Reservations on European Night Trains

There are three elements to the pricing of European night trains, including both the Nightjets, which dominate the network; and the services which are branded as Euronight.
- 1 = the journey / distance, +
- 2 = the cost of reserving a seat, + 
- 3 = the additional cost of reserving any type of flat bed - in a couchette, sleeping cabin, or pod.

Eurail and InteRail passes cover the journey / distance, but both users of these passes and ticket purchasers need to make a reservation(s) for the choice of accommodation - seat or bed.

The types of accommodation:

On some routes, particularly within Germany, the same trains which are used for daytime express journeys also travel on overnight routes.
However, the norm is for an overnight train to be referred to as a sleeper train because it will comprise:

(1)  Sleeping cabins which typically have  beds ,which when boarding will be fitted out with sheets, pillows and blankets ready for a night's sleep. 
The cabins contain up to three beds, with bunk style beds being the norm, though  Caledonian Sleeper trains have double beds for travelling couples.
Any cabin will be fitted with a sink for washing, but on certain routes deluxe cabins are also available, which house showers and toilets. 

The cabins accommodate, one, two or three people with higher reservation fee prices per person being typically charged when fewer people have occupancy.
Though on some routes there is a price per cabin, which can then be split between the people who share it.  

(2) Couchettes which are compartments with seats with a door to a corridor, the conductor will convert the seats into bunk style beds and fold out other bunks from the walls and hand out sheets and pillows
The compartments then have 4 or 6 bunks, with places per person being cheaper in 6 berth compartment - though 6 berth compartments aren't available on all routes
You sleep in your daytime clothes and the sink and toilets are in bathrooms at the ends of each corridor on the train.

(3)  Mini Pods which can accommodate one person for private sleeping, are now available on the recently introduced new night trains operating Vienna and  Munich ↔ Amsterdam, Hamburg and Rome; and now Zurich ↔ Amsterdam.
In effect they are mobile capsule hotels, with the sink and toilets in bathrooms at the ends of the corridor  

(4)  Coaches with seats, typically of the same type used on daytime routes.
Which is why the seats on some night trains are sold on a separate booking path, with the seated part of the train being referred to as an IC train.  

Note that there is no equivalent of the Roomettes, which are available on Amtrak trains in the USA.
Plus the sleeping cabins on the European trains do not have sofas etc, because no standard European journey lasts more than one night.

Selecting a Type Of Accommodation When Booking

When using a rail pass or booking tickets, you need to choose a type of accommodation and reserve it.
If booking a specific type of accommodation is crucial to your itinerary, it can be a good idea to check what is still available on the route you want to take, by taking the initial steps required to book a ticket.

Note that if you may have seen info stating that a specific type of accommodation is typically available on a train service or route, it may not then actually be a booking option on the specific departure you wish to take.
In particular, Deluxe cabins, 6 berth couchettes, Mini-Pods and family compartments are only available on certain routes.

What is the norm, is that, on departure a fairly lengthy train will leave a station, but the trains are typically split and joined during their journeys, so that a wider choice of destinations can be offered.

Therefore on most end-to-end journeys only up to two coaches of sleeping cabins and up to two coaches of couchettes will be used.
So more seats than sleeping places are always available, meaning that the couchette accommodation, and particularly the sleeping cabins, can sell out weeks in advance.
Also the the type of accommodation can vary by route and departure, even when the same operator has trains on multiple routes.

Hence choosing a sleeping option can have the aura of a lottery, you won't know what's available until you proceed down the booking path.

Also what's undeniably a tad complicated, is how different sizes of travelling party can be accommodated, because the sleeping cabins have a maximum of three beds and the couchettes have a minimum of four places.
Plus there's the fact that sleeping cabins are typically segregated into male and female (unless a couple or parent(s) with children want to share it).

In contrast couchettes are often unisex, but on many trains including the Nightjets, female only couchettes are also available.

Why booking ahead is recommended

If a departure will be operating to its usual schedule, bookings will open 3 or 6 months in advance.

