How to reserve couchette bunks on EuroNight train from Venice to Vienna ?

Thank you so much for your help. Would you really recommend a private (2 person) sleeper instead of a couchette? Quite a price difference. Also what do the little clovers mean? Are they sale prices for St. Patty's day perhaps?

You are correct that while reservations are often not necessary, you do want to reserve night trains in advance to ensure passage. You are also correct that you want to avoid doing this with Rail Europe / Eurail.com.

Unfortunately you can't book on TrenItalia using an American credit card.

I'm not entirely certain this time -- but I think you can do this through www.oebb.at -- the Austrian rail website.

My second choice, if that is not possible, is to book this train on your first day in Italy. I've done that for Venice-Geneva... but booking state-side would be preferred. I'll do a little research...

It looks like you can do it that way -- and that there are still some seats left in different compartments -- 6 seat couchette, 4 couchette, 3 berth, 2 berth (what I would recommend).

I'm not sure how far in advance OEBB will allow -- considering we are still some 75 days in advance you may not be able to buy yet (some rail lines allow 90, some 62, etc...).

EDIT -- Note... for some reason... select English to change the site, then search for the times first, when you get to the payment pages it reverts to German and you can't get it back to English. If on the main page you switch it to English, then click on the button for 'online tickets', then the button for 'Night Line', then search for your rail it will stay in English at the payment page...

I'm not sure what the clovers are... but I like your guess!

I agree with Steve. Remember that the overnight train helps you avoid the cost of a hotel, and privacy is valuable.

I always worry that a Greek shrimp-boat captain, a woman who works in a fertilizer factory, and a couple of the Village People will end up being my bunk mates in the 6-sleeper.

My wife and I include at least one 2-person sleeper berth on every trip -- it's very romantic, having that private time, in a very unique setting, and the 2-person berths are typically very nicely appointed -- not fancy, but very pleasant.

I didn't check this line, but many have wine/champaign available on board -- if not, you can bring your own bottle on board, have a night-cap, and watch the scenery fly by your own private little window.

If you can at all afford it, the privacy of a 2-person sleeper is a splurge I highly recommend.

The clovers indicate discount fares for point-to-point tickets. There is a limited number of tickets at that price. When they're gone you have to pay full fare.

Not only are reservations required on night trains, popular night trains can sell out weeks in advance. If you have passes, buy your reservations ASAP from Rail Europe.

If you haven't bought your passes yet, you might want to re-think doing so. If you can commit to specific departure dates and times well in advance and buy tickets online from the various national rail companies, discount p2p tickets for all your train rides probably will be much cheaper than a pass.

What is your itinerary?

This is our tentative schedule:

may 13 - arrive Florence morning
may 14 - In Florence
may 15 - In Florence
sunday may 16 - Morning go to venice (2-SL)
may 17 - in venice. Overnight go to Vienna (11), then graz
may 18 - Arrive in graz morning
may 19 - in graz
may 20 - go to vienna morning (2.5). In Vienna
may 21 - in vienna
may 22 - in Vienna
sunday may 23 - Go to salzburg morning (2). In salzburg
may 24 - In Salzburg
may 25 - Go to Munich morning (1.5). In munich
may 26 - In munich
may 27 - in munich
may 28 - go to zurich(luzern) morning (4.5)
may 29 - in luzern
sunday may 30 - in luzern
may 31 - go to zurich airport am

See we are traveling quite a bit, so I thought the flexibility of the pass might be best...

Ok I'm bumping this topic because I'm quite confused now. Going through the suggested site I found the quoted berths and prices - but is 118 euros really the /reservation/ price for two people in a 4 person couchette? We already have our flexipasses. I know it is taking the place of a hotel room but we are planning to pay less than that for hotels. Just wanted to be sure I'm making the correct reservation.

If that is the price, ok no big deal. I called the OBB call center to confirm and found someone who spoke English. New problem - the worker said that I can't get the tickets...that I have to get them in Italy?! Even if they are just reservations... Is this true? Because going through the ticket site above I am able to select our intended route, berth, and put my cc details in. I went all the way to confirming my choice but just did not click the 'order' button to buy. The next page is supposed to be "Tickets" so it definitely seems like I can buy them online? Does anyone have experience with this?

Corey,

Now that you have bumped this thread, I see that you answered my question about your itinerary. Somehow I missed it. Sorry!

According to eurail.com, the in-Europe supplement for a bunk in a 4-person couchette usually is 35 EUR. I don't know what Rail Europe will charge you, but that may be your best option at this relatively late date. You need to nail down your reservations ASAP because the Venice-Vienna night train is very popular.

I suggest that you call the experts at Budget Europe Travel Service. Their advice is both friendly and free.

Thanks for the thoughts. That phone line is a wonderful service! I spoke to a very nice man who understood the problem between my pass/reservation request, and suggested several sites. Unfortunately I can't buy them on trenitalia. In the end he said try RailEurope. I went there and chose the Select Passes that we have, then input our date. Found the same routes but just about the same price?! $158 for two people - and this time it was for a 6 person couchette, not 4. This can't be right

Corey, I remember taking a couchette from Amsterdam to Copenhagen with my Mom several years ago. I had talked her into it both to save money & as a travel 'experience.' Well, it was me, Mom and 4 guys. She didn't sleep all night worrying about 'sleeping with strangers.' I don't think she would have minded if there had been more women in the couchette. The first thing she did when we arrived in Copenhagen was have her friend take her to a ticket window to buy a 2 person compartment for our next leg to Paris!

I think your next step needs to be phoning Rail Europe and getting a price quote from a real person.

Also, read the information as www.euraide.com and give them a call. They are an excellent source for a one time expenditure such as this. They charge the cost of the train ticket + $50-$60, which for something like this might be worth it.

We're in the exact same situation, for the same train, but going in the opposite direction. There will be four of us and we are hoping to book a four person couchette. We will have Eurail Global passes (that's the plan anyway, we haven't bought them yet).

I tried the RailEurope site, but it just says the passholder rates aren't available at this time for most trains, regardless of the dates I select. For a few trains it offers the single person sleeper option only.

The OBB online ticket site ( https://ticket.oebb.at/bin/frame_ticket.pl?ticket=mticket.pl&LANG=EN ) allows me to select "reservation only", but it only allows me to select Austrian departure and destination cities. It will also let me book a full ticket for Vienna to Venice on this page ( https://ticket.oebb.at/bin/frame_ticket.pl?ticket=jticket.pl?ABBFSEL=8100003&ANBFSEL=8300094&LANG=EN )

I saw the EurAide reference elsewhere on the site, but a $50-60 fee to book a couchette is a bit steep. It looks like ACPRail (http://www.acprail.com/) will allow me to book the reservation for about $70/person. If the regular rate is really 35 euro/person, that's a $22/person surcharge.

Any tips?