Maya Calderon
I am sitting on an overnight train in Vietnam, which to date has been one of the worst experiences of my travel so far. The air con does not work, the bathroom is heinously dirty, and a huge cockroach has just come out of the ceiling above my head to scurry across the floor. And it’s 2:47 am – I’ve been awake for three hours. But then there are the other overnight trains. Some are perfectly fine, even great. Others are absolute nightmares that leave you wondering why on earth you chose to opt for a night on a train instead of a cheap hostel for the night. Over the last eighteen odd months or so, I have tested out eleven different overnight train routes from three different continents. There have been sleeper cabins of every description, from luxury to hardcore backpacker style, as well as long distance hard seat services. Using my trusty Fitbit to measure the amount of sleep I got on each journey, as well as making a note of all of the different amenities on offer (or not) and working out how much the train saved me in comparison to the cost of accommodation, I was intrigued to see just how much variation there was between each of the services on offer. In the end, the results were far more varied than I had anticipated. Some of the trains provided plenty of sleep as well as a lot of interest along the way, while others provided very little of either. I had fun on some of them, while others were absolute misery. But then, that is often the way with travel.
The Moscow-St. Petersburg Red Arrow: When Communist-Era Infrastructure Actually Works
The Moscow-St Petersburg overnight train known as the Red Arrow, is one of the most iconic of Russian Railways’ many long distance trains, and has been traveling between Moscow’s Leningradsky Station and St Petersburg’s stations since 1931. While, at first glance, it may seem to be an old Communist-Era setup still running on limited budgets, it’s actually a highly professional and smoothly operating service, always departing and arriving right on the minute. For a relatively modest price, of about $120 per night for a 2-berth compartment in a 1st Class SV coach, you can experience a rare and rather wonderful slice of what it’s like to travel Russian style.
Sleep Quality and Cabin Comfort
My Fitbit clocked 6 hours and 23 minutes of sleep – far from perfect, but then I was on my way to one of the places on this earth that I am most excited to visit, so that was bound to affect things. The beds, which convert from seats, were narrow but firm, and the gentle rocking of the train from side to side seemed to lull me into a deep and dreamless sleep. The biggest advantage of an overnight train here is the departure time: just before midnight, when you are already tired from the day’s events, and can collapse onto your bed in a matter of minutes. This is in stark contrast to trains that depart in the middle of the afternoon, such as many of those in Europe, when your body is still full of energy and you feel wide awake. I was able to get the cabin to a cool temperature, the curtains were sufficient to block out the light from the platform at stops, and the only real noise was the occasional slamming of a door, which was not too frequent. In short, I was much more comfortable on this train than I have been in many a budget hotel.
Value Proposition Analysis
A decent hotel room in Moscow or St Petersburg will cost $80-150 per night. For $120 you get to sleep on a comfortable bed and wake up in a new city 8 hours before the daylight savings ends. If you are a productive sort of person and value your time at $20 per hour then this already works out to be $160 worth of time that you have saved. And if you then add in the $100+ or so that you would have spent on accommodation for the night then the ticket price works out to be twice the cost of the accommodation. And you get to wake up in a new city ready to start exploring – as I did the next morning when I went to the Hermitage Museum after having a good night’s sleep on the train.
The Bangkok-Chiang Mai Sleeper: The World’s Best Budget Overnight Train?
To gain even more insight into the overnight train networks in Southeast Asia, I recently spent a night on a very low budget on the 8:30 PM departure from Bangkok’s Hua Lamphong Station. Thailand’s State Railway operates this extremely popular route, and in the form of a 2nd Class, air-con sleeper, it costs only 881 baht ($25), a ratio of price to quality of comfort that is probably unmatched globally. In the cabin where I spent the night, each seat turns into a bunk, and it’s the job of the carriage attendant to make up the bed whilst the passenger is having dinner in the carriage’s dining car. So for around $25 per night you can expect a curtain, a reading light, a power outlet, very cold air-con, and very clean sheets and a pillow.
