One of these days, I’m going to take the Deerstalker sleeper in England. Also, something tells me that a coming episode is going to be your ride on the new sleeper cars for the Deerstalker
at 7:00 your debit card is visible, both the 3 numbers on the back and a hard to read indented version of the numbers on the front. Just commenting to let you know you can blur this with the UA-cam editor! Great video, btw.
Same here, I think it's the combination of relative affordability and the length of time you can make a sleeper cabin "your own". Would I rather travel once in a "residence" in the sky, seeing nothing on the way, or tens of times in first class sleeper train, with much more to experience before and after bedtime?
Very sad to hear that this train might not be coming back, but I’d love it if it did! I’d love to ride it with my special someone as a “gateway to Europe” trip from Lisboa.
Your video is awesome ! These Talgo V trains weren't refurbished since decades, however you should try the Barcelona to Vigo TrenHotel, as there is a brand new Talgo VII stock running on this line for approximately 15 hours thoughout the night. It is even cheaper than your journey from Hendaye to Lisboa : prices start from less than 100€ ! Thanks for all your work, I absolutely love your channel !!
I used to do this journey often. Seeing this film brings back very happy memories. I used to travel from Brighton in Sussex to Lisbon.....wonderful ride through the Pyrenees in the early evening sunshine.....and the restaurant car.
i took this trip in '97. June. My sleeping car was all walnut and stainless steel. A great dinner. Unforgettably beautiful. Does not look so good these days
@@NaveenCha No, this is a Lisbon-Hendaye service. In Hendaye it connects with the TGV to Paris Montparnasse. The Sud Expresso has 22 stops in Portugal and Spain.
This brought back fond memories! When I lived in the south of Spain I would make a couple of trips back to the U.K. by train as an alternative to flying as I’m not a great fan of aircraft and all the hassle that goes with it. I alternated between Madrid - Paris and Barcelona- Paris then onwards by Eurostar to London. Like you I traveled Preferente and the fare included a three course dinner in the restaurant car adjacent to the bar/cafeteria as well as breakfast. With the expansion of the AVE high speed network in Spain the Trenhotel sleepers between Madrid/Barcelona- Paris were withdrawn. The end of an era as I believe the Trenhotel you travelled on is the only service remaining in Spain!
Way back in 1990, I caught the Catalina Talgo from Genève to Carcassonne. Early morning peak hour departure and such great memories. After I alighted, the train continued on through Toulouse to Madrid. The other big memory of that day were my wonderful hosts and them stopping in to get some petrol and the petrolist filling the car while smoking.
Spot on. Always get the most expensive class on sleeper! Well worth the money. Consider you can be paying thousands more for the same duration to get a few more inches on a plane. A couple of hundreds more to get your own suite and bathroom is amazing value.
In 2011 I rodeTrans-Mongolian/Siberian trains from Beijing to Moscow/St.Petersburg with stopovers along the way in Mongolia, Lake Baikal, Old Believers Village and more.
Nice video Paul, my father works on that train. He wasn’t the man trying to fix your door on that day but it could have been 😉😉. Really old trains but they’ve always had something special about them.
Good to se that it now starts in France, when I did it in early 2018 we had to travel on the meter gauge to Irun. First class meal at the bar as it was that early in the season there was no restaurant car. Travelled in a 2 berth cabin - nor Grande - but did not sleep that well at all, but the trip into Lisbon is fantastic. .
I used to do sleepers a lot when I was little, from Andalucía to Barcelona... Nice memories. Today they cover the distance in 4-5hrs with High Speed trains.
Once again Paul. Your channel is a blessed, welcome part of my life mate. The experience I have watching your reports puts me right there with you, always. I wish you all the best and success with your life and what you enjoy doing. I think it brings many of us joy. It certainly does me.
