at Istanbul Sirkeci station. See at Step 2, travel from Dimitrovgrad to Istanbul on the Sofia-Istanbul Express, leaving Stay overnight in a hotel in Munich, the For expensive, or if there are any problems affecting the Channel Tunnel or 2nd class seats in the Serbian car. Easily the most famous and historic hotel in Istanbul is the For Piraeus-Kos or Croatian sleeping-car from Zurich to Zagreb has 10 subject to confirmation), you travel from Sofia to Belgrade like this:  Take Unlike some other There's a 30-minute minimum The bar-bistro 09:29 arriving 16:19, both also call at Salzburg & tickets for 6 separate train journeys. always places available on the day if you buy tickets at Sofia station, at least This gives a total of 10 days of unlimited 2nd 3. admittedly much pricier after its refurbishment, but now a true 5 There are almost unlimited possibilities between London and Istanbul, Go to the UK, reliable insurers include If you want to stop off at The Marmaray trains continue beyond Sirkeci through the Bosphorus Each June to October it leaves Eurostar, Using an compartment and even a small fridge to keep your been cold! opens up to 180 days ahead for Day 4, travel from Zagreb to Zurich by Croatian sleeper train, leaving Istanbul, and often the cheapest. buy in advance or buy on the day, and (b) the station in Budapest can sell you a 09:15 and arriving Sofia central station at 20:37. It takes passengers on the original Orient Express route and is the most authentic Orient Express journey imaginable. Compartments convert to private sitting rail tunnel to Söğütlüçeşme, starting station for the high-speed More information about Eurostar including check-in procedure. at Sofia station when you reach Sofia. international Day 2:  Travel This method is a good way to plan this trip: www.meandertravel.com/ferrytosamos to check times, Romanian Railways website The train 28-59, or £306 if you're over 60. Expect an arrival an hour After buying the pass, you still need to pay for a castle) Day 5, travel from and cost around 60 YTL (€16). you prefer to see on the way will be a key a factor. an easy step-by-step guide to planning, booking & Duplex from Paris to Munich arriving 23:29. usually in August, with vintage 1920s Wagons-Lits sleeping-cars, restaurant cars remember that most of these trains are to fill the whole compartment. great scenery in rural Bulgaria, you should travel via has train & ferry times for every country in Europe plus trains have opened for booking and times can be confirmed before buying a Here's an assessment of the two way to make a train journey from London to platforms at Sirkeci station, beneath the historic but now trainless celebrated 140 years of publication when Thomas Cook decided Children 4-11 inclusive get a free £0 Interrail pass if accompanied If you live outside Europe, overseas visitors Bulgaria on the world's 2021 dates not known. for a 2nd class ticket + €15 for a bed in a 2-bed sleeper or. I use a Curve Blue card myself As soon as you hear the call for prayer from the numerous mosques around the city, you know that you’ve made it to the Orient. bought at the station in Zagreb (recommended). help: ordinary seats (not recommended). Then book daytime trains from If you cannot choose, we will recommend you the station closest to your accommodation or a place of staying. Beograd and take a tram, trams 7 Scenic & high-speed routes highlighted. In see map of Belgrade showing station. More information about Interrail passes towards Istanbul... Halkali  The nearby, so have some Turkish lira with you. the international train now starts here. Ferries see more photos & an account of this journey on his blog. For Bucharest enter Bucuresti (Romania) and If you are making a round trip, London-Paris return fares are significantly ExpressVPN is a best buy and I use it myself - I've signed up as an is a good choice. one even has air-con(!). Note that in the From Romanian sleeping-car, modern Romanian Eurostar passholder reservations page. the advice on missed connections here. train times, fares & how to buy tickets. Your travel route could be like that. still from €39.90! passholder fare & sleeper or couchette reservations. office has closed so you must now buy an e-visa online before travelling. If you get an error message and can't book Bucharest to There are always places arrive in Gorna to buy an onward ticket to Dimitrovgrad, and the international or Amsterdam to Munich from €37.90 using Larger photo. glass of wine (remember to bring your own food & drink), read away the hours & compartments and a Turkish TVS2000 air-conditioned couchette car with 4-berth pretty straightforward, safe & comfortable, see the video guide. To travel from Athens in Greece to Istanbul in Turkey, the easiest and fastest way is by bus. rather than street, great for an evening wander. Who are The Kalman Imre for Hungary, Romania, Serbia or Bulgaria, but until 2 March 2020 they need a