The optimum time to book for European train journeys for the best bargains seems to be 90 days and you sometimes need to be willing to take the risk about booking your outward journey before your return trip becomes available on the system. And to be ready to change your dates! I know it was for Berlin but having followed the prices prior to the key minus-90 days date to get an idea of whether we could afford leaving booking until 90 days before our return journey and book both tickets at the same time, they suddenly shot up when our outbound date became available. A bit of rooting around on the Net suggested that this was because there was a huge gas and petroleum expo on that week and that hotel rooms were probably going to be expensive as well for the same reason. Luckily we could be flexible about our dates so simply decided to go a week later and lo and behold - plenty of choice of trains for the €49 special fares once again.

The other thing that would keep NoAir's costs low was being willing to book a seat only ticket on a predominantly sleeper train. Most people booking for the overnight 'train hotel' services book at the very least a couchette but the majority of travellers opt for a twin berth cabin with en-suite shower room and the price includes both dinner and breakfast the following morning. In comparison, a seat in an ordinary carriage is dirt cheap. You can do the same on sleeper services here too but in both cases you do usually only get your seat and nothing else - so, for example, you often can't use the restaurant car if you haven't booked a berth. However, if you view the overnight train as part of the holiday and compare the all-in package of dinner, bed and breakfast to what it would cost to stay the night in a hotel then it starts to look like quite good value. I'm a big fan of sleeper trains but whether here or on the European mainland the real secret is to book as soon as the cheaper tickets become available and regard the journey as the first night of your holiday.

SM