TurkeyTravelPlanner.com Trains: Europe to Istanbul
 

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The Bosfor Ekspresi departs Istanbul at 22:00 (10 pm) each night westbound for Bucharest, Romania. Some cars are routed to Sofia, Bulgaria, with onward service between Sofia and Belgrade, Serbia, and from there to cities in central and western Europe, but it's not a comfortable journey. Read this.

The Sofia-bound cars are switched at Dimitrovgrad (at 06:19 am) to train no. 490-492, the Balkan Ekspresi, which arrives in Sofia at 10:35 am, then continues to Belgrade, arriving at 19:21 (7:21 pm), a trip of more than 20 hours from Istanbul—if it's on time, which it probably won't be.

The eastbound train (no. 463/491) departs Belgrade at 07:50 am, departs Sofia at 19:15 (7:15 pm), and arrives at Istanbul's Sirkeci station at 07:50 am, making the Belgrade-to-Istanbul journey over 24 hours (plus any late arrival.)

The train hauls compartment, couchette and sleeping cars.

One-way (single) fare between Sofia and Istanbul is 29.40 euros in 1st class, or 19.60 euros in 2nd class. The fare between Belgrade and Istanbul is 72.60 euros in 1st class, or 48.40 euros in 2nd class. Other one-way fares are here (scroll down the page to see them).

For more, check the website of my friend Mark Smith, The Man in Seat Sixty-One.

A better way to travel between Istanbul and Europe by train is the nightly Dostluk/Filia Express between Thessaloniki, Greece, and Istanbul. More...

The alternative: there's frequent, comfortable daily bus service between Sofia, Bulgaria and Istanbul, Turkey; and you may be able to fly for about the same as—or less than—the cost of the train. More....


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Hall at Sirkeci Station, Istanbul, Turkey

A grand hall at Istanbul's Sirkeci Station, terminus for European trains including, in its time, the Orient Express.

 
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