I traveled on an overnight sleeper train for the first time. Here are 4 mistakes I made, and 3 things I'm glad I did.

09.08.2023 - 10:53 / insider.com

Last month I took a sleeper train for the first time.

I've traveled all over the UK by train, sat through countless six-hour coach journeys, and taken red-eye flights. But I'd never taken a sleeper train before.

I used European Sleeper's new service to get from Brussels to Berlin and back. Each way took me around 12 hours.

I prepared myself as best as I could, but there are a few things I should have done differently. 

It might sound obvious, but I would have had a much better night's sleep if I'd booked a bed. I decided to book the cheapest ticket available, a seat in a six-person compartment for 119 euros (around $130), for the outward journey, and one of the most expensive options, a bed in a three-person compartment, for the return journey, allowing me to compare the two. But technical problems meant I was downgraded to a seat on the way back, too.

It seemed to be impossible to get comfy on the train's rigid seats. We were crammed in like sardines, meaning we woke each other up whenever we left the compartment because we had to hop over each others' legs. On the journey out, someone in my compartment resorted to sleeping in the corridor rather than his seat. On the way back, someone ended up sleeping on the floor in our compartment.

It depends on your budget — the seats were considerably more affordable that the beds, but I definitely would have enjoyed my first day on vacation more if I'd been better rested.

I brought a large backpack with me which was around 24 inches tall and quite bulky. It felt too heavy to put on the luggage racks and wouldn't fit fully under my seat. In the end, I slept with about half of it poking out from under my seat, and had to uncomfortably prop my feet up on it.

I made the mistake of wearing skinny jeans for the outward journey. They were my bulkiest item of clothing and I wanted to free up space in my bag, but they weren't comfortable to sleep in. Wearing pajamas would have felt weird – no one else in my compartment wore them – but I should have changed into comfier pants before boarding the train.

A lot of trains and coaches in the UK come with plug or USB sockets as standard, especially for long-distance journeys. I thought this would be the case for the sleeper train, too.

Alas, it was not. When I boarded the outward train in Brussels, I had less than 20% charge on my phone for the 12-and-a-half-hour journey. I was very glad I brought my book, and made sure I charged my phone for the way back.

I stay in hostels a lot and have identified the essentials I need to sleep well: An eye mask, ear plugs, and sleeping pills (just in case). I knew I'd need these on the train as well as at my hostel in Berlin, and packed them at the top of my backpack, along with my