What are sleeper trains like in Europe? Join me on an overnighter from Prague to Krakow!
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Tonight we are boarding a night train in Prague, Czechia and rolling east to Krakow, Poland! This is a super cheap sleeper option and lets you arrive fresh in a new city the next morning without the cost of a hotel! But what was it like? Join me to find out! Thanks for watching :)
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Hi, I’m Steve. I am a travel reviewer and post my trip reports here on TH-cam. I pay for my own travel and produce my own videos. If you have any questions about my journeys or travel advice in general, please drop me a comment - I do my best to respond to every single one. I’d also love to hear any recommendations you may have for future content, or why not challenge me to try something a little out of the ordinary! If you are looking to collaborate on any type of project, I’d love to hear from you - email me your ideas and hopefully we can work together in the future.
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Just catching up with this video now. Your Polish skills are fantastic, I dare say you have a good teacher 😜 Alicja. It's not the easiest of languages to learn. My wife is Polish, it's a struggle 😂. Enjoyed this older video. Always enjoy your trips. Great content as usual.
7:40 Bardzo ładnie mówisz po polsku, super!😁
Awesome video, the train actually looks nice and clean (obviously not the most comfortable bed in the world tho!). Such a shame with this noisy horn; would give me a heart attack😂
Your Polish is awesome! Great job friend!
Thank you so much!
Very interesting journey. That train horn must have been upsetting to say the least.
Your Polish is very impressive. 👌👏👏👍😎
You're editing skills coupled with a nice bit of humour have definitely improved since the early videos. I still like the more raw approach which many TH-camrs pull off well including yourself. Great trip. Look forward the next video. No pressure though Steve. 😆😆. Must go to Prague especially with the relaxed Covid rules 👍
Robert Thompson haha it was like a breath of fresh air, quite literally :) thanks so much for the comments, really appreciate it! Pressure is a privilege:)
I'm still planing to take a Nightjet sleeper train in Austria. I can't decide which one, there are so many options
Thanks for another interesting video Steve.cheers 🍺🍺👍
Great report thank you👍
Thanks so much, can’t wait to try some more overnight trains when things open up a little again
I used to take the sleeper from Ostend to Salzburg during the 1980s, on my way to a few days in Vienna. They were always clean and comfortable, and there always seemed to be a friendly atmosphere, for the first few miles until sleep took us all.
Once or twice, I recall stepping out onto the platform, during the night, for a smoke at Munich. Happier days.
The return trip was always by day, and there were smashing views, as we went along the Rhine valley.. on one return trip, the Belgian Railways were on strike (AGAIN), so we were de-trained at Aachen and continued to the Channel by coach.
Super journey. The train to the airport is great as it only takes about 20 min
Brilliant!
Cheers!
great video thanks
lars lars cheers Lars! :)
Nice trip, I really enjoy it 😊
jgroneng cheers :)
Thanks...good stuff as per usual. My only experience of the sleeper is Motherwell to London and back. Going was brill, berth to myself. Enjoyed London then back to M/well. Had to share a berth with a 'merry' guy, not so good. However this journey beats it. Would love to try it. Thanks for Prague to Krakow, it's on my hit list.
Thomas P it’s great value as well. Hah I can’t imagine sharing such a small space with a stranger!
Good video,
thanks for the information, great video. Do you know whether the night train also runs in the opposite direction from Krakow to Prague?
I miss the days when we had night trains in Denmark, though I can absolutely understand why it was not economically feasible. We had a sleeping car between Fredericia and Copenhagen (back then a 3 hour journey). People would board the car at 10 PM and it would just sit there until 3 AM when it was picked up and made it's short 3 hour journey to it's destination.
Ha, love it! I always think the downside is the journeys are too fast and I don't get a proper nights sleep, but still fun to do!
Very nice video! I was quite surprised to see the coaches are pretty much identical to the Nightjet sleepers in Austria.
Dylan's Travel Reports interesting to know - cheers for watching and for your kind comment! 👍🏼
Really enjoyed this!! Fancy a wee trip now, enjoy some proper job sleeper service 👍👊
Me too! And the advantage of travelling by sleeper will be being able to take the mask off in your cabin!
