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Business Insider
19 hours ago
- Business Insider
I booked private cabins on overnight trains in Europe and the US. The more expensive ride was a better deal.
I booked a 30-hour overnight train ride in an Amtrak roomette in 2021. Two years later, I booked a private cabin on a European sleeper train for an 11-hour ride. Despite similar amenities, the experiences were notably different. And one had better value. I travel by night in tiny, moving hotel rooms, so I can fall asleep in one city and wake up in another. I squeeze into cabins smaller than a king-sized bed and look out the window at passing landscapes while I brush my teeth. With the rumble of the rails beneath me, I've found that the most exciting way to travel long distances is by overnight train. I've taken seven sleeper trains in the US and Europe, sometimes cheaply with shared accommodations and, in other cases, more expensive, private cabins. The most comparable rides were the Amtrak roomette and a private cabin on OBB Austrian Federal Railway's Nightjet train. Both rides offered an enclosed space with beds, in-room sinks, and wash basins, but the experiences were completely different in many ways. Read on to find out which is worth the price — and why. My overnight train rides began in October 2021 with a 30-hour trip from NYC to Miami in an Amtrak roomette. For $500, I traveled 1,094 miles in an Amtrak roomette. The roomette is the train's second-tier of accommodation — one step above coach seating and one step below an Amtrak bedroom, which is twice the size for roughly double the price, in my experience. Two years later, I took an 11-hour sleeper train from Venice, Italy, to Vienna. In November 2023, I booked a private cabin on a Nightjet train traveling through Europe for the first time. For $200, the train took me 269 miles from Italy to Austria. The private cabin is the train's top-tier accommodation — two steps above a reclining seat and one step above a shared cabin with strangers — both of which I'd experienced before. Although the ride was $300 cheaper than my Amtrak one, it's worth noting that my US ride took me much farther than the European one. The Amtrak roomette was an enclosed space designed for both night and day travel. The roughly 20-square-foot room had two seats situated across from each other and a pullout table with foldout leaves to save space. The cabin also had two wide windows, which brought in plenty of natural light throughout the day. It was a pretty sweet workspace. I spent my time editing photos on my laptop and looking out the window at the passing scenery. At night, stewards came by to transform my room for sleep. The two chairs pull out to make a bottom bunk, and a top bunk pulls down from the ceiling. Meanwhile, the European cabin seemed to only be designed for night travel. Since I was only on the train from about 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., it made sense to me that my Nightjet cabin didn't have all the fix-ins of the roomette. The 30-square-foot enclosed space housed three beds — one on the bottom and two up top. It lacked a daytime setup of seats and a table, and the window was quite small. However, the room had more space to move around than the roomette, which I appreciated. The European cabin also had an additional perk the roomette lacked — welcome gifts. Once in my room, I was surprised to find a goody bag filled with complimentary sleep essentials since I hadn't experienced this perk on my Amtrak ride. Inside were wafer treats, slippers, earplugs, a sleep mask, a washcloth, and a pen. Both rooms had a vanity and sink. The roomette's felt squished into a tight space. On one side of the roomette, there was a mirror with a small pull-out sink below. There was no toilet in the room, so I used a shared bathroom at the end of the train car. I appreciated being able to brush my teeth and wash my face from the comfort of my cabin, but I craved a larger sink. Meanwhile, the European cabin had a spacious wash-up area. In the Nightjet cabin, the sink and vanity were behind two doors. Inside, bright lights that made it easier to see my face in the mirror and storage compartments for my toiletries. The added perk helped me keep my things organized rather than making a mess of my bag. Like the roomette, this cabin didn't have a toilet, and I used a shared bathroom in the sleeping car. The roomette beds were stiff, but the blankets were soft. No train bunk measures up to a real bed. But while a little stiff, I found the Amtrak bunk comfortable enough to rest in. The blankets were thin but soft to the touch. The European bunk was slightly more comfortable. With a thick, smooth comforter and a bed with a little give to it, the Nightjet bunk was a bit more comfortable than the one in the roomette, and I slept slightly better. In the morning, I got a balanced breakfast on the Amtrak train. My ticket included breakfast on both trains. Due to the length of the ride, the Amtrak train also served complimentary lunch and dinner. In the US, I had a big breakfast that prepared me for the day, including an egg sandwich, yogurt, oatmeal, a muffin, and a beverage. My breakfast on the European train was less fulfilling. Breakfast was complimentary on the Nightjet train, too. But it was smaller. I got yogurt, a beverage, and two hard rolls accompanied by butter, Nutella, and jam. I appreciated the fuel up, but it didn't give me the energy I needed for the day. I ended up getting a second breakfast at the McDonald's in the train station once I arrived. While the European ride was cheaper, I thought the US ride had better value. I ultimately found that the US trip was a better deal than the European one. The Amtrak traveled much farther, included more meals, and had a room designed for day and night travel. At the same time, I still think the cabin in Europe was worth the price. And I'll miss the spacious room, vanity, bunk, and welcome gifts Nightjet provided on my next Amtrak ride.
