Est-il possible de réserver notre billet de train pour Guilin au départ de Shenzhen à Hong Kong? Nous ne sommes en Chine que très peu de temps et je voudrais être sure de ne pas perdre 1 jours pour rien 😠. Ou ai-je une chance de trouver une place pour le train de nuit le jour même?
Les horaires d'arrivées des trains sont-ils fiables? J'ai cru comprendre que ce n'était pas le cas des car de nuit.
Ou avez-vous une autre option à me proposer?
Merci
Mon carnet de route pour la Namibie
Mon carnet de route pour le Japon (en construction)
Trouver une place le jour même pour le train me parait hasardeux pour un grand pays comme la Chine, où les gens sont très friands du train. En plus, tout dépend de ta période de voyage. En avril par exemple, il est impossible de trouver un billet de train au moment de la fête des morts (Qinming) et les gares sont prises d'assaut.
Pour les bus de nuit, je te les déconseille fortement. J'ai fait le trajet Canton - Yangshuo de jour et il était impossible de connaître le temps de transport. J'avais attendu un jour de plus à Canton pour arriver de jour à Guilin, qui était normalement ma destination. Mon bus partait normalement à 9h. En fait, on est partis vers 10h et je suis descendue du bus à Yangshuo (j'ai pensé que c'était plus raisonnable) vers minuit ! Il est vrai que c'était en plein Qinming, moment où les Chinois rentrent dans leur famille.
J'ai aussi pris le bus de nuit entre Yangshuo et Schenzen. Nous sommes restés arrêtés au beau milieu de nulle part en pleine nuit pendant un long moment : la route était en train de s'effondrer... Les couchettes étaient très étroites et petites. Le bus n'était pas très propre, et les routes ont plein de trous (c'est donc très cahotique).
Je suis pourtant une adepte des bus locaux, pour l'ambiance !
Pour les réservations depuis la France, je n'ai pas d'info.
Bon voyage !
Je pars début mai, j'espère que ça ira. Ca m'ennuierait de devoir rester un jour en plan à Canton ou Shenzhen alors que j'ai déjà pas beaucoup de temps à la base.
Pour les bus, je note ça pour une solution de secours je pense, car ce n'est pas la 1ere expérience malheureuse que je lis sur ce forum.
Pardon de froisser les esprits de certains mais existe il une compagnie de bus sinon peut-etre plus cher mais plus fiable et confortable (et propre)?
Mon carnet de route pour la Namibie
Mon carnet de route pour le Japon (en construction)
Le premier problème, c'est qu'il n'y a pas une route pour les bus "pas chers" et une autre pour les bus plus confortables... Donc bouchons et ornières pour tout le monde.
Le second : parles-tu chinois ? J'ai eu la chance de voyager avec un Chinois rencontré sur place, et c'est lui qui s'est occupé du bus, en passant par une des nombreuses agences de Yangshuo. Je n'ai pas eu le sentiment que le prix payé était particulièrement bon marché. Une solution, c'est peut-être de n'acheter le billet qu'après avoir vu le bus, mais de toutes façons les standards de propreté ne sont à mon sens pas les mêmes chez nous et en Chine.
Lorsque je retournerai en Chine, je privilégierai le train sur les moyens et longs parcours, à condition de pouvoir obtenir un billet. Il est difficile d'être sûr de quoi que ce soit en Chine, on n'est pas les seuls à voyager. Si tu veux être sûre de ne pas attendre à Canton ou à Schenzen, prends plutôt l'avion. Sinon, il faudra faire preuve de patience...
En résumé il y a deux trains de nuit pour rejoindre Guilin :
de Shenzhen T38/T39 à 17h57 (Guangzhou 19h50) Guilin 6h12 de Guangzhou K36/K37 à 17h46 Guilin 6h51
(question stupide : pourquoi pas de train de jour pour admirer le paysage ?? 😕)
Faut dire que de Shenzhen/Guangzhou c'est pas une ligne droite : 1040 Km !!
Je serai à Hong Kong dans une dizaine de jour et je serai assez étonné que sur place il ne soit pas possible d'acheter un billet pour l'un ou l'autre de ces trains auprès du CITS par exemple.
J'irai voir et te dirai ce qu'il en est.
Pour en contredire certain je dirai aussi que je n'ai jamais vraiment eu de problème pour avoir un siège ou une couchette dans un train chinois. Donc pas de panique.
"Nous ne sommes plus une communauté d'être humains qui se parlent mais un conglomérat de grappes de consommateurs en niches, séparés les uns des autres par des obsessions diverses et innombrables. Nous sommes de l'ère de la désintégration." Marc Moulin (1942-2008) in Humoeurs
les billets de train s'achetent de la ville de depart mais cela ne t'empeche pas de le faire acheter a une agence de voyage qui va le faire pour toi
😉
je confirme qu'il n y a aucun probleme a reserver une place de train sauf pour les couchettes molles un peu difficile de l'obtenir si on est dans une ptite gare ou bien le dernier jour (car ca part tres vite)
Je me posais EXACTEMENT la même question que toi mimi785nono.... :) As tu eu une réponse de ragamuffin sur le sujet ?
