The Caledonian Sleeper is a great way to get from London to Scotland. The overnight train is much more fun than taking a flight – although you might not sleep well! Here’s my Caledonian Sleeper Review, with everything you need to know about Scotland’s overnight train.
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The Caledonian Sleeper train is an overnight train between London and Scotland. My Caledonian Sleeper train review will tell you everything you need to know about travelling on Scotland’s overnight train. I’ll tell you everything you need to know about which room to choose, and what a night on board is really like.
I took the Caledonian Sleeper train from London to Edinburgh, and back a few days later. I found it a fun and different way to travel, and I’m really glad I did it. But I didn’t sleep quite as well as I’d hoped!
What is the Caledonian Sleeper train and where does it go?
The Caledonian Sleeper is an overnight train that goes from Euston Station in London to several different destinations in Scotland. The most popular routes are from London to Glasgow or Edinburgh. But there are also services up to Inverness, Aberdeen and other destinations as well.
The Caledonian Sleeper train leaves London Euston at around 11.30pm. And it arrives in its destination in Scotland the following morning. I took the train from London to Edinburgh, and arrived in Edinburgh around 7.30am the next morning.
It’s a really time efficient way to travel. I could be at work all day on Friday, and then be in Edinburgh first thing Saturday morning, with a full day to explore. But the Caledonian Sleeper train can be a bit more expensive than regular trains, and usually more expensive than flying. So you’ll have to check the cost of the normal daytime trains and flights to check if it’s worth it. But remember – the overnight train saves you a night of accommodation costs as well. And it’s a lot more fun to take an overnight train!
You can look at day time train times on Omio for a comparison of times and prices (affiliate).
What type of rooms are there on the Caledonian Sleeper train?
There are four different levels of seats/rooms on the Caledonian Sleeper train. So you can choose the one that best suits your personal balance of comfort vs cost.
For the cheapest option, you can book a seat on the Caledonian Sleeper train. This is a great option if you’re travelling solo and want to keep costs as cheap as possible. However, remember this is just a seat. It’s a bit more spacious and more comfortable than a regular train seat. But it doesn’t recline much, and you’ll be sharing the train carriage with a load of other people. So if you’re a light sleeper and want a bit of comfort, this probably won’t be the best option for you.
I chose the next level up for comfort. I chose the ‘Classic Room’. This is a private room with bunk beds, and a sink in the room. I thought this was a good option. It gave a private room and a proper bed. However, this option means you have to use a shared toilet at the end of the carriage, so you don’t get a private toilet. And there’s no food or drink included in this option.
If you want a little more luxury, you can go for the ‘Club En Suite Room’. This room has bunk beds, but it also has a private en-suite. So it’s a lot more comfortable and convenient for popping to the toilet in the middle of the night! Your private en suite also has a shower. This level of room also includes priority access to the Club Car and station lounge access before and after you travel. And you get complimentary breakfast included in the Club Car or delivered to your room.
The most luxurious option on the Caledonian Sleeper train is the ‘Caledonian Double En Suite Room’. This room has a proper double bed, not bunk beds. So it’s perfect if you don’t want to be trying to climb up into the top bunk on a moving train (which can be challenging!). This room gives you the private en suite shower room, priority access to the Club Car and station lounge access before and after you travel, and complimentary breakfast included in the Club Car or delivered to your room.
There are accessible double and twin rooms as well, for those with additional access requirements.
Choose the level of comfort that best suits your budget. The more expensive rooms as obviously going to be more comfortable, but they cost more. So it’s up to your individual preference which you choose. But remember, all of these rooms are on a train – so none of them are going to be super spacious or comfortable!
I chose the ‘Classic Room’, with bunk beds but no en suite. And I was happy with this. If I was travelling on the Caledonian Sleeper train again, I would happily book this room again. I don’t think upgrading to a better room would be worth it for me personally.
