 Warm, cosy & inviting: The sleeping-car on the civilised City Night Line train from Prague to Amsterdam. Interior photos |
Amsterdam to Prague by direct train...
Hassle-free, no airports, no flights, and saves a hotel bill too!
The best way to travel from Amsterdam (or Cologne) to Prague is by train. Every day, a direct high-quality City Night Line sleeper train runs from Amsterdam to Prague, also calling at Cologne & Dresden. Called the Phoenix, the Amsterdam-Prague sleeper train has cheap fares, easy online booking with print-at-home tickets, and safe & comfortable sleeping-cars and couchettes that may save you a hotel bill, too. The deluxe sleepers even have a private toilet & shower. No airport security hassle, no delayed flights, city centre departures & arrivals, and it's far better for the environment than a flight... You can walk from your hotel in Amsterdam city centre to Amsterdam Centraal station, and walk from Prague Hlavni station to your hotel in Prague next morning! City Night Line is the overnight sleeper train company owned by Deutsche Bahn (German Railways), and they run the Amsterdam-Prague train jointly with Czech Railways (CD).
Click
to buy Amsterdam to Prague tickets from €43
Click
to buy Prague to Amsterdam tickets from €43
Amsterdam & Cologne ► Prague |
Prague ► Cologne & Amsterdam |
|||
|
City Night Line sleeper train Phoenix |
Every day |
City Night Line sleeper train Phoenix |
Every day |
|
|
Amsterdam Centraal depart, day 1: |
19:01 |
Prague Hlavni depart, day 1: |
18:29 |
|
|
Utrecht depart, day 1: |
19:29 |
Dresden depart, day 1: |
20:53 |
|
|
Cologne Hauptbahnhof depart, day 1: |
22:28 |
Dortmund arrive, day 2: |
04:47 |
|
|
Dortmund depart, day 1: |
23:56 |
Cologne Hauptbahnhof arrive, day 2: |
06:14 |
|
|
Dresden arrive, day 2: |
07:00 |
Utrecht arrive, day 2: |
08:52 |
|
|
Prague Hlavni arrive, day 2: |
09:26 |
Amsterdam Centraal arrive, day 2: |
09:56 |
|
The train also calls at Arnhem, Duisburg, Dusseldorf & Hamm, see www.bahn.de for train times. For connections from London or Brussels see here.
Important alterations 19 July to 1 September 2013: Due to engineering work, between 20 July & 1 September this City Night Line will leave Amsterdam & Cologne earlier, please check times using www.bahn.de.
Buy tickets from Amsterdam or Cologne to Prague online from just €43 at www.bahn.de.
Click here to buy Amsterdam or Cologne to Prague tickets online at the German Railways website, www.bahn.de. Bookings open 92 days ahead, you pay online & print your own ticket. Easy! Amsterdam to Prague starts at €43 in a seat, €59 in a couchette, €104 with a bed in a 2-bed sleeper or €134 with a bed in a 2-bed deluxe sleeper (all per person per bed), but book early for the best prices. That's Amsterdam city centre to Prague city centre including a reserved seat, couchette or sleeper on the direct train, with no baggage fees, no booking fees, no check-in fees, and it may save you a hotel bill. Although a seat is cheap, I strongly recommend booking a couchette or sleeper so you can sleep safe & sound. I also recommend registering on bahn.de when prompted so you can log to retrieve bookings or re-print tickets at any time. Incidentally, berths are sold individually, so one ticket means one bed. The other beds in your compartment will be sold to other passengers. If you want sole occupancy, simply book 1 ticket in a single sleeper, 2 tickets in a 2-berth sleeper, 4 tickets in a 4-berth couchette & so on.
 |
 |
 |
||
|
Your carriage awaits... At Prague's Hlavni station, the smartly-uniformed Czech sleeping-car attendant stands at the door of his sleeping-car to greet you. The direct City Night Line sleeper train Phoenix is easily the best way to travel between Amsterdam and Prague... |
||||
What's it like aboard the Phoenix? Which type of sleeping-berth should you choose?
The sleeper train from Amsterdam to Prague has a sleeping-car (the 'hotel on rails'), couchettes (basic sleeping bunks) and ordinary seats. If your budget allows, a berth in the sleeping-car is the most civilised, comfortable & romantic way to travel, and in a deluxe compartment you even get a private toilet & shower. To be honest, however, there's not much difference between the deluxe and standard sleepers other than the en suite shower and a slightly bigger breakfast, so a standard sleeper is fine, especially as there's a shower at the end of the corridor for standard sleeper passengers and there's often a big price difference between a deluxe and a standard sleeper. Couchettes are the economy option, simple bunks supplied with sheet, rug and pillow, great for families or groups of friends or individual travellers on a budget. A berth in a less crowded 4-berth compartment is well worth the extra over a berth in a 6-berth compartment, the 4-berth couchette compartments are the same size as the 6-berth rooms, just with fewer passengers per room. Ordinary seats are arranged in 6-seat compartments with no lock on the door and no attendant on duty. Travelling overnight in a basic seat is not very comfortable and the best advice is to always book a couchette or sleeper for a safe & sound night's sleep, even if you're on a tight budget.
