I booked private rooms on overnight trains in Europe and the US. The more expensive ride was a better deal.

Business Insider's reporter traveled in private cabins on overnight trains in the US and Europe.Joey Hadden/Business Insider

• I booked a 30-hour overnight train ride in an Amtrak roomette in 2021.
• Two years later, I booked a private cabin on a European sleeper train for an 11-hour ride.

I've taken six overnight trains in the US and Europe, sometimes cheaply with shared accommodations and, in other cases, more expensive, private cabins.

I've found that the most comparable rides in each country were the Amtrak roomette and a private cabin on OBB Austrian Federal Railway's Nightjet train.

Both rides offered an enclosed space with beds, in-room sinks, and wash basins, but the experiences were completely different in many ways.

Read on to find out which is more worth the price — and why.