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anonymous
Traveller
2469 comments

Posted 13 years ago

hi all,

I am going from Budapest to Sofia via Belgrade.

i leave Budapest at 13:05 on the 2nd of July and arrive in Belgrade at 20:35 on the same day.

now,
i want to leave Belgrade the day after, and i have two options.
Belgrade 07:50 - 17:47 Sofia
or, take the sleeper train overnight
Belgrade 21:15 - 07:32 Sofia

the Bahn website suggests that only the overnight train needs a reservation. so if i have an interrail pass, will i be able to travel on the daytime train free of charge?

after spending some time in Sofia, i am continuing onto Istanbul and then Fethiye by bus

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SiDUDe
Traveller
752 comments

replied 13 years ago

Yes I think you can, although I would spend a day in Belgrade and then get the sleeper - the extra cost will be similar to a hostel and you won't miss a days travelling!

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anonymous
Traveller
2469 comments

replied 13 years ago

is it easy to buy a sleeper reservation for the night train in Belgrade?

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nltrainer
Traveller
1404 comments

replied 13 years ago

1,warning; ALL trains via/into Bgrad are LATE-more like hours. sometimes so much, that the ''connection'' of seemingly 4 hrs in Sofia gets missing. Note that this way you again ENTER the EU-with all the stringent checks that comes with it.
2.for INTERnational trips you should buy a res-seat -but this is hardly ever checked
3.the nighttrain Sof-Ist ONLY has sleepers (the seatcars do not cross the border). Which obviously you need to reserve-though if there are any spares-you can pay conductor (this is very often possible), It is wise to have the correct money in the right valuta for this-though cash € are always taken. You must exit at the TR border and get a visum-sticker-you also need € or GBP-cash for that-again have right amount. You MIGHT be able to make this res in BGrad-but do not count on it. Same for BPest-it is a case of interlinking computers-or not.
4.also there are/were WORKS on this sector-do not know if that has finished-due to recent flooding at TR-side-which means you get put in a bus anyway.
maybe you now think-they mke it like a puzzle and never tell the truth-this is right.
So there are scores of comfy TR buses also doing Sofia-Ist, much quicker, with still the getoutatborder, but the cost for a normal ticket (you can haggle if it is empty) might be less as the supllmt for a sleeper.

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SiDUDe
Traveller
752 comments

replied 13 years ago

Very easy to buy the suppliment for the sleeper from the ticket office at Belgrade station, you should have no problems

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anonymous
Traveller
2469 comments

replied 13 years ago

cheers NL i am getting a bus from sofia to istanbul as it will be my 6th day when im only buying a 5day pass.