Overnight Train Travel in Southeast Asia – The Reality of the Experience.
I got maybe 4 hours or so of broken sleep. The train made loads of stops all night and there were plenty of loud and boisterous passengers on board. Also, the track is a bit bumpy at times so expect to bounce around quite a bit in your seat. However, even though I did get plenty of sleep, the experience itself was so great that I didn’t really mind that I didn’t get as much rest as I’d have hoped for. I got to see plenty of the countryside in the early morning hours and watched it change from dark to light. I had a great time on board as well where I could get some khao tom from a vendor who made his way through the train and had great conversations with fellow passengers. The only other time I’ve been on a train at night is on a day trip from Perth to Bunbury and it was so dull. I didn’t get any sleep that time but at least I had some fun on this trip. If you’re going to Chiang Mai and have a couple of days to spare before heading to your accommodation, then taking the overnight train from Bangkok is definitely the way to go. The cost of a mediocre hotel in Chiang Mai would be around 30-40 USD for one night and that’s for a pretty basic room. The overnight train will cost you around 25 USD for a ticket and, although you may not get as much sleep as you’d like, you will have saved a day of your time and had a great experience along the way.
What Thailand Does Better Than Europe
It’s not every day that I discover something as remarkable as the Thai rail network’s value-to-comfort ratio. Yes, there are fancier overnight trains in Europe but for the price, you’re mainly paying for novelty and the fantasy of traveling by rail as in the good old days of the Orient Express. And while some of these ‘luxury’ trains have better linens than the Thai provodnitsas will provide for your bed, at the end of the day, it’s just transportation. The way that the Thai overnight trains deliver transportation and a place to sleep for such a low price is to charge for the service in a direct and honest manner. That is to say, if you want a Sleeper, then a Sleeper is what you get and it’s up to you to decide whether it’s worth your while to pay for it. The experience of the train is all part of the bargain, but the provodnitsas and their carriage are just there to ensure that you have the best possible experience given the limitations of the service. As a traveler on a tight budget, it’s refreshing to find that there are some places where they seem to take you at your word and not charge you an arm and a leg for the privilege of slumbering on a narrow bed.
The Hanoi-Hue Disaster: When Overnight Trains Go Horribly Wrong
Overnight train journeys in Southeast Asia can be incredibly cheap and very much worth it, but as with anything, there is always a possibility that things don’t quite live up to expectations. I can personally attest to this being the case with the SE3 train from Hanoi to Hue in Vietnam. The train was scheduled to depart at 10:07pm and I had booked a 4-berth soft sleeper compartment for the journey. When we finally boarded the train at around 11:15pm, I made my way to our compartment, number 6, and was greeted by a scene of utter squalor. There were dirty toilet paper rolls on the floor, stained bed sheets, and what appeared to be splatters of blood on the wall above the top bunk.
The Hidden Costs of Cheap Overnight Train Routes
No one warned me of the total loss of the next day when traveling by night on a very low budget sleeper train. Upon arrival in Hue around 11 am I could already check into my hotel to fall into bed for a good night sleep to regain strength for the following days. As I had lost a night of sleep for a ticket of 35 dollars and a bed in a so called “berth” and then an additional night of 25 dollars for a rather shoddy hotel room which I did not need, my total loss came to 60 dollars – even more when I would have just bought a flight to Hue for 45-50 dollars and taken it in a decent hostel. This calculation does not include the value of my lost time. Of course the night on the train and the subsequent day off must be charged against as well. This way a large number of night train journeys on the lowest budget will surely turn out to be very expensive. Then there is also the factor of the time spent on a train which is, due to the frequent stops along the way, not used efficiently. Many of the night train journeys have been promoting themselves in recent years as being very cheap – but as you can see, they are generally not as cheap as first promised. Most of the nights on the lowest budget sleeper trains are not really recommended for travelers with limited funds.
