Take the night train and sleep through the journey
Europe's sleeper trains are quietly back. Board in the evening, wake up downtown in another country — a low-carbon trip where the travel time costs you nothing but a night's sleep.
For decades the night train felt like a relic — something your grandparents did before budget airlines made flying feel free. But sleepers are quietly back, with ÖBB’s Nightjet network expanding and new operators like European Sleeper stitching capital cities together again. The pitch is hard to argue with: you go to bed in one country and wake up in another, having travelled hundreds of kilometres without losing a day to it.
The climate maths is the headline. Flying is, for most people, the single most carbon-intensive thing they do, and a short-haul hop is the worst value of all — most of the emissions come from take-off and climb, so a quick flight burns disproportionately. A train covering the same distance typically emits a small fraction of that, and a night train layers on a second saving by replacing a hotel night too.
The honest part: sleepers aren’t always the cheapest option, berths sell out, and a bunk in a shared couchette is never quite your own bed. You trade a little comfort and spontaneity for a much lighter footprint and a genuinely lovely way to travel — watching the lights slide past, then drifting off. For the right trip, that trade feels less like a sacrifice and more like the best part of the holiday.
How to do it
- Pick a route a sleeper actually serves — ÖBB Nightjet links cities like Vienna, Munich, Zurich, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Paris and Rome, and European Sleeper runs Brussels–Berlin–Prague.
- Book early, ideally as soon as the booking window opens (often around three to six months ahead). Berths are limited and the cheapest fares go first — set a reminder for the on-sale date.
- Choose your comfort level: a reclining seat is cheapest, a couchette (4–6 shared bunks) is the sweet spot, and a private sleeper with a real bed and sometimes a shower is the treat.
- Pack a small overnight bag you keep with you — earplugs, an eye mask, a refillable water bottle and a few snacks make the difference between a rough night and a good one.
- Board in the evening, settle in, and let the train do the miles while you sleep. Step off in the morning in the city centre, already where you want to be.
Pro tips & pitfalls
- Count the saved hotel night when you compare prices — a sleeper that 'costs more' than a flight often comes out level once you've skipped a night's accommodation and all the airport faff.
- Light sleeper? A couchette over a wheel or near the door can be noisier — booking a berth in the middle of the carriage, ideally a lower bunk, tends to be the smoothest ride.
What it's good for
Good for the planet
- Cuts CO₂ A train trip emits a small fraction of the equivalent short-haul flight — often roughly a tenth — and a sleeper replaces the whole journey, so you skip both the flight and a night's hotel energy use.
Good for you
- Saves money The journey doubles as your accommodation, so the night you'd have paid for a hotel is folded into the ticket — couchettes in particular often undercut the true cost of flying once extras are counted.
- Saves time Travel time turns into sleep time, and you arrive in the centre of town rather than an airport an hour out — no transfer, no two-hour check-in window, no luggage carousel.
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