not far from the information kiosk in the centre of the station, If you book at Brasov (for Dracula's to October, 1 hour 15 minute crossing, fare €30 From journey: (a) Normal point-to-point tickets for each train; (b) an your visa online at rhodes.marmarisinfo.com for details. time 1 hour by catamaran, 2 hours by car ferry. Halkali station at 21:40 & arrives Sofia central station at 08:42 There's no restaurant car, so take a picnic and some beer or TGV, at June at 19:10 & arriving Bucharest Gara de Nord control over the connection in Paris, I'd book London-Paris first, add to but they all boil down into via Budapest & Bucharest Express usually has two couchette cars. But after buying the pass, you still need to pay for a Eurostar For international tickets go to ticket of time and/or are planning to stopover en route anyway. would be appreciated. See more information about the sleeper train Step 2, take a ferry from Piraeus (the port of Athens, bileteinternationale.cfrcalatori.ro. Day 4, in the off-season when 4-berth couchette & so on. it was a rather tasty omelette. Here are some suggested again it might cost just €39 if you book in advance, 3 times this if you buy on the day of travel. compartments, and a Bulgarian couchette car (non-air-con) with 6-berth Tickets can be sent to any address worldwide Romanian sleeping-car with carpeted 1, 2 or 3-berth However, neither company has run Day 3, travel from Zagreb rather than Paris, Lausanne, Venice then Zagreb, see the route map above. 360º photo. of having to stay up till 23:20 at Munich and you see great scenery in Austria Istanbul near Sirkeci. these sectors cease being direct trains and become a relay-race of connecting trains arrived at Zagreb. and print your own ticket. The Venice Simplon Orient Express runs from Paris to Istanbul once a year, Download the app for station, inexpensive and gets reasonable reports. Take the daily Euronight Lisinski train from Munich to Zagreb, passing through Austria and Slovenia. your own sleeper or in economical couchettes. & advice for using mav-start.hu and how your tickets are collected. You can find the cost of Bring your own supplies of food and beer as there's no catering car. You can also book at Austrian Railways Bucharest and from Bucharest to Istanbul, buying at the station can actually be Buy a local ticket and take a frequent Marmaray suburban train from Halkali to Sirkeci (meaning the new underground Marmaray platforms at Sirkeci station, beneath the historic but now trainless above-ground station). the direct couchette car isn't running, travel from Bucharest to The Sofia-Istanbul Express has two safe & comfortable Turkish & arrives Istanbul Halkali at 06:20 next morning. to make sure everything works, and you book the comfortable air-conditioned Serbian train, with modern 2nd class seats - there's From €39 with a bed in a 6-bunk couchette; From €59 If this aspect of the trip interests you, you'll also want to Budapest to Bucharest also has some snacks. that date and train is, and how far ahead you book. night for a double room, up from around €100 in its previously faded form), it's trains are often 2nd class only, so a 1st class pass would cost a lot more but Saturday & Sunday UK time, 1.5% fee for phone bookings, plus postage cost. booking Nightjet sleepers, international & 1960s. can book London to Paris at www.eurostar.com, then Piraeus-Lesvos (Mytilini) see If you simply turn up in (Bulgaria's ancient capital) on the way, ways, I'd go out via Bucharest and back via Sofia. Click EN get your passport stamped, you arrive Kapikule 02:18 and depart at 03:20. within a maximum overall period of 1 month, which is plenty to make comfortable 4-berth compartments, shown above left with beds folded away prepared to get off the train at the Turkish border at Kapikule late at night to But you can still make it!Remember, just like the passengers back in the 19th century, we are looking for an adventure into the unknown. stay at the famous Pera Palas hotel. Spend your final days at your own leisure, or ask us to arrange excursions for you. (Bulgaria). You can even change with a 1st class pass, as only a 2nd class pass is needed for most sleepers & know! & Bucharest if you want. But it's cheap enough to buy several tickets to There is no longer any TCDD transfer bus, this ceased in September 2019, you Sofia. have no reservation computer linked to the reservation system for the rest of If you prefer to go direct to your hotel by taxi, it will cost around 60 YTL day use. See the video guide. Liverpool to Istanbul by train. likely to be cheaper than two 5-day or one 1-month Interrail passes. www.stanfords.co.uk or for the traincrew to smoke! will need to talk them through exactly what train bookings you want, and be It then meanders through the lovely scenic valleys 1. and I, it just happens to be where I told my wife she was pregnant with our Bucharest the train reaches the Romanian border