Reservations for each trip on Eurail?

A lot of questions in there, but they are good questions.

First off, it really does come down to when you are travelling, and where you are travelling. The booking requirements for a night train from Paris to Venice in the middle of July or August is very different from that of a night train from... say Zurich to Bologna in November.

In terms of the busiest months, without question July and August are the two busiest, followed by anytime around any kind of national holidays. Outside of that, the shoulder season of May-June and September will be moderate, with the rest of the year generally being at the lowest demand (obviously excluding holiday times).

To more directly answer your question about when you should be booking, I like to use a general rule of two weeks as the absolute latest. If you NEED to take a night train on a specific night, then you must book at LEAST two weeks out (preferably further if on a very high-demand route like Paris-Venice). Now, admittedly that is in order to get a bunk on a train, but even seats on a night train can book up quickly due to the number of budget-minded travelers. If you are just travelling as you feel like it, then it should not be a big deal for you to have to delay your travels by a night or two anyways. If you are relaxed in your time frame, then do not worry about it. If you will be stressed out that you cannot get a night train for that night, then you are not actually travelling relaxed and you should be planning your travels in advance.

In terms of the comfort level of accommodations, the regular seats are a little more comfortable than economy airline seats (in general), but obviously you would need to be able to sleep in a (slightly-reclined) sitting-up position. The couchettes (the term used for the 4- or 6-person sleeping compartments) are basic, but much better if you will get a better sleep lying down. You get a sheet (typically sewn into what seems like an envelope to slide into) and a pillow, but you will be sleeping with your clothes on, as is standard. The only downside to these beds is if you are over 5'11" or so as you may feel cramped. As well, the bunks are narrow, so if you are worried that you will fall out then book the lowest bunk to reduce the anxiety.

In the couchettes, I prefer the top bunks because you can usually take the top storage space for yourself, which allows you to easily access your bag(s) from your bunk. The bottom bunks are better for people who might get motion sick as you do not feel the sway of the train car as much. The only problem with the bottom bunk is that it is sometimes narrower than the other bunks.

Your other options go into the two-person bunk compartment, or the private sleeper compartment. The private sleeper is only available on a few high-end trains and it can offer a bigger bed. The two-person bunk compartments are the same as a regular couchette, just with privacy for only two people.

When I traveled around, I mostly used 6-person couchettes for the night trains. Unfortunately I am pretty tall, so sometimes I had difficult nights as I could not stretch out. Otherwise there were really no complaints.

Just as a final note... make sure you know which routes offer night trains, as people often mistakenly believe that there are night trains between pretty well any two cities.

Have a great trip!

You need to publication each a reservation and a seat undertaking. I count on the identical applies to the snoozing motels. So you wish to have 2 spots for the whole lot. Both could have a rate.