The most recent route to be added to the Nightjet service, this sleeper offers good links from the UK via the Eurostar to Vienna, which by the end of promises to be one of the best-connected European cities for rail travel. Travelling twice weekly, depart Brussels with a complimentary glass of sparkling wine, then enjoy a comfortable bed and arrive at 7. It departs at 9. The Nightjet network spreads across Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Italy, but this is one of the only routes offering double-decker rolling stock.
Given that one of the best things to do on a train in Europe is to travel on the top deck, being able to sleep on it is the stuff of childhood dreams. The deluxe sleeper has a table, chairs and its own shower. This sleeper is often referred to as the Santa Claus Express and ticks a lot of boxes for family trips. Of course in the Observation Car, you have both views! Have a wonderful train trip! I have traveled many times on the Western Amtrak trains also taking a roomette for sleeping accommodations The superliner cars have always had 10 roomettes on the main level and 4 on.
Lower level numbered 11 to WHere would this be located. Hoping you can provide an answer. I would like to take train from Martinez calif to the Denver area or there about just for fun, in a sleeping car, and return to Martinez. Is this possible and if so who might I contact to make reservation? I would love it if you can get me started. Everyone pays a base Rail Fare. Sometimes there are discounts, like Senior or Student or even a sale rate once in a while.
Then you price your sleeping accommodation, a once-only price. Was wondering if you could explain to me howit works when ticket buying for a bedroom. Do I have to pay base rail fee for for each passenger and then 1 elevated sleeper car fare, or do I need to pay the elevated sleeper car fare for each passenger that will be sleeping in the sleeper car?
Hi Sharon, Thank you for reading my blog. Yes, it is definitely possible to use your CPAP machine on the train. If you have a roomette on a Superliner the double-decker trains there will be an outlet near your seatback which is turned down to become your bed.
If you have a bedroom on either type of train, there will be an outlet above the seatback sort of a sofa and also at the sink. My concern would be if power were lost on the train, though it rarely happens, would you be okay? I hope this works for you. A few years ago I was on an overnight train on Dec. I hope you are able to go and if so, have a wonderful time. Thank you again for writing.
Best, Sherry. I am thinking about taking a long train trip over Christmas either to Niagara Falls or the other direction to Seattle. This site has been helpful! I do have a question on the sleeper bedrooms — I sleep with a CPAP machine and need a plug in relatively close to a bed. Do you know if that would be possible?
Thank you! Hi Brenda, Sorry to hear you were uncomfortable in the upper bunk. My daughter and I shared a bedroom on the Zephyr last summer and she had the upper bunk. But she was only up there to sleep and not try to sit up in bed and she was fine. Like any top bunk you have to duck getting in and out of it.
So, yes, this is true of all Superliner trains. One solution is to buy two roomettes across the hall from each other so both of you can have a lower bunk. We had a roomette. I had to stay hunched over until I could get into a sleeping position. Is this true of all Superliner trains? I would appreciate any suggestions as we would like to take more Amtrak trips west.
Hi Karen, Thanks for your reply! Then walk up to Clark street and there are a zillion restaurants and pubs. Be sure to spend time at the Millennium Bean in Grant Park and walk around the grounds. So much to see and do. Early May can be a beautiful time in Chicago. Also, a walk along the River Walk downtown is a lot of fun and you can walk all the way down to the lake.
Have a wonderful visit and a great cross-country train ride! I almost forgot. Thanks Sherry, It might be a little tricky to call from Australia but we shall give it a go. We are spending two nights in Chicago before taking the train down to Washington DC. Will definitely try the restaurant you have recommended. Might be perfect for lunch before we get the train to Washington. We will have one full day and a morning in Chicago. I am a bit of a Frank Lloyd Wright fan and architecture in general so we are thinking one of the River Architecture tours and possibly a lake tour.
We love culture, food, and just wandering around. We can walk for hours! We will be there in early May. I know — I am an early planner! My partner has always wanted to travel by train in the States and it will be my first time in the USA — so we are really looking forward to the trip. Hi Karen, Thank you so much for your kind words.
All sleeping accommodations are by reservation only. If you can, I would suggest calling Amtrak at When you reserve your roomette, ask the reservationist to tell you if the roomette is upstairs or on the lower level.
Also, the ride on the upper level is much smoother than downstairs. Something to consider, unless mobility is an issue.