Business Insider
a day ago
- Business Insider
I booked private cabins on overnight trains in Europe and the US. The more expensive ride was a better deal.
Two years later, I booked a private cabin on a Nightjet train traveling through Europe for the first $200, the train took me 269 miles from Italy to Austria. The private cabin is the train's top-tier accommodation — two steps above a reclining seat and one step above a shared cabin with strangers — both of which I'd experienced the ride was $300 cheaper than my Amtrak one, it's worth noting that my US ride took me much farther than the European one. The roughly 20-square-foot room had two seats situated across from each other and a pullout table with foldout leaves to save space. The cabin also had two wide windows, which brought in plenty of natural light throughout the was a pretty sweet workspace, in my opinion. I spent my time editing photos on my laptop and looking out the window at the passing night, stewards came by to transform my room for sleep. The two chairs pull out to make a bottom bunk, and a top bunk pulls down from the ceiling. Inside my cabin, there were three beds — one top bunk, one in the middle, and one bottom bunk — as well as a wash basin, and a vanity.I've found that trains feel less shaky closer to the ground, so I went with the bottom room locked from the inside for safety, and I used a key card to get in and out of the cabin. On one side of the roomette, there was a mirror. Below it, a small sink pulled out. There was no toilet in the room, so I used a shared bathroom at the end of the train car.I appreciated that I was able to brush my teeth and wash my face from the comfort of my cabin, but I wished the sink area was larger. Meanwhile, the European cabin had a spacious wash-up area. Private cabins are the only Nightjet accommodations that include a sink and vanity had a wash basin inside, as well as racks to store toiletries. Beneath the vanity, there was a built-in trash was no toilet in the room, but passengers had access to a shared bathroom with a shower at the end of the train car. The roomette beds were stiff, but the blankets were soft. No train bunk measures up to a real bed, in my experience. But while a little stiff, I found the Amtrak bunk comfortable enough to rest in. The blankets were thin but soft to the touch. The European bunk was slightly more comfortable. The bed felt more comfortable than a typical train bed thanks to a thick comforter. On the wall next to the bed, I spotted conveniently placed cupholders and a small storage net. In the morning, I got a balanced breakfast on the Amtrak train. On both trains, my ticket included breakfast in the morning. It's worth noting that the Amtrak train also served complimentary lunch and dinner due to the length of the the US, I had a big breakfast that made me feel ready for the day, including an egg sandwich, yogurt, oatmeal, a muffin, and a beverage. My breakfast on the European train was less fulfilling. Thanks to the private space and cozy comforter, I slept well in my the morning, a train attendant brought a tray of coffee, yogurt, hard rolls, and condiments like butter, Nutella, and fruit was a nice way to end the journey, and I felt far more rested and refreshed than I would had I slept in a shared cabin. While the European ride was cheaper, I thought the US ride had better value. I ultimately found that the US trip was a better deal than the European one. The Amtrak traveled much farther, included more meals, and had a room designed for day and night the same time, I still think the cabin in Europe was worth the price. And I'll miss the spacious room, vanity, bunk, and welcome gifts Nightjet provided on my next Amtrak ride.
