Hi,
We are planning to go from Paris to Rome using night train (leave Paris at night on May 23 -sleep- wake up in Rome May 24) for us better than flying to Rome at an odd time.
What are my choices we still cant book at eurail at this time :(
We are 2 adults and 1 child (11 yo girl) The best for us is straight train with no stop overs. What are my options. Help!
Thanks.
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I%26#39;ve done the night train from Paris to Florence twice...In my opinion, I would pay the extra money for the nicer room. It%26#39;s a long ride, and I%26#39;ve been stuck in the economy rooms before...and it was kind of a horrible experience (imagine 4 people in a room the size of a walk-in closet). As for a straight train, you may have to stop in Florence anyway and change trains, unless they have a fast one all the way to Rome. Have you looked into flying one of the cheap budget airlines at all? You could fly for 1/2 what you would be paying for the train, and you would get there much much faster. I see you say you don%26#39;t want to get into Rome at an odd hour (aggree, arriving late at night can be frustrating), but you should keep searching plane times, you might be able to find one that works. Check easyjet.
Buona Fortuna!- Belle
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It is best to book direct with the French train operator: www.voyages-sncf.com
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Sidneynick is right. I just booked the train RT Paris to Normandy. Was $200 RT per person on the US EuroTrain site. Was 40 euros RT on the sncf site. If you don%26#39;t read French, you may need someone to help you. I have step by step instructions if you send me an email.
I took the overnight train from Munich to Paris. What a disaster. We were in a car with 4 other persons. We had to get all our luggage into our bed with us. New passengers kept getting into our cabin at stops along the way so we never got any sleep. The bathroom was way down at the end of the train car. I%26#39;m a very seasoned traveler, and I will never do it again unless I can have my own personal room.
Personally, I think it%26#39;s much better to fly EasyJet or one of the other discount airlines. Should cost you between $50 and $100 USD per person. Avoid using Beauvais Airport because there%26#39;s no good public transportation to get there.
If you want a train experience, pick a short haul to some historic site.
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Overnight trains are not for everyone.
It is important to have realistic expectations - you will be in a tiny room which is moving all night. There is a good chance that (just like an airplane) it will be either too hot or too cold for your liking. Other people on the train will make noise. When the train stops at stations bright lights might shine in your eyes. If you are a light sleeper you may not sleep much if at all.
If you choose a 6 berth couchette (like the previous poster) you will need to share with strangers. I do not recommend that unless you are SURE you will enjoy it and regularly stay in shared dorms in youth hostels etc.
Having said all that my family LOVE overnight trains. We have done several trips - although not specifically Paris to Rome. We have done Paris to Venice and Rome to Nice and several others. We always get a private cabin take our own food and manage to sleep quite well.
For your situation there is a train leaving Paris Bercy at 1852 arriving Rome Termini at 1013 the next morning. There are T3 cabins (2nd class) which means your family will be together without anyone else. There are tickets available for 165 Euros (for 3 Adults - I forgot to specify a child) on the SNCF website given by Nick earlier.
With only 3 of you there should be room on the racks provided and under the beds for your luggage unless you have a LOT of bags.
I recommend you take you own food and drinks. Although you can purchase food on board I usually find it overpriced and not of the highest quality.
The bathrooms are at each end of the carriage - you can often go through to the next carriage as well if they are busy. The bathrooms will be clean at the start of your journey. It will depend on your fellow travellers what state they are in by the next morning.
Good luck and enjoy your trip.
HarleyB
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I just checked and for 2 adults and 1 child (less than 12 years) in the T3 the total price is 160 Euro. Not a big reductions but it%26#39;s still pretty cheap for 1 nights accomodation and travel from Paris to Rome! There is also a special price of only 227 Euro for first class but as there are only 2 people per cabin in 1st it wouldn%26#39;t work for your family as you would be split between 2 cabins.
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Book this train on the SNCF web site - it will be cheaper than using Eurail -- I usually keep the French site because sometimes when you select English you get moved to a different site that is more expensive - like Eurail.
This train has no intermediate stops, and all the services you would want, I think. The train number is 227.
PARIS BERCY 18h52 227
ROMA TERMINI SP S I P 10h13
The TGV trains had intermediate stops, so they took about the same amount of time as this train.
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Thanks everyone.
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we took this same train two weeks with our two kids. I was really impressed and would do it again. We didn%26#39;t have any problems with lights or noise or thieves or all of the other things that I had read about
My biggest issue, and it is very minor, is that the Bercy station is somewhat of a zoo. However, upstairs - even if you can%26#39;t use the lounge - is much quieter. When the lounge opens at 5:45 (I%26#39;m not sure who gets to use it, but we were able to), it is nice with free beverages - but the whole upstairs area was a lot quieter than the downstairs
as far as food, get it before you get to Bercy. However, there is a small convenience store around the block from the station. There is some food for sale in the station, but it looked unappetizing and was expensive
our train was an hour late arriving, which apparently is pretty common
I had lots of concerns about this trip before we made it, but our experience was very good
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OMG, I so agree! Pay the extra money for a better car. The economy cars are exactly a broom closet. And just using the water basin to clean up with strangers is just awful. It is a long train ride but if that%26#39;s your only way of going then def. upgrade. And the service is better.
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