Istanbul-Sofia.

[RSDonovan]

Thank you all. It seems that train transport in the Balkans is problematic!

As an alternative, I am considering the overnight train Istanbul-Sofia.

Is there any problem with that train at the moment? I believe it runs nightly from a station near Istanbul (?) and arrives early the following morning. I have seen websites which advise early booking and other websites telling me online booking is impossible! #Confusing!

Richard

 

[WideRanger]

They currently depart from Halkali station, which is a suburban station well within Istanbul, and the terminus of the Marmaray line (Closest eqiivalent in UK is Crossrail). The train is high quality with modern carriages - the 2-berth sleeper compartments have sinks and fridges in them). I have only taken it in the opposite direction, but I understand that you have to book in person at the station (unless you use an agency that does it for you). It's not normally full.

The really important thing to remember is that there is a thorough immigration/customs check at the border with Bulgaria that involves all passengers and their luggage getting off the train, and queueing on the platform to go through the procedures. Not so much fun in the middle of the night.

During the summer, it includes a couchette carriage that split from the main train within Bulgaria and goes to Bucharest in Romania as part of the Sofia - Bucharest train.

 

[RSDonovan]

Thank you very much. I intend to travel next week.

Richard

 

[JB_B]

Seat 61 has a good description of the journey, border procedures and timings:-

Bucharest & Sofia to Istanbul by train | Timetable, fares, tickets

Times, fares & how to buy tickets for the sleeper train between Bucharest or Sofia & Istanbul.

www.seat61.com

 

[Beebman]

As it so happens I'm visiting Istanbul this weekend but travelling by air. Earlier today I took a look around Sirkeci station (the former international terminus) and I discovered that there was an international ticket window (open 10:00-19:00) which sold tickets for both the Sofia and Bucharest overnight trains even though they no longer start and finish there. There were two fare notices displayed for the Sofia train, a computer-printed one showing sleeper cabin prices (in Lira) and a more formal one for the couchettes (in Euros).

I was able to take photos of each of the two signs which I've attached. However because of light reflections I couldn't put my camera straight towards them but hopefully these are clear enough to provide info.

 

[RSDonovan]

What fabulous luck! I will arrive Istanbul tomorrow and try to buy a ticket to Sofia. So I should go to Sirkeci station to buy a ticket but I’m still not sure which station the train will start from. Perhaps you could elucidate?

Thanks for your excellent post and have a great time in Istanbul!

Richard

 

[Beebman]

What fabulous luck! I will arrive Istanbul tomorrow and try to buy a ticket to Sofia. So I should go to Sirkeci station to buy a ticket but I’m still not sure which station the train will start from. Perhaps you could elucidate?

As WideRanger posted, and as the two notices I attached confirm, the train will start from Halkali station where I'd assume you could also buy tickets. The advantage of buying at Sirkeci is that it's more central in the city but maybe it's quieter too than Halkali - I spent around 10 minutes looking round the historic part of Sirkeci and during that time I don't recall seeing anyone going to the international window to buy tickets (but it was definitely open and staffed).

 

[JB_B]

International window was open earlier than we expected at Sirkeci last month ( open more or less when we arrived from Halkali so probably no later than ~9a.m) - it was very quiet - no queue. The little railway museum there is worth a quick look too. (As @WideRanger says, don't count on getting much sleep given the border procedures.)