Night train in Europe

Are you SURE you want night trains ? Not as many as there were in the 1970's, and definitely not as luxurious as in the movies. Day trains can be very quick and comfortable.
Plot out your planned itinerary and see which trains/planes/buses make the most sense for where you want to visit in your time allowance.
See the man in seat61 website for information on how to book train reservations.

Do you just want a night train wherever it goes, or do you have a specific route in mind. Tell us.

The best night trains in Europe are those run by CNL, a Swiss chartered, wholly owned subsidiary of German Rail. Most CNL trains strart or end in Germany, Go to the German Rail schedule website and put in the starting city and destinations city and the date. Select 1900 for the time (most night trains leave after 7 AM,and for those that do, if you board between 7 and stay on until after 4 AM, it only takes one day, the second one, of you rail pass). When you get some connections, look for a CNL train. You might have to click "later" a few times.

More specific question and responses are at https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/slovenia/ljubljiana-to-vienna-by-night-train.

and definitely not as luxurious as in the movies

The first class CNL sleepers are quite luxurious. In-cabin private bathroom with toilet/shower/toilet, table/chairs, lots of cabinet to store your gear, and beds which are positioned to let you watch the scenery go by as you are lying in bed.

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beds which are positioned to let you watch the scenery go by as you are lying in bed.

Except it is usually dark out...

Knowing more about your start and destination would help us offer you more advice. My past experience with overnight trains on a rail pass is that I either booked it online ahead of time through RailEurope or booked it at a ticket office/agency once in Europe. The problem with the latter option is that overnight cabins sell out well ahead of time, especially in peak travel seasons.

I have taken many, many night trains. In some ways I like them but I am no longer interested in doing it. If you have your own cabin, you will be more comfy as you won't be sharing with strangers (which can be fun and a great way to meet people). But the quality of sleep is typically very low no matter what. Beds are not that comfy and less so for larger people. Temperature control can be hard to control. Expect it to be too hot or too cold. Noise is an issue - sometimes from outside and sometimes from the train itself or other passengers. There are lots of starts and stops. My best sleep usually came at long stops when the train wasn't moving and everything was quiet. I found that my next day was spent groggy and feeling icky since showers are not available or all that great.

Flying has become so much cheaper now - despite the baby, consider it. Also consider your destinations - do you really want to traverse all over the continent or focus on a region well served by high-speed rail.

Thanks for everyone's patience with me. As I mentioned in my original question, I will be traveling with my daughter, son-in-late and grandson who will be 10 months old when we travel at the beginning of November. What I didn't clarify, is that this trip has become one big, almost unrealistic bucket list for my daughter and her husband. I would have been completely satisfied in the UK where I am very comfortable - and I speak the language, but they want to see more. They have been watching Rick's videos and he has inspired them way too much. So, our itinerary increasingly becomes more complicated. Let me share what I've booked so far:
London, Paris, Provence, the Cinque Terre, Milan, Venice, and Ljubljiana in Slovenia. My son-in-law's maternal grandparents came from Slovenia.

So...Slovenia is close to Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic - at least on a map. So, they asked me to make it happen. Or at least they asked me to get them to Prague. So, when I checked, there were two options out of Ljubjiana: Munich or Vienna. Our final destination is Amsterdam. No return flight to NYC has been booked. However, at this point with such long distances involved, night trains seem like the perfect answer to give us more daytime to see the sights. We have to go home sometime!

So, please share your thoughts and recommendations for me to finish booking my reservations. I purchase a 5 day (out of 10) Eurail Global flexipass, so I have 5 days of train travel available.

Thanks!

By the way, what are CNL sleepers?

Except it is usually dark out...

The last night train I took was Zurich to Amsterdam with a travel time of 12 hours. That gives you plenty of daylight to view the scenery in ones boxers.

By the way, what are CNL sleepers?

Sleepers are private rooms. The cheaper couchette cabins are shared with other passengers.

I don't understand why you don't contact RailEurope customer service. That's what you paid for.

As for night trains, especially with a 10 month old? Eeek, that just sounds like a nightmare. How long is your entire trip?

Sorry that my earlier link to Polly's other post did not work correctly, but this one should be better. That's where we are specifically addressing Ljubljana-Vienna and Ljubljana-Munich night trains: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/slovenia/ljubljiana-to-vienna-by-night-train.

Also, Polly, on your itinerary above, did you mean to say, "No return flight to NYC has been booked."? Are you traveling standby? One-way flights are usually very expensive.

If you just have 10 days from departing Paris to arriving at Munich (or Vienna), then I would skip stopping at Milan, or just do so quickly; 10 days to complete 5 long trips means 2 nights and one sightseeing day at each destination. The first train departing Paris is an important one to reserve ahead through Rail Europe or Euraide, since the fast TGV trains do limit the number of rail pass travelers.

You might also consider one of our consulting appointments to sort out a simpler route, but if you do, then it would help for your daughter to do that with you and hear the message about doing too much.

It is hard to imagine an enjoyable trip to Europe with a 10 month old.