Sleeping-cars...
This is the most comfortable, civilised & romantic way to travel. The modern Comfortline sleeping-cars used on this train have nine standard compartments with washbasin and three deluxe compartments with private toilet & shower. Each compartment can be used as either a 1-berth, 2-berth or 3-berth room (with upper, middle & lower berths).
Deluxe sleepers with private toilet & shower...
The deluxe sleepers are a fraction larger than the standard sleepers, but still compact. The main difference is that you get a small private toilet & shower, a complimentary aperitif of red wine or sparkling white on departure and a bigger breakfast next morning, served on proper china. Soap, towels, mineral water & shower gel are provided.
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
| Deluxe sleeper made up as a 2-berth room. Each compartment can be used with 1, 2 or 3 berths... | The same deluxe compartment in daytime mode with seats folded out and beds folded away... | Deluxe rooms have a compact private shower & toilet... | Breakfast is served in your compartment next morning. This is the deluxe sleeper breakfast... |
Standard sleeper with washbasin...
The beds and decor are exactly the same as the deluxe sleepers, the only difference is that the compartment is a fraction smaller (though not so you'd notice) and there's a washbasin instead of an en suite toilet & shower. The fare includes a simple breakfast box (roll, butter, juice, croissant, jam, pâté) and cup of tea or coffee next morning. Toilets and an excellent hot shower are available at the end of the corridor - take your plastic ving-card key with you as you may need it to unlock the door (no more free showers for couchette passengers from the car next door!). There is shower gel in the shower, but take a towel from your compartment. Standard sleepers are described as 'economy sleepers' on the German Railways website, but 'standard sleeper' is a more appropriate term.
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
|
Standard sleeper compartment, set up as a 2-berth, with the washstand open. Each room can be used as a 1, 2 or 3 bed room. |
The same sleeper with berths folded away & seats folded out, blind up, washstand closed. Very similar to a deluxe, but without the shower & toilet. |
Standard sleeper compartments have a washstand with hot water, fresh towels, drinking water & soap. |
Just like a hotel corridor... The corridor in a Comfortline sleeping-car... |
Travelling by sleeper (standard or deluxe)...
-
The Czech sleeping-car attendant will greet you at the door to the sleeper, check your reservation and direct you to your room. He or she will come round shortly afterwards to take your rail tickets, so you will not be disturbed by ticket inspections. Your tickets will be handed back to you at the end of your journey.
-
Each compartment is compact, just big enough for a bed and space to stand next to it. There are 12 compartments per 26-metre car, so please don't expect a hotel-room size compartment taking up half the car for just 2 people. The photos above were taken from the doorway and accurately show the size of the compartment. What you see is what you get.
-
Each bed has fresh clean sheets, a fluffy pillow, snug duvet, and its own individual reading light.
-
The sleeper attendant can provide 'room service' of tea, coffee, wine, beer, soft drinks & light snacks, but feel free to take your own bottle of wine or picnic on board.
-
Breakfast is included in the fare, served in your compartment. Passengers in standard rooms get a simple breakfast box plus tea or coffee (see the photo below), passengers in deluxe rooms get a more extensive breakfast served on proper china (see the photo above).
-
There's plenty of room for luggage under the bottom berth, on the racks above the window or in the recess above the door projecting over the corridor ceiling (see photo below).
-
All compartments have 220V power sockets for laptop computers & mobiles (look below the bed near the door).
-
For the evening & morning parts of a journey, the attendant can fold the beds away and convert the compartment into a private sitting room with sofa and small table.
-
There's CCTV in the corridor for security, and all compartments have a hotel-style 'ving-card' lock with plastic card key plus an additional security deadlock which cannot be opened from outside, even with a staff key, so you'll be both safe and snug.
-
Each compartment can be booked for single, double or triple occupancy. Berths can also be booked individually: Passengers travelling alone do not have to pay the fare for a single-berth sleeper (which can be expensive), but can pay for a bed in a 2 or 3-bed sleeper and share with other civilised sleeper passengers of the same sex. Once snug in your berth you cannot see the people above or below you, giving you all the privacy you need.
-
If there's a small group of you, ask to book a pair of adjacent sleeper compartments with an inter-connecting door, which opens to make a suite for 2 to 6 persons, with or without shower & toilet.
-
The Amsterdam to Prague sleeping-car is Czech rather than German, but these new Czech sleeping-cars have been built by the same German factory (Siemens, no less) to the same design as the German version.
-
See the short video below about these 'Comfortline' sleeping-cars and read these travel tips...
 |
 |
 |
||
|
This is the standard sleeper breakfast, included in the fare and served in your compartment... |
You keep your bags with you. There's space for a large suitcase up top, above the door, with straps to retain it... |
At Amsterdam's central station, the Czech sleeper attendant helps passengers board the train from Amsterdam to Prague... |
Couchettes...
