Overnight trains in Europe

That is my idea of hell. I'd cancel and just fly.

Some people love overnight trains and sleep well. Other don't.

I've taken one to experience it. I'm glad I did. I will never do it again.

I prefer to take trains when there is decent scenery to see. I prefer to spend my nights in a comfy hotel room.

I agree with Emily.

YMMV.

In general, it is good advice to take trains when you want to look at scenery, and book hotels when you want to sleep! 😴 😊

That said, I have taken sleeper cars in Italy, France, Germany, and Spain and loved the journey every time! I thought I would “save the cost of a hotel,” but I really didn’t - sleeper cars aren’t cheap. BUT it was still a really cool experience!

That said (and this is a major caveat) I can sleep anywhere. I sleep on demand with no trouble. I can sleep through noise and thumping and commotion and lights being turned on abruptly and parties in the bar car. If you are a light sleeper, or are easily disturbed and will lose sleep and that wil bother you… then you might want to rethink this plan.

Happy (train) travels!

Thanks for the comments and replies.
Any specific experience in the train routes I mentioned?
I am using euro rail pass and cost is not an issue.
I am trying this to maximize my week time and experience train travel.

"I am trying this to maximize my week time and experience train travel."

If I understand correctly, you have one week to make these 3 train journeys. You will be sleeping during most of the train trip hours, correct? So with "maximize my week time," do you mean that you are you seeking tips on what to do in Zurich, Berlin and Amsterdam during the day? If so, it would be wise to tell us what sorts of things you like to see and do when you travel.

I can see 2 route specific problems.

First, there is no London - Zurich train at any time of day!!! Your limit for London (all day only) is Amsterdam, Brussels or Paris - there is a high speed onward connection from Paris to Zurich for some of the early departures.

Second, Berlin to Amsterdam is run by EuropeanSleeper who have a reputation for quality of vehicles and reliablity - but it's not a good one!!! It only runs 3 nights per week so you need to coordinate your travel. Personally I wouldn't use it.

The Zurich - Berlin train is run by Nightjet and offers accomodation from basic seats right up to sleeper cabins with private bathrooms including welcome drink and light breakfast - you just need to book early enough. I would consider this train if I could get one the better cabins.

I am trying this to maximize my week time and experience train travel.

I would do the trains from London to Zurich and punt on the rest. Also, please rethink what you are trying to do since you have only a week. You are going to spend more time sitting on trains than seeing anything.

Earplugs. Big ones.

Are you a snorer, or sensitive to others' snoring? It's not a minor nuisance.

We haven't done overnight sleeper trains in Europe since the 20th Century, but loved them.

You used to have a choice between 1st Class where you have a separate compartment for two persons, with a sink and a 2nd Class compartment for six with just two tiers of three (called couchette). In 2nd Class you have not security, you can't lock the door to your cabin, so you sleep with your wallet and passport under your pillow.

We did a sleeper from Munich to Paris; Munich to Rome; Madrid to Lisbon (this one is NO MORE) and Munich to Copenhagen.
We always slept well.
When we did the couchettes, we had a family of four in the cabin with two strangers. It worked out.
No problem with luggage.

Ahhhh, the romance of the rails! Clicky, clicky, clack. Love it, embrace it.

Clean up, pack and check out of your hotel at 9am and let them hold your luggage while you go sight seeing till 7pm. Retrieve the luggage and head to the station. Meet new and interesting people in the 4 berth compartment. Explore flora and fauna of train toilets at 3am. Wake at 6am ... well you never really slept ... then to the next hotel where they hold your luggage until checkin time at 2pm. Go sight seeing in the clothes you were wearing yesterday ... and never took off ... dream of the shower at 2pm. Gwad! I love it!

Seriously, with the proper expectations and attitude, its a good idea. Everyone should try it. Some love it and it becomes their travel norm. Others .... ehhhhhhh. My last night train was over 20 hours and it was brilliant. I hope to do it again soon.

We used to take night trains back in the day, fifty years ago. Except for the deluxe trains, I wouldn’t go near one nowadays. I always felt icky arriving at the destination.
If I want to visit different areas of Europe, I fly or take daytime trains if the distance isn’t far.

Thanks for the insight
Let me make some clarifications
I usually travel with family but this time doing it solo.
I have exactly 7 days from Wednesday to Tuesday
Leaving London to Amsterdam at 10am connecting train to Zurich at 930pm
Spend full day in Zurich and catch overnight train to Berlin.
Spending 2 days in Berlin and catch late night train to Amsterdam.
Spend night in Amsterdam and fly back to US on Tuesday.

clearlake111 I knew a guy years ago that took the train from Istanbul to Budapest with 1 and 2 day stops along the way. It was the trip of his lifetime. 40 yeas later still his favorite. Go for it. Like I said if you know what to expect you have a lot of fun with it. My last night train was about 22 hours, I knew it would be, I was ready for it, I had some great cabin mates, it was a wonderful experience.

am a 60y/o male from US traveling solo first time, also first time n
Europe, trying out 3 overnight sleeper cabin trains from London to
Zurich, Zurich to Berlin and Berlin to Amsterdam.

