How to Sleep in Amtrak Coach: Tips From Hard-Earned Experience

This is the article for those looking at the price of a roomette and deciding if they’ll be able to ride it out in Coach instead. (Because that’s me.)

Look, I love taking the roomettes, but the past couple of years, the prices have been out of control. So I’ve slept in coach. Here are my tips to do so.

Have I slept great? Obviously not. But I’ve slept good enough to feel fine with a morning coffee and an afternoon nap.

Here are my tips to sleep in coach on Amtrak, from hard-earned experience.

Bring a Travel Pillow. No Exceptions.

I don’t board a train without one. Without it, you spend the night trying to find an angle that doesn’t destroy your neck.

My girlfriend goes further and brings an actual pillow from home. Amtrak has no lugguge limit, so take advantage. You can carry as much as you’re willing to haul. If a real pillow is what gets you to sleep, bring the real pillow.

Cover Your Eyes

I always bring an eye mask or a beanie. Often, I prefer the beanie. A high-quality black beanie. I pull it down over my eyes and it’s darkenss without elastic straps digging into my head. It’s also warmer.

If you want a proper eye mask, buy a good one. I got mine about five years ago and it’s still going strong. The thin ones some airlines hand out let light in around the edges and fall off while you sleep. Don’t rely on those.

Earplugs Are Not Optional on Long-Distance Routes

The diesel engine makes noise. The horns sound at every grade crossing. You’ll be rolling through some small town at 2 a.m., and the horn will go off. Because technically, you share track with freight trains.

I prefer the silicone ones, but to each their own.

Bring an Airline Blanket

On a flight years ago, the airline gave out those thin fleece blankets. I kept mine. It rolls into almost nothing, which makes it perfect for packing.

I now bring it on every overnight or early morning Amtrak trip. You don’t know ahead of time whether the car will run hot or cold, and it can swing. A thin travel blanket is perfect. If you’re doing a true overnight on one of the long-distance routes, like the California Zephyr or the Empire Builder, I’d consider it essential rather than optional.

I also wear comfortable clothes on the train. Joggers and a sweatshirt. You’re not impressing anyone at 3 a.m. in the lounge car.

Recline All the Way

It’s Amtrak. Recline. Nobody behind you is about to get their meal tray crushed.

How much you can recline depends on the route. The long-distance trains have coach seats designed for overnight travel. They recline significantly and come with leg rests.

It’s not a bed, but more than you’d expect from a train seat. On the Northeast Regional or a shorter corridor run, you’ll get a decent recline but not as much. You can still sleep, just calibrate your expectations for the service you’re on.

Basic “Sleep Hygiene” Goes a Long Way

Since your sleep won’t be great, doing the little things right to help your body wind down are more important. I’m often neurotic about this at home, but try to be on point when sleeping on a train or bus.

I try to…

• Eat at reasonable hours
• Get off screens early
• Bring a book.

Reading on a moving train, in a reclined seat, with earplugs in and a beanie pulled down, your body will do the rest.

You’re Not Going to Sleep Great. You Are Going to Sleep.

Adjust your expectations and you’ll be fine. The goal isn’t eight hours. The goal is enough sleep to arrive functional, to drink some coffee and enjoy your travels.

I’ve done overnight coach trips where I slept five or six decent hours, got off the train, and had a great day. The roomette is better. But coach works.

Don’t Play on Sleeping Two Nights in a Row

From my time as a fitness blogger and personal trainer, I know that humans have a remarkable ability to recover from poor sleep… for one night. Studies show that while performance decreases, people perform fine with one night of porr sleep. But after two nights, we drop off a cliff.

I would never plan an Amtrak trip to spend back-to-back nights in coach. Do one night, then have something planned for the next night. Stop somewhere and get a hotel. Upgrade to a roomette.

Pack for Delays

This isn’t directly about sleeping, but it shapes the whole experience. Long-distance Amtrak routes have notoriously poor on-time performance. Freight railroads own most of the tracks and their trains get priority. Your train might run an hour late. It might run four hours late.

Bring extra snacks. Have something to read. Don’t schedule anything important right when you’re supposed to arrive. If you go in with that mindset, a delay is just more train time. If you expect to be on time, a delay becomes a disaster.

One More Thing

I ride Amtrak because I don’t own a car, and I’ve found it to be one of the most underrated ways to move around this country. If you want to know more about why I make that choice, I wrote about why I choose Amtrak over flying and how I live without a car in the U.S.. If you’re trying to keep costs down on your next trip, I also put together a guide on how to find cheap Amtrak tickets.

I still love the train even if I don’t get the best night of sleep.