Sinon, si je comprends bien Nemo1001, si on n'est pas trop exigent on est quasi sur d'avoir de la place dans le train de nuit ? (si on n'accepte de ne pas voyager en couchette molle....). Et sinon, les agences dont tu parles sont présentes à HK aussi ?? Car je débarque le samedi à HK, et mon idée était de partir le dimanche soir dans le train de nuit Canton/Guilin....
Alors on m'a dit que cela ne serait possible, qu'il faudrait voir directement à Canton ou Shenzhen. J'ai entendu plusieurs versions concernant le train de nuit, certains disent que c'est dur d'obtenir des places, d'autres qu'il n'y a pas trop de soucis (comme tu dis, si on se contente de ce que l'on nous propose). Ca dépend je pense de la période de voyage...
Apres, il y a tjs les bus de nuit je pense, pour ceux qui ne peuvent se payer le luxe d'attendre d'avoir la place de leur choix.
Mon carnet de route pour la Namibie
Mon carnet de route pour le Japon (en construction)
Personnellement j'ai finalement opté pour l'avion... Car les prix ne sont pas très chers (j'ai payé 340 yuans Shenzhen Guilin...) et au moins tu es sûr d'avoir une place réservée à l'avance !!
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I’m planning our very first trip to mainland France in January 2027. There’ll be 2 adults and 2 kids, and we’ll mostly be traveling by train.
Here’s our itinerary:
Paris
Rouen (Normandy)
Lyon
Aix-les-Bains (with day trips to Annecy and Geneva)
Saint-Gervais-les-Bains (with Chamonix and a day in Aosta)
Back to Paris
Do you think this itinerary is well-balanced? Any tips, must-see spots, or mistakes to avoid for a first-time visit?
I’m planning a family trip in a year. Our goal: traveling to China (and maybe Hong Kong) by train.
I’m all set with the route up to eastern Turkey.
However, I’m just starting my research for the rest of the journey—namely the Caucasus (no trains as far as I know, so buses and/or ferries), then Central Asia and China.
So, I’d love to hear any info or tips (general and forward-looking at this stage) about the train route through Central Asia and China to reach the east coast.
I’m particularly interested in details on:
- How far in advance to book / any potential difficulties with reservations
- Whether there are PASS systems (or equivalent) between countries and/or if some tickets allow stopovers, meaning you can hop on and off as you please
- Day trains vs. night trains (the latter option lets you explore cities between two legs of the journey)
- A rough idea of ticket costs
...
A huge thank you to anyone who can share some info or experiences. It’s also a great opportunity to chat about adventure after (way too) many years away from this forum.
I’m planning a trip around Italy using only trains or public transport in October (hoping the weather stays nice!).
I’d obviously like to see some tourist destinations, but I also want to get off the beaten path a bit, and I’m hoping to find some help here? I don’t plan to linger too long in the cities.
Starting in the north, I’d like to visit Lake Como or Lake Orta, pass through the Cinque Terre for some hiking, spend a few days in Naples and Rome, then head down to Sicily.
Hi there,
I’ll be traveling to Japan this coming August. We’ve finalized our itinerary and booked our flight tickets. Now I’m at the stage of buying train tickets for the few segments we’ll need to cover:
Tokyo - Hakone
Hakone - Kyoto
Kyoto - Osaka
Osaka - Tokyo
Here are my questions:
a) Is it possible to buy train tickets for these segments from Canada?
b) If so, which website should I use to do this?
c) And if it is possible, will we be able to print our tickets from Canada?
d) If it’s not possible, where in Tokyo should I go to buy these tickets when I arrive?
Hi everyone, I wanted to take the Paris-Berlin overnight train with a sleeper berth, the new service operated by European Sleepers.
24/05/2026 17:45 Paris-Nord (actually 16:00 from Paris Bercy Seine) -> 25/05/2026 9:59 (actually 7:30 in Berlin)
05/06/2026 18:31 Berlin (actually 20:00) -> 06/06/2026 10:00 Paris Nord (actually 12:30)
Part of the journey was operated by bus instead of the promised overnight train.
For 2 people: 340 € round trip
A total disaster. Never again. I was really looking forward to taking the overnight train, but we faced last-minute changes and truly unpleasant travel conditions. Here are the details:
1) 2 days before departure: email announcing a change of departure station for the outbound trip—Bercy Seine bus station instead of Gare du Nord.
2) Change of schedule: 4:00 PM from Bercy instead of 5:45 PM from Gare du Nord.