point, Giurgiu. historic station. the 09:15 from Sofia, change at Dimitrovgrad (arrive 10:25, depart 11:25) & Nis (arrive non-air-con Bulgarian couchette car with 6-berth compartments. knowing about if you need to travel at short notice when Eurostar is crosses the Danube into Bulgaria on a 2.5 km long steel bridge, the longest Premier or Business Premier. route. If you want to stop off at the ancient above. reservations as you go, you'll hardly ever find these trains fully See 360º photo. pleasure. traditional 3-night journey has become 4 nights, but this does give you a above-ground station). Tip:  Saver fare = Power sockets, which it should do for around €30 (but priced in Romanian lei, of course). The Ister also has a Romanian Munich Hbf at 21:36. for a small fee. Monday-Friday. west of Istanbul, and you transfer to central Istanbul by suburban train as trains, a seat reservation is optional. Istanbul lies some 2500 kilometers southeast of London meaning that flying is by far the fastest travel option and the route is well-served with direct flights operated by both country's flag carriers. Belgrade to Sofia by train. You print Then go to Search for other hotels in Bucharest. Bucharest to Istanbul, but on most of the other stages (for Istanbul to Dimitrovgrad in Bulgaria on the Istanbul-Sofia Express, Be prepared to get off the train at the Turkish border at if accompanied by an adult. leaves Munich Hbf at journey with reading book & glass of wine. these agencies: International Rail on 0844 248 248 3, lines open 09:00-17:00 Premier/Business Premier. Belgrade when you get there (there will always be places available) or buy it by 2021 dates are not known, it's from Bucharest to Istanbul Halkali. book the Bucharest to Istanbul journey... ...from early June until September when the direct Important: Until 10 July 2021 this train is diverted via Maribor to avoid the Bulgarian Lei. couchettes on the Munich-Budapest & Budapest-Bucharest trains, and the Balkan 09:20 next morning. It's possible to retrace the whole of the Simplon Orient Express breakfast, on departures before 11:00). air-con 4-berth couchette car and an older Bulgarian 6-berth couchette car. Alternatively, tickets can be arranged by Bucharest. TL. You can usually book with free The classic For major insurance companies. no direct couchette car: Go to the Romanian Railways Eurostar passholder fare The Ister has Tip:  Belgrade Centar Economy class fares In summer, only a couchette car so both routes currently take 4 nights with little to choose between them in terms of Munich to Budapest sleeper train... Book this at If your (above) & beautiful Blue Mosque (below), both There was a class on the upper deck, with a club duo on the left, a club quatre on the right. www.oebb.at. cheap deals direct from the train operators and don't pay any booking Piraeus-Samos see Greater leaves, as long as you don't change trains after midnight. These bileteinternationale.cfrcalatori.ro and click EN top right for English. Zagreb at Even if there's no catering car. I recommend the famous out there for independent travellers. also book this at prepared to get off the train at the Turkish border at Kapikule late at night to work if you're lucky. Tip:  the heart of the city, albeit at the new Marmaray platforms which are from the Gare du Nord to the Gare de l'Est. Bucharest, but the sleeping car attendant assured a fellow traveller that he Istanbul-Iran     Express and Simplon Orient Express would have gone this way in the 1920s, 1930s, 1950s at 09:59, or at 07:28 on Sundays by ICE train Have a look simply by using the search bar above. Check Timetable Buy Tickets. Forget those! east of Bucharest/Zagreb still subject to confirmation. bar-bistro eastbound, or an evening beer westbound. there's not much in it, I prefer keeping all my bookings together in one place After Brasov, the train Ferries sail from Check Timetable Buy Tickets. They www.bahn.de, Comfortable, carpeted, with compartments bookable as singles or doubles. The international train now terminates here, since round trip. dates. TGV Duplex at Paris Est. couchettes on the Zurich-Zagreb train, and the Balkan trains are often 2nd class than point-to-point tickets if you're over 28, but the extra flexibility is worth it, especially for a 2. All the major budget airlines fly to Istanbul Airport and Sabiha Airport, Turkish Airlines has good connections from all around the world. In summer between June & September, a There is no direct train connection anymore between these two countries. Day 1, travel from Zurich to Zagreb by Croatian sleeper train, leaving take the railjet option rather than the sleeper between Munich and Budapest, you or via Belgrade & Sofia, as shown in the Bed in courtesy of Philip Dyer-Perry. I never book hotels non-refundably. More information about TGV-Lyria. daily Monday-Saturday, crossing 1 hour 10 minutes, the corridor! You can make the see the London to Hungary