Nights on Tracks

We’ve all been there: You want to travel by night train, but the train is already fully booked or the ticket is too expensive for your holiday budget. But that doesn’t have to be the case! In the following article, you will find out how you can get the best deals on night train bookings in the future and enjoy your journey. You should pay attention to the following points:

1. Book as early as possible 

Do you like to plan your journey well in advance? Great, then book your trip by night train as soon as possible! Depending on the railway operator, night trains can be booked at different times. In the example of the ÖBB Nightjet, it is 180 days, i.e. 6 months before the start of the journey (Nightjet, n.d.-1). In Great Britain or Finland, you can book even longer in advance (Wilken, 2024). It pays to be quick, especially for the popular beds in the private sleeping car, particularly in the peak summer travelling season.

2. Choose your travel season & days wisely

As a general rule, the fewer people travelling, the easier it is to find a good bargain. You have the best chance of doing so in the low season (ÖBB, 2024). The day of your journey is also crucial. The cheapest days to travel are during the week, i.e. Monday to Thursday (Nightjet, n.d.-2).

3. Be inspired by various night train destinations

You really want to travel by night train but don’t know where to go yet? Then it’s worth looking at destinations apart from the European tourist magnets. One example: While a standard ticket in a seat carriage for the night train Innsbruck – Amsterdam costs 89.90€, the connection Innsbruck – Zagreb costs a maximum of 64.90€ in a seat carriage. Need some inspiration? Here you can find more budget friendly night trains from Austria .

4. Buy so-called ‘Sparschiene’ tickets

In principle, you can usually choose between several ticket options for a night train. The cheapest ticket is usually the one that is train-bound and cannot be cancelled. Using ÖBB as an example, this is the ‘Sparschiene’ (Non-Flex). No refunds or cancellations are possible after purchase. My tip: If you are still unsure about your travel plans, opt for the slightly more expensive ‘Sparschiene Komfort’ (Semi-Flex) option. You can cancel this ticket free of charge up to 15 days before the first day of validity, then up to 1 day before the first day of validity for a fee of 50% of the ticket price. It is also important to know that the ‘Sparschiene’ tickets are subject to a quota, i.e. only limited availability (Nightjet, n.d.-2).

5. Use your advantage cards and annual season tickets

Do you have a rail advantage card or an annual season ticket for a country through which you would like to travel by night train? Then don’t forget to enter them when you buy! This can be particularly helpful if ‘Sparschiene’ tickets are no longer available and you have to switch to the more expensive standard ticket. An example: You want to travel from Innsbruck to Hamburg on the direct Nightjet. Here, the standard ticket for the seat carriage costs 89.90€ with DB. However, if you now have a DB BahnCard 25 (2nd class), you only pay 64.90€.

An annual subscription to a railway company can also be useful when travelling overnight, as shown by the example of the ‘KlimaTicket Ö’ from Austria. Here, travellers within the country can also travel in the Nightjet seating carriage at no extra charge. You also receive a discount for international journeys to/from Austria (KlimaTicket, n.d.).

6. Take the night train with your Interrail Pass

An Interrail Pass can be a real life hack for travelling by night train. All you need is a compulsory reservation, which costs different amounts depending on the comfort category. Depending on the type of train, you can make reservations either online, by phone or at the station (Interrail, n.d.). Here you can find out more about reservations for night trains.

Good to know: When travelling by night train, only the train’s day of departure counts as the day of travel (Interrail, n.d.). So even if you don’t arrive at your destination until midday the following day, you don’t need to activate an extra Interrail travel day. With Interrail, night trains are therefore a cost-effective way of travelling long distances, and you also save on hotel accommodation costs.

7. Find the best price with “Night Ride”

If you want to get a quick price overview about night trains, nightride.com is just perfect for that. The Swiss start-up compares over 170 lines to 120 cities in 16 countries, so you’re sure to find the overnight train connection you’re looking for. With the intuitive calendar interface, you can also easily compare availabilities and lowest prices on different dates. In addition, you can filter for your desired cabin types and check suitable offers.

As you can see, there are a few points to be aware of when travelling by night train. Keep these seven tips and tricks in mind and you are guaranteed to book your next journey at a great price!

Sources:

Interrail (n.d.). Nachtzüge: Reservierung / Reisetage. Retrieved on 12.03.2025, from https://www.interrail.eu/de/plan-your-trip/tips-and-tricks/trains-europe/night-trains

KlimaTicket (n.d.). Fragen & Antworten: Gilt das KlimaTicket Ö im Nightjet und bei Fahrten ins Ausland?. Retrieved on 12.03.2025, from https://www.klimaticket.at/

Nightjet (n.d.-1). Buchung im Nightjet: Wie lang im Voraus kann ich Tickets für den Nightjet buchen?. Retrieved on 12.03.2025, from https://www.nightjet.com/de/buchung/faq/buchung-im-nightjet

Nightjet (n.d.-2). Sparschiene Nightjet: Das günstigste Ticket im ÖBB Nachtreisezug. Retrieved on 12.03.2025, from https://www.nightjet.com/de/buchung/tarifinformationen/nightjet-sparschiene

ÖBB (2024, 10. November). Nachtzug-Reisen: Die besten Lifehacks und Tipps. Retrieved on 12.03.2025, from https://www.unsereoebb.at/de/artikel/reiseblog/reisetipps-europa/tipps-lifehacks-nachtzug-nightjet-oebb-reisen

Wilken, S. (2024, 24. January). Günstig Nachtzug fahren? Hier ist es möglich!. Retrieved on 12.03.2025, from https://zugpost.org/nachtzug-guenstig/