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anonymous
Traveller
2467 comments

Posted 13 years ago

hiya new poster here. dont many interrail trips before but never into Eastern Europe.

i am going to meet my family out on holiday in turkey, but i hate sitting by a pool, so ive decided to go completely overland from Birmingham to Fethiye on the Med coast in southern Turkey.

anyway, to my question.

at a website there is a section for travelling from budapest to bucharest it suggests that it is £91 when bought in the UK, but considerably cheaper when bought at the station(60 euros).
the same is true for travelling from bucharest to istanbul (£76 in the UK and 45 euros when bought at the station)

prices without a rail pass, as i dont really need one

what would you advise i do, would it be worthwhile waiting till i get there to buy the tickets for the sleepers or shall i get them in the UK? as im not too sure what Hungarian and Romanian train stations are like.

ta for your help,
Dan

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Robert_Antonio
Traveller
53 comments

replied 13 years ago

From Budapest to Bukarest buy a cheap e-ticket at mav-start.hu/english/index.php , but at least one month in advance. The Hungarian Railways e-shop is still in development, so it's quite buggy and not all texts are translated to English. The price is €29 for seat and €39 for 6-berth couchette.

Bukarest-Istanbul ticket costs €40 plus €9.40 for 6-berth couchette supplement, if bought at Bukarest train station.

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Flo
Traveller
10723 comments

replied 13 years ago

You said you want to go completely overland all the way from Birmingham...have you already thought about how you want to travel in Western Europe? A 5in10 InterRail pass could be worth its money for the whole trip...

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anonymous
Traveller
2467 comments

replied 13 years ago

well i did look into that. its £145 quid for the interrail for 5 in 10

the sleeper fom paris to munich is about £30 i think. then 8 from munich to budapest, but i want a stop in vienna, then take a trip to bratislava too.

what will the seat reservation prices be for these trips plus the budapest-bucharest and bucharest-istanbul trains?

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Flo
Traveller
10723 comments

replied 13 years ago

Paris - München night train prices start at ~40€ for a regular 2nd class seat...for a bed in a sleeper prices start at ~90€. When travelling with an InterRail pass it is 9€for a 2nd class seat and 45€ in a 3-bed sleeper.

[quote]8 from munich to budapest[/quote] :?:

Additional costs esitmate when travelling with InterRail:

- 6€ for TGV Calais/Lille - Paris (It may be possible to avoid the TGV and go with free trains instead...I have to look at the ferry timings still)
- 9€ for a 2nd class seat in the CNL night train Paris - München (25€ in a 6-bed couchette, 35€ in a 4-bed couchette, 45€ in a 3-bed sleeper)
- München - Wien - Bratislava - Budapest: Free travel, no reservation needed
- I would recommend to go Budapest - Sofiya - Istanbul instead of going via Bukarest.
Budapest - Sofiya: 6bed couchette: 13,40€, 3bed sleeper 22€
Sofiya - Istanbul: same prices as above

So you will total at ~200 - 250€ depending on the comfort you choose.


Flo 8)

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anonymous
Traveller
2467 comments

replied 13 years ago

sorry pressed the shift too early, I meant £28 :os

can budapest - sofia - istanbul all bee booked at the respective train stations?

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Flo
Traveller
10723 comments

replied 13 years ago

Ah, ok. :)

Yeah, you can book all those trains at the originating stations. But as well at many other stations within Europe...for instance in Wien.


Flo 8)

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anonymous
Traveller
2467 comments

replied 13 years ago

Thanks for all your help.
much appreciated.
Dan

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Robert_Antonio
Traveller
53 comments

replied 13 years ago

But consider that the tickets would be more expensive if booked abroad (for example Bukarest-Istanbul €62.60)

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Flo
Traveller
10723 comments

replied 13 years ago

The prices for InterRail are set - the 62,60 are for a regular ticket I suppose.. ;)

Where do you want to make stopovers along the route?

Budapest - Sofiya - Istanbul will take two travel days. You know that there is no train service to Fethiye? The closest you can probably get is Burdur which is ~200km away. I know only about an overnight train from Istanbul to Burdur so you would need a total of three travel days for Budapest - Burdur.
Plus two travel days for Calais - Paris - München - Wien (- Bratislava/Budapest). Depending on where you want to stay you might need to go with regular tickets for Wien - Bratislava and/or Budapest. Or you get regular tickets for Istanbul - Burdur but I dont know these prices. Or take a bus on that route..?

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anonymous
Traveller
2467 comments

replied 13 years ago

yeah, i was wondering why this happens.

so the cheapest way would be.
1. eurostar to paris £38
2. global 5 day pass £145
3. paris to munich sleeper £9
4. munich - vienna - bratislava - budapest FREE
5. budapest - sofia 13euros
6. sofia - istanbul 13 euros

TOTAL
approx £210

will reserving the sleeper trains be the same price if booked in Vienna, rather than at the station in budapest and sofia?

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anonymous
Traveller
2467 comments

replied 13 years ago

yes i am taking a bus from istanbul to fethiye

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Flo
Traveller
10723 comments

replied 13 years ago

I think that will be rather cheap, yes. When travelling with regular tickets you would have to pay at least 40€ for Paris - München and 29€ for München - Wien (more likely 49€ or more as the tickets for 29€ are very limited). I think the InterRail is worth its money for this trip.

The reservations can be a little cheaper when bought directly in Budapest/Sofiya but I wouldnt think substantially.

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anonymous
Traveller
2467 comments

replied 13 years ago

just another quick question.

could i travel from budapest to sofia via belgrade in the daytime so i dont have to pay for a seat reservation?

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Flo
Traveller
10723 comments

replied 13 years ago

No.

What would be possible is to go Budapest - Timisoara - Bukarest during the day but you would need a reservation for both these trains (~3€ plus ~5-10€) and connecting time in Timisoara is rather short so I wouldt recommend this option.