anonymous
Traveller
2467 comments
Posted 12 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
SiDUDe
Traveller
752 comments
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!
anonymous
Traveller
2467 comments
is it easy to buy a sleeper reservation for the night train in Belgrade?
nltrainer
Traveller
1345 comments
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.
SiDUDe
Traveller
752 comments
Very easy to buy the suppliment for the sleeper from the ticket office at Belgrade station, you should have no problems
anonymous
Traveller
2467 comments
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.