aussietripper
Traveller
1 comments
Posted 12 years ago
My wife and I are looking to travel by train from Istanbul to Munich in mid June this year. Haven't travelled this part of the world before but we are particularly interested is seeing some of the major sights in Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia or Slovenia. We only have two weeks so don't expect to be able to do a lot but would like some advice on the follwing:
1. What are the highlights along this route.
2. Is there an alternate route that may be more interesting.
3. Do I need to pre purchase train tickets or can I just show up at the station and expect to get a seat/bed. We don't like being tied down to a tight itinerary and would like some flexibility. Happy to travel rough if need be.
4. What alternatives do we have with rail passes. Is it more economical to do it that way or buy individual tickets.
Thanks for the help.
nltrainer
Traveller
1391 comments
1.read a guidebook-this is general train travel here.
2. the only viable altern by train is via Romania-rwad the guidebook to compare if thats more to your taste
3. of course you need to buy tickets-you can in fact buy the whole strecth as TICKET in 1 go-and make stops as U like-in 30 days validity. BUT MOST trains-and of coruse always beds/sleeprrs require reservation-no these are not sold out monthes before-but it varies really per train, time of year, day of wee4k etc. You CAN reserve mostly anywhere they do INTERnational sales-not just from where they start
4.without fixed route not possible to say. Plus I am ot some computation machine for others just to see if they save a few euro.
Peter
Traveller
9333 comments
Hi.
In addition to the information of nltrainer...
1) The best is in deed a guidebook, as we are here more into rail details (tickets, reservations, train types).
There are several big cities along the route which I recommend: Budapest, Vienna.
Also you could travel the indirect way (but maybe to much for two weeks): Istanbul - ... - Budapest - Krakow - Prague - Munich
2) Think about the option mentioned above. Currently there is no direct train running on Istanbul to Sofia. Maybe a direct bus is the better way for this part of the trip:
[u]https://rail.cc/en/turkey/xtr[/u]
3+4) Mmmh... I think you won't need a rail pass... depends on your route and how much you will travel and how long the distances are. Also if you include some buses, which is very common, point-to-point ticket might be the better way.
Peter :)
aussietripper
Traveller
1 comments
Thanks Peter for the advice. I think I will get a guidebook as suggested so I can research our trip a little better.
Peter
Traveller
9333 comments
And don't hesitate to ask if you have some special questions concerning train connections.
Just one point which got in my mind: you could also include a stop at the Black Sea (Bulgaria) - Varna area.
Peter :)