Istanbul-Thessaloniki Train, Turkey

Home
Search
Maps of Turkey
Photo Gallery

Where to Go
When to Go
Where to Stay
What It Costs
Turkish Money
Transport
FAQ-Travel Details

Best Itineraries
Guided Tours
Travel Agency
Unusual Trips
Consultations

TTP Forums
Funny Stuff
Shopping
Site Index
Bright Sun

 

One daily train connects Istanbul with Thessaloniki, Greece. To go to Athens, you must change trains at Thessaloniki. There are no direct Athens-Istanbul trains.

The train (IC91) departs Istanbul (Sirkeci) daily at 08:30 am, arrives at the Greek border station of Pythion near Edirne at 14:38 (2:38 pm), leaves the border station at 15:51 (3:51 pm), and arrives in Thessaloniki (Selanik) at 22:13 (10:13 pm).

The return train (IC90) departs Thessaloniki at 07:26 am, and arrives in Istanbul at 21:33 (9:33 pm).

The one-way fare is TL122.70 in 1st class, or TL81.60 in 2nd class.

As of May 2009, part of this route in Greece is served by buses, as a portion of the track is being repaired.

There is also a much more comfortable nightly sleeper train, the Dostluk/Filia Ekspresi, between Istanbul and Thessaloniki.

For information on trains in Greece, see the OSE (Hellenic Railways Organization) website (in English).

Buses travel this route far more quickly, at about the same fare. You may want to consider at least taking a bus (3 hours) between Istanbul and Edirne, then the train between Edirne and Thessaloniki. Or, better yet, bus all the way.

Hotels in Antalya
Cheap hotels in Antalya are just a few clicks away with dealchecker.co.uk. The beach is gorgeous!