you will either be very tired due to interrupted sleep, bumping, thumping and lots of outside noise, or you will have managed to sleep though.

You should plan on the former and plan for being tired, slogging around a bit in the morning and then either going to your hotel and leaving your luggage for a later check in, or paying to leave your luggage at the station which if you have several pieces of luggage can really add up because you pay by the piece.

If you are lucky and do get some sleep you can have a pleasant surprise and make hay while the sun shines.

Plan for the worst and and if it is better you have a bonus.

First off I want to thank everyone for replying to this post. All the information and personal experiences (Good and Bad) will be taken in consideration. The main reason for looking into the night train is mostly to save a day in driving. My first thought was to take a train during the day and split up ride by stopping at another city and doing some exploring however that would add an extra day or take a day away from another city that I am not so sure we have due to work vacation restrictions and other things we do during the summer. So I was thinking the night train all be it a bit more costly would save me some time in our travels that we can use later down the road.

Thinking a bit more about it I also think it would be a great way to just do something different and one night of travel by train good or bad will be something to talk about.. haha.

Thanks again everyone for the help and the personal experiences all this info really helps and I am sure I will be back on with other questions..

From your last post it sounds like you want to do it for the experience, which is sometimes the only reason you need. I say go for it! Good or bad, you'll gain some experience and can cross it off your list. Then you can be one of the lucky one on this board giving others real world advice on your experiences riding a night train. Have fun!

DJ

Hi,

The best time to arrive on a night train is from 0700 to 0830, just in time for breakfast. I take the CNL night trains because of the time factor, ie gaining an extra day when you're pressed for time, and I enjoy it, ca, a ten hour ride, arrive fit ready to go, haven't had an unsatisfactory experience on a CNL using the sleeperette option. True, as pointed out above, try it once, and if not to your liking, the night train can be dropped from further consideration. But, on the other hand, one time doesn't set a precedent. All depends on how you look at it.

I, personally, like night trains. I've spent 10 nights on night trains in this country (most recently last month) and one night on a night train in Europe. I can't sleep at all in an aluminum tube full of people (airplane), but I don't have a problem in a compartment on a train.

Things to consider:

Will YOU be able to sleep on a night train? I have no problem, but some people can't,

night trains use otherwise unproductive time (middle of the night),

day trains use enough otherwise productive time so that you effectively lose a day of your vacation, but

night train accommodation are as expensive as a first class hotel, but pretty spartan, but

since the intervening day is pretty much wasted, you are substituting one night on the train for one night at you starting destination, a travel day, and one night at you destination. So effectively, it's one night's accommodation on the train vs two nights in town.

Why are you picking up a rental car in Munich? Where are you going next? Have you considered going by train to your next destination (outside Germany?) and picking up a car there?

We are sound sleepers but you never know till you try.. haha. It will only be for one night so if we get some sleep we should be just fine. I know they can be a bit expensive but I think saving some time and the experience is well worth it.

We are picking up the car and driving from Munich to Fussen and then on our around the south of Germany to Cologne. We were going to do the train however I like the idea of doing some driving and working on our ownn schedule.

I have taken night trains on a number of occasions - from Madrid to Paris with four strangers in 2001. Met my wife in Paris on the same trip, and we took the nigh train from Paris to Florence. Also on our 2005 Spain trip, night train from Barcelona to Granada. Given, it's been ten years since we've done it, but it was great. I did not have any problem sleeping on the train at all.

Although I can sleep on both, it's still a lot easier to fall asleep on a night train than on a transatlantic flight.

There is a rail connection from Munich to Fuessen. It runs every hour and takes about 2 hours (about the same as by car). A 25€ Regio-Ticket Allgäu will cover your travel from Munich if you leave after 9 AM, and it will also cover the bus from Fuessen to Hohenschwangau, site of the castles.

" I like the idea of ... working on our own schedule."

I, too, work on my own schedule, but I make the schedule during the planning phase. On most rail lines in Germany, there is a train every hour, so it's easy to be flexible.

Germany has the best rail system in Europe, much more extensive and only 1% less dense than Swiss Rail. You should try to use it before resorting to renting a car. You can find rail schedules here (in English).

sf,

For trains on the Berlin - Munich route, I'd suggest using a high speed ICE during the day rather than a night train (there are some direct trains every day). It's only about a six hour trip, and that will be a nice way to see some scenery along the way. If you use a departure at 07:54, you'll arrive at 14:40 which is a good time. If you use a night train and arrive at about 07:00, you likely won't be able to get into your hotel at that time and will have to store your luggage either at the hotel or the rail station. Arriving in the afternoon means your room will likely be ready, and available for check in straight away.

I love night trains too. In 2003 I took overnight train from Amsterdam to Venice changing trains in Frankfurt. In 2006 Paris to Venice. In 2003 I was alone and shared sleeper car with 2 other ladies. In 2006 I was with my sister and we shared sleeper car with 2 guys. It was all safe and a lot of fun. I recommend it for unique experience .

I don't know what schedules you all have been looking at, if any, but the direct Berlin-Munich City Night Line train was discontinued in mid-December, 2015. See also http://www.bahn.de/i/view/GBR/en/prices/europe/overnight-travel.shtml.

1/25: P.S. I see now that most comments above were made in early December, before the schedule change. I don't expect the Berlin-Munich night train to return in summer, since it's no longer on DB's route map.

Thanks for the update. True on no direct night connection between Berlin and Munich now, even to March. That certainly puts a damper on my travel plans that included doing that route at night. I'll have to wait until the summer schedule is out. It may be that this disappointing news will stay. But even if the night train got to Hannover Hbf between 0600 and 0700 hrs in June from Munich Hbf, direct, that still will work using the night train option.

Thank you very much for the update. I guess i will have to look at the trip all over again.. I have changed the plans for this trip three times already so whats one more time. haha. The train ride from Hannover does look like a valid option and one that I will need to look at a bit more closely.

The ride from Berlin to Hannover is only an hour and a half and I think if I time it right I bet there will be some very nice scenery to look at on the way..