Two reasons for booking as soon as possible:
1 - The more likely it is that you will be able to choose your preferred accommodation option, especially when travelling in a group; see below.
2 - The sooner you book the cheaper it can be - whether you will be using Eurail / Interrail or booking tickets.

Until recently reservations on sleeper trains used to be charged at a fixed rate, with the journey price being the element of the total cost that rose or fell.
However, this demand-led pricing can also now applied to the reservation costs.
This is the situation on the Nightjet trains, which are the most common type of international sleeper trains in Europe.

The current rail pass fees reservations for travel on the older type of Nightjet train are:

Prices

- Seat = €4.90 to €19.90
- 6 berth Couchette per person = €19.90 to €54.90
- 4 berth Couchette per person = €19.90 to €64.90
- Bed in Standard sleeping cabin being shared by three people, per person = €44.90 to €124.90
- Bed in Standard sleeping cabin being shared by two people, per person = €59.90 to €154.90
- Bed in Standard sleeping cabin for sole occupancy = €139.90 to €309.90
- Bed in Deluxe sleeping cabin being shared by three people, per person = €79.90 to €214.90
- Bed in Deluxe sleeping cabin being shared by two people, per person = €99.90 to €264.90
- Bed in Deluxe sleeping cabin for sole occupancy = €229.90 to €469.90

Note that Deluxe sleeping cabins may not be offered to Eurail / Interrail users on some departures, or will seemingly only be offered if three people will be booking together.

 Note that costs for a berth in a couchette can be less than €20 and beds in sleeping cabins can cost less than €45 - if you book before these price points sell out.
These lower prices are cheaper than the previous fixed rate, but the upper end of the price range is more expensive.  

The current rail pass fees reservations for travel on the newer New Generation Nightjet trains are:

• Seat = €4.90 to €19.90
• Mini Pod / Cabin = €19.90 to €64.90
• 4 berth Couchette per person = €19.90 to €64.90
• Bed in Comfort sleeping cabin being shared by two people, per person = €59.90 to €154.90
• Bed in Comfort sleeping cabin for sole occupancy = €139.90 to €309.90

Places in Comfort Plus cabins (with showers) on this type of newer Nightjet train are seemingly not made available at a discount / reservation only cost to Eurail and Interrail users.
But if the places in the Comfort Cabins are sold out, rail pass users will be offered the opportunity to book Comfort Plus cabins, but the total cost for doing so, will be no different to that charged to ticket holders.  

Note that three bed sleeping cabins and 6 berth couchettes are not an option on these New Generation Nightjet trains.

These New Generation trains are currently operating on the Vienna and Munich ↔ Amsterdam, Hamburg and Rome routes, but from Sept 28th the trains will be going to and from Milan instead of Rome.

The accommodation options per travel party

Below is an attempt to make the complicated seem simpler, but they have to be a summaries because there are exceptions to the norm.

One of which is that the night trains on French domestic routes don't have sleeping cabins, so the price of reserving a 4 bed couchette is fixed - but one, two or three people can book it for private use and pay a higher price per person; Though rail pass users can only make reservations at the station in France.

Similarly on SJ Euronight (Sweden) and Caledonian Sleeper (UK) and Intercity Notte (Italy) services, the reservation fee of the sleeping cabin is fixed
Meaning that if two or three people travelling together book them, they will in effect split the reservation fee between then, but a solo traveller will pay the full cost etc.
So, on some routes there isn't an option of one or two people to make a saving by opting to then share the cabin with another party, who has made a similar booking.
But on those trains where the cabin is a fixed price, parties of one or two won't ever have to share the accommodation.