In that case you could request the accessible stateroom and that is downstairs. There is limited availability so the sooner you know when you want to go, the better your chances to get a lower level sleeper. Keep in mind that the dining car and observation car are on the upper level. Have a wonderful train ride. Hello, First of all can I say thanks for going to the effort of having a website like this. I am always impressed by people who are so willing to share their experiences and knowledge with others so freely.
I have searched the Amtrak website but there seems to be no mention of this. Thanks for your help, Karen. Sorry for my late reply. My best suggestion would be to contact Amtrak. Amtrak can advise you on that issue. Either way, have a great train ride to Florida! Hi Isabelle, Sorry for my delayed reply.
Thank you for your kind words! To answer your first question, coach pricing might display two different rates if one is for business class. There are three lengths of rail passes; 15, 30 and 45 days, with 8, 12 or 18 segments, respectively. Hi Veronica, The Texas Eagle could be an endangered train species, so I would not hesitate to hop aboard for your roundtrip to Ft.
The bottom bunk is nearly as wide as a double bed and having your own bathroom is so worth it. Your accommodation locks from the inside so that might help you feel safer. If you decide to go, I hope your have a wonderful time. Please call Amtrak for pricing. Hi Anya, Very true. Reserving an accessible room is important if mobility is difficult. In roomettes and bedrooms, the lower berth is easy to access, though. Also, a family bedroom has two lowers.
Hi Miranda, thanks for writing. With six people, you could get either three roomettes 2 in each or two deluxe bedrooms and two small kids could share the lower bunk and you or your husband could sleep in the upper bunk. Otherwise, you idea to book your own stay there at the end could work well. Either way, kudos to you and your husband for wanting to take your foster kids on a grand adventure! Thanks for writing and have fun. Hi Paul, if you plan to get a sleeper, you would need two roomettes or deluxe bedrooms, unless you have infant twins.
Everyone loves a train ride. If you choose to go, think about booking on the Silver Meteor rather than the Silver Star so you will have a dining car. I just have a question…i live in NJ and would like to take the train to Miami, it would be my wife and two children, i have never taken the train before other than the subway system in NYC.
WOuld it be worth taking the train or going by plane? Hi my name is Miranda. I am a Foster parent and would like to take the kids 4 plus myself and the hubby to see the grand canyon possibly see plains and or sights along the way couple of the kids love Little House on the Prairie we are from North East TN.
What is the most economical way for us to do this? Should we do a vaca package or book the route we want and add the grand canyon at the end? Also, the sleeper car they only hold 2? No more? Could we squeeze 3? I hate the kids sleeping alone like that. When making connections, anything one hour or less is not guaranteed by Amtrak.
I would suggest that you phone Amtrak and ask them if all of your connections are guaranteed. Certain routes have a 2-hour guarantee window. There is always a chance that freight trains could delay your Amtrak train. Thank you for reading my Amtrak articles! The schedule shows slightly less than an hour between the connection, and if the train from LA is late which I know is often , what if I miss my connection?
There is only one train daily on my route, so I would have 24 hr layover. How and where do I find out something definite about this? Your site is most helpful! People who have difficulty walking or climbing into befs should probably think about another form of travel. Amtrak beds are bunk style except in disabled rooms. I think! How safe is train travel as far as other passengers…not the crashing part!
Hello Sherry I absolutely adored my cross country trip on the Empire Builder so I am planning another cross country trip for next summer. I am wondering if I could stop in some cities and board the train one to two days later. On some parts of the trip I could take coach seating and on others a roomette. I have two questions: on the amtrak website, there are often 3 different prices for coach seating on a train, with apparently no difference of service.
Am I missing something? But perhaps I am mistaken? Thank you Your article and answers are remarkable! I am planning a trip to Sarasota, Florida in the beginning of this October. I will book a roomette as I am traveling alone. I read that the station where I board the train is in Trenton, N.
Thank you, Carolyn. Enjoy the trip! I board in Savannah at pm. Is there a dining car or no? Do I need to bring my own meals?
Hi Mikhaila, I hope I can answer your questions. You certainly could reserve a wheel-chair accessible stateroom and it would have an en suite bathroom. On the westbound trains, only deluxe bedrooms and the accessible stateroom have their own bathrooms. There is one very small bathroom on the upper level; otherwise you and your father would have to negotiate a very narrow, winding staircase to use the facilities. Overnight train travel in a sleeper can sometimes be the equivalent of business class air travel.
