TOP 10 Sleeper trains
Overnight by rail may not be the fastest, or cheapest, way to travel but it can take you to some magical places
1 CHICAGO TO LA One-way with berth from €435
Amtrak’s long distance overnight trains are like cruise ships, and they appeal to a curious mix of international tourists and leisurely locals. The Southwest Chief runs daily between Chicago and Los Angeles, a trip of some 45 hours through the vast expanse of the fabled American West, past wheat fields, mountains, ranches and deserts, including the Grand Canyon. There are burgers and pasta in the dining car, muffins and popcorn in the café/bar, and mission stations and pueblos outside the window. Accommodation ranges from entrylevel two-berth Superliner Roomettes to Superliner Bedrooms with all meals included. amtrak.com 2 HANOI TO DA NANG One-way with berth from €26
Trains that run along the coastline all the way from Hanoi in former North Vietnam to Ho Chi Minh City in the south have been nicknamed Reunification Express, now that the country is all of one piece. The line passes rice paddy fields and beaches, and links in old imperial capitals such as Hue as it hugs the coast of the South China Sea. Lots of travellers use it as the backbone for their explorations, and it’d be a waste to do it all in one go; the 16-hour section from Hanoi to the popular resort of Da Nang takes in some of the best. Sleepers are four-berth configuration, and meals can be delivered from the kitchen car. baolau.com 3
SOFIA TO ISTANBUL
One-way with berth from €30 It can be murder getting to Istanbul on the Orient Express – it runs once at year. So try this nightly service to the Turkish city from the Bulgarian capital. It’s unlikely you’ll encounter any Belgian detectives exercising their little grey cells because this train is more functional than stylish. Its mix of Turkish and Bulgarian sleeping cars have no catering, and there’s a Midnight Express-type experience at the border when you have to troop
sleepily out at 2am to queue up to buy a Turkish visa. (For those who don’t remember Midnight Express, the film’s name derived from a former loop of the Turkish line that briefly entered Greece, allowing accused drug traffickers to jump off to freedom.) Ticket reservations by email: bdz@bdz.bg For more info see bdz.bg
4 BANGKOK TO CHIANG MAI
Berths from €25
This 14-hour nightly service up to Thailand’s everpopular second city is dominated by tourists in the sleeper compartments. And it is easy to see why: the price is good, the on-board ambience is lively, particularly when the Mekhong whisky begins to flow in the restaurant car. The views are spectacular when dawn breaks over the rainforests of the north. The second class sleeper is in open carriages, with first class private cabins. railway.co.th
5 PARIS TO MOSCOW One-way with berth from €337
Europe’s secondlongest train journey (after its sister Nice to Moscow train) runs 2,164 miles every Thursday night from Paris through Strasbourg, Berlin, Warsaw, Minsk and Moscow, taking 38 hours. Most of the daylight travel is across open plains and forests. The trains are spotless, with four-berth cabins with washbasin, or deluxe compartments with bathrooms. A Polish restaurant car serves pierogi dumplings through to Warsaw, with a Russian dining car on the last part. pass.rzd.ru/ main-pass/public/en
6 BUCHAREST TO TRANSYLVANIA One-way with berth from €41
Things that go bump in the night across Transylvania may not sound particularly appealing to nervous travellers, but the Romanian sleeper trains are surprisingly comfortable and very good value. This nightly service leaves Bucharest and wakes in mid-transylvania. Satu Mare itself is the terminus for Maramures, a bucolic slice of medieval Europe. Upgrading from a shared four-berth to your own two-berth will cost €35 more. cfrcalatori.ro/en
7 CHINA TO TIBET Berths from €66
The Qinghai to Tibet railway is the highest on the planet – a feat of engineering with incredible views of snowcapped peaks towering over herds of yak. There are oxygen outlets in all carriages. Every bed and seat will be taken for the 21-hour journey from Xining to Lhasa. There are snack trolleys, a restaurant car and instant noodles to use with the constant supply of hot water. Entry level ‘hard’ sleepers, six berths to a cabin, are actually padded and have bedding, but many opt for a four-berth ‘soft’ sleeper. english.ctrip.com
8 CALEDONIAN SLEEPER One-way with berth from €112
The Caledonian connects
Go across Pyrenees equivalent of the Caledonian sleepers. Most of France flies past in the dark, but once day breaks you’re into the best bit, snaking though river valleys and rumbling over viaducts in the Pyrenean foothills. At Latour-de-carol, connect with Spanish railways to descend the other side. Food is from vending machines instead of a restaurant car, but berths are comfortable and blankets and duvets are provided. Weekend prices go up. UK.VOYAGES-SNCF.COM Head down to Cape Town from Jo’burg JO’BURG TO CAPE TOWN One-way with berth from €47 southafricanrailways.co.za