Boarding the Caledonian Sleeper train
When I travelled on the Caledonian Sleeper train from London to Edinburgh, and back again a few days later, I found the communication from the train company to be really clear. It was clear that the train would be leaving London Euston at 23.30, but you could board from 22.30. As it was my first time on the train, I wanted to get to London Euston at exactly 22.30 to have the maximum amount of time to find the train and get settled on it in the evening. But on the way back, I was a bit more relaxed, and boarded about 23:00 ready to leave at 23.40.
Have a look at your confirmation emails to know what food you’re going to get on the train. The two more expensive ‘Club’ rooms include access to the station lounge before you board the train. And there is food available here. So if you’re travelling in a ‘Club’ room, I recommend taking advantage of the station lounge and food offered.
However, if you’re travelling in a ‘Classic’ room (like me), or a seat, there’s no station lounge access. So get dinner before you go. I went to a restaurant for dinner just across the road from London Euston station, which worked well. And then it got closer to 10.30pm, I just crossed the road to head into the station.
Remember to buy a bottle of water to take onto the train – it will be cheaper at the station than it is on the train, and you can’t drink the tap water on the train.
Finding the Caledonian Sleeper train in the station
When you get into London Euston station, head to the main part of the station where all the departure boards are. The Caledonian Sleeper train is listed just like a normal train, on the departure boards. It’s just listed as the 23.30 to Edinburgh. And the platform will be shown at 22.30, when you’re able to board.
Head to the platform, and you’ll see the train on the platform. There are staff next to the train on the platform, just as you get onto the platform. They check you in, and give you a key card to your room. You’ll know your room number from your email confirmation, so they’ll just give you the key card for your room. And they’ll also tell you about the train, and answer any questions you have about luggage, food and drink times, arrival times, and more.
If it’s your first time travelling on the Caledonian Sleeper, I recommend getting there around 22.30. I was very excited to get on the train and see what it was like, so I wanted as much time as possible on the train! But the train doesn’t leave until 23.30, so you can get there later if you want. But I enjoyed getting there early, so you can spend some time getting to know your room and the train facilities. And it’s much easier getting changed, using the train toilet and cleaning your teeth when the train isn’t moving – so ideally get these done before the train moves!
Luggage space on the Caledonian Sleeper train
Luggage space on the Caledonian Sleeper train is limited. I was expecting it to be a bit tight for luggage, but it was even tighter than I was expecting.
If possible, bring a standard size backpack onto the train, rather than a suitcase. A backpack is much easier.
As soon as you board the train, the corridors leading to the rooms are very narrow. I think you’d struggle to roll even a hand luggage size suitcase. And there’s no way you’d get a bigger suitcase down these narrow corridors. Here’s a photo of the corridor of the train. It’s very narrow!
Once you’re inside the Classic room, there’s a bit of space to put luggage under the bed. But there would only just be enough space to lay a hand luggage size suitcase on the floor to open it. And even then, it would probably be difficult and get in the way a lot. So again, a backpack is best. You can put the backpack on the end of the bed to get out what you need, and then put in in the corner or under the bed.
If you have an en suite room, there are a lot of announcements on the train that tell you do not put your luggage in the en suite. If it falls over, it stops the door opening, so you can’t get it. So don’t put any luggage in the en suite!
It is possible to store extra luggage in a different part of the train. So you can travel with more luggage. Just make sure you ask the train staff about which compartment to put your luggage. On the train I travelled on, half of the train went to Edinburgh and half went to Glasgow. So if you want to store extra luggage, make sure you put it in the compartment you’re told, to make sure yourself and your luggage end up in the same city!
The Classic Room on the Caledonian Sleeper
The room I chose on the Caledonian Sleeper was the ‘Classic Room’. So my Caledonian Sleeper review can only give you a detailed review of this room type.
I was happy with this room, and the balance between comfort and price. It’s the cheapest of all the private rooms. There are bunk beds and a sink, but no en suite. But I thought it was a lot better than just a seat, so it was worth paying extra to have a private room, accessed by a key card, rather than a seat in a shared carriage.
