What is the Caledonian Sleeper Train really like?

An honest review, cost overview, and what to consider before your trip

“Caledonian Sleeper is a gateway to a world of possibilities with our overnight rail service bringing you the flavours of Scotland and comfort travelling between London and Scotland.” — Caledonian Sleeper

I’m a big fan of sleeper transport, especially trains. And with plush beds, elegant food carts and links to enviable destinations, taking the Caledonian Sleeper has been on my list for a number of years.

In November 2022, I took two trains: the first from London to Edinburgh, and the second (the Caledonian Sleeper) from Edinburgh to London. This is an honest review of the latter, and specifically of the sleeper facilities. I also hope to answer some of the frequently asked questions I’ve seen about the journey, such as:

• Do you get towels or blankets?
• Do the windows open?
• What facilities are there?

Table of Contents:

• Caledonian Sleeper Destinations (including cost and journey times)
• The Sleeper Experience: comfort and facilities
• Caledonian Sleeper: is it worth it?

Destinations: Where does the Caledonian Sleeper go to?

The Caledonian Sleeper travels from London to Edinburgh, and then on to the following main destinations:

• Glasgow
• Dundee
• Aberdeen
• Stirling
• Perth
• Inverness
• Fort William

The Caledonian Sleeper also offers passengers the opportunity to explore Scotland with a range of stop-offs along the way. Passengers can disembark at any of the stops and explore the local area before continuing their journey. Some of the popular ones include:

• Aviemore, situated within Cairngorms National Park
• Gleneagles, known for its golf courses
• St. Andrews, with a glorious coastline (and also golf courses)
• Pitlochry, which offers a host of exciting outdoor activities

and many more.

I won’t focus on the destinations in this post, but you can find a lot of great information on each on Visit Scotland.

Journey Times: how long does the Caledonian Sleeper take?

The Caledonian Sleeper operates between London Euston and Scotland, with services to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Inverness and Fort William. The journey times vary depending on the route, but the average journey time from London to Edinburgh or Glasgow is around 8 hours, and from London to Inverness is around 12 hours.

To give an example, if you’re doing the sleeper experience, you would leave and arrive at the following times for the London — Edinburgh route.

• London Euston: board from 22:30, for a 23:50 departure
• Arrive Carlisle at 05:07, and Edinburgh at 07:30

The Sleeper trains that go from London to Edinburgh do not then stop off at Glasgow. A London to Glasgow route would look similar, also stopping at Carlisle at 05:07, but then heading to Glasgow for a 07:22 arrival.

The Fort Williams route is a little different, leaving from London earlier, stopping by Edinburgh before making a series of stops on the way north:

• London Euston: board from 20:30, depart at 21:15
• Arrive at Crewe at 23:48, Edinburgh at 04:50, and Fort William at 09:57

The full timetable is available on Caledonian’s Sleeper website. With recent strikes things have been changing, so ensure to check there for the latest news.

Cost: is the Caledonian Sleeper expensive?

Yes and no. The simple answer is this:

The Sleeper cabins are relatively expensive, especially if you’re travelling solo. But the seats can be quite reasonable.

Buying tickets really in advance, with a promo or with a railcard can help you save a considerable chunk.

Looking around three months in advance, at a random Thursday night departure from London Euston to Edinburgh (overnight service), this is how much the different rooms cost:

• The Caledonian Double, the superior double room with an en-suite: £345 for one person, or £410 for two. In theory, this includes breakfast, Wi-Fi, temperature control, an in-room washbasin, flexible booking terms and an en-suite with toilet and shower. For the Friday departure, this room is sold out.
• The Club, a twin en-suite room, which includes everything from the double, but the setup is a twin bunk bed rather than a double bed. £235 for one person, or £290 for two.
• The Classic, which has a similar set up to the twin room with the bunk bed and washbasic, but without the bathroom or breakfast: £175 for one guest, or £205 for two.
• Seat with lockable storage: £50 per seat.

It’s worth noting that the Caledonian Double rooms — despite being on the pricy side — do sell out months and months in advance for weekends. More information on each room is available on the Caledonian Sleeper website.

Now as with everything, cost is relative. £50 for a comfortable seat from London to Edinburgh is quite reasonable, especially when you’re travelling on weekends and the prices go up.

