When I decided to squeeze four countries into a two-week backpacking trip to Europe, traveling by overnight train seemed like the ideal form of transportation.
It was my first time visiting Germany, Austria, Italy, and Switzerland, so I wanted to make the most of the daylight hours in each place.
Sharing a sleeper cabin with strangers also helped me do it on a budget.
That’s how I found myself on an 11-hour train ride from Vienna to Venice, Italy.
My $84 ticket included a bunk in a shared cabin and a light breakfast. I was excited to move through the night and spend my days adventuring.
But a few surprises along the way made me think that, ultimately, this ride wasn’t worth the time saved.
I traveled from Austria to Italy on the OBB Nightjet.
OBB Nightjet trains travel overnight to more than 25 European cities, from Rome to Amsterdam, and can go as fast as 143 miles per hour.
Nightjet trains have seating carriages as well as sleeper cars with cabins and bunks in sets of three, four, or six. I booked the latter. Some routes also have private cabins, but mine didn’t.
When I arrived at the Vienna train station, I paid $10 to access the OBB Lounge. I was surprised that it was empty aside from me — a stark contrast to the crowded station where I couldn’t find a seat.
I arrived at Wien Meidling train station in Vienna 90 minutes before my 9:35 p.m. train. The waiting areas were so crowded that I couldn’t find a single empty seat. Then, I noticed a lounge for OBB guests.
The lounge was free for first-class OBB passengers traveling during the day and cost about $10 for all other OBB passengers.
Since I thought the fee was inexpensive and the station was so packed, I paid for access. But I was surprised to find no other travelers inside.
The lounge had plenty of tables and chairs, as well as complimentary refreshments such as coffee, nuts, and seeds. But I wasn’t hungry, nor was I trying to stay up late, so I got a water bottle and settled into a chair to wait until it was time to board my train.
When I went to the platform, I didn’t expect boarding the correct train to be so confusing.
I went to the platform about 20 minutes before my train’s scheduled departure. My stomach dropped when the screen said my train was going to Zurich because I thought I’d booked the wrong one.
Thankfully, I didn’t. At the information desk, I learned that the train’s cars detach at various stations to serve different destinations. I had to board my assigned train car to reach my ticketed final destination; each car was numbered.
When my train arrived, I didn’t have time to check the train-car number before boarding. So I went to the closest car and asked an attendant to guide me to my car and room.
I knew my cabin would be small, but I was still shocked when I first saw it.
According to OBB Nightjet, my cabin was built to fit six people inside a 74-square-foot space.
I expected it to be a tight space, but seeing it in person made me realize that 74 square feet is smaller than I thought.
One traveler was already there when I boarded, and two others arrived within an hour. Those two got off around 5 a.m., and the other stayed past my stop. We said hello to each other upon arrival, but otherwise the room was quiet. Some of us were on devices, while others slept.
I was surprised by how little personal space I had, even when there were only two of us. I couldn’t imagine six people squeezing in there, and I was grateful we weren’t booked to the max.
But I still felt cramped when there were four of us, especially with everyone’s luggage around.
I expected each bunk to have some privacy, but the beds were completely exposed.
Since the space was shared, I thought I’d find curtains at the front of each bunk to ensure privacy, but there was nothing to block the space between passengers.
This made me feel more uncomfortable than I expected. While another traveler changed their clothes in front of me inside the room, I preferred to change in private, so I used the shared bathroom at the end of the sleeper car.
I didn’t think I’d have to wake up other passengers to use the bathroom. But the room’s lock was accessible only from the top bunk, where someone was sleeping.
The bunks were available on a first-come, first-served basis. I opted for a bottom bunk since I’d previously found top bunks on other trains bumpier through the night.
But I didn’t realize that the person on the top bunk would be the unofficial controller of the door lock since it was only accessible from their bed.
When I went to the bathroom to wash up and change around 10:30 p.m., the top-bunk passenger had just arrived and was still awake. But at around 2 a.m., I found myself lying awake with a full bladder because I didn’t want to disturb her. Eventually, I couldn’t hold it anymore and reluctantly woke her up.
It was a tad awkward, and I felt bad for disrupting her sleep. The whole experience made me think I may have preferred the top bunk anyway. I’d rather have someone wake me than wake someone else up.
I thought I’d get a decent night of rest since I had a lie-flat bed, but I struggled to fall asleep.
Since I had a lie-flat bed, sheets, and a pillow provided by the train, I thought I’d be able to sleep soundly. But when bedtime came around, I was surprised to find the bed and bedding didn’t matter much.
I found the bunk uncomfortable. I only got a couple of hours of sleep and woke up several times during the night due to other travelers entering and exiting the room or the train’s bumpiness. For most of the night, I watched TV on my iPad since I had such a hard time sleeping.
“Offering our passengers a high level of travel comfort is an important concern for us,” a representative for OBB Nightjet told Business Insider.
The statement continued, “We are constantly working on improvements to our product and also take into account the requirements of our customers.”
In 2023, Nightjet upgraded its overnight trains with more spacious shared sleeper cabins and new bunks.
When I arrived in Venice, I realized I had been wrong about my expectations for a shared sleeper cabin.
I got off the train in Venice feeling exhausted from the lack of sleep. I thought it made my first day in the city less enjoyable, which was perhaps the most surprising element of my ride since the entire reason I booked this train was to feel rested.
These surprises taught me that a shared cabin on an overnight train isn’t the right choice for me.
A year after my trip, I booked another overnight ride in a Nightjet private cabin. It was worth the upgrade.
I learned my lesson during that shared cabin ride. So, when I went back to Europe in November 2023, I booked the train line’s top-tier accommodation for an overnight trip from Venice to Vienna — a private cabin.
It was worth the $200 price tag for a private 30-square-foot space with a vanity, a wash basin, and storage. I slept like a baby.
From now on, I’ll only book private cabins for overnight train rides.
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