Caledonian Sleeper Train Experience

The Caledonian Sleeper Train Experience 

I think sleeper trains are often overlooked as a mode of transport. I think they are worth considering as you can essentially get your entire trip + a place to stay overnight in one ticket. You also don’t “waste” time going from one place to another. I took the Caledonian Sleeper train from Edinburgh to London and this is my Caledonian Sleeper train experience!

Cost and Time Effective

I spent 66GBP on my sleeper train from Edinburgh to London. I often found it was much more expensive to route myself directly to Oxford and it really only added an hour to my time. If I had planned a little smarter I would have just given myself a day in London before heading to Oxford in the evening. I’m pretty frazzled about being on time so I wound up getting to the train station early anyways.

Consider, I spent around 23GBP for one of 8 beds in a hostel in Edinburgh. I spent 43GBP on my trip to Edinburgh from London via train, with the discount of my student railcard. As a bonus, I didn’t have to sit doing nothing for 4-5 hours, instead I was sleeping. I also got a bunk with just one other person in the car. So, for essentially the exact same price I didn’t waste time and I got less roommates. Now, I don’t normally consider train rides “wastes of time” but I had already seen the gorgeous countryside of Scotland and England on my way up to Edinburgh so it wasn’t necessary for me to see it again. I gained 5 hours by traveling while sleeping.

It’s not all that hard to sleep

Honestly, I am the queen of never being able to sleep in pretty much any given situation. It’s a great gift, I assure you. And yet I slept relatively well on my trip. It was nice to be awakened to tea and my ordered breakfast of honey and oatmeal. The beds were fairly comfortable and the ladder to the top bunk was a little steep but there was a side-table that made the climb more manageable.

Conclusion

Basically, if you’re on the fence, don’t be. In addition, the Caledonian Sleeper trains have all been upgraded as of last year. I honestly don’t know if I was on one of the upgraded trains or not. I’ll hazard a guess and say no as there was a delay with most of them when I was traveling. So you’ll probably have an even nicer experience than I had. As an aside, I found reviews for pretty much anything in the UK to be more picky than I’d ever encountered before. So coming from the US, don’t think that places/things are quite as bad as they may appear. Many hostel reviews from British citizens would complain about things like their dishes not being done for them *rolls eyes*.

Good luck! This has been my Caledonian Sleeper Train Experience!