Düsseldorf to Istanbul by train
Travel from Düsseldorf (Germany) to Istanbul (Turkey) by train (2041km): schedule and information to the train connection. Compare fares and buy your ticket.
Travel by train from Düsseldorf in Germany to Istanbul in Turkey. The ticket fare starts from 130 EUR. The journey time is from 45 hours. You have two travel routes. From Düsseldorf to Vienna (Austria) or Budapest (Hungary). Continue from there either via Bucharest (Romania) or via Belgrade (Serbia) and Sofia (Bulgaria) to Istanbul (Turkey). Please read our detailed travel information with schedules and ticket fares.
There are two main routes. Compare them and decide which one feeds your needs best.
- 1Düsseldorf (Germany) - Vienna (Austria) - Bucharest (Romania) - Istanbul (Turkey)
- 2Düsseldorf (Germany) - Budapest (Hungary) - Belgrade (Serbia) - Sofia (Bulgaria) - Istanbul (Turkey)
2041 km
How to use the following information: we show you the best routes and where to buy tickets. On longer routes you may need more than one ticket. Book your tickets step by step as explained. If you have questions about the route from Düsseldorf to Istanbul, please ask in our forum. Of course, sometimes there are as well other travel routes possible.
The following links could be interesting for you.
train connections : popular connections travelled by other users
Istanbul - Düsseldorf / Berlin - Istanbul / Berlin - Izmir / Hamburg - Istanbul / Munich - Istanbul / Mannheim - Istanbul / Stuttgart - Istanbul / Cologne - Istanbul / Frankfurt am Main - Istanbul1 Düsseldorf (Germany) - Vienna (Austria) - Bucharest (Romania) - Istanbul (Turkey)
The route consist of more than one step. You have to buy several train tickets.
1a Travelling from Düsseldorf (Germany) to Vienna (Austria)
The train journey from Germany to Austria is inexpensive with many daily ICE and Railjet connections. There are saver fares ("Sparpreis Europa") available from Deutsche Bahn from 18 EUR.
On longer distances we recommend a Nightjet night train. These offer you comfortable overnight travel in a seating, couchette or sleeping car. Tickets for the Nightjet start from 29 EUR. In the sleeping car from as little as 69 EUR.
There are night train connections from Hamburg, Berlin, Cologne, Düsseldorf and Frankfurt to Salzburg, Linz, Innsbruck and Vienna.
Find your itinerary, timetable and ticket prices through our booking links.
Where to buy a ticket from Düsseldorf to Vienna?
Check times&prices 
The following links could be interesting for you.
train types: Train types you are likely to travel with.
IntercityExpress (ICE) / Railjet (RJ) / EuroCity (EC)
night train: Night trains that might be suitable for this trip.
ÖBB nightjet NJ491 Hamburg - Vienna / ÖBB nightjet NJ40421 Düsseldorf - Vienna / ÖBB nightjet NJ457 Berlin - Vienna / ÖBB nightjet NJ421 Düsseldorf - Innsbruck / ÖBB nightjet NJ40491 Hamburg - Innsbruck
train company:
DB Deutsche Bahn / ÖBB Österreichische Bundesbahnen
train connections: popular connections travelled by other users
Vienna - Düsseldorf / Berlin - Vienna / Berlin - Graz / Berlin - Salzburg / Cologne - Vienna / Frankfurt am Main - Vienna / Hamburg - Vienna / Leipzig - Vienna / Munich - Vienna / Stuttgart - Vienna
search for train schedules here: Online timetable information, on which you can find relevant, up-to-date connections.
rail.cc Deutsche Bahn
1b Travelling from Vienna (Austria) to Bucharest (Romania)
Travel from Vienna to Bucharest by overnight train. The journey time is 20:20 hours. Train ticket fares start from 49 EUR.
The overnight train "Dacia" (EN347) is comfortable and the recommended way of travel. There are the following service classes available:
- standard seats. Ticket fares from 49 EUR.
- couchettes: compartments with berths for 4 or 6 passengers. Ticket fares from 59 EUR.