Irish Examiner
11-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Europe was promised a new golden age of the night train. Why are we still waiting?
As Europeans woke up to the joy of travel post-lockdown, it looked as though we were in store for a resurgence of continent-crossing night trains. Sleeper train fans hailed a 'night train renaissance' and a 'rail revolution', combining some of the nostalgia for an old way of travelling with modern climate and sustainable transport concerns. The long-distance European train journey might be slower than a short-haul flight, but it is surely better in terms of the environment and the traveller experience. For those on a budget, the prospect of saving on a night in a hotel appeals too. But as anyone who has tried to plan a holiday train trip for this summer is likely to have found, night trains are still few and far between, especially in western Europe. And if there is a night train at all on a route, it will often be booked up months in advance. That's not all: reliability and onboard service are often not up to scratch, with carriages on many routes pushing 50 years old. The traditional behemoths of European rail — France's SNCF, Germany's Deutsche Bahn and Spain's Renfe — have little or no interest in the night-train market, preferring more profitable high-speed daytime trains instead. Only Austria's ÖBB has bucked the trend, ordering a fleet of 33 new trains for its Nightjet service. For comparison, Deutsche Bahn owns almost 300 high-speed daytime trains. Night services remain a drop in the ocean. Now Nox, a Berlin-based private start-up, has announced plans it claims will change all that and blow open the night-train market with a radical rethink of the passenger experience. No more old or secondhand carriages — Nox says it intends to build a new fleet. No more asking travellers to share with snoring strangers in couchettes either: the fleet will have only one- and two-person compartments, albeit rather small ones. Pilot services are due to start in 2027 and regular operations by the end of the decade. This approach on the key question is right — the only way to offer more night-train routes is to build new trains. But Nox will not be the first newcomer to try to crack this market. Midnight Trains, a Paris-based start-up, promised hotels on wheels in 2021, but investors were not convinced and the venture folded. Dutch operation GoVolta has been unable to turn a successful air-package travel business into the equivalent on rail. European Sleeper, which also launched in 2021, has done a little better — its motley collection of elderly carriages runs three times a week from Brussels via Amsterdam and Berlin to Prague, but without new carriages the company will remain tiny. Jon Worth: 'It is time for the EU to provide financial guarantees for acquisitions of new night-train carriages, and make those guarantees available to both privately owned and state-owned companies.' While Nox, like its predecessors, faces an uphill struggle, in a few ways it is different. Its plan to rethink the layout of a night-train carriage, making it more appealing to modern travellers — and safer for women — makes sense. Standardisation — all the carriages will be the same — keeps operations simple. One of the founders previously worked for FlixBus's rail arm, FlixTrain, in Germany, so there is genuine railway experience. Efforts by any private operator to solve the night-train puzzle are welcome, but the problem ultimately is political. And as most European countries are too small for national night trains, that means solving these issues EU-wide. The European Commission, in a 2021 report, flagged a dozen routes where night trains would make economic sense but currently do not run. Yet, in the years since then, no action has been taken. Brussels is steadily working to harmonise diverging national rules that make running international trains such a hassle. But night trains — locomotive hauled, medium speed and running at night when track capacity is easier to obtain — arguably face fewer hurdles than other train types. It is time for the EU to provide financial guarantees for acquisitions of new night-train carriages, and make those guarantees available to both privately owned and state-owned companies. With at least half a dozen train manufacturers in the EU, it could be a boon to European industry as well. And the requirement from the commission in return would be Europe-wide compatibility — that guarantees would only be for go-anywhere carriages that can be deployed anywhere from Barcelona to Bodø, Stockholm to Sofia. So, this summer, as you stand in interminable queues at an airport, or stare at the bumper of the car ahead of you in a traffic jam, remember all of this could be better. A night-train renaissance could get you to your holiday destination more comfortably and more sustainably. The EU's actions on international rail lag behind its rhetoric. Building more night-train carriages to run more services on tracks already there should be a no-brainer. Jon Worth is an independent campaigner and writer about European railways This piece was originally published in The Guardian