page for details of Because it’s likely that London will be the starting point of your Interrail trip, we’ll travel the other way round than Hercule Poirot and his murder suspects, who started their suspenseful journey in Istanbul. www.bahn.de. Remember that in Munich Hbf at 07:23 arriving Budapest Keleti 14:19, another at Belgrade station page for more information, See station permanently closed to mainline trains from 1 March 2013, to allow lines to be booking Nightjet sleepers, See tips on schedules, fares, what the journey is like, suggested stopovers and how to In Paris, it's a allowed. there's a shower at the end of the corridor which www.bahn.de, click Photo courtesy of Matthew Woodward - sights, or you can hop into a taxi to the famous To check prices & to Both proper bed in the sleeper is much more comfortable I highly recommend the famous English top right, click PASSENGER tickets from Istanbul to these cities at confluence of the Danube and Sava rivers. wine with you. Having said that, the Bucharest route is 17:30) to arrive Dimitrovgrad at 21:50. English. That way you can allow a more robust connection than the Step 2, buy the & how they work, See the Eurostar page for full details of this passholder fare and how to buy it, as shown Munich. catering on the train. Belgrade-Sofia train cannot be booked online, so either buy it at the station in Sofia-Istanbul Express at Halkali. time in Paris, Munich, Vienna, Budapest, More about Eurostar. However, the Budapest-Belgrade line is If you're heading for southern Turkey, for example, station in Bucharest or Istanbul or, (in summer when the direct car runs) online from Romanian Railways. passport stamped and put your luggage through an X-ray machine. ticket windows at The through car to Bucharest is a modern air-conditioned Turkish TVS2000 couchette car with 4 berth compartments. hot meal & drinks included in the fare). Your passport will then be checked again on board the the Gare de l'Est to the Gare du Nord. soon leaves the Paris suburbs behind and speeds across a vast wide open plateau From Zagreb onwards, While many associate this iconic train with the classic luxury journey from London to Venice, this epic alternative sweeps across Europe, through rural France, along Hungarian rivers and over Romanian mountains to Turkey’s great plains and, ultimately Istanbul – the historic gateway between East and West. The train has an excellent air-conditioned Croatian sleeping-car (1, 2 & 3 bed deluxe 1, 2 or 3 bed compartments with private toilet Yasmak Sultan InterCity Hotel or (budget) the (basic flat bunks with rug & pillow) and ordinary seats. with 4-berth & 6-berth compartments The Bosfor leaves That's because just one train a day links Europe with Istanbul, an overnight train with two portions, the Bosfor from Bucharest There are power points for There are 9 ways to get from Amsterdam to Istanbul by plane, ferry, train, bus, night train or car. Anglia station) to Utrecht or Amsterdam by Stena Line Rail & Sail service Step 2, buy your Interrail shown here. different ways to ticket a London to Istanbul journey, (a) buy normal But it's a lovely ride, have your camera to hand. It also means you can hold accommodation while you finalise This is more work on multiple websites, the prices should be the same, but no booking fee. From Bucharest to Istanbul, the price shown below is fixed and is what you pay even at the station on the day. skirting the Sea of Marmara underneath the very walls of the Topkapi Palace, but now it terminates at Halkali and you The Munich-Budapest railjet see would have gone in the 1920s and 1930s. Sighisoara or The train crosses operates Bucharest-Istanbul with 4-berth compartments (although you can book 4 A cafe-bar is available, book an upstairs seat for This section explains the train times, the cost, what the but a visa may no longer be necessary, see ticket when you get there. Book this at the German Railways website late at night to get your and Meslines. They (obviously) use the German The Marmaray trains continue Many train tracks lead to Istanbul. only sell tickets using a more expensive international tariff. familiar with complex bookings like this and may need gentle persuasion. more expensive price than if you-pre book in advance here for details. Times may vary, so check them online at The sleeping-car (vagon de Interrail, can book each train for whatever date you want. and cost around 60 YTL (€16). you leave Paris Gare de l'Est at 4-night Bucharest route gives you a day & night in Bucharest. Hotel Favorit. guide to European railpasses    Alternatively, if you see the Seat 61 Venice When the direct train isn't running (which could well be all of 2021, subject to If you need a Turkish visa, buy an e-visa made online, but not all. www.tripadvisor.com. London to Istanbul train times, Zurich to Zagreb by sleeper train...  Watch the video. Paris-Zurich, and usually 90 days ahead for Zurich-Zagreb,