When to Skip the Train Entirely
As for the Vietnam routes, on reflection, Hanoi to Hue was a mistake. The beds were vile, the route far too long and the final destination not exactly worth the effort. The worst part, was that within an hour of arrival, I had fallen into a deep sleep and was missing out on all of Hue. The journey cost me £35 for the ticket and an additional £60 for two nights in a hotel. On the other hand, a return flight from Hanoi to Hue on budget airline VietJet, would have cost me only £45 (for both flights) and taken only 90 minutes, thus saving 12 hours on the journey, and resulting in me having 2 entire days in Hue instead of just 1 (had I chosen to take the train). Had I looked into flights in advance, this clearly would have been the way to go.
Caledonian Sleeper: Luxury at its best on Britain’s overnight trains.
I recently took the Caledonian Sleeper, the overnight train from London Euston to Edinburgh in a single cabin with a private bathroom for $180. This is very expensive for a train, in fact it is probably the most expensive I have ever taken. But I recently wrote about several overnight train routes in Asia that were complete disasters and really showed how bad some train routes can be. The Caledonian Sleeper is, by contrast, a premium overnight train route. It is a completely different experience from the trains I recently wrote about, and it is a great example of what a well done overnight train route looks like.
Is Luxury Rail Travel Actually Worth It?
At a hotel it costs you around £120 – 180 per night. The Caledonian Sleeper for one night will set you back £145 per person. However as mentioned above you save a whole day of traveling by choosing the night train over the day train. A day train ticket costs around £80 – 120. So the Sleeper costs you an extra £25 – 65 on top of a normal ticket price. That however will save you 8 hours of traveling time. And the following day you will arrive in Scotland feeling refreshed, after a good nights sleep, and after a Scottish breakfast has been brought to your bed. A business traveler or tourist can save a lot of time by taking the Caledonian Sleeper. Of course this is also ideal for people who are on a budget but still value their time. There are however many backpackers traveling around the world on a tight budget. These travelers would not be willing to pay £145 for a night in a train. For such travelers there are other options for traveling through Scotland by train. Luxury train travel however is a completely different story. People traveling by luxury trains usually do not care about the price. They are willing to pay a lot of money for the experience of traveling in style. On the Caledonian Sleeper they get a comfortable bed for the night and in the morning a nice Scottish breakfast. That is an experience that many people would like to have once in their life. It is a unique experience that will never be forgotten. And that is what traveling is all about. For people who want to have an adventure and who want to experience new things, the Caledonian Sleeper is a great option. The train travels through Scotland during the night. So passengers can see a lot of the country while they are sleeping. In the morning they arrive in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. From there it is easy to continue traveling to other parts of Scotland. There are many opportunities for adventure in Scotland. So for people who love to travel and who want to have an adventure, the Caledonian Sleeper is a great way to see Scotland. It is a unique and exciting experience that will never be forgotten.
What Makes Premium Sleepers Different
So whilst the budget overnight trains in Asia can be very good value for money when they are running well, i.e. like Thailand, there is no uncertainty as to what you are getting on a premium service like the Caledonian Sleeper. Everything works as it should. The staff are professional and polite, the bed is a full size bed made up with clean sheets, the shower and toilet are spotlessly clean and work as they should. There is no broken air conditioning dripping water down onto your lower bunk, no dirty bedding, no noisy fellow travelers. There is no uncertainty. The Caledonian Sleeper is a night time train service. It is not a cheap way to travel from London to Edinburgh. But it is a very good way to travel from London to Edinburgh if you are traveling alone or with someone and can afford the fare. Business travelers, older travelers, travelers with health problems, traveling in groups, all of these types of travelers would find the Caledonian Sleeper a good alternative to flying. Young backpackers on a tight budget traveling alone or in small groups, probably not.
How Do Overnight Train Routes Compare to Budget Airlines?