I havent done any of them, but they are all good companies so there shouldnt be an monumental issues. If you have booking problems come back here and we have a couple of European train wizzkids that can solve anything.

Any advice on do and donts?

Dont sweat it, do enjoy it.

Pack light. My experience is pretty limited. Both were 50 year old trains and both had limited room for luggage. Maybe things are better on the new trains, dont know.

Will I get decent sleep on those trains?

Probably not. But you have some hotels along the way to play catchup.

Luggage storage convenience at stations?

Or use your hotels to store the luggage.

All that for 13 hours in Zurich.

Zurich isn’t even great. I mean if you’re going to Switzerland, stay there for more than a day. My advice - eliminate Zurich.

I've taken several night trains in sleeper cabin or courgette (?). I liked them all. You say "sleeper cabin" but some of the comments indicate you are sharing, so what is it? Do you have your own private sleeping room. Do you have your own private bath room?

If you don't have your own bathroom, do your night ritual (brush teeth, take pills, etc.) on the station before entering the train. The train bath rooms are small.

Take a bottle of water. Don't drink the tap water in the train. Charge your phone on the station if you can. Take a power bank.

Don't be ready to leave at the scheduled arrival time. Check your actual position on Google Maps. In 2024 I had to stand two hours in the corridor, because my train from Montenegro to Serbia was late :-(

I would probably from London go Brussels- Koln (Cologne), and join the sleeper there. I appreciate that you are trying to get a few hours in Amsterdam (and that's fine) but Koln is a more direct route (and you still board at around 2230, so have over 9 hours on the train) and is certainly worth spending a late afternoon and evening in IMO.

I, and a lot of other people, like European Sleeper (which is a crowd funded company) a lot, specifically because it uses older rolling stock. And all the evidence is that they are as reliable as night jet. Too much time watching one particular you tube video, methinks, which was big on hype but the content did not match the headlines (no surprise there).

The problem is that you are doing something this forum does not generally do.

Certainly it is an efficient use of time. I've done this kind of itinerary in my time, exactly to do that. Last year I did 3x night trains in a week in the UK to achieve the same end, and also to save money on hotels.
I would have to say that on the latter point, if I had known what I know now, about a certain quality brand of budget hotel (never mentioned on this forum) I might not have done 3 in a week. The problem with a hotel is that if you want an included breakfast you waste so much time next morning, waiting for breakfast time.

And my idea of hell would be getting up at stupid o'clock each morning, going through all the hassle of an airport with a cramped seat on a budget airline + transfers to and from the city just to get the same amount of time (or less) in a city.

Almost no night trains in Europe now convey restaurant cars (unlike Amtrak)- they do a light breakfast, and will have light snacks provided by the steward, but not sit down proper meals, so either eat before you board or get a picnic to eat on board.

The comments above refer to private rooms with ensuite baths. I know they exist on a lot of trains these days, just never crossed my mind when night train experiences are discussed.

OP, if that works for you ... heck yes, go for it. Send pictures!

my comments about that company were based on the experiences of some germans who have been let down by it on various occasions, the latest being one who as given about 48 hours notice that his train from Paris to Berlin would be starting from Brussels - and they then offered him a bus ticket from the other side of Paris departing about 3 hours before the train should have in order to reach Brussels!

I do think you're trying to fit in too much by going all the way to Zurich for 13 hours and from London to Amsterdam to catch the train to Zurich. Zurich is not representative of Switzerland, you may as well go to the business district of Frankfurt and pretend you were in Switzerland! OK, possibly an exageration but it would be just as interesting - and cheaper. And you won't really be experiencing train travel if you are asleep.....

To experience modern trains leave London at breakfast time by Eurostar and with a taxi ride across Paris catch a TGV which would have you in Basel mid-late afternoon (very much depends on actual date this summer, you might even have time for lunch in Paris). It's a more interesting Swiss city, but still not really in the mountains. Have the rest of that day and all of the next there (or a trip to Luzern) and then catch the same Berlin night train from Basel (or Zurich if you go to Luzern).

When the question of night trains come up the RS crowd is generally pretty strident. The Man in Seat 61 page shares an alternate impression. You’ll get do’s don’ts from that page.

If you have limited time overnight trains are not a good answer. I’ve traveled on overnight trains in Central Europe and get an ok amount of sleep. Also to add on to previous comments there is no sleeping car service from London to the continent.

Not knowing the OP it’s sort of unfair to make generalizations about how well one sleeps. Maybe ride one leg of a trip on an overnight train if it’s the experience you desire.

In the end it’s a matter of experience or preference to take a sleeper in Europe.

Veteran Traveler, exactly. Sometimes its not the 13 hours at the destination, its about the journey. Not knowing any of you I am always reluctant to be critical of plans. It could be perfect for the OP. I know people who live for what he proposes and I know those that would rather be ... you know.

I haven’t been on a night train in decades, so any advice I might have would be seriously out of date.

I do, however, remember having a wonderful time. It was quite the adventure, on my own, first time in Europe.

clearlake111, go. And please check back in with us to let us know how it went.

