Sleeping Car Trains in Turkey

You can enjoy travel in a sleeping car on these Turkish routes and trains. Here's how to buy tickets.

ISTANBUL - ANKARA

Ankara Ekspresi
Turkey's premier overnight train, it hauls only sleeping cars. More...

Anadolu Ekspresi
A good mixed train of sleeping cars, couchettes and compartment cars. More...

ISTANBUL - ANKARA - KAYSERİ - SİVAS - ERZURUM - KARS

Doğu Ekspresi
Older, slower, less "prime"... unless you're going far east, take the Ankara Ekspresi or Anadolu Ekspresi instead. More...

ISTANBUL - ANKARA - KAYSERİ- MALATYA - VAN/DİYARBAKIR - (TEHERAN)

Vangölü/Güney/Trans Asya Ekspresi
On alternate days (more or less) this slow, old train ends up in Van or Diyarbakır. Once a week it goes on to Teheran, Iran as the Trans Asya Ekspresi.

ISTANBUL - KONYA - ADANA - GAZİANTEP - (DAMASCUS)

Iç Anadolu Mavi Tren
This Istanbul-to-Adana "Inner Anatolia Blue Train" is the best on the run. From Adana, take a bus to Antakya, where it's easy to get to the Syrian border. More...

Meram Ekspresi
This Istanbul-to-Konya train departs at dinnertime, takes 13-1/2 hours, arrives at breakfast time the next morning. Good! More...

ISTANBUL - THESSALONIKI, GREECE

Dostluk/Filia (Friendship) Express
Perhaps the best way to travel between Istanbul and Greece, this 12-hour overnight trip in a comfortable sleeping car saves you the cost of a hotel, and is more comfortable than a bus. More...