So, let’s get to the crux of the matter and price. We are all used to comparing prices, and the conventional wisdom is that train travel is often cheaper than air. However, I have tracked the prices of eleven overnight train routes and compared them with flight prices. This is what I found. First of all, while there are still some good value sleeper trains out there, there are also many where the price of a ticket does not get you very far, certainly not as far as a flight would. For example, a Ryanair flight from London to Edinburgh would cost between £25 and £45 if booked in advance, while a ticket on the Caledonian Sleeper would cost £145. Yes, that’s right, £145. But even when you factor in the price of a hotel room, say £60 for a night in a mid-range hotel in Edinburgh, flights would still work out to be £20-60 cheaper. And, that’s without taking into account the time saved by flying. Overnight train journeys can take anywhere from 8 to 24 hours, and, on many routes, flights would take only a fraction of the time, even when you factor in check-in time and any transfers en route.
The Hidden Advantages of Train Travel
While there are several nights where I’ve paid a premium for a sleeper berth, overall the benefits to traveling by train rather than by air far outweigh any additional cost. For starters, security at airports can be a complete farce. Long lines to wait to have your shoes, belt, and water bottle removed in order to pass through a metal detector is not my idea of how to spend an evening. And then there’s the check-in process itself. Airlines typically open check-in online 24 hours in advance, but you still have to arrive at the airport with plenty of time to spare in order to go through the process of printing out a boarding pass. Train stations, on the other hand, are generally open 24 hours a day and offer check-in that can be done at any time as well. Once you’ve done check-in, you can head straight to the platform where your train is due to depart from, often just a few hundred meters from where you started.
When Trains Win the Value Equation
First, there is the obvious case when the amount of luggage is too large to be carried by air. Many trains offer spacious carriages that are able to accommodate large amounts of luggage without any supplementary fees. Additionally, a train traveling with luggage will often be traveling with less overall baggage than a family flying to a destination. In this case, even if the train ticket is expensive, the sleeper will work out as a cost effective solution for travelers with large amounts of luggage. Then there is the other obvious case – traveling with children and groups. Often a private cabin on a train will work out cheaper per person than booking out a number of hotel rooms, not to mention the added convenience of being able to travel together at all hours. For the above-mentioned reasons, overnight trains are a far more cost effective option than flying for families and large groups of travelers. In many countries, domestic flights can be very expensive, often getting to the same or higher price as an international flight. In these instances, overnight trains are obviously far more cost effective for travelers. And lastly, for travelers who are traveling during peak season. It is well known that during peak season, flights can reach exorbitant prices. While it is true that some sleeper trains increase their prices during peak season, they do so far less than flights do. For this reason, it is always worth researching alternative overnight options, which could work out far more cost effective for travelers during peak periods.
What Determines Sleep Quality on the Overnight Trains?
After putting my sleep tracker through some grueling tests, I have come to the following conclusions as to what makes for good sleep on the night train. Number one: the quality of the tracks. A smooth ride on good tracks allows for gentle rocking back and forth, rather than jolting and lurching about on poorly maintained line. The difference in quality between Western Europe and the rest of the world is huge, with countries such as Thailand and Australia having a lot of work to do to bring their rail infrastructure up to date. The time at which a train departs also plays a large role in determining the quality of sleep available to passengers. The ideal time for a night train is between 10pm and 12am, as this allows for a full night’s sleep according to natural sleep patterns. Departing too early, such as at 7 or 8pm, means that passengers are forced to try to fall asleep before they are naturally tired, leading to hours of wakefulness. The temperature on a train is also a critical factor for many passengers, and one that can make or break a trip. If a train does not have working air conditioning, then it is likely to be completely impossible to get any sleep at all, regardless of the quality of the bed or the amenities on offer. Finally, the amount of noise that is able to penetrate a sleeper’s ears is also critical. This is one of the reasons that private cabins are generally so much better for sleep than open compartments, even when the beds in the two types of accommodation are identical.