3) Change of transport mode!! A bus from Paris to Brussels, then an overnight train from Brussels to Berlin. No functional toilets on the bus. No children under 4 allowed on the bus.
4) On the sleeper train at 9:30 PM: no functional toilets in our carriage, so we had to go to other carriages, even in the middle of the night, to find working ones.
5) The onboard staff, though very friendly, were as lost as we were. In particular, they didn’t know how to handle the lower berths, so people using them had less space (armrests and backrests). Berth numbers weren’t respected, so some passengers had to move. The staff also didn’t know who was supposed to join the compartment during the journey.
6) Arrival at 7:30 AM in Berlin instead of 10:00 AM. No arrival announcement. Passengers had to search for staff to get breakfast and ended up with just a coffee (breakfast = 15 €, not bad for just a coffee).
7) Return trip: drastic schedule change announced by email on 26/05/2026—departure at 7:30 PM instead of 6:30 PM, with arrival between 12:00 PM and 1:00 PM in Paris instead of 10:00 AM. No change in transport mode announced.
8) Change in transport mode announced by email on the same day (05/06/2026)!! Overnight train from Brussels to Berlin, then a bus from Paris to Brussels. No functional toilets on the bus. Children under 4 banned from the bus, and families in this situation were asked to find another way—after being notified the same day.
9) The overnight train arrived at Berlin station with a 30-minute delay on top of its initial delay (scheduled for 6:31 PM, then 7:30 PM, finally arriving at 8:00 PM). The heating was blasting in the compartment with no way to turn it off. No functional toilets in the carriage. From that point on, customer service stopped responding to my messages.
10) Woken up at 5:00 AM with an announcement in all carriages about arrival in Liège.
11) Woken up again at 6:00 AM to be told we’d arrive in Brussels at 7:00 AM.
12) Arrival in Brussels at 7:00 AM and a one-hour wait for the bus to Paris. No functional toilets on the bus.
13) Arrival at Paris Nord at 12:30 PM, so 2.5 hours late compared to the originally scheduled time.
14) The overnight trains used are very old—I recognized the carriages from 20 years ago!! No functional power outlets, no Wi-Fi, no air conditioning. Five people per compartment is a bit cramped, but I consider these conditions expected (especially the air conditioning), so I’m not complaining about that. There’s already plenty to gripe about with the travel conditions.
I have little hope of getting even a partial refund. Customer service emails acknowledge the discomfort but only offer to reimburse the cost of a coffee on board if we send them the receipt... a bit weak.
I’m sharing this experience in the hope it might help others.
Hi there,
I’d like to take the Train of the Clouds from Lima to Huancayo.
I’ve heard it only runs during certain periods.
Does anyone have info on this?
Thanks!
HuancayoHuancayo
As part of my professional thesis, I’m conducting a study on the evolution of long-distance rail transport in France, particularly since it opened up to competition.
I’ve put together a very quick (about 5-minute) and completely anonymous questionnaire. Your answers will help me better understand users' expectations regarding pricing, frequency, and environmental impact.
We’re planning a 15-day trip to Uzbekistan in March—classic independent itinerary: Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva. We’d like to take the train between each city, but I don’t want to lock down the whole trip before we leave.
So, my question is: is it absolutely necessary to book train tickets before departure, whether for the high-speed trains or the regional ones? Is booking really essential for the regional trains?
Hello,
We’re traveling as a family with two boys aged 10 and 12 to Cairo in February. During our trip, we’re planning to take an overnight train (with or without a sleeper) for the Cairo-Aswan route.
Do you know how I can book this remotely?
Also, I’m looking for:
- A local contact to sail the Nile by felucca for 3 days from Aswan
- A contact to guide us in Cairo
Looking forward to your tips, and thanks in advance!
Marie
Hi everyone,
I first traveled solo to Japan in 2019, exploring the Kyushu region (28 days), and I’m planning to return with my daughter (she’s an adult and it’ll be her first time in Asia) from April 25 to May 9.
I’m reaching out on this forum to ask for route ideas—this time north of Tokyo, but without heading to the Sapporo island (I’m saving that for a future trip).
I’d love to take advantage of the cherry blossom season and its festivities.
I’m looking to create a route that’s a little off the beaten path while staying within 5-6 hours by train from Tokyo to avoid spending too much time on transfers.
Thanks in advance for sharing your suggestions and experiences!
Michael
I'm heading to MEXICO IN NOVEMBER 2025. Since private guides and drivers are really expensive—over 300 € per day—I'm thinking of exploring the Yucatán by train. CAN YOU SHARE ANY INFO ON THIS? Thanks
Hi there!
We’re planning to visit Serbia (1 week) and then Montenegro (2nd week) with our kids from April 18 to May 4. We’d prefer to travel by train (overnight if possible), but we’re not sure which platform to book on or when to do it (is it too early?). If anyone has any tips, I’m all ears!!
