ATHENS - SOFIA - night train

alexvsim
Traveller
9 comments

Do you need a reservation for this train?
Also my country of residence will be Bulgaria, so can I ride free from Athens to Thessaloníki and than by a ticket to Sofia from there and continue on the same train?

Peter
Traveller
9333 comments

Hi.

Yes you can travel for free (pay attention as some Greece IC trains have high supplements) till Thessaloniki.

From there you will have to pay till Sofia. Think about a cheaper day train:
[u]https://rail.cc/en/thessaloniki-sofia-train/f3415[/u]

Peter :)

Ulziisaikhan
Traveller
1 comments

Hello
I am planning to travel from Istanbul - Athens - Sofia - Istanbul. I am non-EU citizen and student in Istanbul. Do i have any discount from Athens to Sofia night train? Where can i buy ticket? Can i buy online? Is that still 50 euro?

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Hi!

There is no through night train Athens - Sofia anymore; however, you can take the night train Athens - Thessaloniki - Alexandroupoli and change to the coaches Thessaloniki - Sofia which are attached to the night train in Thessaloniki.

The full fare Athens - Sofia should be 37,80€; Thessaloniki - Sofia is 16,80€. You dont get a student discount on an international ticket but you might be eligible for a student discount for the domestic segment Athens - Thessaloniki; ask locally at the station in Athens.
The international ticket to Sofia is only available locally at a station; but you could buy a domestic ticket Athens - Thessaloniki online at [ux]https://rail.shop/ose[/ux]


Flo 8)

Chillion
Traveller
5 comments

[quote]There is no through night train Athens - Sofia anymore; however, you can take the night train Athens - Thessaloniki - Alexandroupoli and change to the coaches Thessaloniki - Sofia which are attached to the night train in Thessaloniki.[/quote]

Hey Flo, just a bit confused here. Hoping you can help me out.

Are you talking about one train here?

Or do you mean to travel from Athens to Thessaloniki, then from Thessaloniki to Alexandroupoli? Then get off and find a train that goes to Sofia?

Thanks!

Peter
Traveller
9333 comments

Hi.
You take the night train from Athens to Thessaloniki. In Thessaloniki you change to the new attached cars. These cars are attached to the night train Athens to Thessaloniki, but continue from Strimonochori to Sofia. The night train cars continue from Strimonochori (coming from Athens via Thessaloniki)) to Alexandroupoli. In fact, you can also change later in the morning in Strimonochori instead of already in Thessaloniki.
See details here in the schedule: [u]https://rail.cc/en/train/athens-to-sofia[/u]
And a video documentation about Thessaloniki to Sofia: [u]https://rail.cc/blog/thessaloniki-sofia-train-video/[/u]
Pete :)

Chillion
Traveller
5 comments

Thanks Pete!

PabloG
Traveller
1 comments

After struggling to find the right info, I headed to the train station and found out how is the deal from Athens to Sofía.
First night train Athens to Thessaloniki (€25.1) (23:55 hs to 6:10 next morning)
From Thessaloniki you take a train to Strimonas 6:50 am.
From Strimonas you commute to a bus to cross the border to the first Bulgarian city kulata.
Finally from kulata you take a Bulgarian train to Sofía at 10:50 arriving 14:45 (the woman in the counter wasn\'t completely sure about the arrival time)

All the rides from Thessaloniki to Sofía will cost you €17.8. They are sold as a package ticket including all of them.

So that makes a total of €42.9 (25.1+17.8) and a travelling time of around 14 hs.

I found crazy having to commute so much and took the bus (which wasn\'t a great experience either) for 46€.

If you want to ride the train anyway keep in mind that the international counter in Athens train station closes at 15:30 (although is written 16 hs) and they take forever the hand the tickets (they hand write them).
If you cannot make it before 14:30 you can buy a ticket to Thessaloniki in the counter that sells tickets for local destinations and once once in Thessaloniki buy the rest of the rides.


Last but not least keep in mind that between queueing and getting the tickets takes quite a lot of time, so take that into account while planning. I\'ve found the people from the counter desk to be extremely slow and unorganised although really friendly.


I hope this helps a fellow traveller to save some time

Safe travels

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Hi Pablo, welcome to railcc!

Thanks for your impressions of this journey!
I made similar experiences at the ticket desk in Thessaloniki - slow, but friendly service and handwritten reservations for the service to Sofia. I wrote about the trip Thessaloniki - Sofia here: [ux]https://rail.cc/blog/from-thessaloniki-to-sofia-by-train[/ux]

Normally there would be a direct train from Thessaloniki to Sofia (the two coaches are attached to the Athens - Thessaloniki - Alexandroupoli night train until Strimonas). However, Greek Railways currently do not have enough Diesel engines to carry the coaches from Strimonas to the border at Kulata, that\'s why a replacement bus service is in operation.

Flo