I quite agree with you Paul night train also from Lisbon is one hell of a noisy and shaky ride. I travelled Lisbon to Madrid and never ever again. No sleep. The sleeper compartment itself was pleasant enough - very nice fellow passengers.
low speed in Spain kinda suck if you're going long distances, if you really want to experience good service try out going on the high speed train service in Spain (AVE). plus, in April the service of AVLO (the low cost high speed service) between madrid-barcelona
Very precise and honest review of the trip and train. I love that route. Renfe cafe cars accepting only cash is really inconvenient. And they are expensive!
Enjoying your videos and subscribing were my most intense activities today. Well worth it, and surely a very good find, I normally travel on motorcycles but love to travel independent of means of transportation. Train is also a very nice way to travel.
Great video as always!! You said it would be economical to share with strangers, if it's that enclosed I wouldn't, I would gladly pay the fare and be on my own to be honest!! Keep your videos coming!!
Your comment about the swaying and noise was on the mark. I caught this train last year, but in the opposite direction. I thought it was the very curvy route of the Portuguese track that was keeping me awake. Once we passed into Spain, the swaying seemed to reduce enough to allow me to fall asleep.
Good stuff again Paul...really enjoy your train and plane rides!! The cabin did look a bit dated but seemed to be quite comfortable!! Well done mate and looking forward to your next adventure !!
Great video. These train reviews set you apart. Everyone seems to be doing aircraft business class reviews on UA-cam and frankly im getting bored of them.
Pastel colours such as that light pink were in fashion in the 1980s when the train was built (the original outside paint was dark blue and ivory). Actually it is composed of different generations of Talgo Pendular; as you can see from outside, the older carriages have larger windows and doors opening to the inside. These were replaced in the 1990s/2000s by smaller windows and sliding-plugging doors as the newer generations have airtight bodies. There are newer Trenhotel sets (Talgo 7) but those will be rebuilt to daytime trains because Renfe needs them on their high speed lines and is (like many others) reducing the number of overnight trains. So the breakfast was not brought to the compartment but you had to buy it at the bar car (for cheap)? I guess that works if it is not too crowded there. Actually Talgo used to include a restaurant car with chairs and tables next to the café bar in the Trenhotel but these might have been omitted for whatever cost-cutting reason ....
I originally subscribed to your channel for the flight reviews, but you are seriously selling me train travel! Your reviews really make me want to book trips on trains to explore Europe in particular! Thank you.
Remember doing this route back in about 1976, for £43 return with Transalpino, it took 2 days from London Victoria to Lisbon, i always remember, part of the journey across spain in August boy was it hot, and when the train crossed in to Portugal, and the ticket inspector demanded suplemente, suplemente..i was 18 yrs old then now i'm 63...
Another thing to do in Hendaye if you have the time is take a trip on the narrow-gauge (1 metre) Metro Donostialdea train (part of Eusko Tren). The Metro Donostialdea station in Hendaye is right beside the main station and takes seconds to enter Spain as you did on the Talgo. It's the best way to get to San Sebastian.
Wow! I live in Spain and a I have only seen Trenhotel services at night stopping at mi local station (Zaragoza Delicias), the only TrenHotel that USED to go down the Mediterranean corridor was the Estrella Costa Brava, which I believe went from Madrid Chamartin up to Girona without entering the HSL which made the trip a whopping 9 hours, the train was commercially branded as TrenHotel but most of its services were scheduled at daylight, that was until AVE started running the Madrid - Barcelona line via HSL, that had a massive effect on the whole corridor, the intercity, TrenHotel, Talgo, Regional Express and regional lost it’s frequent passengers. Now we have a very small amount of TrenHotel.
Nice report as always. Love that door key! Brings back memories of the first key card security key/door systems in places such as hotels. They replaced the traditionally old fashioned hard key. I think the company that made them first was called Vingard?
I did Lisboa - Paris in the Sud-Express, just to experience a journey that lots of portuguese emigrants did in the sixties and seventies. I only changed at Irún (Spain) to Hendaye (France) because the railway gauge is different (from Iberian to european). And it was my first time traveling in a TGV. An it took almost 12 hours...
