- I booked overnight trains in an Amtrak roomette and a Nightjet shared bunk cabin in Europe.
- The roomette was a 20-square-foot private space with two beds and a toilet for $500.
- For $80, the bunk cabin was 74 square feet shared with three travelers. Here's how they compared.
I've spent 200 hours of my life traveling 5,800 miles by train. For 140 of those hours, I traveled by night.
On sleeper trains, I sometimes save money by staying in shared spaces. In other cases, I splurge on private rooms.
My first overnight train trip was back in October 2021, when I booked the cheapest private cabin on a 30-hour train ride from New York City to Miami: an Amtrak roomette for $500.
A year later, I traveled to Europe and booked the cheapest bed on a 12-hour Nightjet train from Vienna to Venice, Italy: a bunk in a shared cabin for about $80.
After taking both rides, I found the roomette was more comfortable for an overnight journey and worth the additional price.
The roomette was a private, 22.75-square-foot cabin with two beds, a toilet, and basic amenities.
The roomette was large enough for me to move around easily. Two seats facing each other folded down to form the bottom bunk, and the top bunk pulled down from the ceiling.
Each room had temperature and lighting controls.
On the Nightjet train, I had to share the controls with other travelers.
I slept better on the Amtrak ride.
I had the choice of a top or bottom bunk. In the roomette, I chose the top bunk. However, I found it to be quite bumpy, so I went for the bottom bunk for my shared cabin ride, which I thought made a difference.
Both beds felt thin and a tad uncomfortable, but the blankets on Amtrak's train were softer.
I had a hard time sleeping on both rides, as understandably neither bed was as comfy as my own at home. But I slept more on the Amtrak ride, which I attribute to the comfier blankets and private space.
Amtrak had a more satisfying breakfast.
Both tickets included breakfast in the morning. On the Amtrak train, I had a filling, balanced meal with an egg sandwich, yogurt, oatmeal, and a muffin. Nightjet provided two rolls with butter and jam, which I appreciated, but I could've eaten more.
