^{As part of a series on planning your European backpacking trip, we're taking a look at a few things you need to know, do and get before you go and when you get there.}

If your European trip is taking you across tall countries in a single bound, consider making some of those long journies by overnight train. European trains covering overnight trips have sleeping compartments, and you can reserve a couchette (a compartment with up to six sleeping berths) at $32 or more -- that's on top of your Eurail pass or ticket. You've got to get there, and you really should sleep -- combine the two to save some time.

The train from Rome to Munich, one of the most popular overnight train routes in Europe, leaves Rome's Termini Station at 9:37 p.m. and arrives in Munich's Hauptbahnhof at 8:31 a.m. You've got a whole day in front of you, you're well rested and rarin' to go (European trains offer very good coffee as a matter of course). Some guidebooks will tell you you've also saved money -- have you? Let's walk through it and see, starting with what overnight trains are like.

• See a partial list of - and links to more - overnight trains in Europe
• Understand overnight trains in Europe

What's a sleeper?

Each passenger in a sleeper -- a sleeping compartment in a European overnight train -- has his/her own seat/berth which fully reclines with a pillow and sheets and blanket. And his/her means sleepers aren't seperated by gender; you'll be sharing the compartment with both sexes, so keep your daytime duds on. A curtain can be drawn across the locking compartment door to the train hallway. Bathrooms are at the end of the car; European train bathrooms are pretty much like airplane bathrooms -- small, but have what you need.

Does a sleeper cost more?

You can upgrade to a single or double sleeper if you really want the privacy, but it will add bucks -- sometimes substantially. Sleeping in a couchette compartment -- six passengers -- will likely be a minumum of $32 on top of your train pass or ticket. A hostel can be as low as $10 per night, and as much as $30.

The conclusion? If time is more important than money, take the train -- if sticking to a budget is paramount, stay in a hostel and travel by day to see the scenery tick by.

• Hostels 101
• Top European hostels
• Information hub: learn about Eurail passes

Will an overnight train use two days on my train pass?

From Rail Europe: "If you board a direct overnight train that departs after 7:00pm, then you use only one day on your pass. If your overnight train requires a train change before midnight, then you will use two travel days."

• What's one day on a Eurail pass? Understand days on a Eurail pass.

• More about European rail passes

Read more: Understand Europe overnight trains

More Europe backpacking tips:

• Backpacking Europe: Lock it up
• Backpacking Europe: Travel footnotes
• Backpacking Europe: Travel cash stashing
• Backpacking Europe: Rail passes vs. train tickets

^{Related: Backpacking Europe 101 | Eurail Passes 101 | Eurostar 101 | Student Travel Guide to Munich | Munich Hauptbahnhof photos | Top 10 Frequently Asked Hostel Questions}

^{Photos: Top - unknown; bottom - Kathleen Crislip}