Comparing the journey on LNER (who offer the rail service between London and Edinburgh) on a random Thursday three months in advance:

• £60-£80 for reasonable daytime departures
• £45 for later departures (getting in to Edinburgh at 23:24, for example)

This is just for direct trains — other fares are available with changes. It’s worth noting that if booking via Trainline, they often don’t let you book this far in advance. So make sure to check LNER directly if that happens.

With a railcard, you could get the amount down a bit. For example, my boyfriend and I paid £35 each for a Friday, 4pm departure with a Two Together railcard.

Note the journey time with a direct normal train: between 4 and 5 hours.

So the cost is really relative. When looking at seats, the Caledonian Sleeper probably offers a more comfortable seat, but that takes considerably longer than a normal train. When travelling on weekends, you might find a good saving if you book the seat in advance.

When looking at sleeper cabins, the cost is again relative. Would you be paying for a hotel instead? If going from London to Scotland, the Sleeper is almost certainly more economic than a nice Central London Hotel. If staying in Edinburgh, I would argue that you could get a perfectly nice hotel for £100 or less, book a normal train in advance, and make a considerable saving — while waking up considerably fresher. Which brings me to my next point: the Sleeper Experience.

The Sleeper Experience: Comfort and Facilities

To compare means of transportation, my boyfriend and I took a LNER train from London to Edinburgh on a Friday in November (leaving at 16:00, arriving at 20:20pm), and took the Caledonian Sleeper back. We treated ourselves to a Club Twin for £290, including lounge access, flexible booking, breakfast, and a private bathroom.

• Route: Edinburgh to London Euston via Caledonian Sleeper
• Cost: £290 for two adults, booked 1.5 months in advance
• Timing: 23:15 departure, 07:30 arrival

To cut to the chase, unfortunately my personal experience left me feeling disappointed. Which I hate to say, as I love trains and rail travel.

I’ve shared all of my feedback with Caledonian Sleeper customer service themselves (more on that below). I do think my experience was a mix of factors including the ongoing strikes in the UK. That said, I also think that Caledonian Sleeper could have had better communication in advance.

Lounge Facilities

After we booked, we received an email saying that the Lounge Facilities were closed, and so we would not be able to access them. I wrote in explaining that while I understood they were closed due to staff striking, that it’s something we paid for in our fare. They refunded us £10 per person. The fare seems to be the same whether the lounge is open or closed. When open, it seems like a nice perk to prepare for the journey.

How long before departure can you board Caledonian Sleeper?

In theory, you should be able to board a good 30–45 minutes before a sleeper train leaves, if not more. We were only able to board around 15 minutes before the train. I would expect that normally, you can board sooner.

Edinburgh Waverley for the Sleeper Train to London

Edinburgh Waverley is quite large. It’s not really protected, so it’s quite cold late at night in the winter. There was no signage for the Caledonian Sleeper, and nothing for London marked on the departure boards. Due to it being late at night, there was also no staff to ask.

We wandered around with our suitcases, looking for staff and for answers online. I had read that the train normally leaves from Platform 1, so we went there and found nothing. One great thing about the Caledonian Sleeper is that they have a chat function that works 24 hours a day.

I was able to connect quickly, and an agent directed me towards the train for Carstairs, which is the first stop on the route. As trains normally show the last destination, I found that to be confusing. According to Caledonian Sleeper, Edinburgh Waverley is operated by Scotrail, and it was their responsibility to update the departure boards correctly.

Eventually the train to Carstairs was updated with a platform. We got there around 22:40, right when our rooms should have been available. The Caledonian Sleeper train staff showed up around 22:50 and began to check us in. They were kind and polite, and answered questions. Around 23:00 (15 minutes before train departure), we were let on the train.

As we were both working the next day, we wanted to get ready for sleep straight away, and did not explore the club cars.

What can I expect from the Caledonian Sleeper? The on board experience (Club Twin)

The Twin rooms felt small, but this is to be expected on a train. The beds are quite high, so as long as your suitcase is not too thick, you should be able to place them under the bed and out of the way. If they are too big though, they will definitely feel in the way.

The en-suite bathrooms are very small, but equipped for what you might need. I think a shower would be quite uncomfortable, but again — that’s the charm of trains! I think the best way to get a feel of the rooms is a video — I’m in the process of making my own, but have linked one from Seat 61 further down.

It’s worth noting that the Classic Rooms do not include an en-suite, meaning you would share a toilet with other cabins. It does include a washbasin however, so you can brush your teeth in your own cabin.

What facilities are on the Caledonian Sleeper?