Thank you for this beautiful train journey to my country 👍🏻😍
Please excuse my language 'skills' :D
@@steve-marsh you speak like a native Pole :)
I did a Central Europe trip flying into Munich and taking the train to Prague--->Salzburg---->Munich and it was delightful. I'm from the USA and the train experience in Europe is in another league. I'm looking forward to exploring Europe again by train.
Hope you can get over here again soon! Your trip sounds epic!
Another memorable report. In the very olden days I used to frequently travel by sleeper between Milan and Frankfurt. The luxury in those days would have even impressed Agatha Christie. That notwithstanding I could never sleep. I always had the sensation that I was slipping out of bed. BTW was that a Scottish accent hiding behind the Polish?
cascinagianni haha yes indeed it is :) wow I’d love to see the Milan Frankfurt sleeper! Sounds incredible!
This is the sort of mad-cap travel trip I love to do. Well done
Can't wait until we can do this sort of thing again eh?
@@steve-marsh Indeed-----had a European rail trip planned for 4/20---here's to 4/21
@@golledgestravels326 you’ll enjoy it even more when it comes round! Hope it was not to complicated to change all the plans!
Great video. I like Czech trains, especially their food and beer. And I actually didn't know you can sleep on a bed on Czech train
Transport Spotting it was a great trip, can’t beat Czech beer! :) thanks for watching!
@@steve-marsh Fully agreed! The taste of Czech beer + the price of it is unbeatable.
You looked so YOUNG back then!
Hello . Greting From Poland🇵🇱 Kraków. I love Scottland 🏴
Ohhh Kraków! Have so much love for Poland!
Steve ,, you would have more space in a cell in Barlinnie !! I mean I'm not suggesting you should be in Barlinnie ,,,, but seriously just another well made video ,, I'm really going to miss my family back in Scotland this year but hopefully next year ,, thanks for posting ,, I sure enjoy your well made clips !
Ahhh thanks so much for your kind comments! I’d better stay on the right side of the law :) Scotland is waiting for you 🏴
Excellent video and nice Polish. How did you pick that up ? I Speak a fair bit myself.. tricky language but nice to talk to the locals in their lingo.
Win n Bik cheers for watching! Hah my Polish is awful, but a Polish girlfriend helps ;) although she prefers we speak English 🤣
Interesting to see a European sleeper train. I’d say that was a little way between the old style and new style Cally Sleeper. Was that a teasing glimpse of a roller coaster at Energylandia as you approached Krakow? 😀
Ahhh is that where it was! Yes, looked pretty cool from the train! The journey itself was awesome, but I was enjoying it far too much to get a proper sleep! (even though the sound and gentle movement of a train at night should knock me out straight away!)
Looks pretty good!
I always need melatonin for sleeping on trains and planes though, works great. Normally puts me out for six or so hours quite reliably even if things aren't too comfortable. Your Polish seemed pretty good though! I'm Scottish too though so probably not one to judge.
I struggle to sleep because I'm too excited!!!
Your polish is great!
Too kind! :)
Nah, Steve! Almost made me feel at home! Haha! Love trains! Krakow is on the bucket list still, sadly had no chance yet to visit. (which is a shame cuz it is being so close) Thanks for sharing the experience! Had the Budapest - Praha 7 hours train ride in sitting mode. No fun, I tell ya what! XD
Still a journey I’d like to take though even in an uncomfortable seat :)
@@steve-marsh Nah, the seat was perfect, but sitting 7 hours is not my thing! XD Enjoyed the scenery though.
Hi Steve, lovely video again. Did you pay for being alone in the cabin, or it was just coincident that the sleeper
wasnt fully booked?
I paid to be alone, too small a space for me to share with a stranger, and I wanted to film it so didn't take any chances :)
That was great language
Thanks very much! I do like to try, but usually get it very wrong :D
Hi Steve, this is very helpful. Thank you! Just one question: is this second class or first class?
Steve, awesome video!
Which train you got from Prague to Poland?
Thanks so much! It was Czech train 443
Great video! How did you book this train. I need a night train from Krakow to Prague
Hey Ellie, I booked this one direct through Czech Rail (cd.cz) thanks!