Here’s a photo of the Classic Room, taken from the doorway. You can see that it’s small, so you won’t want much luggage in there with you.
The Classic Room includes a complimentary drink in the morning. The train staff will tell you about this when you check in and collect your key card. You just need to fill out the card that’s in your room (with the provided pencil) and hang it on the outside of your door within 30 mins of boarding. The more expensive ‘Club’ rooms have breakfast included, so if you’re staying in one of these rooms, you’ll also be able to choose your breakfast items.
There’s a toilet at end of carriage. In the ‘Classic’ rooms, you don’t get an en suite toilet. So you’ll have to use the shared toilet. There were 10 Classic rooms in the train carriage I was in, and one toilet for the shared rooms.
The shared toilet on the Caledonian Sleeper train was ok. It was like an aeroplane toilet. It stayed clean, with plenty of soap and toilet roll, on both my trips on the train. Here’s a photo of the toilet, so you know what to expect!
Obviously having an en suite toilet would have been nice in a way. It’s a pain if you need the toilet in the middle of the night – you have to get up, get changed, and head out along the corridor, hoping you don’t meet anyone. But I was happy with the cleanliness of the toilet. For me, it wasn’t worth paying extra money for the en suite. But if you’re the type of person who uses the toilet a lot during the night, then an en suite might be worth it for you.
The Classic room has a small sink in the room. This was useful. It meant you could wash your hands and brush your teeth in the room, so you didn’t need to take your toothbrush into the shared toilet. However, there was a sign on the sink saying it wasn’t drinking water. I didn’t use the tap water for cleaning my teeth, and used a bottle of water I’d bought at the station before boarding.
With two people in Classic room, you will need to take it in turns to get ready and make sure the other lays in bed while you’re moving around. There’s definitely not enough space in the room for two people to moving around at the same time.
I decided to volunteer myself to go in the top bunk, as I generally sleep better in top bunks. I did find it a bit challenging getting up to top bunk the first time, as there wasn’t much to hold onto it. But I quickly got used to it, and found it fairly easy after the first time.
The length of the beds in the train is ok. I’m about 5 ft 5, and I could comfortable lie flat and my feet didn’t touch the wall. But if you’re around 6ft or taller, then you might struggle to be able to lay flat.
There are good phone chargers for both bunks, and a few different light options for the room which were good.
How easy is it to sleep on the Caledonian Sleeper train?
If you’re wondering about how easy it is to sleep on the Caledonian Sleeper train, my answer is: not that easy! I slept worse than I was expecting. I travel a lot, and I’m usually pretty good at sleeping in different places. But I struggled to sleep more than I thought I would on the Caledonian Sleeper train.
I made sure I got ready for bed in the time before the train leaves. It’s much easier doing it this way, so you can move around while the train is stationery. And then you can be ready to go to sleep around 23.30, once the train starts moving.
However, the soundproofing on the train isn’t that good. Before the train started moving, I could clearly hear a man snoring in the room next door (he’d obviously got to sleep before the train moved!), and two women giggling in the other room. But once the train started moving, the noise from the train drowned out these other sounds.
The train is quite loud when it’s moving. And moves a lot. And the room isn’t that dark, because the emergency exit sign needs to be lit up. So all of these combine to make it a bit difficult to sleep. They do provide a sleep mask and ear plugs for every passenger, which does help a bit.
There’s a dial where you can control the temperature in the room. The temperature control in the room was ok, but was hard to get it quite right. It was very hot for several hours when we first got on the train, and then got cold. So it was hard to get the right temperature.
The train also stops sometimes, which can wake you up. On the way back from Edinburgh, after about an hour, the train stopped for a while and then connected to the Glasgow train, with quite a lot of noise. And then the train kept going. But it still stopped sometimes on the way down. I think it has to stop a bit, otherwise we’d get to the destination too early.