Our cabin was equipped with two small beds, a washbasin and a shower/toilet. On the beds were a sleeping kit which included a face mask, ear plugs, a chocolate bar, and a breakfast card to fill out and place on the door. You can choose to have this in your room, or the club car.

The bed also included small storage, USB charging and plugs, and two small bottles of water.

As we were working the next day, we requested for breakfasts in our rooms. For people taking the daytime journey, the Caledonian Sleeper also offers a range of entertainment options, including movies and games through the free Wi-Fi.

Do you get a blanket on the Caledonian Sleeper?

In the cabins, you get a fully made bed, including a small comforter and the option to heat the mattress. Although at first the cabin was cold, I found the bed to be warm and perfectly comfortable.

Do you get towels on the Caledonian Sleeper?

In the Double and Club room, you get towels. These are provided in a mesh bag, sometimes inside the bathroom, sometimes on a hook outside it.

Do the windows open on the Caledonian sleeper?

The blinds open (and close), but the windows themselves do not open.

Is the Caledonian Sleeper noisy?

YES. But maybe there was a mechanical failure? Other videos which I’ve seen are nowhere near as loud as the constant bumps and banging which were frequent during our journey. Even using the earplugs, we weren’t able to get a good night sleep as a result. We both woke up several times throughout the night (if not every hour).

A few friends that have also taken the Caledonian were surprised that we were taking a sleeper train the night before a day of work. They seemed to understand that sleep was unlikely. This is a shame, as the beds are perfectly comfortable, in my opinion.

What are the seats like on the Caledonian Sleeper?

The Seated Coach seats on the Caledonian Sleeper are pretty nice compared to normal train seats. They recline and include adjustable head and footrests, Wi-Fi, a tray table, USB charging port and plug sockets, and an individual reading light. There is a menu you can order from, and overhead storage, as well as a dedicated luggage area.

How is the breakfast?

Unfortunately the breakfast (which should have been included in our Club fare) never came. We had ticked the in-room option and it was supposed to be delivered at 06:45am. When it wasn’t, I went searching. I was told that we had selected the lounge car access.

I asked to see our original breakfast cards, as I remembered choosing the in-room option. A member of staff found them, and was surprised to see that someone had crossed off the breakfast in room option (trying to make our check mark look like an X), and selected the car lounge option. The staff was apologetic and agreed something was wrong, but they had also put everything away, so there was nothing for us to have.

Caledonian Sleeper: is it worth it?

I hate to criticise train travel, and I think the Caledonian Sleeper has a lot to offer, including:

• Smartly designed rooms with easy charging facilities
• Comfortable seats and beds
• Friendly staff and 24/7 chat service
• A great network of destinations

Still, solely based on my personal experience, I would not book the same experience for the same price. If doing the Edinburgh to London route, I would simply book a nice hotel, and the regular, shorer train down in the morning.

I felt that the Caledonian Sleeper, which advertises itself as a premium experience, did not deliver the nice touches we had paid for. I was also expecting to get much more sleep, but the train was really, really loud. I have asked if it was due to technical issues, and will update accordingly.

Customer service: out of our £290 fare, we got £40 back — £20 for the lack of lounge (£10 per person), and £20 for the lack of breakfast (£10 per person). They have a Guest Charter which states the minimums they will refund for various aspects of the service if it does not deliver.

In the spirit of being fair, I will say that there are plenty of people who absolutely love their sleeper journey with the Caledonian Sleeper. And I do think that many of the issues I experienced could be down to staff striking and a failure to communicate things in advance.

I would love to take the Caledonian Sleeper again on a longer route to see if:

A. The journey is as loud and B. What it’s like with the touches like lounge access and breakfast (Seat 61 has a great entry which show pictures of this)

I also think that daytime travel would be a great way to experience the Caledonian Sleeper with gorgeous views and without the hefty price tag, which is particularly high for solo travellers (which is how I often travel).

Conclusion

Overall, the Caledonian Sleeper is a unique experience, offering passengers the chance to explore Scotland. I think it can be a great way to travel, just as long as you know what to expect.

Have you taken the Caledonian Sleeper?

Did you love it? Hate it? Did you find it loud? Or maybe you’ve taken alternatives? Are there other reviews I should link to? I would love to know your thoughts in the comments! And if you found this post helpful, I’d love to know that too. You can subscribe to my newsletter below or follow me on Instagram for more.

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NB: This article is also featured on my website, stubborntravel.com