Overnight Train Reservations

If you are getting prices today on the Munich to Rome night train, in USD, then you are probably using RailEurope. DON'T. That CNL train from Munich to Rome is bookable on German Rail only 92 days in advance. German Rail shows discounted Europa-Spezial fares that RailEurope doesn't offer. For May 5, they are showing an economy double (no WC or shower), for two people, for €198 (Europa-Spezial fare). A deluxe double (WC and shower), €258. These accommodations go almost immediately. Use the German Rail website Quite frankly, I think Rick is still lost in his hippy days when he did not mind spending €5 to stay in a 6 person couchette with 5 other hippies, except now it's €60 pP. People today want 2 person privacy and their own bathroom. That's a lot more expensive.

If I understand correctly, you want to book a 4 person cabin for just the 2 of you. If so, the quoted price might not be that high since you are reserving 4 bunks. If each of you reserves one bunk in a 4 person cabin, it might be much cheaper. Of course, you'd be seperated by gender and staying with strangers. But that's the nature of overnight trains. But also in general, night trains are not always that economical anymore. Unless you just reserve a seat, which is highly uncomfortable and will not get you much of any sleep (less than the bunk which isn't much either). RailEurope is also not a cost effective way to reserve as others have pointed out.

Thanks for the help!

4- and 6-bunk couchettes on most night trains can be booked either mixed gender or women only. So if you're willing to share a couchette with strangers, you won't need to have separate sleeping accommodations. 2- and 3-bed sleepers are same sex only, unless you book the entire sleeper. As Lee said, the Europa-Spezial Italien fare for 2 people in a 2-bed economy sleeper is €198. If you share a 4-bunk couchette, the special fare for the two of you will be €138. All couchettes are the same size. The only difference is in how many bunks are pulled out. 6-bunk couchettes are crowded. You'll have more elbow room and luggage room with a 4-bunk couchette.

Citing a rate of 198 euros does not solve Michelle's problem. At today's exchange rate, that is about $270, about the same as the nearly $300 she cited. Michelle, your only options are to come up with more money or, what I recommend, cutting your destinations back to two or three that are fairly close together and possibly dropping Paris and London, the most expensive cities on your route. A lot of people carry backpacks, but your use of the term sounds different. What is the purpose of backpacking through major cities? Are you planning to sleep in parks?

You could take a train from the Cinque Terre to Milano in time to catch the direct Trenhotel from Milano to Barcelona. However, that night train only runs on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Probably both your fastest and cheapest route would be to take the train to Milan and then fly from Malpensa to Barcelona on either easyJet or Vueling.

The idea of a night train is to save the cost of a hotel, and travel while you are sleeping instead of spending a day on the train. You have to compare the cost of the night train with the cost of the train trip in regular seats plus a hotel night to see if it cost effective. Only two of your transfers make any sense as night trains-from Munich to Rome and from Cinque Terre to Barcelona (in addition to the one from Milan that Tim mentioned , there is a night train from Torino to Barcelona). The other transfers are way too short for a night train. You can save money on your London to Paris Eurostar tickets by buying them well in advance. Also, you can buy discounted tickets from Paris to Interlaken on the Swiss rail site (SBB.ch or rail.ch). However, you will have to pay to have them mailed to you since you won't be able to pick them up in Switzerland.

Michelle, I'd suggest looking very carefully at each of your rail journeys, in order to decide whether a night train would be of any benefit. I suspect Rick's advice on that point may be a bit "out of date". Be sure to check the rail schedules on any night trains you're considering to ensure that these are direct (ie: no changes). If you have to change trains at 03:00 and again at 05:00, you WON'T get much sleep! I generally try to use day trains whenever possible, even if the trip is a bit longer. It's nice to see the scenery and it's usually a very relaxing journey. Another option you might consider from Munich to Rome is to travel via budget airline. Air Berlin and GermanWings both offer flights on that route (each has an intermediate stop at either CGN or DUS). Another method you could consider is stopping for one night at an intermediate point to break up a longer rail trip into shorter segments. That's a method I use frequently. One possibility might be to travel from Munich to Verona, spend one night and then continue to Rome. Good luck with your planning!

If you are backpacking as a way to cut down on the costs, taking a night train, such as Munich to Rome, fits right in because it's a long ride. You didn't mention if you have a rail Pass. With the Rail Pass for this 12-13 hr. ride, you could make the Pass work for you provided that you're willing to go basic on the night train, ie., just pay for the seat reservation and sit in the Sitzwagen sleeping upright. That's how the locals do it. What I would do is to use that Pass for the direct CNL train, (Munich-Rome), reserve the seat, and sleep upright. The other alternative is to take the other CNL train leaving also around 2100 and transfering at 0600 in Florenz. Getting a sleeper/couchette is too expensive and cuts in on your Pass savings. No way I would pay that amount. In June by around 0445-0500 it will be daylight. Last summer I took the Frankfurt-Vienna (night), paid 18 Euro for 2nd class seat in a 6 person compartment. the train got to Wien Westbahnhof a bit after 0900.