NDTV
30-05-2025
- NDTV
The Green Guide To Travel: 12 Eco-Friendly Travel Tips Every Traveller Should Know
Going on holiday doesn't mean you have to ditch your eco-friendly habits. Travel can have a big environmental impact — from flight emissions to hotel energy use — but a few smart choices can make a big difference. Whether you're heading to Cornwall for a coastal break or jetting off to Thailand, sustainable travel is within reach. By packing lighter, choosing greener transport, and supporting local businesses, you can reduce your footprint while still enjoying the trip. These 12 eco-friendly travel tips will help you tread more lightly on the planet without sacrificing comfort, convenience, or fun along the way. Here Are 12 Eco-Friendly Travel Tips You Must Know: 1. Fly Smarter, Not More Often Let's not sugar-coat it: Air travel is one of the biggest contributors to carbon emissions in the tourism industry. One long-haul return flight can emit as much CO2 as the average person in some countries produces in a whole year. When you do fly, choose non-stop flights where possible — take-offs and landings use the most fuel. Airlines like KLM and British Airways now offer carbon offsetting programmes, so consider ticking that box at checkout (though it's not a perfect solution). 2. Choose Eco-Conscious Accommodation Many hotels talk a big game about sustainability, but look for real certifications. Trustworthy labels include Green Key, EarthCheck, and LEED. Bonus points if the accommodation uses renewable energy, has water-saving features, and supports local communities. 3. Travel By Train When You Can In Europe and the UK, trains are often faster and far greener than flying. According to the European Environment Agency, train travel emits around 80% less CO2 than flying. Sleeper trains across Europe (like the Nightjet) are making a comeback, too, offering a romantic and planet-friendly way to travel. Not to forget, coach or train journeys are always so scenic! 4. Don't Treat The Hotel Like Home Just because you're not paying for the utilities doesn't mean they're free. Turn off lights, air conditioning, and electronics when you leave your room. Reuse towels and bedding rather than requesting fresh ones daily. It sounds small, but the energy savings add up. 5. Go Paperless When You Can Most boarding passes, travel itineraries, museum tickets, and maps can live on your phone these days. Going digital reduces unnecessary waste and makes it harder to lose something important mid-journey. 6. Pack Light And Right Less weight means less fuel, especially when flying. Cut down on luggage by packing versatile pieces and avoiding unnecessary extras. Bring your own reusable essentials — water bottle, coffee cup, cutlery, tote bags, and solid toiletries-to reduce waste on the road. 7. Respect Nature Like A Local Would Stick to marked trails, never feed wildlife, and definitely don't pocket souvenirs like shells or rocks from protected areas. In many destinations, even sunscreen can damage ecosystems — choose reef-safe versions that don't contain harmful chemicals like oxybenzone. 8. Say No To Single-Use Plastics Countries like Rwanda and Kenya have banned plastic bags altogether, and many others are cracking down. Bring your own tote bags and reusable containers to avoid getting caught out — or fined. Bonus: It's cheaper and more stylish than a flimsy supermarket bag. 9. Eat Like A Local (And Seasonal) Supporting local food markets and restaurants that source ingredients from nearby farms helps cut the carbon cost of long supply chains. Plant-based diets are generally much lower in emissions, so opting for veggie dishes — even just part of the time — makes a real difference. 10. Use Public Transport Or Walk It's not only better for the planet but also a great way to soak up the vibe of a place. Cities like Amsterdam, Tokyo, and Lisbon have efficient, low-emission public transport systems. Apps like Citymapper or Rome2Rio can help you navigate like a pro. 11. Support Local Businesses Sustainable travel isn't just about nature — it's about people too. Choose independent tour operators, artisans, and eateries that give back to their communities rather than global chains. You'll get a more authentic experience and help keep money circulating locally. 12. Offset — But Don't Rely on It Carbon offsetting isn't a golden ticket to guilt-free travel, but it can help. Projects like tree planting or renewable energy development can make a difference when properly managed. Stick with verified schemes through Gold Standard or Cool Effect. You don't have to overhaul your entire travel style overnight. Start with small changes. Choose one or two tips to try on your next trip. Sustainability isn't about perfection — it's about progress. And the more of us who care enough to try, the bigger the impact we make. After all, the planet is the most beautiful destination there is — so let's treat it like one worth visiting again and again.
