2nd Class AC - Which Berth?

My wife and I are traveling from Kerala to Goa in 2nd Class AC and have been prompted to state our berth preference. From what I've read (many thanks to Steven_Ber), the side berth offers more privacy and two window seats but is smaller. The regular berth offers more space and a chance to mingle with other travelers.

The important thing to point out here is that we will be traveling overnight. Our train departs Kerala at 8pm and arrives in Goa at 11am, so we'll spend a good portion of the trip sleeping. Ideally, we'd like to sleep as long as possible.

That being said, which berth is most recommended for two average height individuals on an overnight train (15 hours total)?

Two other questions:

1) do the side berths have curtains?
2) how comfortable is the lower side berth for sleeping. The way it is configured for sleeping does not look comfortable.

Thank you.

I would go with the non-side berth. I traveled a lot this past summer by overnight train. The downside to the regular berth is passengers coming and going (and thereby opening curtains) during the night. However, on the side berth, there IS a curtain (separate for top and bottom), but if you're on the bottom, people and their luggage can knock into you all night long as they walk by, including the chai-wallah, who is constantly coming through.

So I was always much happier in the inside, also because you have more space to move around without being in the aisle of the train...

Safe travels!

I'm not very tall (5'4") and find that sleeping in the side lower is like sleeping on a loveseat instead of a couch ... I always feel cramped, plus, as imetmadonna says, people are constantly passing buy and knocking into the berth, twitching the curtains, etc.

My choice is always the upper berths on the inside (not side ones) - I can get to go up and sleep or read using the extra light anytime.

Cheers

Nattusbs

1) do the side berths have curtains?

Yes, the side berth do have curtains.

2) how comfortable is the lower side berth for sleeping. The way it is configured for sleeping does not look comfortable.

How tall are you? That is the main question. Side berth are excellent choices for daytime travel but for overnight sleep, they are horrible if you are taller than 5'4". I chose side berth once a few years ago and being 6' tall, it was a nightmare, didn't get any sleep that night.

My first choice is always the upper birth. There's nobody to disturb you there and you can lie down and read a book or whatever in peace. You can stretch you legs all the way. There's also enough room to sit up and eat your dinner or snacks which is not possible in lower/middle berth. Of course in 2nd AC there are no middle berths, so you need not worry about head clearance in any berth.

Okay, thanks everyone. I've booked my train ticket in the non-side berth. I asked for a lower and an upper but got two upper berths. WTF!

We booked with cleartrip. Is it possible for them to switch my wife to the lower berth? Or is it common to switch with one of the other passengers in our berth? Or did we get stuck with a seat that no one will trade for?

If we're stuck with the uppers, how does that work? We sit on the bottom during the day and at night, we climb up top? My wife will not be happy, especially with reports that cold air blows right on you. She'll freeze! Grrrrrrr

It is possible that the lower seats might have been allotted to a couple of senior citizen's or women. In that case they might not be able to exchange berths with you.

If that is not the case then you can request for the berths to be exchanged.

If you have the upper berth, you can utilize it any time. You will be seated near the aisle. There will be blankets provided in the train.

This is probably because lower berth wasn't available in your class at the time of booking.Its really frustrating cos there is no way of knowing it even in the IRCTC website.Once your tickets are booked you cannot switch berths.You need to cancel it and re-book in a different class/day/train to get your desired berth.Yes you sit in the lowest berth during the day and climb on the top to sleep.