Couchettes are basic, inexpensive but comfortable sleeping accommodation. Couchettes have 6 padded bunks per compartment (upper, middle & lower each side of the compartment), but you can choose to pay a slightly higher fare to travel in a less crowded 4-bunk couchette compartment (upper & lower bunks on each side). The extra space and privacy is well worth the extra few pounds. By day, a couchette compartment is an ordinary seating compartment, with two three-a-side bench seats facing each other. At night, the attendant will convert the compartment into a sleeping compartment by folding bunks out from the wall. A pillow, sheet and blanket are supplied, and each berth has its own reading light. Washrooms and toilets are available at the end of the corridor. Berth layout & numbering plan. Read these travel tips.
The sexes aren't segregated in couchettes, as you don't normally fully undress to sleep, so men and women share the same compartments. However, women travelling alone can ask for a berth in a ladies-only compartment. All couchette compartments have a normal lock and a security lock on the door which cannot be opened from outside, even with a staff key, so you'll be both safe and snug. There's plenty of space for luggage under the bottom bunks, on the racks and in the big recess above the door which projects out over the corridor ceiling.
 A couchette car as used on the Amsterdam to Prague train... |
 4-berth couchettes... |
 6-berth couchettes... |
Ordinary seats...
The Amsterdam to Prague sleeper train also has ordinary seats in 6-seat compartments. However, travelling overnight in a seat, with nowhere to lie down, no attendant on duty and no lock on the compartment door, is not recommended. It's a false economy, always book at least a couchette for a comfortable and safe journey.
 Seats car as used on the Amsterdam-Prague sleeper train... |
 6-seater seats compartment, as used on the Amsterdam to Prague train. |
Travel tips...
-
If boarding the train in Amsterdam or Prague, take a picnic & bottle of wine! There is no restaurant or buffet car on this train, so take a picnic and a bottle of wine with you into your sleeper or couchette!
-
If joining the train in Cologne, dinner before you board... Try the Brauhaus Sion (www.brauhaus-sion.de) 5 minutes walk from Cologne hauptbahnhof, or the Malzmuehle restaurant (www.muehlenkoelsch.de) 10-15 minutes walk away, or the Schweinske (www.schweinske.de) inside Cologne Hauptbahnhof itself.
-
First class lounge in Amsterdam: Deluxe sleeper passengers (but not standard sleeper or couchette passengers) can use the NS HiSpeed lounge to wait for the train at Amsterdam Centraal, with complimentary tea, coffee, juice, wine & beer.
-
First class lounge in Cologne: Deluxe sleeper passengers (but not standard sleeper or couchette passengers) can use the DB lounge to wait for the train at Cologne Hauptbahnhof until it closes at around 21:00. Complimentary tea, coffee, juice, wine and beer are provided. You can also use the lounge if you have a first class ticket for connecting trains to or from Cologne.
-
What to look for on station departure boards: When arriving at the station and looking at the departure boards in Amsterdam, what is shown as '19:01 Copenhagen' is in fact the combined 19:01 City Night Line to Copenhagen, Prague and Warsaw, so don't stand there waiting for a separate '19:01 to Prague' to appear! Printed timetable departure posters at the station will usually confirm the platform, too.
-
Where to stand on the platform: These can be long trains! There's a train composition poster in a display case somewhere on each platform. This shows the formation of all trains calling at that platform and where the train's various cars will be positioned along the platform when the train arrives. If you're in car 475 and that car is shown on the plan as stopping in 'sector D' go and stand next to the big 'D' sign hanging from the platform canopy. This saves running up and down looking for your car.
Taking your bike...
The Amsterdam to Prague sleeper train has a special bicycle compartment with spaces for several bikes, marked with a cycle logo on the side. Spaces must be reserved in advance, and a fee of 10-15 euro must be paid per bike per journey. For more information about taking your bike to Europe by train, see the Europe page.
Passengers with special needs...
The Amsterdam to Prague sleeper train has one wheelchair accessible 2-berth couchette compartment, located next to a wheelchair-accessible toilet. The whole side to the compartment and to the toilet slide aside at the touch of a button. For more information for travellers with disabilities, and photos of this special accessible couchette compartment, see the Europe page.
More information...
The City Night Line website is www.bahn.de/citynightline, English button top right. It has more information about City Night Line services, including plans of the sleeping-cars showing berth numbers, and a timetable brochure in .pdf format.
See the video - Amsterdam to Prague by sleeping-car...Here is a short PR video which in fact shows a journey from Paris to Berlin in one of the new 'Comfortline' sleepers, but as the Czech 'Comfortline' sleeper from Amsterdam to Prague is virtually identical it's an equally good guide to this journey! There's no bistro car on the train to Prague, however.
|
|