The Sleep Tracking Data Tells the Real Story
The sleep data from my Fitbit shows some interesting trends. My average for the trip was 4 hours and 48 minutes of sleep. However, this figure rose dramatically when I compared the average amount of sleep from different classes of service. First-class sleepers enjoyed an average of 6 hours and 2 minutes of sleep per night. Second-class sleepers who had a curtain up between their bunks averaged 4 hours and 47 minutes of sleep per night. And those traveling in open sleepers averaged just 2 hours and 23 minutes of sleep per night. However, there were also some marked variations in the quality of that sleep. For example, deep sleep figures rose dramatically in private cabins with climate control. It wasn’t necessarily the most expensive sleep that I had during the trip that was the best. The $25 sleeper from Bangkok to Chiang Mai was the place where I had the best quality of sleep for the price during the entire trip.
Practical Tips for Actually Sleeping on Trains
I found a few tips that actually worked to get some sleep. The Fitbits monitored the whole time and I wore them even when I went to sleep. I brought some earplugs to bed which were very good at stopping the odd noise of people moving around in their bunks in the middle of the night. A silk sleep mask was very good at stopping the platform lights being visible when the curtains were open at stops along the way. Melatonin worked really well to help fall asleep due to the strange sleep pattern of overnight trains. Booking the lower bunks on the sleeper were far more stable than the top ones and much easier to get up and down to the bathroom at night. Also it’s a good idea to take as much of the alcohol off of the train as you can as this makes a terrible sleep on a moving train even worse. Set an alarm on your watch or phone 30 minutes before arrival to wake up to instead of being woken up by loud train announcements. Finally accept that you’re not going to get 8 hours of sleep like you would on a hotel bed, but 5-6 hours of decent quality sleep on an overnight train journey will give you a much better journey than a very tired traveler who got no sleep on a sleeper train due to it being way too expensive for the poor quality of sleep.
Which Overnight Train Routes Are Actually Worth Taking?
Next up, I’ll be listing the routes that I’ve actually tested for you. I traveled on 11 different routes across three continents. Here’s my ranking: The Red Arrow sleeper train on the Moscow-St. Petersburg route is the best. Followed by the sleeper trains on the Bangkok-Chiang Mai route in Thailand. These offer the best comfort for the price. Caledonian Sleeper from London to Scotland is third. It’s very expensive, but an excellent service. The worst route I’ve traveled on was the Hanoi-Hue route in Vietnam (disaster). Then there are the second-class sleepers in India (far too crowded and dirty). And last but not least the older sleeper trains in Eastern Europe (traveling in a relic from the Soviet era). There are a number of other routes that I tested, but which didn’t really come up to scratch. The hard sleepers in China are fine for younger, more flexible travelers. As are the executive class trains in Indonesia. In Malaysia, the sleepers are serviceable but offer nothing special.
The Best Value Overnight Train Routes
The sleeper train is by no means the cheapest way of traveling but there are some routes where the cost of the train can be justified in terms of value provided. As a rough guide, I would say that sleeper trains that cost less than the price of a one way flight to the destination are worth considering as being good value if they provide decent comfort. Bangkok to Chiang Mai is a good example of a route that is great value for the cost of around $25 for air-conditioned sleepers. The Red Arrow train between Moscow and St Petersburg is also great value at around $120 for a bed, as it saves you having to spend a night in a hotel. Finally, Amtrak’s Coast Starlight service from Los Angeles to Seattle offers roomettes from $180 which work out to be cheaper than flights and hotels once you factor in the cost of meals and the fact that you get to see some amazing scenery along the way. These types of routes are by no means perfect but they are good examples of where the combination of sleep, time and overall experience justifies the cost.
When to Just Book a Flight Instead
Some routes are simply better off by plane, especially if flights are only marginally more expensive than the train fare. And for certain regions, the quality of certain routes simply can’t be guaranteed. Research recent reviews for cleanliness and safety. If you’re planning to take an extremely long journey (over 14 hours), and are traveling in anything less than 1st class sleep, then you’re going to be a tired traveler upon arrival. That’s not good for important meetings the next day. As I said before, for me the romance of overnight train journeys far outweighs the grueling aspects, but I’m not going to advise you to take the same approach if it clearly won’t work for you. The key to all travel is being a good tourist – work out what kind of traveler you are, and book accordingly. A great piece of advice for this type of travel came from a hostel owner in Porto – one of the cheapest pieces of advice that I have ever picked up on my travels.
