Igoumenitsa to Budapest by train
Travel from Igoumenitsa (Greece) to Budapest (Hungary) by train (895km): schedule and information to the train connection. Compare fares and buy your ticket.
To travel by train from Igoumenitsa in Greece to Budapest in Hungary, the main route leads via Serbia. Please read the following information and blog posts.
There are two main routes. Compare them and decide which one feeds your needs best.
- 1Igoumenitsa (Greece) - Thessaloniki (Greece) - Belgrade (Serbia) - Budapest (Hungary)
- 2Igoumenitsa (Greece) - Thessaloniki (Greece) - Sofia (Bulgaria) - Bucharest (Romania) - Budapest (Hungary)
895 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 Igoumenitsa to Budapest, 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
Budapest - Igoumenitsa / Thessaloniki - Budapest / Alexandroupoli - Budapest / Larissa - Budapest / Patras - Budapest / Piraeus - Budapest1 Igoumenitsa (Greece) - Thessaloniki (Greece) - Belgrade (Serbia) - Budapest (Hungary)
The route consist of more than one step. You have to buy several train tickets.
1a Travelling from Igoumenitsa (Greece) to Thessaloniki (Greece)
Travel from Igoumenitsa to Thessaloniki by bus. There is no train connection available.
The bus journey time from Igoumenitsa to Thessaloniki is 4 hours with a stop half the way. Buy your bus ticket from 38 EUR. There are normally 3 buses per day. The KTEL bus network in Greece offers comfortable, air-conditioned buses.
From the ferry terminal you have to walk 10 minutes to the south to get to the KTEL bus terminal. There are many cafes, restaurants and shops nearby so make sure that you buy a few snacks and drinks before leaving since there is no catering on board of the bus.
Once the bus arrives you just give your luggage to the driver who puts it in the designated luggage compartment. You then show your ticket to the driver and board the bus. Your seat number is printed on your bus ticket.
Thessaloniki Macedonia Intercity bus station is one of the biggest and most impressive bus stations in Greece. To get from the bus station to the train station of Thessaloniki you have to use the urban bus lines 45, 45A or 45B. The departure is in front of the terminal. The journey time is 10 minutes with a ticket price of 1 EUR. The bus runs every hour. If you want to walk, it is a way of 30 minutes (2,5 kilometres).
From Thessaloniki bus station you have three bus connections daily to Istanbul. The journey time is 10 hours and ticket fares start at 45 EUR.
Find the exact bus schedules and buy your tickets via the given booking links. Or use this website: www.ktel-thesprotias.gr
Where to buy a ticket from Igoumenitsa to Thessaloniki?
Check times&prices 
The following links could be interesting for you.
train connections: popular connections travelled by other users
Thessaloniki - Igoumenitsa
1b Travelling from Thessaloniki (Greece) to Belgrade (Serbia)
Travel from Thessaloniki to Belgrade by direct overnight train. The journey time is 14 hours.
Important note: this direct overnight train only runs in the summer months June to September. If the this train is not available you have to travel from Thessaloniki to Sofia. And from Sofia to Belgrade. Please search for these train connections to find details.
The departure time in Thessaloniki is 18:50. The arrival time in Belgrade (Topcider) is 08:40.
The overnight train offers one wagon with seats and one couchette-car with 6 beds per compartment. The couchette-car is recommended. Buy train tickets for 35 EUR. The supplement for the couchette-car is 8 EUR per person. Usually there is enough free seats and berths available even on the day of departure. Ask the conductor to optimize the occupancy of the couchette compartments if you want to have more space. Just be friendly.
Where to buy a ticket from Thessaloniki to Belgrade?
The following links could be interesting for you.
night train: Night trains that might be suitable for this trip.
B 334 Thessaloniki - Belgrade / B335 Belgrade - Thessaloniki
train connections: popular connections travelled by other users
Belgrade - Thessaloniki
1c Travelling from Belgrade (Serbia) to Budapest (Hungary)
Travel from Serbia to Hungary by direct train on the route from Belgrade, Novi Sad to Budapest.
There are saver fare tickets available from 15 EUR.
2021: the direct route Belgrade, Novi Sad to Budapest is under construction. The best option is to travel by train from Belgrade to Zagreb and from Zagreb to Budapest 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 Belgrade to Budapest?
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.
B340 Belgrade - Budapest
train company:
MÁV Magyar Államvasutak - MÁV START
train connections: popular connections travelled by other users
Budapest - Belgrade / Novi Sad - Budapest
search for train schedules here: Online timetable information, on which you can find relevant, up-to-date connections.
rail.cc Deutsche Bahn
2 Igoumenitsa (Greece) - Thessaloniki (Greece) - Sofia (Bulgaria) - Bucharest (Romania) - Budapest (Hungary)
The route consist of more than one step. You have to buy several train tickets.
2a Travelling from Igoumenitsa (Greece) to Thessaloniki (Greece)
Travel from Igoumenitsa to Thessaloniki by bus. There is no train connection available.