Hey Paul, great video. I took this train back in 2017 where you're absolutely right in saying that the service only did start at Irun. BUT it is important to note that during this period connecting TGVs from Paris and Bordeaux ran all the way to Irun, effectively crossing the border. (two guages of track cross the bridge) I seem to remember the connection being much more convenient, where changing trains only involved a cross platform transfer. Anyway, great video as always!
A few months ago Michael Portillo, BBC, took a ride up to the French/Spanish border station. Apparently they could run a train through an engineering shed and change the rail gauge in a few minutes.
By the way there is a Talgo Gauge Changer at Hendaye Irun meaning that the Sud Express train can run all the way from Lisbon to Paris using the Talgo gauge changer
I took the Trenhotel Lusitania with my girlfriend about a month ago (same kind of train, but Madrid to Lisbon). Usually you'd need a 1st class Interrail pass to access the Preferente/Gran Clase sleepers, but we got upgraded for some reason, even though our passes were 2nd class. Really enjoyed it, the beds were comfortable and the ride was a lot less bumpy than the Intercités de Nuit we took from Paris to Latour de Carol a couple days earlier. Only minor downside was the border guards that came banging at the door at 3AM, interesting experience nonetheless!
Before Dec 2017 some TGVs from Paris continued to Irun, and Sud Expresso to Lisbon started from Irun... After SNCF discontinued the night train Paris-Hendaye(Intercités de nuit) I've done a few times the earliest TGV Paris-Hendaye the morning then Euskotren to Donostia/San Sebastián to spend a half afternoon there, and on Sud Expresso to Salamanca or Lisbon at evening.
Those are the same weird key cards that VR use in their night trains to Lapland from Helsinki in Finland. Mine worked though! I like the Sud Express cabins more though, I enjoy having comfy seats which then collapse into beds.
Hi Paul, I made this same exact journey about a month ago and agree with everything you have said. I'd emphasise the point on being prepared with your own battery pack for charging, as gravity is very much against you if you were to use the shaver point in the bathroom (I speak from experience). I have also heard rumours that there is a charging point near the foot of the bed (by the window) but I wasn't able to find it, despite travelling on this service twice, and I even if it did exist suspect it would be unusable when the bed is unfolded. The only thing to add which you didn't mention, and may not occur on all journeys, is the travel document check? For me I was woken around 1:30-2:00am, I think likely just before or after the border with Portugal to check my passport. It was fairly light touch and quick, but caught me off guard given that I wasn't expecting it. Regarding the absence of a table. I must confess I used the fold out steps for the top bunk as a small table from which I could graze on cured meats bought in Lisbon, whilst on my second Sud Express Journey from Lisbon to Madrid - So it might work for others looking for a place to rest their beer for example? Chris (P.S. I had similar issues with the key on my second journey. You really had to bash it right into the slot. But I suspect years of build up has made them a little unreliable.)
Have a great Friday with an unexpected bonus video 😊
U inspired me to try the ultimate sleeper train...xining to lhasa in Tibet 22 hours and oxygen provided. Cant wait
Love it.. and indeed inspiring!
One of these days, I’m going to take the Deerstalker sleeper in England. Also, something tells me that a coming episode is going to be your ride on the new sleeper cars for the Deerstalker
Nice one! Any plans to do the Finnish sleeper service? The en-suites upstairs are particularly nice.
So you pay alot for first class and still need to pay for dinner?
at 7:00 your debit card is visible, both the 3 numbers on the back and a hard to read indented version of the numbers on the front. Just commenting to let you know you can blur this with the UA-cam editor!
Great video, btw.
It’s expired, no need to worry!
Hi ibxtoycat!
Omg the real ibxtoycat!
ibxtoycat How the heck did you spot that ? Were you watching frame by frame 😜
@@oliverjh1281 ibxtoycat can watch as fast as he talks... ;-)
9:35 CALLED IT! As soon as I saw the single shared axles I KNEW it was gonna be a rough ride.
I love these train videos more than the flight ones
Same here, I think it's the combination of relative affordability and the length of time you can make a sleeper cabin "your own". Would I rather travel once in a "residence" in the sky, seeing nothing on the way, or tens of times in first class sleeper train, with much more to experience before and after bedtime?