We got into the destination station early both times. We got back into London Euston station particularly early – around 6.30am, even though we weren’t meant to arrive until after 7.30am. I woke up when we got into Euston at 6.30am, and it didn’t feel worth trying to get back to sleep. So there’s not a lot of time to sleep on this train. After leaving Edinburgh at 23.40, and getting to sleep around midnight, you only have from around midnight to 6.30am of very interrupted sleep.
I definitely felt quite train lagged the next day!
Leaving the Caledonian Sleeper train
Your confirmation email will be very clear about what time the train arrives, and what time you need to leave the train. In Edinburgh, we had to leave the train by 8am. And in London, we had to leave by 7.30am.
It’s nice that they give you a bit of time after arriving to pack up before you have to leave the train. But I recommend leaving the train a bit before you have to, just so you’re not in a rush.
If you’re in a ‘Club’ room, you’ll be able to have a morning shower in your en suite room before leaving the train. And you’ll also have breakfast included. So make sure you give yourself enough time for both of these things before leaving the train. If you’re in a Classic room or a seat, you just need to pack up and walk off the train.
Just be prepared for feeling a bit tired when you get off the train! I remember walking out the station in Edinburgh at 8am in December. It was still almost dark, and completely deserted everywhere at 8am on a Saturday morning. I had grand plans for a full day of sightseeing, but it was difficult to feel motivated to get excited about a busy day when I was so tired and didn’t exactly feel fresh and ready for the day.
My overall thoughts on the Caledonian Sleeper overnight train
Overall, my Caledonian Sleeper review is positive. I’ve complained a bit about the lack of sleep, and the lack of space. But I did really enjoy it. It was a really fun and memorable way of travelling. And even though I was a bit train lagged the next day, I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.
For me personally, I think it is definitely worth getting a private room, and not just a seat. I think doing that journey just in a seat would be a bit miserable.
I was happy with the Classic Room. The shared toilet was ok, so I don’t think an en suite room would be worth the extra money. And you’re on the train for so little time, it would be a struggle to find time for a shower and breakfast on the train in the morning. I was happy to just get off the train in the morning, and go to a nearby cafe for breakfast.
Taking the Caledonian Sleeper train is so much more fun than flying. I was really excited about the travel part of the holiday. I definitely wouldn’t have been that excited about taking a flight – I generally see flights and airports as just something to endure so I can get to my destination. But I was genuinely excited for the overnight train.
The Caledonian Sleeper train can be a cost effective way to travel. The price can be similar to taking a normal train, but you save money on hotel. But it is still quite expensive. It probably is more expensive than flying, even when you take into account the extra costs of getting to/from airports. Remember to check the website Omio for the normal train times and prices (affiliate) so you can compare prices for your trip.
An overnight train is a very time efficient way of travelling. In Edinburgh, I went to a comedy show on my final evening, which finished at 10.30pm, and then I went straight to the train. There was no waiting around for hours like you would at the airport. And then I was home the next morning, in time to be back at work the next morning. There’s no other way to travel that would give you an evening out in Edinburgh, and then back at work the next morning.
But my biggest issues was the lack of sleep on the train. I might sleep better another time, but the sleep quality wasn’t great, and I’m normally good at sleeping in different places. If I took this overnight train again, I would be a lot more aware that even though you arrive at 7.30am, you might not feel like a full day of exploring straight away.
Overall I really enjoyed the Caledonian Sleeper train. I would happily do it again. It was a bit expensive, but worth it for the novelty, and excitement, and time-efficient way to travel. I would just be more realistic about how much sleep I’d actually get and so adjust my expectations for the next day’s activities.
Hope you enjoyed Caledonian Sleeper review, with everything you need to know about Scotland’s overnight train! Make sure you also check out my ultimate itinerary for 3 days in Edinburgh, and also my guide to visiting Edinburgh at Christmas. Scotland has lots of amazing scenery, so it’s definitely worth extending your trip to Scotland if you can. Check out the top things to do in the Scottish Highlands and Isle of Skye, my detailed guide to one week on the Isle of Skye, or 5 days around Ben Nevis and Loch Ness.