The bus journey time from Igoumenitsa to Thessaloniki is 4 hours with a stop half the way. Buy your bus ticket from 38 EUR. There are normally 3 buses per day. The KTEL bus network in Greece offers comfortable, air-conditioned buses.
From the ferry terminal you have to walk 10 minutes to the south to get to the KTEL bus terminal. There are many cafes, restaurants and shops nearby so make sure that you buy a few snacks and drinks before leaving since there is no catering on board of the bus.
Once the bus arrives you just give your luggage to the driver who puts it in the designated luggage compartment. You then show your ticket to the driver and board the bus. Your seat number is printed on your bus ticket.
Thessaloniki Macedonia Intercity bus station is one of the biggest and most impressive bus stations in Greece. To get from the bus station to the train station of Thessaloniki you have to use the urban bus lines 45, 45A or 45B. The departure is in front of the terminal. The journey time is 10 minutes with a ticket price of 1 EUR. The bus runs every hour. If you want to walk, it is a way of 30 minutes (2,5 kilometres).
From Thessaloniki bus station you have three bus connections daily to Istanbul. The journey time is 10 hours and ticket fares start at 45 EUR.
Find the exact bus schedules and buy your tickets via the given booking links. Or use this website: www.ktel-thesprotias.gr
Where to buy a ticket from Igoumenitsa to Thessaloniki?
The following links could be interesting for you.
train connections: popular connections travelled by other users
Thessaloniki - Igoumenitsa
2b Travelling from Thessaloniki (Greece) to Sofia (Bulgaria)
Travel from Thessaloniki to Sofia by direct day train. The journey time is 8:30 hours. Buy your train ticket for 18 EUR at the train station in Thessaloniki.
The departure time in Thessaloniki is 05:50. The arrival time in Sofia is 14:20. There are always seats available therefore it is no problem to buy the ticket at the day of departure, even very early in the morning at Thessaloniki railway station.
Note (2022/2023): currently the train traffic is interrupted and you have to travel by bus. The bus ticket price is 15-20 EUR. Buy it via the given links or on union-ivkoni.com
No discount with Interrail/Eurail.
Where to buy a ticket from Thessaloniki to Sofia?
Buy the train ticket at a railway station. Note: in some countries you have to pay a service fee at the ticket counter. The ticket can be purchased at a station in the country of departure, also sometimes in other countries.
The following links could be interesting for you.
train connections: popular connections travelled by other users
Sofia - Thessaloniki
2c Travelling from Sofia (Bulgaria) to Bucharest (Romania)
Travel from Sofia to Bucharest by direct train connection. The journey time is 9:40 hours. The ticket fare is 161 RON (33 EUR).
The departure time in Sofia is 07:20. And the arrival time in Bucharest is 17:00. In off-season (October to May) you have to change trains in Ruse (Bulgaria). Arrival time in Ruse is 13:20. Departure time in Ruse is 14:15. You can save money if you split your ticket booking: buy one ticket for Sofia to Ruse and a second ticket for Ruse to Bucharest.
Find the exact train schedules and buy your tickets via the given booking links.
Where to buy a ticket from Sofia to Bucharest?
Buy the train ticket at a railway station. Note: in some countries you have to pay a service fee at the ticket counter. The ticket can be purchased at a station in the country of departure, also sometimes in other countries.
The following links could be interesting for you.
train connections: popular connections travelled by other users
Bucharest - Sofia
2d Travelling from Bucharest (Romania) to Budapest (Hungary)
Travel from Bucharest to Budapest by overnight train or by day train. The journey time is 15 hours. Train tickets start from 29 EUR.
The overnight train is comfortable and the recommended way of travel. It offers couchettes for 4 or 6 persons per compartment with ticket fares from 39 EUR. And sleeper compartments for one to three travellers with ticket fares from 55 EUR. The departure time in Bucharest is 17:45 and the arrival time in Budapest is 08:50.
Beside the overnight train there is a comfortable air-conditioned Intercity train which run at daytime. Ticket fares start from 29 EUR. The departure time in Bucharest is at 05:45 and the arrival time in Budapest is 19:50.
As third option there is the overnight train "Dacia Express". It offers sleeper compartments as well with shower and toilet. Its travel destination is Vienna (Austria), therefore the arrival time in Budapest is very early at 04:50. The departure time in Bucharest is 14:00. The ticket fares are the same like mentioned above.
All in all it is a recommended rail trip trough the beautiful scenery of the Carpathian mountains and into Transylvania.
Find the exact train schedules and buy your ticket via the given booking links.
Where to buy a ticket from Bucharest to Budapest?
Buy the train ticket at a railway station. Note: in some countries you have to pay a service fee at the ticket counter. The ticket can be purchased at a station in the country of departure, also sometimes in other countries.
The following links could be interesting for you.
night train: Night trains that might be suitable for this trip.
EN 346 Bucharest - Vienna / EN 472 Bucharest - Budapest
train connections: popular connections travelled by other users
Budapest - Bucharest
Need a cheap place to sleep? We recommend booking.com
Find a cheap flight! Compare prices on Kiwi.com
Do you have questions about the connection between Igoumenitsa and Budapest? 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.