Very sad to hear that this train might not be coming back, but I’d love it if it did! I’d love to ride it with my special someone as a “gateway to Europe” trip from Lisboa.
Your video is awesome ! These Talgo V trains weren't refurbished since decades, however you should try the Barcelona to Vigo TrenHotel, as there is a brand new Talgo VII stock running on this line for approximately 15 hours thoughout the night. It is even cheaper than your journey from Hendaye to Lisboa : prices start from less than 100€ ! Thanks for all your work, I absolutely love your channel !!
I have done this trip except from lisbon san Sebastian., me and my family of 4. It was unique and will keep in our memorys. Thank you.
I used to do this journey often. Seeing this film brings back very happy memories. I used to travel from Brighton in Sussex to Lisbon.....wonderful ride through the Pyrenees in the early evening sunshine.....and the restaurant car.
i took this trip in '97. June. My sleeping car was all walnut and stainless steel. A great dinner. Unforgettably beautiful. Does not look so good these days
is this what it looked like?
www.railfaneurope.net/pix/pt/car/night/UH/1004295jo1.jpg
I'm from Portugal, and I love the Sud Express!
Is this non stop train to Paris from Lisboa?
@@NaveenCha No, this is a Lisbon-Hendaye service. In Hendaye it connects with the TGV to Paris Montparnasse. The Sud Expresso has 22 stops in Portugal and Spain.
Love your videos man. Keep doing what your doing. 👍
This brought back fond memories! When I lived in the south of Spain I would make a couple of trips back to the U.K. by train as an alternative to flying as I’m not a great fan of aircraft and all the hassle that goes with it. I alternated between Madrid - Paris and Barcelona- Paris then onwards by Eurostar to London. Like you I traveled Preferente and the fare included a three course dinner in the restaurant car adjacent to the bar/cafeteria as well as breakfast. With the expansion of the AVE high speed network in Spain the Trenhotel sleepers between Madrid/Barcelona- Paris were withdrawn. The end of an era as I believe the Trenhotel you travelled on is the only service remaining in Spain!
rip
Way back in 1990, I caught the Catalina Talgo from Genève to Carcassonne. Early morning peak hour departure and such great memories. After I alighted, the train continued on through Toulouse to Madrid. The other big memory of that day were my wonderful hosts and them stopping in to get some petrol and the petrolist filling the car while smoking.
Spot on. Always get the most expensive class on sleeper! Well worth the money. Consider you can be paying thousands more for the same duration to get a few more inches on a plane. A couple of hundreds more to get your own suite and bathroom is amazing value.
I've taken this train before, last year. What a sleepless night.
Wonderful as always Paul.
Take the train from Beijing to Pyongyang, it’s a cool experience
But what about the return trip?
@@JackSparrow-hh2lh LOL 😂😂
@@JackSparrow-hh2lh you wouldn't want to leave the best country on Earth, ruled by the greatest leader, right? So quit asking dumb questions.
In 2011 I rodeTrans-Mongolian/Siberian trains from Beijing to Moscow/St.Petersburg with stopovers along the way in Mongolia, Lake Baikal, Old Believers Village and more.
But what about from Moscow?
seeing a notification that paul just uploaded and immediately clicking on it is a tradition for me now
Great video Paul. Keep 'em coming!
narabdela Thank you!
Nice video Paul, my father works on that train. He wasn’t the man trying to fix your door on that day but it could have been 😉😉. Really old trains but they’ve always had something special about them.
DAVID SÁNCHEZ for that price, locks need to work 😀, the price for the couchettes is very ok.
if the doesn't work you have no lock.
You would not wanna return from there
One more outstanding Train Video..! Very Informative as well
Good to se that it now starts in France, when I did it in early 2018 we had to travel on the meter gauge to Irun. First class meal at the bar as it was that early in the season there was no restaurant car. Travelled in a 2 berth cabin - nor Grande - but did not sleep that well at all, but the trip into Lisbon is fantastic.
.
