Nightjet review: Overnight train as a family of five
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Our summer holiday this year consisted of travelling by land (and sea since we live on an island!) from the UK to Krakow in southern Poland. This was a large distance to travel in just 2.5 weeks and we wanted to see as much as we could along the way. To maximise exploring time, we took a night train covering a large chunk of the distance. We used the nightjet service by OBB from Amsterdam to Vienna. Everyone was excited by the idea of a night train so here is our Nightjet review.
Booking tickets
Tickets are available to buy 180 days before the day of travel usually. We were travelling in August when it is busy. Since we knew exactly which day we wanted to travel so we booked fairly soon after the tickets came out. If you have more flexibility in travel dates you may be able to book nearer the time.
As with most tickets there are tickets that allow flexibility in changing days/ cancelling and fixed tickets. The fixed tickets are cheapest but tend to sell out quickly. It’s a good idea to book as soon as you know your dates.
When booking tickets you can book through the Austrian Rail website, OBB or on the Dutch rail website NS International.
Choosing your ticket type
There are different options (obviously with different price tags) for your cabin. This can be a standard seat- obviously the cheapest but most uncomfortable to spend a night on. If, like us, you would prefer to get some sleep on a bunk you can choose between a couchette, sleeper cabin or mini-cabins.
Couchettes are 4-berth and can be booked either as a private compartment or individual berths. The sleeper cabin is more expensive but comes with its own sink for freshening up. They only sleep 1-3 people though so are not useful for most families.
As a family of five we couldn’t fit into any of the options on our chosen train. So we decided to book a private couchette for four and a mini-cabin. The mini-cabin’s are individual bunks. We ended up doing it as two bookings with myself and the three kids booked into the private couchette and a separate booking for Adam in a mini-cabin. When trying to book all five of us in one booking it was trying to book us two private couchettes which added quite a lot of cost.
Nighjet review: couchette
The children were very excited about the couchette and we found it perfectly comfortable. Everyone was able to sit up on their bunks (top and bottom). There was a small table at the end of the cabin both top and bottom bunks to store things. Each bunk had a lamp and phone charging station.
For security we could lock the door from inside. This was added peace of mind when going to sleep. Included in the ticket you are provided with a sheet, blanket and small pillow. We also got a simple breakfast in the morning. This consisted of tea, coffee or juice and a bread roll with butter and jam. I enjoyed the breakfast but surprisingly the kids weren’t keen on the bread roll (they usually love anything carbs!).
With young kids, you could easily have five of you sleeping in a 4 berth couchette. Two children could share a bunk. Adam was in the couchette with us when the ticket inspector came around and she wasn’t concerned at all about where he slept.
Nightjet review- mini cabins
Since our children are getting bigger it was just as well that we had also booked a mini-cabin. This meant that we all had a bunk each. Adam slept in the mini cabin. He hung out with us in the couchette when we boarded until bedtime and then came back in the morning for breakfast all together.
The mini cabins are aimed at solo travellers. This means you get a private space without the extra cost of a sleeper cabin. They are basically individual bunk beds, with one cabin above and below the next. Apparently if booking two you can book adjacent cabins and open an interior screen between the two. Although fine for sleeping in, the cabins are quite cramped to spend much time in otherwise. We saw lots of people hanging out in the corridor by the mini cabins. The other slight issue was limited storage space for luggage. There is a locker allocated to each bunk but these are not particularly big.
Nightjet review- facilities on the train
The mini cabins and couchettes are in the same carriages. We had been allocated a mini cabin and couchette in adjacent carriages. This was fine as it was easy to walk up and down the corridor between carriages. There is a toilet and washroom at the end of each carriage. The problem for us was that throughout the train journey more and more of these displayed signs saying ‘out of order’. This continued until there were just two toilets working at the front of the train. Not ideal to service around 5 carriages.
We found out from a member of crew that the problem was a lack of water on the train. Apparently this is always a problem when leaving Amsterdam as they are unable to refill the water tanks there. The main difficulty was in the evening just before everyone was turning in for the evening, other than that we didn’t have to wait very long. It was just a bit of a walk to get to the bathrooms. Our children were fine with it but I imagine younger children could struggle. The bonus of this was that we could claim some compensation and got a portion of our ticket costs refunded.
Would we use Nightjet again?
From all of us it is a resounding yes. Although not cheap it is an exciting way to travel and covers the cost of a hotel for the night as well as the transport. Our only complaint was the toilet situation. Getting some compensation for that did help finance the rest of the trip though! I would like to think that they have resolved this situation now but who knows? Please do let us know your experience if you take this train too. Also check out our travel resources page for other useful websites when planning your trip.
