Night Train Amsterdam to Zurich to Vienna and Night Train to Frankfurt then Amsterdam
Good day,
This is how you could NOT sleep in Amsterdam but use the rail and chill out. This is about a night train Amsterdam to Zurich, Switzerland. Then a day train to Vienna followed by an overnight to Frankfurt, Germany followed by an express train back to Amsterdam, indeed.
The overnight eurail fee for a sleeper to Zurich is 30E. Once there if you plan on going back, you can do Lunch in Lausanne, dinner in Geneva and then back, if you wish. The 2 day stops are free, fyi. My plan was go go to Barcelona but it was fully booked. People CAN book from different countries, push for it.
As Barcelona was fully booked, I hopped on a train for Vienna leaving in 5 minutes. Immediately regret it, Vienna has nothing for me. Been there a few times, never felt tempted to pay for a bed, sorry Vienna.
The overnight to Frankfurt is 39E for a 6person sleeper, 48E for a 4 person. Only the latter left, grabbed it. The ticket ALONE for that would have been 179E. The high speed express from Frankfurt would have been 225E for 1st class, I paid nothing.
Do not get CHEAP with overnights, it maybe more than a hostel but think of the value you get while sleeping and once your pass is gone, it is gone.
The train to Zurich was the weirdest of my life, being totally space cadet from Amsterdam I got into wrong room, guy told me to switch. But when I reached Zurich I realised how beautiful these Train Destinations are. This time somehow I wandered into what appeared to be the Presidential suite. A massive room, 1 bed, huge window, private bathroom, everything. The train number was wrong but seat number right, whooops.
Set up and just chilled, at 1am, went for a sandwich and then could not find my way back, 30 minutes later I get a knock, ticket please. Whoops, wrong room. Turned out I had top bunk in a 6 person sleeper, not so happy to see me moving in at 2am, no they were not, whatever. The guy who switched me rooms first time gave me a look of …
As I said earlier, if you are going to Barcelona or back to Amsterdam, a great day trip would be going to Lausanne and Geneva. Also the train from Zurich to Amsterdam is shorter, more direct and cheaper than Vienna to Frankfurt.
Why not spend a day in Amsterdam, take a train to Zurich, have breakfast there. Then take a scenic train to Lausanne, hang out, have lunch, take another to Geneva, have dinner then back to Amsterdam to DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN!? The trains from Lausanne, Geneva and Zurich are like 2 hours apart from each other, child’s play.
That said, going from Zurich to Vienna is a good time, really beautiful scenery. Kinda like a moving museum for 7 hours. Also, always take an overnight to Amsterdam, once you get there you will be like “SO WORTH IT!”
Tips hat,
