Guidebooks
often say that Turkey has a good bus
network and that 'buses are faster than trains'. But
do you really want to spend 12 hours
in a bus? When you can
travel on a comfortable air-conditioned train, with a bed to sleep in
in your own room, a restaurant for
your meals and space to move around, through fantastic
scenery, unspoilt by roadside development?
Train travel in Turkey can be a
wonderful experience, with the best trains now modern
and air-conditioned.
Sensible travellers will use a train
for long distances (for example, Istanbul to Konya,
Ankara, Kars or Pamukkale) then a short bus trip where
necessary to reach places off the
rail network, for example Antalya or Gorëme.
Much of the rail network was built by the Germans, and the
joke goes that the Turks
paid them by the mile, hence the twisting and
curvaceous nature of Turkish railways! However,
the best air-conditioned Istanbul-Ankara trains now travel
at up to 95mph and take just 5 hours after major
improvements. The first section of a brand-new high-speed
line from Istanbul to Ankara opened in March 2009, and journey time
will be reduced to just 3 hours by
2013,
beating both buses & flights. Overnight trains with
sleeping-cars, some now air-conditioned, provide a
comfortable, romantic and time-effective way to travel
between major cities.
Train routes, times & fares within Turkey...
There is an excellent
train route map at Turkeytravelplanner.com, or see the
map above.
There
are no
trains to Antalya,
Marmaris, Bodrum, Alanya, nor to Gorëme in Cappadocia, so use
a combination of train+bus to reach
these places.
Here are train times and fares for key
routes:
You can check train times & fares
at the Turkish Railways (TCDD) website, www.tcdd.gov.tr.
The Turkish version is often more up to date than the
English version. In the top red bar, click 'anahat
trenleri' for mainline trains, 'bölgesel
trenleri' for regional trains, 'Ortadogu yönlü trenleri' for
international trains to the Middle East or 'Avrupa trenleri'
for international trains to Europe..
It's easy to buy
tickets at the station when you get to Turkey. Most
major stations have a computerised ticketing &
reservation system, so can book any journey in Turkey.
It's not usually difficult to get seats or berths on the day
of travel or a day or two before, although occasionally
sleepers can get full. Alternatively, you can buy
tickets in advance either online or via a TCDD-authorised
agency as shown below.
Above: Tur-ISTA Travel in Istanbul can
arrange your train tickets by email.
The Turkish Railways
(TCDD) website has an online booking facility, now available in
English. If the English version plays up, it really isn't
difficult to book using the Turkish version with minimal knowledge of Turkish using
the step-by-step instructions below.
The system will book most long distance trains within Turkey
(but not international trains), including seats, couchettes
& sleepers. You print out your reservation details
and pick up the tickets at the station in Turkey.
Online reservations for
Turkish trains open 14 days before departure, you cannot
book online further in advance than this.
How to buy tickets from outside Turkey, via an agency...
If buying tickets online proves difficult,
you can book your Turkish train tickets in
advance by
emailing (or calling) one of these authorised travel agencies
in Istanbul:
Tur-ISTA Tourism Travel Agency,
Divan Yolu Caddesi No. 16/B, 34410 Sultanahmet, Istanbul,
Turkey. Telephone +90 (212) 527 7085 or 513 7119. Fax
+90 (212) 519 3792. E-mail
erdemir@tur-ista.com. I can personally recommend
their service. They are near the Sultanahmet tram
stop, a short way from the Blue Mosque.
If you book with one of these agencies, you will need to
pick up your tickets at their offices in Istanbul.
They can't book International trains from Turkey in their
capacity as official TCDD agents, but they may be willing to buy tickets
for international trains on your behalf as a private
transaction, for a booking fee.
Above: Haydarpasa station, seen from the deck
of an approaching Bosphorus ferry...
Photo courtesy of
Stuart Baker
Haydarpaşa
station...
Trains for
Asian destinations leave from Haydarpaşa Station
(pictured right), a ferry ride across the Bosphorus
from Sirkeci Station where the European trains arrive.
Ferries sail to Haydarpaşa station every
10-30 minutes from the Karaköy ferry terminal next to the
Galata Bridge on the European side of Istanbul. The
fare is 1.50 YTL. The Haydarpaşa ferry terminal is
right in front of the station. Haydarpaşa station
was built in 1908, a gift from the German Kaiser to the
Ottoman Sultan, and named after one of the Sultan's
generals. It may be closed in 2013, when a new rail
tunnel under the Bosphorus is supposed to open, allowing both suburban and
long-distance trains to run through from Asian Turkey to the
European side of Istanbul.
Map of Istanbul.
What are Turkish trains like?
Trains in Turkey have several types of accommodation to
choose from:
Pullman seats. 1st class reclining seat in a carpeted
open-plan saloon.
1st class ordinary seats, usually in 6-seat compartments.
2nd class seats, usually in 8-seat compartments.
Sleeping-cars ('yatakli wagon' in Turkish). Private 1-
and 2-bed rooms with washbasin.
Couchettes ('kuşet' in Turkish). Shared 4-bunk
compartments (6-berth on some routes).
The best Turkish trains now use modern air-conditioned
'TVS2000' coaches like these, which are excellent and as
good as anything in western Europe. TVS2000 trains run
from Istanbul to Ankara, Istanbul to Denizli/Pamukkale,
Ankara to Izmir, Ankara to Adana, and Ankara to Erzurum &
Kars. Restaurant cars serve very cheap full meals.