With a little flexibility with time, as you said you did, you can scout out the lowest-cost date to travel. A lot of people choose Amtrak when they move to a new destination because of their liberal, complimentary baggage handling allotment. Hi there, My elderly father and I need to get to Ashland Oregon sometime in the late fall, early winter. We are very flexible on dates and times. I have a legal disability that my doctor certainly would recommend a roomette.
Since we are flexible on are dates can a roomette be cheaper than flying? Trying navigate the website, entering different dates and such, was an ordeal.
Is there any easier way to do this? Also, this trip is to move me to Ashland. Along with my suitcase? On Amtrak, the roomette consists of 2 comfortable seats that face each other during the day, and then at night the room is transformed into an upper and lower bunk bed style sleeper accommodation.
You will have a dedicated Sleeper Car attendant to help with your room and meals. Metropolitan Lounge access and meals are also included with your roomette. Viewliner Roomettes will be slightly taller and have a toilet in the room, but the Superliner Roomette will not have a toilet. Both roomettes have access to a shower in the car, but not in the room.
Amtrak bedrooms are twice the size of a roomette and during the day have a sofa and chair. At night you will still have an upper and lower berth like in a roomette. The main advantage to the bedroom vs.
You will have a dedicated Sleeper Car attendant and your meals and Metropolitan Lounge access will be included. The Amtrak Bedroom Suite consists of two adjoining bedroom units made into one unit. This will be twice as big as the bedroom and have two of everything.
The Amtrak Family Bedroom runs the entire width of a sleeper car and has room to sleep 2 adults and 2 children. The Russian Railways Tolstoy service takes you from Helsinki in Finland to Moscow in Russia, with a variety of sleeping options -- from a second class four-berth sleeper to a deluxe business class sleeper with en suite. The restaurant car is kitted out in rich red curtains and seating, which is an experience. Oh, and for added drama -- the train is named after Russia's most famous writer, Leo Tolstoy.
The train takes roughly 15 hours to cross Northern Europe. Travel from the bright lights of Paris to the gorgeous South of France. You can travel by train from Paris's city lights to the South of France -- although that route's been severely chopped down over recent years.
There's the budget reclining seat option or the couchette option. For Smith, this journey was his first ever sleeper train experience, on a high school French exchange. The students were sleeping in couchettes, but he sneaked a look inside the sleeping cars:. On board, expect a sleeping bag rather than blanket. You also get a bottle of water, ear plugs and tissues, which sets you up nicely for the night. Some of the sleeper compartments on this train are pretty swanky.
Some of the journeys on this list are fairly short and sweet, but this Russian Railways train travels an incredible 2, miles across the European continent, from Paris to Moscow. It's one of the longest passenger trains in Europe -- and also makes stops in Berlin, Germany and Warsaw, Poland.
The train's a spiritual successor to the Nord Express, recognizable from its striking Art Deco posters. The cars are pretty modern by sleeper train standards. As you might expect for a journey of this length, there's a restaurant car -- and for added excitement it switches halfway through the journey. For the first part it's a Polish restaurant car. When the train reaches Brest, a Russian dining car is added. If you really want to splash out, you can travel in a VIP First Class deluxe sleeper -- which Smith muses is probably for Russian oligarchs.
It's got an en suite shower and toilet, flat-screen-TV and a hot breakfast included. When a train's called the Santa Claus Express , you know it's going to be an exciting experience. This double-decker train travels north into a snowy winter wonderland, across Scandinavia from Helsinki, Finland to Lapland -- taking less than 15 hours. Hurtling through the snowy scenes is an unforgettable experience and the double-decker views offer incredible views -- you might even spot the Northern Lights.
That's a lot of countries, so the Nightjet logo is one of the most omnipresent on continental European train stations. According to Smith, that's largely because the Austrian train service has made the sleeper trains economically viable. The train expert also explains sleeper trains can only run successfully when track access fees are reasonable.
Nightjet operates on train tracks spanning Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. The success of Austrian Nightjet leaves Smith hopeful for the sleeper train's future:. On board Nightjet, go for a sleeping car or a couchette.
Sleeping cars have a washbasin, or an en suite if you book the deluxe version. You can use this service to travel from Vienna, Austria to Venice, Italy. The Sofia-Istanbul service whisks passengers from Bulgaria's capital to the historic metropolis of Istanbul. It takes about 10 hours and there's no catering options, so here's another service where it's worth stocking up on food and drink beforehand.
0コメント