The Guardian
26-04-2025
- The Guardian
How far can we go on the old hippy trail? Overland from Leeds to Georgia
'I think this is as far as we can go,' I say, glancing down at the military post, barely 100 metres from the Zakagori Fortress, the forced endpoint of our day hike through the Truso valley in northern Georgia. Beyond the fortress lies disputed land, a seemingly endless expanse of yellowing pastures swelling beneath ice-capped peaks, where only a few wandering sheep dare to roam. Just beyond our line of sight is Russia. The Guardian's journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. We started our hike with a bumpy taxi ride to the abandoned village of Kvemo Okrokana, not far from our guesthouse in the town of Kazbegi. But in truth, our adventure began six weeks earlier at Leeds train station. From there, we hopped between trains, night buses and marshrutki (shared taxis) to reach this remote eastern edge of Europe. The idea took shape a few months previously, when my partner and I quit our jobs, put our possessions in storage and began planning a year of travel. Overlanding had always been something I romanticised. I'd heard stories from family friends about jumping on a bus in London, winding through Yugoslavia, Iran and Afghanistan and India before alighting in Kathmandu. I wondered, in the 21st century, how far we could go without having to catch a plane? On a map of Europe, I trace all the land routes we can take. We decide to seek the sun, travelling by train to Venice, before continuing east. We book our train to London, then face our first hiccup: we're on a tight budget and Eurostar tickets in late August are almost £200 each. So instead, we book a £34 night bus from London to Brussels. And so, a couple of weeks later we find ourselves wandering through an empty park in the Belgium capital at 6am, wearing our backpacks, feeling the weight of our decision. It's an anti-climactic beginning. We can't check into our hostel for hours and only have a day to see the city. We wander sleepily through a free walking tour, spend our dinner budget on chocolate-smothered waffles, and settle into a local bar for the evening. The next day we take local trains into Germany, then a Nightjet rail service from Stuttgart to Venice. We cross the Ponte della Libertà on to the islands of the historical centre as the sun rises, arriving in an almost deserted Venice. Light glints off weathered gondolas as we take in the stillness from the famous Ponte dell'Accademia. We have three days in the city and no desire to catch up on sleep. We swap train travel for the vaporetto water bus, stretch our legs walking around the tiny island of Sant'Elena, and sit on canal-side walls ordering cicchetti (small Venetian plates) and spritz. It feels as though the holiday has finally begun. After racing through costly western Europe, it's blissful to arrive in the Balkans. The next few weeks are coloured with late-summer sun, Slovenian lake swims and daily flakey burek (pastries). We do a day hike in the Julian Alps, stopping at a mountain hut for a divine plate of sweet cheese and berry dumplings. As we venture deeper into eastern Europe, there's less information online about cross-country travel routes, so we navigate schedules and language barriers at bustling transport hubs instead. At Belgrade station, we book a bed on the Montenegro Express night train to Bar, on the Adriatic coast of southern Montenegro. It takes 11 hours, costs about £20 and is as gorgeous as a night train gets. Despite the two chain-smoking babushkas on the bunks below us, we sleep, waking to the train winding through the Dinaric Alps at sunrise. I watch from bed as soft light spills into rocky, desolate valleys, brightening from blue to bronze. Stari Bar, a few miles inland, gives us our first taste of Montenegro. For breakfast – fresh pomegranate juice and priganice, a Montenegrin fried bread served with seeded jams and crumbly sweet cheese. The views from the town's old fortress are even more delicious. Montenegro has few train lines, so we hire a car to make the most of our time on the coast, and take a detour north. We navigate all 16 hairpin bends of the Kotor Serpentine Road for one of the best views of our whole trip, and dive into the bay by the azure-fringed village of Rose. Back in Bar, we catch buses to Shkodër, where a grand new mosque behind the bus stop heralds our arrival in Albania, our first Muslim-majority country. We spend our time here in the mountains, hiking a gruelling but spectacular section of the Peaks of the