Great stuff! Always good to have a sleeper train with an en-suite toilet & shower.
Love your train videos Paul! I don't know of anyone else on UA-cam doing these like you!
I used to do sleepers a lot when I was little, from Andalucía to Barcelona... Nice memories. Today they cover the distance in 4-5hrs with High Speed trains.
Amtrak uses these unique talgo trainsets in the Pacific northwest on the Cascades train service from Portland to Vancouver.
do you have any links on this?
Gotta back this up m8.
@@rhodesianwojak2095 Actually if you watch the video Paul made about the coastliner to Seattle, he mentions this fact as well.
@@marcwolfie ty
Just love them old timer trains 🤩 thanks for the thoughful reviews, Paul!
As usual your trip reports on the trains are great to watch!
Hi Paul! Yes, there is a power socket a bit hidden next to the bottom bed’s phone (which doesn’t work)
Once again Paul. Your channel is a blessed, welcome part of my life mate. The experience I have watching your reports puts me right there with you, always. I wish you all the best and success with your life and what you enjoy doing. I think it brings many of us joy. It certainly does me.
Another great vid Paul. As ever very practical and informative. To your continued success and happy traveling.
Was that man trying to fix the door lock with a butter knife? No wonder he couldn't get it to work, that is clearly a job for an oyster fork.
@ Soda Pop Curtis That is one of the funniest comments on UA-cam!!! :-)
😂
😂😂😂
Gotta add that train to my bucket list!!!
Wow a sleeper train from France to Portugal must have been very interesting been enjoying your trip reports
The wheel arrangement is also seen on the Amtrak Cascades carriage sets fitted with tilting technology
guess what, those carriage sets are also made by Talgo
Uma boa visita aqui a Portugal
I quite agree with you Paul night train also from Lisbon is one hell of a noisy and shaky ride. I travelled Lisbon to Madrid and never ever again. No sleep. The sleeper compartment itself was pleasant enough - very nice fellow passengers.
That light switch looks really satisfying
What a nice surprise! I'm moving to Spain in 2 months so this is a nice travel inspiration for me. Great video as usual!
Wish you had a separate channel for train reviews because I'm not that interested in planes.
low speed in Spain kinda suck if you're going long distances, if you really want to experience good service try out going on the high speed train service in Spain (AVE). plus, in April the service of AVLO (the low cost high speed service) between madrid-barcelona
Another brilliant video, Paul.
Nice too see you do other reviews other than planes nice video mate
Very precise and honest review of the trip and train. I love that route.
Renfe cafe cars accepting only cash is really inconvenient. And they are expensive!
I love traveling by train! A beautiful trip was from Berlin to Prague! Gorgeous in late September early October.
Awesome trip report as always! This made my Friday!
Hey Paul. Another great train video! Thanks.
Just what I was wishing for ! A video of the "Sud Express !!!
This is definitely on my bucket list !!!
Thank you for sharing Paul!!! :):):)
Very enjoyable and different video . I personally love the way you mix it up now and again and what a lovely
Journey . Cheers 👍
Excellent video, never knew this line existed. Must take a trip and thank you for all your good advice.
Great video!! Can’t wait for the next one!
Enjoying your videos and subscribing were my most intense activities today. Well worth it, and surely a very good find, I normally travel on motorcycles but love to travel independent of means of transportation. Train is also a very nice way to travel.
Great trip report Paul one for my list too thanks
we were lucky enough to travel on the overnight train from Paris to Barcelona before they got rid of it - xx thanks for sharing - I enjoyed watching x
Awesome work mate. The backstory shows how much effort you put into every video. 👍
Ahhh nice Sunday came early this week
Hey Paul in the late 70s I traveled on the Sud express from Paris to Lisboa and went through the wheel changing shed it was a proper train then
Yes! Another train report 🍺
Great video as always!! You said it would be economical to share with strangers, if it's that enclosed I wouldn't, I would gladly pay the fare and be on my own to be honest!!
Keep your videos coming!!
Nice one Paul always like your train videos.
