I travelled to and around the Balkans without flying; taking a Eurostar to Amsterdam, then a lie-flat sleeper bus to Zurich, then a scenic night train to Zagreb and then a Eurostar to Belgrade!
I’ve got a Eurostar post here and have already covered the Twiliner bus, but now it’s time to look at the Zurich to Zagreb sleeper train.
This is one of the best ways to enter the Balkans, so let’s take a look at the full journey…
Why take the Zurich to Zagreb sleeper?
Whenever I post about taking sleeper trains, I’m always asked, “Why?!”
I could tell you the elaborate story about when I saw a psychic, and they said that trains are in my future, but here are some more tangible reasons.
- It saves a night in a hotel – especially in a place like Zurich, where accommodation is expensive.
- It’s efficient travel – you get on the train at around 7 pm and arrive at 8:30 am, so you have most of the day in both destinations.
- It’s great for Interrail – I had an Interrail pass for this journey, and the couchette reservation cost around £40.
- It has much lower emissions than flying – taking a train is much, much less carbon intensive.
- The scenery – you go through the Austrian Alps in the early hours, and the Slovenian countryside is beautiful!
Booking the Zurich to Zagreb night train
You can book the Zurich to Zagreb night train on this website, but I actually booked via Interrail, as I had an Interrail pass for my trip.
Interrail reservations
It’s easy to book with the app; I just selected my journey, and it told me I needed reservations. I then clicked through to the reservation booker, selected my couchette, and made a payment. My reservation cost around £40.
Cabin options
There are a few cabin options on the train. From least to most comfy, these are:
- Seats: I wouldn’t recommend these. You’ll be sitting up all night, possibly with someone next to you, and maybe unable to stretch out.
- Couchettes: This is what I had. Couchettes are divided into cabins with 4-6 beds each. These are usually mixed-gender. There’s not a huge amount of room, but you have space to lie down, and while the berths are a little hard, you do get bedding (plus a light breakfast and coffee in the morning).
- Seats: These are “first-class” couchette; they’re much comfier and more spacious. You can book the entire cabin for single use if you prefer!
I opted for the couchette, as I was on a bit of a budget!
Boarding the train in Zurich
I headed to Zurich SBB station, grabbed my bag (don’t recommend storage here; it cost me £20 for a day!), and found the departure boards.
“Zagreb/Graz” was illuminated on the screen. The train would travel to Austria, split in Graz, and part of it would head to Slovenia and Croatia.
Before boarding, I reached into my pocket for my printed ticket. I was told I needed to have it in physical form to show the attendant. “Couchette cabin,” it reminded me.
I’d actually checked my horoscope on AskNebula for a project earlier, and it had told me, “Today, Aquarius, the universe encourages you to welcome adventure. A little luck may appear when you least expect it, so keep an open mind and enjoy the journey.” Praying the sign was indicating that nobody else would have booked a couchette in my cabin, I crossed my fingers and climbed on board.
This hope was shattered when I discovered somebody already inside my cabin on arrival; however, she was pleasant enough, and we chatted as we made up our beds. Two guys then joined and took the lower bunks; they were friendly, heading off to a trip in Slovenia, and very excited!
What the sleeper cabin is really like
My four-person couchette compartment was quite cramped with all of us inside, but I loved having my space to stretch out on. The beds were already made up, with fresh linen that I had to make into a bed.
There was minimal storage underneath the seats and on the very top bunk, which I think sometimes serves as a bed but fortunately wasn’t this time!
Also in the cabin was a ladder to get to the upper bunks and a bin. My couchette was rather cramped, as the top shelf/bed was quite low, and there was no way I could sit up. Interestingly, there was also a mirror on the underside of the bed!
I was given a refreshing towel, a supermarket-bought pan au chocolat, and a coffee the next morning.
Toilet-wise, there were facilities at either end of the carriage. If possible, I’d recommend using the toilets (especially to brush your teeth!) early, while they’re still fresh!
Sleeping on board
Once the train trundled out of Zurich, we started to get ready for bed. The other woman in the cabin suggested we turn out the light, and while the guys were still a bit chatty, we soon settled down and fell asleep.
I had my Kindle with a backlight – a must for travelling in shared carriages – and read for a bit until I nodded off. I had an interrupted sleep, but only woke up properly once overnight.
Generally, I slept ok and felt quite rested the next day. I wouldn’t be able to do it every night, but I’ve definitely had worse sleeps!
Waking up in the Austrian Alps
I woke up at 5 am, went to the toilet, and was immediately arrested by the view.
The sun was rising over the Alps, and the train track spanned through the valley. I watched the mountains come to life for a moment and then, still groggy after only 6 hours sleep, went back to my couchette for another hour of slumber.
The guys left the cabin at around 6:30am, when we were just over the Slovenian border; I managed a sleepy farewell. We then headed to Ljubljana, where the other woman departed. A few other passengers were in and out of my cabin, and the attendant changed the sleepers into seats by using a key to flip the middle bunk around to become the seat back. My video explains this better!
Crossing into Croatia
The Slovenian segment travelled mainly across the Sava River, with rolling hills and small villages on either side of the train. Both Slovenia and Croatia are now within the Schengen area, which means that there’s usually no passport check. As we crossed the Slovenian/Croatian border, I realised this was my tenth international border in two days, and I hadn’t had my passport checked since I’d left London!
Arriving in Zagreb
The train trundled into Zagreb on time, straight into temperatures of 36 degrees. I had a Flixbus booked to Belgrade a few hours later, so I wasn’t planning on much sightseeing, but I found a lovely cafe called Chia Cups (which also hosts pottery workshops) and grabbed some lunch from the supermarket!
