Sleeper train from Zurich to Budapest

Hmm... I'm seeing it here: https://www.nightjet.com/en/reiseziele/ungarn

And maybe this would help: https://www.seat61.com/trains-and-routes/zurich-to-budapest-by-sleeper-train.htm

Oh gosh! Thank you! I knew it was something I was doing incorrectly, and I appreciate the assistance!

Following with interest. We too were looking at this route today. The link Scudder shared doesn't seem to let you book anything unless we are looking at it wrong. We went to the OBB site and when you try booking something, it won't let you. The DB Bahn site shows train NJ40467 leaves Zurich at 9:40 PM and arrives in Budapest at 9:19 AM next day. We can't find where to book this train.

So, I went to the site you suggested (which is one of the site's I'd visited), and either I'm completely missing the ball or typing something incorrectly, but when I query, this is the response that I have been getting and continue to get - No offers available - and that's for all the categories - Couchette carriage or Sleeper Train. I'm just not certain why? Thank you!

I actually already (earlier today when I was trying to figure this out) sent an email to "The Guy in Seat 61." If I get a response, I will certainly share it, since you're have the same issues, which is kind of a relief, but still not great. I'll keep digging and report back.

Thanks!

couchettes and cabins often sell out - on OBB I found couchettes, cabins and seats available on 13 Sept leaving Zurich at 21:40, arriving Keleti in Budapest 9:19 the next day

When are you looking for tickets?

If you are looking for tickets for this summer, they are almost certainly all sold out already.

The tickets go on sale 6 months prior to travel, and they are a hot commodity --there probably simply aren't any more to purchase.

Try a date five and a half months out (like mid-January) and see if it comes up with anything you can purchase then (just to see what the difference in the site looks like when you can actually purchase a ticket).

Mari- befor sharing those links last night I looked at some random dates on the nightjet site. It looked sold out into mid/late September, then I saw availability.

Thank you! Fortunately I have flexibility with my dates, and I can push out further, if necessary. However, I know I need to stay in the 6 month window. I just couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong to not see any availability, and now the answer seems to be that they are sold out. Well, I guess it's great that people are traveling again!

Thank you,
M

It is not that the train is booked out. If you are seeing booked out for all trains on a booking platform that means that there is an issue with the booking system, that the system cannot book these for you.

If trains really sold out months in advance on a regular basis they would be useless.

The issue here is that the Zurich - Budapest train is not a Nightjet. It is a EuroNight, operated by the Hungarian railways.
The best place to book this, since the trip starts in Switzerland, is with the Swiss Railways, on www.sbb.ch

I picked a random date in next week and saw tickets still available, as I would have expected. These trains do not sell out months in advance.

My rule of thumb when booking train tickets is: Book with the national railway of the country where the trip starts. So here that is SBB. And if your trip is actually starting somewhere else in Switzerland then book starting from your actual point of origin, not from Zurich. That will save you a few more franks.

That night train connection Zurich to Budapest is direct operated by Nightjet. I suggest you try DB for getting the reservations. The train info you need for this route is there.

WengenK, exactly.

Oh, and I know you want the thrill of the sleeper car, but Swiss Air flies daily for about $140 nonstop and about 90 minutes.