I've never been able sleep properly in a sleeping car. Whether the 9:55 p.m. Paddington-Penzance in the late 1950's on the way to family holidays on the Isles of Scilly (too excited, and busy looking out for steam engines at both ends of the journey, though I do remember the tea made with condensed milk, and served by the attendant in thick BR china cups with digestive biscuits as we wound our way through Cornwall). Or travelling from Glasgow to Euston after spending a week on Jura (how noisy it seemed in Glasgow when coming straight from the peace of a Hebridean island!) This trip wasn't helped when we were all woken up and turfed out of the train at Watford Junction because the wires were down nearer Euston, and had to finish the journey rattling along in an early morning Underground train. With my Polish wife I've travelled many kilometres on Polish Railways, but never in a sleeper. It's worth taking time to visit Krakow properly: Like Prague it's full of historic locations, and good restaurants if you like Polish food and drink!
Thanks for sharing the memories, oh the leg from Watford Junction sounds like hell! I’m the same, don’t sleep much on the trains, often through excitement even now! My girlfriend is Polish and I love it when she takes me there and shows me around properly! Places I’ve never even heard of, but full of beauty and history, shows how geographically naive I am! :)
@@steve-marsh Not naive, Steve, with all your travels.
My wife first took me to Poland in 1990 about a year after we were married, and as "regime change" was taking place . We went by road from Zeebrugge in a Belgian coach, about 24 hours on the road, and as Germany was still not unified I had to have an East German transit visa stamped in my passport. Crossing the border from West to East was like a John Le Carré novel come to life, and the autobahn journey through the Democratic Republic quite a experience. Nothing seemed to have been done to improve them since they were built by the Nazis before the War, i was reminded of those newsreel films about how Germany was improving that they show on documentaries of that era, and after Dresden as we approached the Polish border at Görlitz, the surface was so bad we had to reduce speed and I was worried about our coach''s suspension . The only "modern" touch were the "Trabi's", or as friend of my wife called them "Honeker Mercedes", parked at the side of the autobahn where there was some shade, with their bonnets open, cooling off their two-stroke engines before going on their way.
Poland was marvellous, we stayed for a week in Zakopane, visiting Krakow, the Wieliczka salt mines (now a Unesco site), and rafting on the Dunaiadz river along the Czech border, and a week based in Warsaw. We were warmly greeted by the Polish people we met we met (except some of the functionaries in the still State-controlled enterprises who were no doubt concerned about their futures)
Some people turn up their noses at Polish food, but I find it delicious, if not very good for the waistline (you're supposed put in a hard shift out in the fields or down the mine after a Polish dinner!). I enjoy the "Bar Mlechny" meals, though there aren't so many of those now, they recall the "workers' caféa" of former times, and they're very well patronised by local people and students where they still exist.
Of course the rate of exchange was very favourable then, we were Zloty millionaires every time we exchanged a $100 Travellers cheque. (On a later visit we had a three-day trip to Prague, with half-board, organised by a local "Sports-Tourist" office that cost us the equivalent of £25 each!)
We travelled around a lot by train and the Polish Railways attracted me from the start, there were even still some steam trains in places. The expresses had "proper" corridor coaches, hauled by electric locomotives built in Poland to a British design modified from one of the first classes for the West Coast Main Line electrification on BR. The fares were very reasonable for us too, of course!
We've been back for a visit every few years since then, and visited much of the country from the Baltic coast to the Sudeten and Tatra mountains.
It's been fascinating to see how things have developed. Sadly some of the old traditions seem to have been abandoned in the rush towards "Westernisation" and "Globalisation", especially since Poland joined Europe, but there's still a lot to see and enjoy that is typically Polish.
@@hughrainbird43 Lovely comment, thank you.
My first experience of Poland was a bit more than ten years later than yours, maybe 2001 or 2002. Since then a few more times, often just down the eastern main road from the Baltic to Slovakia or Ukraine.
I fully agree that it has been fascinating to see the development. That easternmost road is not exactly through the most developed parts of Poland (though the road itself has always been good). The thing that stands out in my memory was how all the big advertising signs along the road used to be for foreign products, especially Swedish and Finnish roofing materials! And then it slowly changed, and it became various local businesses, and around 2010 or so the local mobile operators.