Typical Solo travel options;
- a place in a couchette, which you will be sharing with other people
- a Mini Pod (Vienna and Munich ↔ Amsterdam, Hamburg and Rome/Milan plus Zurich ↔ Amsterdam)
- a place in a 2 or 3* bed sleeping cabin, which you will be sharing with other people, *= not available on the Nightjet New Generation trains
- a place in a 1 bed sleeping cabin

Typical 2 people options;
- two places in a couchette, which you will be sharing with other people
- two Mini Pods (as per the same routes)
- a 2 bed sleeping cabin, which you can share
- separate places in 2 or 3 bed cabins, which you will be sharing with other people
- two places in 1 bed cabins

Typical 3 People options;
- three places in a couchette, which you will be sharing with other people
- three Mini Pods (as per the same routes)
- a 3 bed sleeping cabin, which you can share - not available on the Nightjet New Generation trains
- separate places in 2 or 3 bed cabins, with at least one of the party sharing a cabin with other people
- three places in 1 bed cabins  

Typical 4 people options;
- four places in a couchette, which if you book ahead you may not have to share
- family compartments; Available on Nightjets and CD Night services
- four Mini Pods (Vienna and Munich ↔ Amsterdam, Hamburg and Rome/Milan)
- a 3 bed sleeping cabin, which you can share + the 4th person can then travel in a 1, 2, or 3 bed cabin, or a couchette;  Not available on the Nightjet New Generation trains
- two 2 bed cabins
- four places in 1 bed cabins (unlikely to be available)

Typical 5 people options;
- five places in a couchette, which can be split how you want, but at least one of the party will be sharing a couchette with other people
- five Mini Pods (Vienna and Munich ↔ Amsterdam, Hamburg and Rome/Milan)
- a 3 bed sleeping cabin + a 2 bed sleeping cabin;  not an option on the Nightjet New Generation trains
- five places in 1 bed cabins (unlikely to be available)

Typical 6 people options;
- six places in a couchette, which if you book ahead you may not have to share; though 6 berth couchettes aren't included on all sleeper train routes
- six places in multiple couchettes, which can be split how you want, but at least two of the party will be sharing with other people
- six Mini Pods (Vienna and Munich ↔ Amsterdam, Hamburg and Rome/Milan)
- two 3 bed sleeping cabins - not available on the Nightjet New Generation trains
- three 2 bed sleeping cabins
- six places in 1 bed cabins (unlikely to be available)

Note that if one of these options will particularly suit you, it's best to book as far head as possible.
Also when two or more people are travelling, but you have a preference how you want to split; two women in a female only couchette and three men in a couchette etc, it's usually a good idea to book them separately, so that you control who will be travelling together.

You will also typically need to make separate bookings if some of the party want to travel in sleeping cabins, but others are happy to make the journey in a couchette or seats etc.

However, it can still be random - for example you're in a group of four friends, three men and a woman, you'll be happy to share a 4 berth couchette, but when you book, the woman may be placed in a female only compartment and the men might be put together in a separate compartment, or split.
It all depends on what's still available on the booking system - but you can't see what's available in each compartment or cabin.
In this example, the system may tell you 4 places in couchettes are available, but you will only find out where you have been actually placed on the booking confirmation.

How Eurail and InterRail users can book the reservations

If you're happy to travel in a seat(s) making a reservation is no different to how they can be booked when travelling on daytime trains.

For any of the types of bed, it can be a good idea to:

1. to not use a phone, so that you can see the options more easily,
2. take your time,
3. make the reservations on the ticket booking services - you won't pay any booking fees and you can be sure that you're seeing the current availability.

The ticket booking services mentioned below, have dedicated paths / steps to take, which allow Eurail and Interrail users to make reservations.
Though note despite the info on the Eurail and InterRail websites, reservations for sleeper trains cannot be booked on DB, the website of the German national rail operator.

Booking with OBB: 

OBB is the Austrian national rail operator and Austria is the hub of the European night train network.
OBB operates the Nightjet services, some of which travel to/from Switzerland instead of Austria and others only travel to/from Germany, but any journey by these trains can be booked on its website.

There are also Euronight services on multiple routes from / to Austria, and rail pass reservations for journeys by these trains can also be booked with OBB.

Though what's relatively new and ultra convenient, is that reservations can also be booked for journeys between non-Austrian destinations on the night trains which travel through Austria.  