Reminds me of a friend who is a train enthusiast met his wife on a long journey train trip
I have used a sleeper train from Amsterdam to Berlin (discontinued service, from what I understand). I must say I really enjoyed the experience!
Been waiting for this review!
Your comment about the swaying and noise was on the mark. I caught this train last year, but in the opposite direction. I thought it was the very curvy route of the Portuguese track that was keeping me awake. Once we passed into Spain, the swaying seemed to reduce enough to allow me to fall asleep.
Good stuff again Paul...really enjoy your train and plane rides!! The cabin did look a bit dated but seemed to be quite comfortable!! Well done mate and looking forward to your next adventure !!
Great video. These train reviews set you apart. Everyone seems to be doing aircraft business class reviews on UA-cam and frankly im getting bored of them.
Great video, as usual, keep it up!
hm
Pastel colours such as that light pink were in fashion in the 1980s when the train was built (the original outside paint was dark blue and ivory). Actually it is composed of different generations of Talgo Pendular; as you can see from outside, the older carriages have larger windows and doors opening to the inside. These were replaced in the 1990s/2000s by smaller windows and sliding-plugging doors as the newer generations have airtight bodies. There are newer Trenhotel sets (Talgo 7) but those will be rebuilt to daytime trains because Renfe needs them on their high speed lines and is (like many others) reducing the number of overnight trains.
So the breakfast was not brought to the compartment but you had to buy it at the bar car (for cheap)? I guess that works if it is not too crowded there. Actually Talgo used to include a restaurant car with chairs and tables next to the café bar in the Trenhotel but these might have been omitted for whatever cost-cutting reason ....
unci narynin I remember it well Mauve and teal!
You have the best and most detailed vids...well done.... always looking forward to vids...Phil...Eire.
Nice vlog! All your vlogs are well made. As I am train enthusiast, always look forward to watch your vlogs. Please keep up the good work.
I originally subscribed to your channel for the flight reviews, but you are seriously selling me train travel! Your reviews really make me want to book trips on trains to explore Europe in particular! Thank you.
Remember doing this route back in about 1976, for £43 return with Transalpino, it took 2 days from London Victoria to Lisbon, i always remember, part of the journey across spain in August boy was it hot, and when the train crossed in to Portugal, and the ticket inspector demanded suplemente, suplemente..i was 18 yrs old then now i'm 63...
Very good review! Just one note, Talgo trains have a unique passive tilting suspension. That might be responsible to the sway you felt.
I love your train journey videos 👍
Another thing to do in Hendaye if you have the time is take a trip on the narrow-gauge (1 metre) Metro Donostialdea train (part of Eusko Tren). The Metro Donostialdea station in Hendaye is right beside the main station and takes seconds to enter Spain as you did on the Talgo. It's the best way to get to San Sebastian.
Totally agree that it’s a very special train. Fantastic crew and comfy bed...just a shame about the bumpy ride.
I love your channel! Thank you!
Until next time Paul al see u around
Paul, you like sleeper trains, you should try the Indian Pacific from Sydney to
Perth, Australia
Great as always! I want to do a Med from A to B, Atlantic to the Black sea.
a video on friday! thank you paul
Wow! I live in Spain and a I have only seen Trenhotel services at night stopping at mi local station (Zaragoza Delicias), the only TrenHotel that USED to go down the Mediterranean corridor was the Estrella Costa Brava, which I believe went from Madrid Chamartin up to Girona without entering the HSL which made the trip a whopping 9 hours, the train was commercially branded as TrenHotel but most of its services were scheduled at daylight, that was until AVE started running the Madrid - Barcelona line via HSL, that had a massive effect on the whole corridor, the intercity, TrenHotel, Talgo, Regional Express and regional lost it’s frequent passengers. Now we have a very small amount of TrenHotel.
Nice report as always. Love that door key! Brings back memories of the first key card security key/door systems in places such as hotels. They replaced the traditionally old fashioned hard key. I think the company that made them first was called Vingard?