Can't remember exactly when I first visited Gdansk and the Baltic coast, 2012 maybe later? But it was a sort of a culture shock. Everything was so new, people knew other languages except Polish! And even when they didn't, the tourist infra-structure along the coast was so developed.
If you haven't been to Bialystok-Lublin-Rzeszow I highly recommed it. Road 19 is fine and away from that you then have Zamosc (absolutely worth seeing), and Przemysl is a lovely small town too. (And popping over for a week in Lviv is highly HIGHLY recommended, though the roads are markedly not as good).
Driving from Rzeszow (maybe via Sanok) down to Slovakia (Presov or Bardejov are nice and close) the road is very very pretty in parts.
The whole region in the south-east corner (around Ustriky Dolne) is really beautiful, highly recommend.
Not being able to make a road trip to Poland (or even the Baltics) is becoming the worst part of this pandemic for me. Being stuck in Finland is starting to suck really badly; being a small country we don't even have flights available to many places, let alone cheap flights... (nothing to Gdansk or Krakow, not Portugal, nothing to Canary Islands, no Kiev, not even Rome until June, very limited to Greece starting in June. I am now frantically looking at cheap last-minute Greek islands and dismissing most of it as being "not like Poland road trip" LOL)
@@Asptuber We often went by road from England to Poland on our trips, and have noticed the differences. Our first visit was in 1989.
We travelled by rail to Dover, cross-Channel ferry to Zeebrugge ( A crossing I often did in the 1970's/80's as a racing cyclist to compete in the Belgian International amateur races.)
From there we took a Belgian double-deck coach across to the East German border (this was the last few months of divided Germany, and as well as Polish visas, we'd had to apply for East German "transit" visas). The border crossing over "no man's land", and the arrival on the eastern side was like something from a John Le Carre novel. We ate at a resthof on the eastern side - basic German food of soup, sausage and potatoes, then drove on through a warm May afternoon along the autobahn past "Karl Marx Stad" to Dresden My abiding memory is of "trabis" parked in every available bit of shade along the autobahn, cooling their 2-stroke engines before proceeding! The autobahn beyond Dresden became progressively more poorly maintained, testing the suspension of our coach to the max as we wallowed along!
We waited about 2 hours in the queue on the border at Gorlitz/Zgorzelec to cross into Poland, We stopped for a meal near the town of Zagan, scene of the Stalag Luft III "Great Escape" ,where a nightingale serenaded us from the forest as we ate our supper, then drove overnight along the southern route through Silesia to our eventual destination, Zakopane arriving early next morning. Over 36 hours on the road!
That visit I fell in love with the Polish railways as we travelled to Warsaw by way of the "Magistrale" line from Krakow, and also visited my sister-in-law, then living in Poznan. It may have been dirty, (but then so were British Railways!) but it was very cheap (for Westerners) and the expresses very punctual, hauled by the EU07 electric engines, a Polish-built variant of the British Railways' Class 83 (designed for electrifying of the lines to the Midlands, North and Scotland out of London Euston.)
In the early years there was even the chance of seeing a steam engine or two in operation, and I enjoyed visiting the "Skansen" loco depot of Wolsztyn, travelling from there to Poznan and Zbaszyn on the footplates of steam locos, as well as on the Sroda narrow-gauge line.
My wife has taken me to many parts of Poland, from the Baltic coast resorts and Gdansk, to the area of Lower Silesia at Klodzko and the Czech border, where she grew up, as well as to Zakopane, but the east around the Przemysl and Rzeszow areas we haven't been to. We stayed with friends at Lomza, and enjoyed visits to the Podlasia and Biebrza area, which was beautiful.
Our last two journeys were comfortably "door to door" in Mercedes mini-busses, using the services of a courier company but after Britain has catastrophically cast itself loose from the EU, (and with the Covid situation) I don't know if this company will continue to operate.
I have been on this train route. It was years back. We found out that this is/was one of the most dangerous routes due to break-in from mafia types. Robberies, rapes, murder etc. the conductor had to come at sleep time and lock us IN from the outside to keep US safe.
Fully enjoyed Krakow, and Warsaw. People were great, food great, and Zakopane mountain area outstanding.