The routes which can be booked with OBB can be looked up here.

Popular routes include:

*= these are some of the routes on which the trains are only available on certain days of the week.

The path to take when using OBB to book rail pass reservations is shown on this guide, though the key two steps to take are;
1 - ignore the reservation only feature on the home page - it's there for those who have already booked tickets and now want to add a reservation
2 - you need to 'Add A Discount' before you look up a journey - Eurail/Interrail is one of the discount options.

What's also good to know, is that it doesn't matter whether you will be travelling with 1st or 2nd class passes when booking night train reservations with OBB.

Booking with CD

České dráhy is the Czech national rail operator and it operates CD Night trains on routes which link Praha/Prague with Basel, Budapest, Freiburg-im-Breisgau, Karlsruhe, Krakow, Warsaw and Zurich.

The steps to take when booking rail pass reservations are on this guide.

Booking with other booking services:

• SJ operates Stockholm ↔ Hamburg - Berlin night trains; the steps to take are on this guide
• European Sleeper operates trains which take a Bruxelles - Antwerp ↔ Rotterdam - Den Haag HS/ The Hague - Amsterdam - Amersfoort - Deventer ↔ Berlin - Dresden - Bad Schandau ↔ Decin - Praha/Prague route, 3 x nights per week
• Vy operates night trains in Norway and on the Stockholm ↔ Narvik route and rail pass reservations can be booked with Norway's national booking service, Entur

Though there are few routes, including the night trains from and to both Bulgaria and Romania, on which Eurail and InterRail users cannot book reservations online.

Journey Planning

So booking a reservation isn't without it's complexities, so before beginning down the booking path it's good to know whether a sleeper train is even a possibility.
Particularly as the trains on many routes only depart on 3 or 4 days per week.

Because they take long routes, sleeper trains are also particularly susceptible to having their usual schedules altered or cancelled - often for up to several months ahead.
The planned alterations on the Nightjet trains can be looked up here.

Also despite an expansion of the European night train network in recent years, which has enabled sleeper trains to be restored to Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris, there are still significant gaps, particularly in western Europe.
There are no sleeper trains between:
- France and Britain, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and The Netherlands
- Italy and Switzerland / Slovenia
- Denmark and any country south of Germany
- Spain and France / Portugal

When the night train can be a good option

Those Nightjet reservation fees listed above, show that booking the sleeping accommodation on a night train isn't a nailed on money saving option compared to staying in a hostel or a hotel - single occupancy in a sleeping cabin cabin is often comparable to a 4* hotel room.

Taking the night train also isn't a time saver - when day and night trains share a route, the journey by the night train can be twice as long.

However, when planning a Eurail/InterRail itinerary the sleeper trains have two advantages:

1 - On the longer routes the first of the day trains won't arrive at their final destinations until the early afternoon - so the night trains allow for a morning's exploration.

2 - On some routes taking the sleeper train is the only direct option - see below.  

Routes on which the night trains are the only direct trains:

1. Amsterdam ↔ Basel, Innsbruck, Prague, Zurich and Vienna
2. Bucharest ↔ Istanbul and Sofia (summer only)
3. Brussels ↔ Berlin, Prague and Vienna
4. London ↔ Fort William (Scottish Highlands)
5. Milan ↔ Messina, Munich, Palermo, Siracusa and Vienna
6. Munich ↔ Florence, Krakow, Ljubljana, Milan, Rome, Warsaw, and Zagreb
7. Paris ↔ Aix-Les-Thermes, Briancon Carcassonne, Gap, Port Bou (for connections to Barcelona), Rodez and Vienna
8. Sofia ↔ Istanbul
9. Stockholm ↔ Berlin, Hamburg and Narvik (Arctic Circle)
10. Stuttgart ↔ Ljubljana, Venice and Zagreb
11. Trondheim ↔ Bodo
12. Vienna ↔ Amsterdam, Brussels, Bucharest, Florence, Milan, Paris, Rome
13. Zurich  ↔ Amsterdam, Ljubljana, Prague and Zagreb