I wanted to know if it’s possible to go from Tashkent to Almaty by train without passing through Kyrgyzstan. I’ve heard the border is often closed 😕 between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
Thanks in advance!
Olivier
Hi there!
We’re planning to head back to Istanbul next year—obviously by plane—and then take the train from Istanbul to Antalya. Has anyone here already made this trip by train with TCDD?
I’d love any tips or info that could be useful for us!
I'd like to go to Montserrat on my own from Barcelona. Share your suggestions with me.
Which train should I take, where to get off, what to see once I arrive, etc.
I need to take a sleeper train from Bangkok to Vientiane in January.
I found some ticket options on 12Go Asia, but booking doesn’t seem possible at the moment. I’ve tried simulations for several dates, but no luck.
I’m wondering if it’s already fully booked, if they’ve stopped selling tickets… yet 12Go still features it every day 😕
Has anyone else run into this issue?
Can I find tickets on another site? (I tried Baolau, but no sleepers left for January 8th.)
Hi there,
I’m a bit late to be worrying about this, but hopefully someone can help me before I leave.
Tomorrow afternoon, I arrive at Lyon Part-Dieu on the TGV at 5:50 PM and take the TER to Mâcon at 6:16 PM. Is a 26-minute transfer doable? Are the TGV and TER on the same departure board? And are they on the same platforms too?
I’ve been to Lyon before but never had to make a connection after arriving.
Thanks
I can’t seem to complete the payment for my trip on the IRCTC (Indian Railways) site. No matter which payment method I choose, my Visa card isn’t accepted.
Has anyone here managed to do it, and if so, could you share the method you used?
Thanks in advance!
Charlie
Starting November 15th, I’ll be arriving in Thailand, and during my stay, I plan to visit the north, around the Chiang Mai area, then head south to the Krabi region.
After Krabi, I’m planning to take an overnight train to Bangkok. I was wondering if there’s a train that leaves from Krabi or Trang, or if I absolutely have to go to Surat Thani?
Also, which official website can I use to book my ticket?
Next, since I’ll be arriving at dawn in Bangkok, I’ve planned to spend 2 days in Kanchanaburi. What’s the most convenient way to get there—bus or train? And if you know any companies or websites, that’d be great.
Hi there,
Does anyone know if there’s a bus from Luang Namtha to Boten to catch the train coming from China to Vientiane? If so, what’s the name of the company? Also, how long does the bus take to cover that distance? What’s the condition of the road like?
Thanks for your help!
Tom
I just realized there’s only one payment method accepted for booking the Mombasa-Nairobi express train ticket online: M-Pesa, a mobile money transfer service used in Africa. Would it be impossible to book as a European?
I’d love to know if any of you have recently eaten on the overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai.
We’ve always ordered food on the train, and it was really good (and super convenient).
But in 2022, we ended up feeling like total idiots (with our 4-year-old daughter...) when we boarded the train only to find out that this service was no longer available... (It was the first time we’d traveled right after COVID.)
That’s also when we saw once again how kind Thai people are—they all offered to share their food with us, even though we were mortified. In the end, we managed to buy some instant noodles, which was better than nothing. Anyway, that’s the little story behind it.
In the following years, we’ve always brought our own meals.
I’ve read online that meal trays are back in service (could you confirm this, please?), but that the quality is really poor. I’ve also seen multiple reports that, even though you can eat well everywhere in Thailand, the train meal was the worst food travelers had during their trip...
Could you give me a recent opinion on this?
We’ll be departing from Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Station—do you know if there’s anywhere to buy a meal there before boarding the train?
Thanks so much for your help,
and have a great Sunday!
We’re heading to Thailand in February 2026 and we’d like to take the overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. Can we book two first-class tickets? I’m only seeing second-class options.
Hi everyone,
For traveling in Rajasthan by train and bus, could you give me some info: where to buy tickets, cost, purchase locations, websites, etc.?
Any tips you have would be super helpful.
Thanks
We’re traveling to Java on October 23, just the two of us.
I’ve read that it’s best to book train tickets in advance on tiket.com.
Is that true, and how far ahead do you recommend?
Are the tickets changeable?
Hi everyone,
I’m planning to travel from Ulaanbaatar to Irkutsk by train this summer but I’m a bit worried about crossing the borders. How does it work? Could anyone share their experience? (I’ve found quite a few accounts of people going *from* Russia *to* Mongolia, but entering a country is never the same as leaving it—especially in this context!)
Can anyone tell me how to book train tickets online? We're planning to travel from HANOI to HO CHI MINH CITY by train, making several stops along the way. I'd also like to find the schedules and the stations where the trains stop.
There are four of us, and we've already planned stops in HANOI / DONG HOI / HUE.