Thanks everyone
Will update here and let you know.
I am excited and bit nervous.
I go with positive attitude and will make the best out of it.

Just a quick question
the Europe entry requirements for US citizens haven’t changed right?
UK I need to get entry permit

Nothing changed yet.

the Europe entry requirements for US citizens haven’t changed right?
UK I need to get entry permit

So, "Europe" isnt a political jurisdiction. I know two countries in "Europe" where you need a visa and one that requires their own brand of medical insurance; but they arent Schengen and they arent EU. BUT your travels are all in Schengen so, to enter the Schengen Zone there is a new process. Not a change in requirement just a change in process at the airport where you enter. You only have to mess with it coming and going not transiting across Schengen borders.

Yes, for the UK you need an ETA- https://www.gov.uk/eta

Luggage storage at Amsterdam Central- https://www.amsterdam.info/central-station/luggage-lockers/#central-station-lockers

at Zurich- https://www.sbb.ch/en/travel-information/stations/find-station/zuerich-hb-station/shops/shop-detail.html/geo-schliessfach-20d8

and at Berlin Hbf- https://www.bahnhof.de/en/berlin-hauptbahnhof/locker

I have considered using night trains in Europe with the idea of touring by day, traveling by night. This is what you appear to be attempting to do as well. Frankly, I could never get the logistics to work for me. My solution, no train rides longer than 1/2 day and seeing what I could see using that rule.

You want to leave from London, go to Amsterdam, spend the day, and then on to Zurich and Berlin, then fly from Amsterdam. Right? I'm a little confused by your 10 AM reference regarding London to Amsterdam. The is no train departing at 10 or arriving at 10.

As suggested, I agree with dropping Zurich and flying from London to Berlin. See more of Berlin, maybe Hamburg and finally some time in Amsterdam before flying home. If Zurich is a must, do evening flights and late hotel check-ins. You'll probably get as much sleep as you would have on the train.

Took one sleeper train from Frankfurt to Copenhagen so we could get married. We decided the name "sleeper train" was just plain wrong. We got zero sleep. The noise at the stops where they unhooked cars, added new ones, people shouting at each other, bright lights at the stations, stopping on slopes where it felt like we would slide out of our beds or having your head be downhill. The snoring of the old Russian lady was a treat.
Never again.

Ms Jo,

so we could get married. We decided the name "sleeper train" was just
plain wrong. We got zero sleep

If you had ended the post at this point you would have had us all wondering...

Well, I for one never had problems sleeping on a train, so I loved using a night train. It allowed me to travel at a time I would otherwise be sleeping, instead of taking a big part of my time for a plane; getting to the airport, waiting to board, flight time, getting off and finding ground transportation to town.

And my modus for travel is to stay in a smaller area and exploiting it using regional transportation. There are so many things to see in Europe, not just a few big cities. Jumping from one well known city to another, IMO, is wasteful.

Clearlake111, wondering how your overnight train travel was, would love an update... as we'll be traveling from Stockholm to Hamburg on the RDC Euronight and looking forward to the experience.

We always slept well on a sleeper train, that was decades ago.
Now that we are older, we are paring back our European travels and will do more in our own country.
We have an Amtrak Vacations booking next July to fly into Seattle, have 2 days there before boarding a sleeper train with on overnight in route to Glacier National Park. After three full days at the park, we have another sleeper train in route to Chicago, then have two days in Chicago.

We will enjoy watching the countryside go by, dining in the dining car and NOT HAVING to FLY. Especially, we are way looking forward to Glacier National Park.

geovagriffith, that sounds like an amazing trip

We have an Amtrak Vacations booking next July to fly into Seattle,
have 2 days there before boarding a sleeper train with on overnight in
route to Glacier National Park. After three full days at the park, we
have another sleeper train in route to Chicago

Have though about this...How are you getting around in Glacier? My apologies for the thread hijack.

News of a new good value Night Train in Europe- Leo Express are running a 20 hour journey from Frankfurt am Main Süd to Przemyśl Główny on the Polish/Ukraine border via Dresden, Prague and Krakow. One notable thing is that it runs through the underground Leipzig S-Bahn commuter tunnel, rather than reversing in Leipzig Hbf.

jkh,
Our tour includes three days of activity at Glacier. Also, the tour includes hotels and some activities in Seattle and Chicago.

geovagriffith,

I didn't know Amtrack had packages. Looking at the website now. Thanks!

I'm senior to you by over a decade and use the night trains as an integral option in Europe.. Take the night train. It helps stretch your travel days.

Stockholm to Hamburg is very doable by night train. That option gives me more incentive to see Stockholm. I have absolutely no problems falling asleep when riding the night train, staying awake is the problem sometimes.

Berlin to Zurich ...I've not done the entire route but part of it , going as far as Offenbach sitting in the general seating coach, no sleeper for me, totally not needed.

Frankfurt to Przemysl ...that's a real route to that important history site , if one's interest is on WW1, and certainly doable via Leipzig, without having to change in Wien Hbf. or Krakow.