Excellent video enjoyed it a lot
Did the entire trip in 1987 Paris to Lisbon, 25 hours. Personally, I loved it
I did Lisboa - Paris in the Sud-Express, just to experience a journey that lots of portuguese emigrants did in the sixties and seventies. I only changed at Irún (Spain) to Hendaye (France) because the railway gauge is different (from Iberian to european). And it was my first time traveling in a TGV. An it took almost 12 hours...
in 1974 SNCG/Renfe operated a Talgo train from Gare du Lyon to Barcelona..and also a Catalan Talgo TEE-train from Geneva to Barcelona..
Hey Paul, great video. I took this train back in 2017 where you're absolutely right in saying that the service only did start at Irun. BUT it is important to note that during this period connecting TGVs from Paris and Bordeaux ran all the way to Irun, effectively crossing the border. (two guages of track cross the bridge) I seem to remember the connection being much more convenient, where changing trains only involved a cross platform transfer.
Anyway, great video as always!
Nostalgia! But great, like to try it
A few months ago Michael Portillo, BBC, took a ride up to the French/Spanish border station. Apparently they could run a train through an engineering shed and change the rail gauge in a few minutes.
you are going to love lisbon i was there last year what a nice city
By the way there is a Talgo Gauge Changer at Hendaye Irun meaning that the Sud Express train can run all the way from Lisbon to Paris using the Talgo gauge changer
Took a Spanish sleeper from Barcelona to Bilbao years ago. Didn’t sleep much at all! Very rickety ride. Older than a Talgo IIRC.
I found you by James Jones's subscriptions. GREAT VIDEO! very descriptive and useful.
Notifications on
I took the Trenhotel Lusitania with my girlfriend about a month ago (same kind of train, but Madrid to Lisbon). Usually you'd need a 1st class Interrail pass to access the Preferente/Gran Clase sleepers, but we got upgraded for some reason, even though our passes were 2nd class. Really enjoyed it, the beds were comfortable and the ride was a lot less bumpy than the Intercités de Nuit we took from Paris to Latour de Carol a couple days earlier. Only minor downside was the border guards that came banging at the door at 3AM, interesting experience nonetheless!
Before Dec 2017 some TGVs from Paris continued to Irun, and Sud Expresso to Lisbon started from Irun... After SNCF discontinued the night train Paris-Hendaye(Intercités de nuit) I've done a few times the earliest TGV Paris-Hendaye the morning then Euskotren to Donostia/San Sebastián to spend a half afternoon there, and on Sud Expresso to Salamanca or Lisbon at evening.
The Sud Expresso coming from Lisbon always continue to Hendaye to let people change for TGV to Paris(not only after Dec 2017).
Love you, Paul! :)
Those are the same weird key cards that VR use in their night trains to Lapland from Helsinki in Finland. Mine worked though! I like the Sud Express cabins more though, I enjoy having comfy seats which then collapse into beds.
Hi Paul,
I made this same exact journey about a month ago and agree with everything you have said. I'd emphasise the point on being prepared with your own battery pack for charging, as gravity is very much against you if you were to use the shaver point in the bathroom (I speak from experience). I have also heard rumours that there is a charging point near the foot of the bed (by the window) but I wasn't able to find it, despite travelling on this service twice, and I even if it did exist suspect it would be unusable when the bed is unfolded.
The only thing to add which you didn't mention, and may not occur on all journeys, is the travel document check? For me I was woken around 1:30-2:00am, I think likely just before or after the border with Portugal to check my passport. It was fairly light touch and quick, but caught me off guard given that I wasn't expecting it.
Regarding the absence of a table. I must confess I used the fold out steps for the top bunk as a small table from which I could graze on cured meats bought in Lisbon, whilst on my second Sud Express Journey from Lisbon to Madrid - So it might work for others looking for a place to rest their beer for example?
Chris
(P.S. I had similar issues with the key on my second journey. You really had to bash it right into the slot. But I suspect years of build up has made them a little unreliable.)
Another great video! Would love to see a future video on the Via Rail Canadian prestige class from Vancouver to Toronto.