annabanana
Traveller
0 comments
Posted 15 years ago
Hello!
I plan to travel from Istanbul to Munich.
I would be glad if someone could help me and share her/his experiences...
or recommend a route..?
thanks a lot in advance! greetings, anna.
SiDUDe
Traveller
752 comments
Its a mission - ive done most of it (Budapest-Istanbul) And will be doing most of it again (Sofia - Munich) this summer.
Have a look here: [u]https://rail.cc/en/search-interrail-route[/u]
I would recommend the three person sleeper from Istanbul-Sofia, it was under €10, there were 2 of us and the extra bed was unused, so we got a private cabin! Be prepared for LOTS of delays. You might want to factor in a day in Belgrade in case of delays. Or you could have a day in Sofia, there is a direct Sofia Vienna train daily. Once your in Vienna, there are quite a few trains to Munich via Salzburg. Im going to try to do this during the day, as the Alps should be pretty spectacular.
You need to keep your wits about you as only certain parts of the train that will run the whole distance. The sensible side of me says fly, but where the fun in that?
I wont repeat my story about getting stuck in Sofia at 1.30am without a place to stay, it may put you off....
Thomas S
Traveller
26 comments
I did Istanbul to Vienna (via Bucharest) last month - like SiDUDE said, expect lots of delays.
The train from Istanbul to Bucharest leaves at 22:00 at should arrive in Bucharest late in the afternoon, giving you time to catch the train for Budapest that leaves at about 19:00. Don't think that will happen. Out train was delayed for 4 hours (in Bulgaria, it has to connect with a train from Sofia) and reached Bucharest at 22:00 - making it possible to catch the late train for Budapest, which leaves at midnight. So, whenever you plan to arrive in Bucharest, make sure to chech for later connections - it will be necessary, and Bucharest, the railway station in particular, might not be a nice place to spend a night unless you've made reservations on beforehand. The train from Bucharest to Budapest should arrive on time, though, and from Budapest there's connections to Vienna and Munich further on.
Go for a private cabin, if you're two or three people travelling together - it's costlier, but you will appreciate the privacy when you are spending more than 24 hours on a train. The trip through Bulgaria is nice enough, once you clear the middle-of-the-night security at the Turkish border, and Romania should be beuatiful as well (we slept through it).