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night train

Have seen several posts asking about, trying to find out about, ect, and wanted to share our experience this trip.

We took the DB night train from Ams to Poznan, and the train was clean, the room was tight(wouldn't try to store anything bigger than our 2 22" carry-ons, and back-pack). On our train the was no dining car, so if you hadn't eaten, too bad(left at 19:05 from AMS). Take ear plugs if you want to sleep and a cell if you need to arise before the final destination. The WC was down the hall, and the water in the room and in the WC was for hand wash only, not for drinking, however, they did supply 4-1 liter bottles in the room. Absolutely no security issues at all-2 attendants for x number of cars, but no one out walking the hall.
I want to say it worked for us, however, just wanted others to be aware of the conditions, especially if they have visions of a well rested sleep or an amorous adventure with spouse(or significant other). Finally, had several minutes to board and find our car in AMS, but 2 minutes to exit in Poznan.

Posted by
873 posts

Related question, and I'm sure it might've already been addressed elsewhere, but can anyone relay any personal experiences with 4- vs. 6-berth compartments? I would gladly pay an extra €10 for the 4-berh, but my frugal (okay, penny-pinching) boyfriend will probably insist on the cheapest non-upright accomodations possible. So, any horror stories to scare him off would be preferable :)

Posted by
10344 posts

Jerry: Thanks for this. It's helpful for those who haven't been on night trains before to get an idea of what it is like from someone's actual experience. As you mentioned, many other travelers have also reported here, in the past, that they didn't sleep as well on night trains as they thought they would.

Posted by
8700 posts

Anna,

My wife and I and our adult daughter took our first night train (Nice-Paris) five years ago and we booked bunks in a 6-person couchette to save money. We all agreed that the next time we will definitely book bunks in a 4-person couchette. All couchettes are the same size. The only difference is in how many bunks are pulled down. I think you will find that paying a little more for extra elbow room and luggage storage space will be well worth it.

Does this qualify as a horror story? We actually got on the train in Toulon, not Nice, and it was quite late when we did so. Three of the six bunks were occupied and the people in them were asleep. One of them had taken a pillow from an empty bunk so he could double up on them and I chose not to wake him in order to claim what was rightfully mine. My wife and daughter each had a pillow, but I did without.

Posted by
54 posts

A friend and I took a night train from Paris to Rome a few years ago and to save money we were in a 6-berth compartment. As the others have stated the compartment size is the same, but there is less room between the bunks when they are down. My friend and I opted to use the top most bunks so that we wouldn't have people climbing over us if they got up and down. It was pretty stuffy at the top of the compartment. There was an elderly couple in the bottom bunks and they both snored most of the night. I was exhausted from all the walking earlier that day, so I actually slept pretty good (passed out is more like it), but my friend was absolutely miserable. She couldn't sleep, the snoring kept her awake, it was too hot, and she said she was cramped.

This summer I will be taking a night train from Paris to Milan with my young teenage daughter. Since I am traveling with a young girl and safety and comfort is important to me for this particular trip, I opted to splurge and pay the extra money for piece of mind and reserved a double. I didn't want to be awake all night keeping an eye on her (not that I expect an unknown female compartment mate to do anything . . . it is a Mom thing).

The suggestion for ear plugs is a good one - if you can sleep with them in. Another thing I have heard is to use your I-Pod/MP3 player to drown out noise. Just be sure to keep the actual player under your clothes or something to be sure it doesn't disappear.

Posted by
1064 posts

Anna, break up with the fool now! You will anyway after being forced to endure a night in a couchette with five other people.

Posted by
9220 posts

We hated our night train experience. We were in a multiple bed compartment, can't remember if it was 4 or 6. I found it uncomfortable, really loud, as though my head was right over one of the wheels. An older woman was sharing our compartment and she snored loudly all night long. This was going from Fulda to Copenhagen. Neither one of us slept a wink all night.

The only way I would ever try this again, would be with one of those cosy compartments for just 2 people or a family.

As an extra note, I really enjoy seeing scenery, towns and the architecture as I travel in new lands and if I was to sleep while traveling, would feel as though I was missing something from my trip.