Journey by Train: Overnight to Andorra

Back in June of this year (2022) a friend and I traveled to the far South of France down to Andorra, a tiny country located in the Pyrenees mountain range on the border of France and Spain. There we spent 3 days hiking through the mountains and two nights staying in manned refuges. Refuges are simple hostel like hotels located way up on the mountain. We started our journey at one end of the country and then walked to the other, which you can see in the map image below. I won't be talking too much about the hike itself in this post but instead will be focusing on the journey of getting down there.

We took an overnight train, which was a little out of the ordinary and a pretty cool experience. Before I get into that though I want to show you what I packed for the trip.

We had to carry everything that we needed for the 3 days, so packing light was essential. Luckily I was able to fit everything I had in a 20L backpack. I included my external battery, some electrolyte tablets, a 3L water bladder and some food, among everything else. I don't know exactly how much it all weighed but I'd guess somewhere between 15 - 20lbs, maybe even a little more.

Journey by Train

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Back in 2021 France brought back their sleeper trains after around 4 years of the service being canceled. Maybe it was because of the covid related chaos at the airports or maybe the public is just more conscientious of the impact that travel has on the environment these days, but for me it was all about convenience.

Gare d'Austerlitz

I liked the idea of travelling through the night and arriving at our destination in the morning and having a full day to hike - or at least as much of the day as possible.

The night trains were fairly cheap as well, which was an added bonus. If booked early enough in advance they were around 29-37 euros. That's including a 7-9 euro upcharge for a couchette, which is basically a simple bed on the train.

Major Construction Scaffolding

We were a little late on booking our tickets (for numerous reasons) so we ended up paying quite a bit more when the time came. I think it cost us around 89 euros round trip in the end, which was still pretty cheap compared to other modes of transportation.

The train was a little bit older than the more modern ones used for daily commutes, but it was clean inside and comfortable enough, so I really don't have any complaints about it.

We boarded around 8 or 9pm and it was a relief when we boarded because there was absolutely nothing to do or see at that particular train station.

If you purchase a couchette you have the option of going straight there and laying down or going to the sitting car.

Some people sleep sitting up in the seating area or if it isn't too busy, they might lay down in an empty seat.

The seating area was pretty sparse when we left, but I recall it being much busier on the return trip home.

The train makes frequent stops all through the night and I spent most of the time in our couchette so I actually don't know how busy it was later in the evening.

As you can see it was still really bright out even at 9pm in June in France.

Now lets take a look at the couchette.

Each couchette sleeps 6 people, or 4 if you pay for a first class ticket. On each bed was a small care package with a fresh blanket and pillow and a few other things to make you feel comfortable (i.e. ear plugs, a face mask, a bottle of water and a strange teeth brushing mint type thingy that I didnt happen to use because I didn't understand it).

The rooms were obviously quite small and the beds were narrow, so we couldn't really sit up or anything like that in there. You're pretty much stuck in a horizontal position. If you are a courteous person than you can't really talk to your companion either since you're sharing the space with 4 other people who might be trying to sleep. If you want to talk then its best to go out into the hallway or to the seating area. Really, its best to just think of the space as a place to sleep or quietly read an e-reader or mess around on your phone. I just laid there and listened to a podcast until I was ready to fall asleep.

My Cartoon Friend Tucked away in his Bed

If you are traveling with someone then the trainline seats you across from them, which is nice.

If you happen to get claustrophobic then a couchette might not be a good option for you at all. When the door is closed and the lights turned off it really begins to feel like a tiny little space.

One hiccup that we experienced on the return trip was that the toilets stopped flushing water. The hole latch thingy would open but no water would pour so people ended up having to use their water bottles to flush after using them. It wasn't a major issue at all but it wasn't great either. Another thing that wasn't great (mainly for others) was during our return trip. We had been hiking for 3 days in the mountains and it had rained pretty hard on at least one occasion. Our shoes were damp and getting pretty smelly and we were trapped in a small room with the door closed. My friend put his shoes in a tied plastic bag and I covered mine as best I could under a bunch of my gear. I couldn't smell anything bad but I wouldn't be surprised if the others in the room were cursing us for reeking up the small place. I guess that is another pitfall to keep in mind if you happen to travel this way. You might be stuck with a bunch of smelly passengers like us.

I wasn't really expecting to sleep either of the nights given that I sleep pretty poorly in new places in general. I don't think that I actually slept on the way there at all but I definitely fell asleep for a few hours on the return trip. That's not surprising considering how far we hiked.

The train took us to a small town in France called L'Hospitalet. It was located just outside of border of Andorra.

From there we took an hour long cab into Andorra and to the far end of the country where we began our hiking journey.

We then walked across the country all the way back to the same train station in L'Hospitalet to catch our train ride home.

Well, that is all I have to say about our travels to and from Andorra on the night train. I hope that you found the information interesting.

Traveling by train at night is something to keep in mind I think. Its not without its challenges of course, but and its definitely a good way to get to and from a place without wasting any time.

Thats it for now. Until next time, thanks for stopping by.