Reserving Overnight Trains Online-- HELP!

Laura For RailEurope you may be running into the timetable change that happens just before your first question. The timetables haven't quite been released yet. All of those are international trains so the timetables for all countries that they go through all have to be released. I believe that the German ones have been, I'm pretty sure that the Italian ones haven't yet. Don't know about the Austrian or Spanish. You must be really good at sleeping on trains to volunteer for 3 overnight trains let alone one. For the Bahn: Choose the train you want, probably the 2005 CNL 451? Don't check the reservation only box. Click on check availability. Click the radio button for the type of "sleeping" you want and click the "Book Only Extra Charge" phrase which doesn't look like a button. On the next screen identify your type of ticket. EuRail passes are the third button. Click continue. Look at your with pass prices (€75 up for a berth in a sleeper, less for a berth in a couchette) and wonder why the heck you got the pass and why didn't you take a cheap flight. Choose the one you want. Somewhere along here if you didn't put your age in the initial request they will ask for it. Give it to them. If you are not booking out the entire compartment it will ask you to choose sleeping with men or women. Choose, then login (after registering), and pay.

If you follow Nigel's instructions, you can book a sleeper now on DB Bahn for Paris-Berlin and Munich-Rome. You cannot book routes entirely outside of Germany on DB Bahn so you'll have to use Rail Europe for Paris-Barcelona (when it becomes available). You could fly from CDG to Barcelona on either easyJet or Air France, or from Beauvais to Barcelona on Ryanair, or from Orly to Barcelona on Vueling for about the same price as a sleeper reservation. Be aware, however, that Beauvais is a long bus ride from Paris.

For your 2 CNL legs, when you get to the page that shows your seating/compartment options, click on the little black box "book only extra charge" in the lower right hand corner. Its next to the red "book selected offer" button. Then you will get a page that selects pass type, Click on "Pass Offer". Next page will show seating/compartment prices for various offers. In the case of your Paris-Berlin, its is 144 euro "single person in double compartment" without a pass, and 115 euro with the pass, a savings of 29 euro. It appears Renfe is not yet set up for the Dec 15 schedule updates. Keep checking.
Think long and hard if a Global Pass will actually save money for you.

Hi, I don't believe you can use a Global Pass to reserve night trains. The Paris-Berlin CNL ride is all right, if direct; doing the ride (day) takes 10 hrs with one transfer in Mannheim, but better to transfer at Frankfurt Hbf. instead. From Beauvais to Paris Nord is ca one hour, (I took a day trip there r/t from Paris), just about the same as driving from SF to San Jose or the train from SF to Redwood City. As an alternative to the night train, Paris-Berlin, if you cannot get it, I would suggest the early ICE Paris Est to Frankfurt Hbf, change to the direct ICE to Berlin Hbf. Forget Rail Europe, don't use them.

As the first three posts explained, it IS possible to use the Global Pass on night trains, just that the savings are not that big if you want some sort of couchette or compartment. Think of it as a moving hotel room or hostel bunk. Your rail pass gets you from point A to point B, but you have to pay full price for the accommodations.

Hi All, thanks so much for your help! I was able to book the two CNL trains and will wait for the new timetables to for the Paris-Barcelona trip.