What is it like to sleep on The Ghan?

Since The Ghan train is 4 days, 3 nights, sleeping is a big part of the journey. 

As I’ve mentioned before, there’s three levels of service on The Ghan: Platinum, Gold Twin and Gold Single. For the purposes of this post, I’ll be talking about the Gold Twin sleeping accommodations, because that’s the most often booked cabin.

Inside of the cabin are two beds – one folds down from the couch, and the second folds down from the top, creating a bunk bed. While you are enjoying dinner at night, your hospitality attendant will make these beds for you, and install the ladder that is needed to reach the top bed.

The bottom bed is larger, so if you’re bigger or want more room, this is the bed you want. Besides, this is the best bed for accessing the bathroom and to easily reach outside, so if possible, grab the bottom bunk. 

Here you can get a better idea of the top bunk.

Both beds will be made with 2 pillows, a throw pillow and a blanket, as well as a comfortable duvet.

There are lights above each bed for reading, as well as a cubby hole for storing a phone or glasses.

I found the bed to be quite comfortable for the journey and had no problems sleeping, aside for the one night where the train was jostling around due to what I presume was rough tracks underneath. I got a full night of sleep each night and found these beds to be much more comfortable than that of a lay flat airline seat, to be honest.

In the morning, both beds would be put away by your hospitality attendant while you ate breakfast, returning your room to a normal state.