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We are thinking of taking an overnight train from Vienna to Rome to save money on our next European Adventure.
It is 13 hours long and to save money we could not get a bed but just attempt to sleep upright in a regular chair. It will save us a night in the hotel and be about half the airfare.
I wonder if I fall asleep will someone take my bag? Or will they pick my pocket or threaten me in any way.
Will it be terribly uncomfortable?
Please don't move this to the travel board, this instead is a question about Europe and I want the perspective of Europeans.
Did a couple of overnight rides including Vienna - Paris, Vienna - Barcelona, Paris - Amsterdam and Porto - Bilbao (with the occasional stopover). Nothing happened so far and everything seemed to be reasonably safe. We didn't look like high-class travelers, though, and we all just had 35 liter backpacks with us.
I wouldn't worry too much. Vienna - Rome doesn't seem like a specifically dangerous route. Chances of getting threatened are close to zero. Ask to be seated in a compartment, though, when you are worried about pickpockets. You'll hear when the door opens and you can easily keep an eye on the guys traveling in the same compartment (as opposed to the hundreds of people in a regular coach).
In a compartment does anyone really sleep with people coming in and out of the room all night?
Depends on how many people you are traveling with, but usually people sleep or rest for most of the time. Chances are that your compartment isn't fully booked. You should consider, though, that a train is a bit louder than a plane anyway.
Personally, I didn't mind traveling in a compartment. A lot better than sharing a regular coach with a whole school class, which I had to do on my trip to Paris.
In Southern Italy I was warned to avoid night-trips as long as you can.
In case, keep your money hidden (the belt is the best), avoid Rolex/Iphone/Ipad ect to be very viewable.
I've done it numerous times, but in compartments. On the routes I used, trains didn't stop much or at all between, midnight and 5 am, so people didn't come in and out of the room all night long. When the compartment is full, the last passenger locks the door so I've never been worried about pickpockets. In case someone comes in in the middle of the night, there's a security lock that lets the door partly open, but not fully. People coming in the train in the middle of the night - if the route even allows it - won't book a bed anyway. Your biggest risk is to come across a severel snorer or a night owl that reads books or plays with their smartphone till late. At least that's my experience on the Paris-Toulouse, Paris-Barcelona, Paris-Rome, Paris-Venice and Paris-Florence routes.
I go by the night train every time I go up north (and a couple times in Russia), sometimes I get a sleeping compartment but sometimes I just sit in the main coach. Never been worried about someone nicking my bag, people don't tend to move around much late at night as the trains don't stop so often. Not easy to sleep though sitting up! I always just take some booze and drink the night away.
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