4 night trains in a single trip? An adventure from London to Istanbul

This wasn't your first time using the Eurail Pass — what made this journey stand out from trips you’ve taken in the past?

It was definitely more old-school — this trip had very few high-speed trains.

The last time I traveled with a Eurail Pass, I went from Portugal to Serbia. And in southern Europe, I took a lot of high-speed trains until I got out of Italy. But this time, the only high-speed train I took was the Eurostar from London to Amsterdam.

Did you have a preference between high-speed and regional trains?

 That's my guilty secret — I am actually not that keen on high-speed trains. They're a bit too much like aircraft; it's all very high-tech and futuristic.

I appreciate it, and they’re quick, but on the other hand, if you're not in a hurry, there is maybe something more appealing [about regional trains] for someone with a Eurail Pass who is just pottering around Europe and wanting to see the countryside.

Was there a particular train journey you loved on this trip?

Of the daytime trains, the most memorable one was from Berlin to Kraków. It was a nice introduction to Poland, actually, because it's not long after you leave Berlin that you cross the border — it is very much a Polish experience.

The ride took seven hours, and you're mostly going through the forests of southwest Poland. There's a lot of greenery.

The train also has a proper dining car. When you look in the kitchen, you see these enormous pots – not microwaves. They're actually cooking on the stove, and the food is delivered to your table, on proper crockery. So, that was an extremely pleasant train to be on. 

We’ve got to talk about the night trains — you took four in a single Eurail trip. What ended up being your favorite sleeper?

It is definitely the Budapest to Brașov train. You get on at Budapest Keleti, which is a beautiful station — a lovely 19^th-century palace of railways. And with Hungarian railways, if you have a sleeper ticket, you're allowed to stay in the lounge for two hours before your train departs. It's very comfortable, and they give you some free food and drinks. That was a great start to the train ride.

The train had been sitting in the sun all day, and it was very hot in Budapest, so it was horribly hot at first. But once the train gets moving, you pull down every window in your compartment, open the door and let the air come in. It cools down.

I paid for a single occupancy of the compartment, and it was quite comfortable. Like most sleepers, I had a single bed, a wash basin, a little table that folded down, and some racks to hang clothing. You’re normally lucky if you get one plug to charge your devices, but this train had been retrofitted — it had one regular plug and two USB ports, so you could charge three items, which is the most of any of the sleeper trains I was on.

The train also has a fantastic '60s-style dining car. You know, with these lamps and brass fittings and red tablecloths. It serves Hungarian food, which is fantastic — dishes like goulash soup and pork ragu. We arrived in Brașov at 10:00 a.m., and you get a chance to eat a hot breakfast beforehand, which is included as part of the sleeper reservation.

It was all misty in the morning when we were travelling through Transylvania. It was all fog and mountains and little farmhouses. It had a lot of atmosphere.

What’s one of the perks of taking a night train versus a daytime train?

There is a huge advantage in that you get to skip paying for a hotel night. You're paying a supplement for the sleeper, but you're not paying for a hotel room. It's a way of saving a little money, especially with my sleeper from Sofia to Istanbul , where the supplement didn't cost very much.

Did you experience any hiccups along the way?

On the train from Berlin to Kraków, for some reason, my reservation didn't have a seat number on it. This meant I had to keep moving around because people who did have assigned seat numbers kept getting on the train.

It was slightly annoying, but I did actually end up meeting a lot of people in the course of the day by moving to different compartments. It was very chatty — for example, there was an American couple I met, and I ended up being on a tour with them in Poland.

Do you have any tips for someone who plans to take a night train?

Pack as light as you possibly can. I always just take one bit of cabin luggage — a backpack. It's much easier because you can just walk to your hotel or get on public transport and it makes life a lot simpler. 

Also, think about food ahead of time. On a night train, there's a good chance there will probably be a cafe or a dining car, but you can't count on it. You have to do your homework and perhaps buy something to eat beforehand.

Nowadays, you can keep your seat reservation on your phone in digital form. But in the middle of the night, a ticket checker might want to scan it, so having it printed out on paper as well as on your phone can be good as a backup. And it might be easier to find a piece of paper if you know where it is, rather than fiddling around on your phone.

And just make sure you leave plenty of time to get to the train. Because you can get too relaxed and think, well, I don't have to be there till five minutes before the train leaves, but things can happen. So I'd rather be there a bit early and just relax on the platform.

Last question: Any advice for sleeping on a night train? 

 I really love the concept of night trains, but they're not going to be your best night's sleep ever.

It probably wouldn't hurt to have earplugs and eye shades and that kind of thing. But you can't do much about it — the train is going to sway around and bump a bit.

That's just the nature of being on a train.

Rachel Schnalzer a senior writer at Eurail, based in Utrecht, the Netherlands.