Emily,
You asked why I don't contact RailEurope customer service. My question is: can I call them if I purchased my passes thru Rick Steves - this site? Also, I heard if I got my reservations from RailEurope, the reservations would be more expensive. Any feedback? Thanks!

I don't think the Rick Steves org can help you as well as Rail Europe. Overpriced reservations or no, Rail Europe is now your go-to resource. You bought the rail passes from them and it says Rail Europe on the passes.

There's a "contact us" button at the bottom of the main page to get in touch with the main RickSteves.com staffers -- unless one if them has better information for you. Laura ??

Laura,
I should clarify my itinerary. My trip to all the way to Venice is already booked sans the rail pass. The Eurostar and the TGV would not have been covered by the rail pass. Plus my other journeys were short and cheap. My trip from Ljubljiana to Venice will be by bus and it is also cheap.
So, I purchased the rail passes after I kept running into fares that were over $100 for one trip and I knew that they were not set prices but we're going to continue to go up. (One person said that they found a fare from Ljubjiana to Vienna that was really low, but that turned out to be a bus fare shown on the railway site.) As I said before, it was really stressing me out. So, right now, my goal is to get to Prague from Ljubjliana and eventually to Amsterdam with some stops in between. I've found my airfare and will book my flight as soon as my daughter confirms our date of departure.
So, I've gathered some great info. Still not completely clear about this whole reservation thing, especially for a night train. I checked two rail sites, and unless it becomes more obvious into the booking, I can't figure out how to request a reservation only, much less where I can choose a couchette or cabin. It's been a busy day, so maybe tomorrow I will make more progress.
Thank you everyone for your input and help. I'm thankful that Rick Steves hosts this forum on his site.

Hi everyone,
I just thought I would let everyone know that I just checked the fares for Ljubjiana to Munich. The cheap €57 fares are for the bus. The train fares start at €117 with the next fare listed as €147 and this is two months in advance. The night train isn't available to be booked yet, which means that I have no idea how expensive it will be by the time they do. I'm still glad that I bought the passes.

Hi,

I would not contact Rail Europe. Forget their customer service, tried it once, I can do without them. Traveling by night train depends on what you value, are willing to cope with, ie, tolerance level, and travel style. I took night trains in 1970s, a few times, they were all right. I like them better now. If you take the CNL night trains, they're the top of the line, Germany's best, and they are on time. I've never had a night train arriving late. They do sell out as regards to reservations for couchettes and sleepers. It's best reserve in advance. Reservations are mandatory, even if you hop on and take a unreserved compartment seat, or the reclining seat (sleeperette).

Hi,

I know you're still in the planning stages, fine tuning the trip, but if you should decide on going from Munich to Amsterdam, then I would recommend the CNL night train, from the start (Munich) to the terminus, (Amsterdam) direct. Having the Pass means you only pay for the reservation if you choose the sleeperette (Ruhesessel) option, ca. 20 Euro or so. At the end of May 2015 I took the CNL night train Munich to Berlin, reserved a seat in the Ruhesessel coach using my Pass, paid 20 Euro.

Have you looked at this site?
http://www.seat61.com/international-trains/trains-from-Croatia.htm#Zagreb-Munich
Short story seems to be that reservation for the Ljubljana-Munich night train must be made by phone.
I don't see your concern about 117 euro for the day train. That is 39 euro for each adult. Besides, if your pass includes Slovenia, Austria, and Germany, it shouldn't cost anything as it is not a reserved train.

It sounds like your daughter and son are calling the shots on where they want to go, but putting the burden of making the arrangements on you. Maybe you should say "If you want to go there, you figure out how it is to be done."

I still think you should call Rail Europe.

I still don't understand where you are looking for fares and schedules.

You should only use the website of the national rail carrier where the journey originates. This is not rocket science, but I wish I could help you better. The maninseat61 website is an excellent resource for this. But for you it's too late as you have already committed to a rail pass.

PS - on the Ljubljana to Vienna route, there are daily trains (not busses) for 29 euro from oebb.at. You just have to buy them well in advance.

To clarify: TGVs are covered by the Eurail Global pass, if the date of the TGV trip fits into the 10-day time frame that you have to use that particular version (it is unusual in being so short), and if you reserve them ahead. However, if you've bought TGV tickets, the point is moot for this trip.

On the possible routes from Ljubljana to Prague to Amsterdam, only night trains and buses require reservations; daytime trains do not.

@ moorepolly...Regarding sleeping accommodations on night trains, the EN trains usually offer 3 types, (1) the seat in a 6 seat compartment, (2) the couchette, ie Liegewagen, (3) the sleeper ie, (Schlafwagen). Obviously, the cheapest is the compartment seat, where you sleep sitting upright. The Schlafwagen having the most comfort is the most pricey. With a Pass you just pay for seat reservation in a compartment., ca 18-20 Euro. The Pass allows you to board, but the conductor/controller will check first and foremost the reservations for your family. That has been the case each time I take a night train, ie, seeing the reservation is the first thing.

Some EN trains only offer two choices: the sleeper and couchette, no compartment seats. I stay away from those. Only on the CNL night trains is the reclining seat (Ruhesessel) offered as an option in addition to the sleeper and couchette.