Balkans trail between Valbonë and Theth. We rest in Theth on a homestay-farm, Bujtina Zemra Tradites, and enjoy the evening antics of the owners rounding up escaped sheep while we feast on pickled green tomatoes, white cheese and fresh kulaç soda bread. Life is slow and repetitive in these mountains, but it's the rest we need before our next leg. The lessons of the London-to-Brussels night bus are a distant memory by the time we arrive in Albania's capital, Tirana, and book a 9pm journey to North Macedonia. A family has already made a bed in our seats when we board, and we awkwardly ask them to move. North Macedonia's capital, Skopje, is reminiscent of a mini-Istanbul – defined by minarets, Turkish coffee shops and bazaars. Another bus takes us to Bulgaria's capital, Sofia, with its jaw-dropping churches, rattling trams, and candlelit bars. From there, we board a night train to Istanbul. It's a city I'm familiar with, and I delight in showing my partner the best spots for a menemen (Turkish scrambled eggs) breakfast, and the views from the Süleymaniye Mosque for lunch. Sign up to The Traveller Get travel inspiration, featured trips and local tips for your next break, as well as the latest deals from Guardian Holidays after newsletter promotion Compared with the relatively small nations of Europe, Turkey seems like a daunting land to cross. A bullet train takes us to the capital, Ankara, followed by the blissfully slow and scenic 22-hour Doğu Express to eastern Turkey. A handful of other overlanders half-fill the sleeper carriage. A Swiss couple are heading to Georgia on holiday, opting for trains instead of a flight. A veteran traveller tells me he's going all the way to Singapore. I dive into the details – has he found a route we didn't look at? He admits he'll need to take a short flight into Russia or Azerbaijan. But, for the moment, we are all heading the same way – to the Georgian border. What should have been an easy hop from Erzurum to the border turns into one of the most arduous days of the trip. The bus is stuck behind a landslide, and only after hours of clearing the road are we waved through past fallen rocks. At the border, we are pushed and shoved through passport control, alongside hundreds of young Turks heading to Batumi for a weekend of partying, then we run to catch the last minibus into the city. We had crossed into Asia back at the Bosphorus strait, in Istanbul, but Georgia feels like stepping back into the Soviet-sprinkled culture of the Balkans. In Kutaisi, our homestay host, Giorgi, sits us down with glasses of Georgian wine and spends a few hours trying to persuade us his country invented the stuff. Not only is the wine fantastic, the food is also a wonderful surprise. We feast daily on adjarian khachapuri – a boat-shape bread filled with melted cheese, butter and an egg, alongside piles of crushed walnut salads. After hiking through the valleys surrounding Mount Kazbek, we hurtle back down the mountain by marshrutka minibus to our last stop – Georgia's capital. Tbilisi is a blend of crumbling faded glory and refreshing modern cool. This is the far edge of Europe and it's clear from the pro-EU, anti-Russian graffiti that there is division – a detail I looked back on when the protests erupted following elections in October 2024. By now, we know Georgia is our last country. Since the pandemic, the Azerbaijan land border has been closed, with no clear reopening date. Russia is red-listed by the Foreign Office, meaning even if we got the hard-to-obtain visa, we wouldn't be covered by travel insurance. We could dip south to Armenia, but it would leave us surrounded by closed borders and fewer flight options. This is as far as we can go. For over 3,000 miles, we embraced the freedom of the road and rails. Some of the most memorable moments of the journey – those divine dumplings at a mountain hut in Slovenia; that glorious night train ride from Serbia to Montenegro; the hike through Albania's stretch of the Balkan peaks – were experiences I might never have encountered without the spirit of overlanding. It invites you to linger, guides you to unexpected places, and encourages you to heed the advice of local people and fellow travellers. Perhaps one day a hippy trail-style bus from London to Kathmandu will once again be an option, but for now, we board a plane to Nepal's capital where a new adventure awaits. The writer used the Man in Seat 61 website for planning and Omio for booking transport between cities, and the blog Wander-Lush as a resource for travelling in the Balkans and Georgia
