Sleeper Train questions

Thanks. I have been to Europe twice before, used a money belt, cable lock on my bag, etc. I've just never slept on a night train and want to try for the best options. I will check out the link. Thanks again.

Took the Madrid (Chamartin) to Lisbon overnight train in Sept. 2009. Spain and Portugal overnight trains are "gender friendly" but I do not know about couples travelling since we were 2 women travelling (4-person car). Conductor did not keep our passport overnight but only took our tickets. We felt very safe on this one but we never left our stuff unattended in our bunk (we take turns if we had to go to the bathroom). In another board someone suggested bringing a bungee cord to tie your door from the inside (if only your own people are occupying; in our case it was not feasible since the other 2 ladies came in and out and we did not know them to impose on that feature). A few years back in our overnight train from Rome to Paris, the conductor took our orig passports overnight and the car was not gender friendly; we did not get some sleep at all since we had to be on our toes on that one.

I traveled with my husband last June and we took the Munich to Berlin and Frankfurt to Milan night trains. We never felt unsafe. Didn't sleep that great but that is a problem with me and not the train! We slept with our money belts on and kept our smaller backpack in our bunk with us (had anything worth anything in there).

If you can afford it, try to invest in a 2-person or even 4-person bunk situation. 6-person is a bit cramped and loud. Also make sure to book them a few days out, we tried to book a Berlin to Amsterdam night train 2 days out and it was all booked.

a little more information ... on any of these three or four night trains I'm considering, I will ONLY book a 2-berth sleeper with toilet/shower. I'm not going to share with others ... would rather stay in a hotel.

For the Spain runs I'm hoping for Gran Clase on the Elipsos train (this comes with the above plus dining in the dining car). Since we'd be dining, I'm trying to found out whether our bags will be safe in our compartment, which comes with a key card.

overnight i have gone, amsterdam-genoa, munich-rome, barcelona-grenada and milan-amsterdam. no issues in my own cabin. i would assume with precautions (cables, etc.) it would be fine in other lodging situations. be careful, find a friend, keep an eye open. if you use a moneybelt, it can only be so bad. have fun, be safe

You wont have much room think of a carry on for each of you.

Both of us will be taking carry-on-sized backpacks and nothing else.

We took a sleeper train from Vienna to Venice and had a compartment with bunk beds (actually 3 bunks) that convert to a sitting area. Snacks and breakfast were provided, they kept pp overnight, and they put the sheets and blanket on bunks for us--very clean and bunks were comfortable. The bathrooms could have been cleaner IMO--and you will have to walk to the end of the car so clothing for doing so has to be considered. Also, the water from sinks (there will be a very tiny one within your comp) is not potable and water for brushing teeth will be provided so be sure to use it. The door has a lock so you will be secure. We would do the sleeper train again--it is not inexpensive, however.

We use cable locks on our bags if left unattended and travel locks on all openings.

"we use ... travel locks for all openings"

• can you clarify this?

A cable lock is a lock with a long cable (looks like a woven mesh-like metal) that will secure luggage to rack, etc for train travel or wherever you need to secure your luggage, back pack, etc. We bought one for our train travel a few years ago and guess what: TSA removed it from a zippered pocket of our checked baggage. If they planned to use it for themselves they probably discovered the code was already set and the lock was useless. Needless to say we were very annoyed.

The overnight trains are as "safe" as any other option. Fly and your checked baggage can be lost or stolen. Take a daytime train and your bag is left "alone" when you use the toilet or go for a snack.

Your cabin will have a lock. Sure sometimes cabins are broken into, but it's probably far safer than the other options.

I took an overnight from Munich to Rome and it was fine. Just the standard "not much sleep" issues.