- sleeper-wagon: private compartments with beds for 1 to 3 passengers and washbasin. Optional you can book these compartments with private shower and toilet. Ticket fares from 79 EUR for a bed in a 3-persons-compartment. And from 159 EUR for a private sleeper-compartment only for yourself.
The departure time in Vienna is 19:40 and the arrival time in Bucharest is 16:00.
Beside this direct overnight train you can travel first by Railjet day train from Vienna to Budapest. And change in Budapest to a night train to Bucharest.
All in all it is a recommended rail trip trough the beautiful scenery trough Transylvania and of the Carpathian mountains.
Find the exact train schedules and buy your ticket via the given booking links.
Where to buy a ticket from Vienna to Bucharest?
The following links could be interesting for you.
train types: Train types you are likely to travel with.
Railjet (RJ)
night train: Night trains that might be suitable for this trip.
EN 346 Bucharest - Vienna / EN 347 Vienna - Bucharest / EN 473 Budapest - Bucharest / EN 472 Bucharest - Budapest
train connections: popular connections travelled by other users
Bucharest - Vienna
1c Travelling from Bucharest (Romania) to Istanbul (Turkey)
Travel from Bucharest to Istanbul by direct overnight train Bosphorus Express. This daily overnight train has a journey time of 18:30 hours. Train tickets start from 52 EUR.
At off-season (October to May) you have to use connection trains to get to Dimitrovgrad (Bulgaria) where you can enter the overnight train. Travel from Bucharest via Ruse and Gorna Oryahovitsa to Dimitrovgrad (Bulgaria) where the night train departs at 22:40. You have enough time to change trains at each of these railway station.
The direct overnight train Bucharest to Istanbul departs at "Bucharest Gara de Nord" railway station at 11:00. The arrival time in Istanbul Halkali railway station is at 05:20 in the morning. After midnight you have to leave the train at the Turkish border with all your luggage and put your luggage through an X-ray machine.
The ticket price is 38 EUR plus a supplement of 14 EUR for a berth in a 4 person compartment. Buy the ticket at the railway station in Bucharest or on the website of Romania railways CFR. Select "Halkali" as destination.
The arrival station Istanbul Halkali is located 25 kilometres outside of the historic city centre. Get by Marmaray suburban train directly to Istanbul Sirkeci railway station (the former historic railway station) and on to "Söğütlüçeşme", the departure station for the high-speed-trains in direction of Ankara. These suburban trains run every 15 minutes with a ticket fare of less than 2 EUR. The journey time from the Istanbul Halkali station to the historic city centre is 35 minutes.
Where to buy a ticket from Bucharest to Istanbul?
The following links could be interesting for you.
night train: Night trains that might be suitable for this trip.
Bosfor Bucharest - Istanbul / Bosfor Istanbul - Bucharest
train connections: popular connections travelled by other users
Istanbul - Bucharest
2 Düsseldorf (Germany) - Budapest (Hungary) - Belgrade (Serbia) - Sofia (Bulgaria) - Istanbul (Turkey)
The route consist of more than one step. You have to buy several train tickets.
2a Travelling from Düsseldorf (Germany) to Budapest (Hungary)
Train tickets from Germany to Budapest and selected other cities in Hungary are available from Deutsche Bahn (German railways) via the given booking links. There you also find the train schedules.
Saver price tickets called "Sparpreis Europa" offer very attractive ticket fares from 39 EUR. These tickets are valid for routes from Germany via either Czech Republic and Slovakia or via Austria to Hungary.
If it is not possible to book a ticket until your final destination, buy a second one from Budapest to your destination from Hungarian railways MAV.
Where to buy a ticket from Düsseldorf to Budapest?
The following links could be interesting for you.
train types: Train types you are likely to travel with.
IntercityExpress (ICE) / Railjet (RJ) / EuroCity (EC)
night train: Night trains that might be suitable for this trip.
