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I heard of companies in South America that travel by night and offer beds in the bus. A friend, recently in Colombia, used them and refered to that as: "very good service, the buses are very high quality and you get to the destination like you you never left the same place. And you have a full day ahead of you to visit a city".

I know he is an "easy sleeper" but anyway, I believe it's comfortable enough and definitely very convenient to travel between distant points, saving time and money. You also save yourself from the complexities of airports. I know there is the same in Europe with trains, but I was wondering if such a service exists on a Bus.

Are there night bus companies, providing beds on board, in Europe?

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    Passenger's safety regulations may be a problem here. In Germany, it is not allowed to transport lying passengers in buses (StVZO §35i(2)). I suppose other European countries will have similar restrictions.
    – Tor-Einar Jarnbjo
    Jun 6, 2014 at 11:50
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    In a French paper today, I spotted an article about [Somnibus](somnibus.com) which is an 18 seater bus hotel you can hire. However, it doesn't drive while you sleep - Le somnibus ne roule pas avec ses passagers : il "dort" sur place - so that looks close but no cigar...
    – Gagravarr
    Jun 19, 2014 at 9:53
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    There are sleeper trains with beds in Europe. They're often a bit more expensive that bus travel, but they can offer the benfits you mention of saving travel time - and with Interrail/EURail passes, price can come down a lot if you are travellling. Making a comment, not an answer as it's off topic for the question as currently phrased.
    – CMaster
    Jun 30, 2015 at 11:52
  • When booked early, a ticket with a night in a couchette (bunk) is as cheap as the surcharge/reservation fee for the same couchette when traveling with an Eurail or InterRail pass. But they are worth the money spend on them.
    – Willeke ♦
    Jun 30, 2015 at 20:37
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    Note on the night trains and couchettes, there are fewer trains in the nights each year and I fear most still running will disappear in the coming few years.
    – Willeke ♦
    Jan 10, 2018 at 16:44

2 Answers 2

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In the UK, there was MegabusGold who ran a sleeper service.

MegaBus Gold ended on 21 May 2017, so that service no longer exists. I think it was the last true bus sleeper in Western Europe.

Bus sleepers are banned in Germany for safety reasons (reference: StVZO §35i (2)).

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  • "Although MegaBus do run international buses, I don't think they run the sleepers internationally." - what?
    – d33tah
    Jun 6, 2014 at 21:17
  • @d33tah All the overnight MegaBuses on international routes that I've ever seen are normal seats, or reclining seats, not proper sleepers like MegaBusGold.
    – Richard Gadsden
    Jun 9, 2014 at 8:34
  • Ah, sorry, I misread your comment.
    – d33tah
    Jun 9, 2014 at 10:26
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With eurolines (http://eurolines.com), you can travel overnight between many countries. There are no beds, but rows of seats like in a plane, there is slightly more space and they recline more, so you can very well sleep. Seats are not as comfortable as in colombian buses, though (I've tried both).

You could also try night trains, but they tend to be more expensive and no more comfortable.

Edit: Take also a look to idBus, which offers a similar service. The company claims it offers a high standard of comfort, but I have not travelled with them and cannot confirm.

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  • do they use different buses at night? The day ones are confortable to sit but not very spacious. Spending a night there is certainly not confortable.
    – nsn
    Jun 18, 2014 at 22:35
  • @nsn No. Same buses for day/night.
    – Milo
    Jun 30, 2015 at 14:58
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    This does not answer the question. The question specifically asks for buses with beds. Night buses without beds are nothing new.
    – gerrit
    Sep 14, 2015 at 14:11

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