Wow! I’m glad I heard this AFTER my trip! 😮
Wow the sleeper cabin looks like it is a bit bigger than the ones on Amtrak here in the US. I've watched videos of folks taking Amtrak up and down the west coast and have wanted to take that trip. But the cabins look really cramped. They do have their own toilet in the room though. Nonetheless, the train you were on really does look much better than what I have seen in Amtrak videos but for sure Amtrak has better air conditioning no doubt. (We Americans aren't going to be without our air conditioning). However, train travel is something of a novelty in the U.S. In fact Amtrak would go bust if the US Gov't didn't subsidize it. As a nation, we prefer to fly or drive when traveling.
salsaman06 I’ve done the drive from Seattle to LA down the coast a couple of times and it was awesome, but would love to see more instead of focussing on the road, so maybe one for the future!
I’ve taken a night train between Prague and Auschwitz once, if you do something similar I highly recommend booking a first class cabin. It felt more spacious and that one did have a private bathroom w shower. Was shocked how clean it was, expected to be grossed out but nope..:) could cost you regular Amtrak money too so if you don’t need to save, it’s perfect :)
great video Steve.
My wife and I will be on the exact same route next month, and taking the sleeper train sounds fantastic!
Would you mind sharing the website from which I could purchase our tickets?
Thank you!
Ah have a fantastic time guys! I'm sorry, this was in the days before I listed such useful info - I've had a look through emails etc but still can't see it. I'm pretty sure I would have got the information from seat61.com though, the very best place to find such details...
5:05 there's a man on the edge!
A Broad Man Abroad haha too true! 🤣
Thanks for the Video Steve. I will be traveling directly to Krakow and taking the train to Prague (opposite of what you did!). My question is- traveling my train or bus to other countries- did they require to look at your passport?
No passport checks on this one, and I've also done it by bus without any checks. Have a great time!
The train didn't go to Slovakia, but to Warsaw while you were in Poland. The train gets split up and combined at Bohumin. The part to Kosice in Slovakia continues, however your coach got combined with ones from Budapest and one starting at Bohumin.
Got to say that was a decent price for all you got, especially having a room to yourself.
Lee's Travel 1999 Aye it was the cheapest sleeper I could find anywhere in Europe!
@@steve-marsh Might just have to give it try!
Hello, how much was the ticket price
Prabha Karan hi, I paid around £60 (which, considering I didn’t need a hotel either for that night, was great value!)
@@steve-marsh indeed, thank you!
Have you been obligued to recibe the tickets at home in phisicall, or you bought them in internet and printed?
👏👏👏
Was it a non stop journey from Prague to Krakow ? Or did yo have to change trains ?
Non stop
Steve , Who is that young man starring in the video ? Is it your stuntman or body double ?
what camera do you use?
Ethan kiff GoPro 8 - it has its frustrations, but still my favourite for on the move :)
1:39 if Ryanair had a sleeper car
Haha I hadn't noticed that :) Why do I not see these things at the time??? they'd make my commentary much more interesting :D
I have some questions if you don't mind answering. What is the train name?
Does it also run from Krakow to Prague?
It certainly does! But I’m afraid I don’t know the name. Thanks for your message.
which train was this?
How much was the sleeper train cost from Prague to Krakow? Thanks
Around 80€
Our experience was that the trains were dirty inside and out, not what we were used to in the U.K., and the rest of Europe. Glad your experience was better. Maybe they are improving things. Looks like a roomette on Amtrak here in the U.S.
Steve Marsh is that a American Train
Kian Rae I need to do some research...will get back to you on that one!
If you think you butchered the Polish language, you should the look on the face of the people in Scotland trying to understand my version of English. Haha, it's damned sure not the Queens version of it but I manage. Enjoy your channel.
Haha love it! 🤣 cheers Jeff!
Always been a bit wary of night trains in Eastern Europe, I've heard some pretty nasty stories ( hence double lock the door)
Glad I hadn’t read anything before I went! :)
That was way back in the 90's. There has not been any issues in the last two decades =)
Hlo sir 🙏🙏🙏 I m from Nepal can I go ukraine from Poland
Anil Khadki hello! There are certainly flights and trains to Kiev, but I don’t know about entry requirements, especially at the current time.
Ай Яй Яй , окраинцы разговаривают на русском друг с другом , а не на могучей мове 😂