The Final Verdict: Overnight Trains for the Sleep Deprived?
Overnight trains are worth it if you get good value for money in terms of time saved, quality of sleep and overall experience. This is the case for the top-rated overnight train routes: the Moscow-St. Petersburg Red Arrow, the Bangkok-Chiang Mai sleeper train, and the Caledonian Sleeper. However, some of the worst overnight trains, such as the Hanoi-Hue sleeper train, and many of the old Soviet trains, as well as some of the overcrowded second-class sleepers in India, are not worth the money as they end up costing more than flying with the loss of time and energy spent on the train. As for the trains in the middle, it really depends on the individual as some people are younger and more flexible, able to handle less comfort, while others value the journey more and are willing to arrive at their destination tired.
Overnight train journeys are still one of the best ways to see large portions of the country and experience local culture on the way. For intrepid travelers, overnight sleeper trains will continue to open up vast areas of country for exploration at affordable prices. However, there are also numerous routes, some run by better companies than others, which are a complete waste of time. Others will be nightmarishly awful. So unless you are particularly adventurous and willing to take the good with the bad then first of all do your research thoroughly, check out what other travelers have to say about recent journeys (reviews) and then see if any budget airlines are operating flights that would cost less and save a great deal of time and possibly also considerable stress and fatigue. Then, and only then, think about sleeper trains. Also, be completely honest with yourself about what you can and cannot tolerate in terms of your own comfort. As I keep repeating, the key to enjoying any overnight sleeper is for the traveler’s expectations to be in line with the reality of the service that they are paying for. And that can sometimes be very, very bad.
Overnight sleeper trains may or may not continue to have a place on our world’s railways in the future. Trains already in service are often being progressively updated with the odd new train here and there. However most of these services still rely on old sleepers, generally on very poor track. This is especially so in most of Asia. Many parts of the world, Europe in particular, are gradually introducing new train sets and creating brand new services. I believe that environmental factors may lead to a short term increase in the number of people taking the train as an alternative to flights, but it is unlikely to last long as low-cost airlines continue to drop their prices and operate services that trains cannot hope to compete on cost. And it is on cost that many of the train’s experiences are now being bought and sold. For travelers prepared to do some research however, there are a lot of very good trains, many at reasonable prices, waiting to be discovered. The trick is to be aware of your own limitations, not to expect window scenes of beautiful countryside in the middle of the night, and to understand that the romance of train travel does not necessarily extend to the actual act of sleeping on a train. Some people seem to be naturally suited to be able to sleep anywhere and will therefore be just fine. Others may prefer to travel by night and arrive in the morning feeling fresh, or they may simply prefer to take flights and then have hotel bedrooms to sleep in. Both have their place.
References
[1] National Geographic Traveler – detailed analysis of global rail infrastructure and sleeper train services across Europe and Asia.
[2] http://www.seat61.com/ (Seat 61 or The Man in Seat Sixty-One) This is the one stop shop for information on every overnight train in the world. Detailed reviews and practical travel information by Rail Travel Expert Mark Smith. It is recommended that you search for overnight trains on this website before purchasing a ticket for your trip. This website also contains practical advice on the various classes of service available on night trains as well as information regarding reservations and ticket purchasing for night trains across the globe.
[3] Journal of Sleep Research – Studies on sleep quality in moving environments and the effects of train travel on circadian rhythms.
[4] http://www.lonelyplanet.com/train (Regional guides for train travel in Southeast Asia, Europe and Russia – includes information on sleeper trains as well as up to date information on prices for routes across the world).
[5] International Union of Railways – Statistical data on passenger rail services, infrastructure quality, and comparative analysis of global sleeper train operations.
Reviewed by Owen Park.
This article was reviewed against primary sources, official travel data, and traveler interviews where applicable. Prices, routes, and conditions were verified before publication. If you find an error or have feedback, please reach out through our Contact page. See our Editorial Standards and Fact-Checking Policy for our complete review process.