ÖBB nightjet NJ491 Hamburg - Vienna / ÖBB nightjet NJ40421 Düsseldorf - Vienna / EN 40457 Berlin - Budapest / EN 463 Munich - Budapest
train company:
DB Deutsche Bahn / MÁV Magyar Államvasutak - MÁV START / ARRI Arriva NL
train connections: popular connections travelled by other users
Budapest - Düsseldorf / Berlin - Budapest / Munich - Budapest / Hamburg - Budapest / Cologne - Budapest / Frankfurt am Main - Budapest
search for train schedules here: Online timetable information, on which you can find relevant, up-to-date connections.
rail.cc Deutsche Bahn / Interrail Planer App
2b Travelling from Budapest (Hungary) to Belgrade (Serbia)
Travel from Hungary to Serbia by direct train on the route from Budapest to Belgrade.
There are saver fare tickets available from 15 EUR.
2021: the direct route Budapest to Novi Sad and on to Belgrade is under construction. The best option is to travel by train from Budapest to Zagreb and from Zagreb to Belgrade if you want to avoid changes and buses.
Find the exact train schedules and buy your train tickets via the given booking websites.
Where to buy a ticket from Budapest to Belgrade?
The following links could be interesting for you.
train types: Train types you are likely to travel with.
EuroCity (EC)
night train: Night trains that might be suitable for this trip.
G 341 Budapest - Belgrade
train company:
MÁV Magyar Államvasutak - MÁV START
train connections: popular connections travelled by other users
Belgrade - Budapest / Budapest - Novi Sad
search for train schedules here: Online timetable information, on which you can find relevant, up-to-date connections.
rail.cc Deutsche Bahn
2c Travelling from Belgrade (Serbia) to Sofia (Bulgaria)
Travel from Belgrade to Sofia by direct day train connection. In off-season (October to May) you have to change trains in Nis and Dimitrovgrad. Sometimes an overnight train is offered as well.
The journey time from Belgrade to Sofia by direct day train is 11:30 hours. Train tickets are available from 21 EUR in 2nd class. Buy your ticket locally at the railway station. The departure time in Belgrade (Topcider) is 09:15. The arrival time in Sofia is 20:45.
If no direct train is available, you have to travel in several steps:
1. Belgrade to Nis. It might be the case that you have to stay overnight in Nis.
2. Nis to Dimitrovgrad.
3. Dimitrovgrad to Sofia.
Find the exact schedules via the booking links.
Where to buy a ticket from Belgrade to Sofia?
The following links could be interesting for you.
train connections: popular connections travelled by other users
Sofia - Belgrade
2d Travelling from Sofia (Bulgaria) to Istanbul (Turkey)
Travel from Sofia to Istanbul by direct overnight train. The daily train has a journey time of 11 hours. Train tickets start from 29 EUR.
The departure time in Sofia is 18:30 and the arrival time in Istanbul is 05:30. Buy your train ticket locally at the railway station of Sofia. The ticket price is 19 EUR plus a supplement of 10 EUR for a 4-berth couchette or 15 EUR for a 2-bed sleeper. The private sleeper compartment for one single traveller is 28 EUR plus a supplement of 35 EUR. In the middle of the night at the border, you have to get out of the train with all your luggage put it through an X-ray machine.
The arrival station is Istanbul Halkali which is located 25 kilometres outside of the historic city centre. Get by Marmaray suburban train in direction of the city centre, to the old Istanbul Sirkeci railway station. These suburban trains run every 15 minutes with a ticket fare of less than 2 EUR. The journey time is 35 minutes.
If you want to continue your journey in direction of Ankara, continue by Marmaray suburban train until the station "Söğütlüçeşme. Here is the departure of the high-speed-trains to Ankara.
Where to buy a ticket from Sofia to Istanbul?
The following links could be interesting for you.
night train: Night trains that might be suitable for this trip.
D 493 Sofia - Istanbul / D 81032 Istanbul - Sofia
train connections: popular connections travelled by other users
Istanbul - Sofia
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Find a cheap flight! Compare prices on Kiwi.com
Do you have questions about the connection between Düsseldorf and Istanbul? Does something not work as it should? Just ask in our forum and get competent answers from our rail travel experts.
Eurail: if you want to travel this route by Eurail instead of train tickets, have a look here for reservation fees and further information.
