There were so many things I couldn’t have predicted about sleeper train travel before taking my own night rides.
I slept on an Amtrak overnight train for the first time in October 2021. I booked a round-trip ride between New York City and Miami. Each ride was 30 hours.
On the way to Miami, I booked a $500 roomette accommodation. The 20-square-foot enclosed private space had a foldout table, two chairs that folded out into a bed, and an additional bed that pulled down from the ceiling.
On my way back to NYC, I spent 30 hours in the next level up, a $1,000 bedroom accommodation, which is a private 45-square-foot room. It was double the cost of a roomette, for twice the space and a private bathroom.
Then, in January 2025, I took a 15-hour Amtrak from Denver to Salt Lake City in a roomette for $400.
Most recently, in February 2026, I took the longest train ride in the US — a 53-hour Amtrak from Chicago to Emeryville, California — and booked a $2,200 bedroom.
While I enjoyed these trips, there are some things I wish I had known about this type of travel before that would have made me more prepared for the rides.
I thought the train rides felt bumpy the whole time.
This is not an exaggeration. I found my Amtrak trips to be as bumpy as a flight with turbulence where the seatbelt sign is on from start to finish. Had I known this before my first trip, I might have packed some medicine to prevent motion sickness.
On my most recent Amtrak trip, I packed some medicine, and it helped a lot. Without motion sickness, I got used to the bumps.
Regardless of where I slept, I felt bumps throughout the night. But the top bunk was the shakiest.
I’ve tried sleeping on both the top and bottom bunks on overnight Amtrak trains. I only recommend the top bunk for experienced sleeper train riders because it can be jarring if you’re not used to the roughness of the rails.
I slept up top on my first overnight train ride, and I was so uncomfortable that I thought I’d never do it again. But I decided to give it another try on my most recent trip, and I enjoyed it. After spending so much time on overnight trains, the bumps rocked me to sleep.
While the bed, sheets, and blankets were comfier than I expected, I didn’t think much of the provided pillows.
The beds on the 2021 Amtrak trains were firm and slightly cushy on top, just the way I like a bed. But when I was drifting off to sleep each night, I thought of my fluffy, dense pillows at home and wished the ones provided to me on the train were a bit softer.
Luckily, the pillows on my 2025 and 2026 Amtrak rides felt thicker and softer.
If I’d known there were toiletries in the bedroom, I would have packed a little lighter.
Bedroom accommodations on Amtrak trains have full bathrooms inside. When I stayed in a bedroom in 2021, there were no toiletries provided in the shower. So when I booked a bedroom for my 2026 ride, I packed my own shampoo, conditioner, and body wash.
But when I got on the train, I noticed some upgrades to the room, including new seat cushions and full-sized toiletries hanging in the shower. Next time, I’ll leave my soaps at home.
Although the roomette sleeps two, it can feel cramped even for one person.
I am 5-foot-3 and of average build, and I felt cramped in the roomette’s 20 square feet of space. If I were taller or larger, I imagine I would feel even more cramped, especially if I had to share the room with another person.
Meanwhile, the bedroom’s additional 25 square feet made my ride much more comfortable, so the upgrade to a bedroom is worth it on longer rides, in my opinion.
My WiFi service was spotty throughout my trips, which made getting work done a little tricky.
I planned to spend several hours of each journey working on my laptop. Amtrak provided WiFi on the first two trips, but I found the train’s internet connection to be inconsistent, so I had to adjust my workflow to accommodate work that didn’t require it. And on the 2025 and 2026 trips, there was no WiFi at all.
My cell data service was also in and out throughout the journeys.
The internet wasn’t the only spotty service. I noticed that the cell service on my phone seemed to come in and out, too. For my first ride, I wished I’d downloaded more movies and shows from streaming apps to keep myself occupied when my phone and internet weren’t working.
I kept this in mind for my 2025 and 2026 trips and downloaded more media than I ended up watching. I appreciated having a wide selection of entertainment to choose from.
I didn’t realize that time would seem to pass more slowly on my long-haul journeys.
I knew 30 hours would be a long ride one way, but time seemed to pass so slowly that 30 hours felt twice as long as it usually does in my regular daily life.
I was glad I at least packed other things to keep me occupied, given spotty WiFi and cell service, such as my Nintendo Switch and music.
The cupholders in Amtrak roomettes and bedrooms fit a standard 12-ounce water bottle. I didn’t know mine wouldn’t fit.
I brought a large water bottle to stay hydrated on my long journey, but it was too wide to fit inside the cupholder, which was designed for a standard 12-ounce cup.
I would have packed a few smaller water bottles if I had known this.
I think you have to view the ride itself as part of your vacation to really enjoy it.
I’m someone who deals with travel anxiety, and so I found the length of the trip initially overwhelming. It’s tough for me to relax when I am between destinations, and for some reason, I struggled to view the train as a destination in itself.
But after spending 128 hours on long-distance Amtrak trains, I’ve realized that if you can think of the train ride as part of the journey, you’ll find it much more enjoyable.
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