From Zagreb to Zurich: a night train journey with a bike in our luggage
Travelling from Zagreb to Zurich by night train: After cycling through Croatia, we head home – bikes in tow. Our tips for bike transport on a night train.
Our journey begins with a special idea: my partner and I want to travel from Switzerland to Serbia on our bikes to attend a Serbian wedding. Twelve days of adventure on our bikes take us to Croatia, where we travel the rest of the journey by bus. After the wedding, it's time for the return journey - this time more relaxed with the night train from Zagreb to Zurich.
Our bikes - the challenge at booking our trip
Taking our bikes with us on the night train requires some research. According to the ÖBB/NightJet website, bikes can only be taken on board in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. So I write an e-mail to ÖBB/NightJet. According to their reply, only small folding bicycles are allowed on other routes; normal bicycles are not even allowed in bicycle bags.
However, my colleague Nik gives me a tip: stow the bikes in bike bags and book a separate compartment. (By the way, he has written a detailed blog post on this topic - click here for the post).
We decide to take the risk and search nightride.com for a suitable connection with a 2-bed compartment in the sleeping car. Thanks to nightride.com, we know that the tickets on sbb.ch are the cheapest at CHF 160 per person, so we book them there. Our compartment even has washing facilities.
Find the best night train offers from or to Zagreb.
The booking goes smoothly, but there is a small hitch afterwards: Although we buy the tickets on the SBB website, we have to download them later via the ÖBB/NightJet platform. This leads to some confusion and inconvenience on our side.
The departure - what does the train crew say about our bikes?
The night train departs Zagreb at 18:00. We stand on the platform just under an hour beforehand and pack our bikes into the bike bags.
I ask a train crew member about the bikes. Her answer is what I had hoped for: as long as the bikes don't block the aisles on the train, we can take them with us!
And it gets even better: we have a 3-bed compartment to ourselves. So we can stow our bikes on the free bed.
The journey
Our night train departs on time from Zagreb. The compartment is comfortable and the washing facilities prove to be really convenient. We chat lively with the travellers from the compartment next to us, who are from Australia.
The night passes uneventfully. Even I, over 1.90 metres tall, sleep very well in the comfortable bed.
In the morning, we wake up with a small breakfast: coffee, bread rolls, a chocolate croissant (for non-Swiss travellers) and orange juice - simple, but just right to start the day. The train is on time and takes us to Zurich on schedule at 09:20.
Conclusion: A recommendable journey with a bit of preparation stress
Looking back, the night train journey from Zagreb to Zurich was a really good experience. The small amount of stress in the run-up to the journey to clarify whether the bikes could be taken on board was worth it. The comfortable compartment, the punctual journey and the possibility of transporting bicycles make the night train an excellent option for travelling from and to Zagreb.