A 3-course meal and a half-bottle of wine cost only about
TL11 (£5 or $8). Treat yourself! Brand-new 250
km/h high-speed trains are also now operating on the
Istanbul-Ankara route,
see photos here.
Above:
Air-conditioned TVS2000 pullman cars on an Istanbul - Ankara
express...
...Treat
yourself to a meal and some wine in the
elegant TVS2000 restaurant car.
...
Above:
Comfortable 1st class reclining Pullman seats in a TVS2000 car.
The best overnight trains in
Turkey use modern air-conditioned TVS2000 sleeping-cars
and there's usually a TVS2000 restaurant
car too. Sleeper compartments have beds and a
washbasin, soap and towels provided. There is a
shower at the end of the corridor. Compartments
convert from a bedroom at night to a private sitting room
with armchairs and small table for the daytime part of a
journey. Trains with TVS2000 sleeping-cars
include the Ankara Express from Istanbul to Ankara, the
Pamukkale Express from Istanbul to Denizli, the Meram
Express from Istanbul to Konya, the night trains
from Ankara to Izmir, the Curacova Express
from Ankara to Adana, and the Erzurum Express from Ankara
to Erzurum & Kars. Travelling in these sleepers is
like staying in a good hotel, a great way to travel that
saves on hotel bills, too.
Light and
airy - a TVS2000 sleeping-car corridor, just like a hotel
corridor...
2-berth
sleeper in daytime mode, beds folded away.
Older
sleeping-cars are still
used on a few long-distance trains to Eastern Turkey. The
older sleepers are still very comfortable, with
1- and 2-bed compartments with washbasin. They
convert from bedrooms at night to private sitting rooms
for the daytime parts of a journey.
Above: An older sleeping-car.
The right-hand photo shows
a comfortable, carpeted 2-berth sleeper in daytime mode,
with beds folded away, seats folded out to form a
private sitting room.
Couchettes are
basic padded bunks, with 4 bunks per
compartment. Couchettes convert to ordinary seating
compartments for the daytime part of a journey. On
some trains, couchettes are provided without bedding, but on
other trains there are 'covered couchettes' (örtülü kuşet),
with sheet, blanket and pillow supplied. The best
overnight trains such as the Istanbul-Ankara,
Istanbul-Konya and Ankara-Izmir trains now have modern air-conditioned TVS2000
couchette cars like the one below. Older trains
may have the old type, shown further below.
Above:
TVS2000 air-conditioned 4-berth couchettes. This
compartment is shown in daytime position, with berths
folded against the wall.
Above: An
older Turkish couchette compartment, as used
on some trains to
Eastern Turkey. It is shown in daytime mode (above
left) and night-time mode, with bunks folded out (above
right)....
The first section of
Istanbul-Ankara high-speed line is now open...
The first section of the Istanbul-Ankara high-speed line opened
in March 2009, and conventional trains from Istanbul to
Eskişehir (with modern air-conditioned
TVS2000 pullman seats) now connect with brand-new 250 km/h
high-speed trains (YHT or Yüksek Hızlı Treni
in Turkish) for the remainder of the journey from Eskişehir to Ankara
(see the services marked 'A' in the timetable below. One
remaining conventional train with
TVS2000 pullman seats runs direct and is marked 'B').
The rest of the high-speed line is due to be completed by
2013, with
direct 250 km/h Istanbul-Ankara trains taking just 3 hours.
Photos showing what the the new Turkish high-speed trains
are like.
Or take the
overnight sleeper...
The best
overnight train is the Ankara Express (marked 'sleeper' in
the timetable below), a rolling hotel with
modern air-conditioned TVS2000 sleeping-cars and a TVS2000 restaurant car
for breakfast, see the sleeper photos
above. Other night trains have seats and
couchettes.
B = one remaining conventional (non-high-speed) train runs
direct between Istanbul & Ankara, the Bogazici Express, with TVS2000 reclining pullman seats.
These fares are one-way per person.
Return tickets cost 20% less than two one-way fares.
Children under 8 go free, children 8-11 travel for half the
adult fare, children 12 & over must pay the adult fare. You can check train times and
fares at www.tcdd.gov.tr,
which now has some English pages. Also see
www.turkeytravelplanner.com. Buy your ticket at
the ticket office in Istanbul or use one of the travel agencies
in Istanbul recommended above.
Easily the best way to travel
between Istanbul and the historic city of Konya is the daily
overnight 'Meram Express', with sleeping-car and restaurant
car, a wonderful way to travel.
There's also the Içanadolou
Mavi Train (shown as 'Mavi' below) also with an
air-conditioned sleeping-car & restaurant. Westbound, the Içanadolou
Mavi Tren can arrive in Konya from Adana running late, so
the Meram Express is the better choice. TVS2000 cars
are modern, sound-proofed and smooth-riding,
see the photos above.
All
fares one-way per person. Return
tickets cost 20% less than the cost of two one-way fares.
Children under 8 go free, children 8-11 travel for half the
adult fare, children 12 & over must pay the adult fare. You can check times and
fares at www.tcdd.gov.tr.
Above:
A private 1 or 2 bed sleeper, in daytime mode with
beds folded away. Photo courtesy of Heather
Williams.
Above: The
same compartment, looking towards the door to the
corridor. Photo courtesy of Heather Williams.
It's easy to travel by train
from Istanbul to Denizli for the magnificent natural spa at
Pamukkale. The 'Pamukkale Express' links Istanbul and
Denizli overnight, with an air-conditioned
TVS2000 sleeping-car with comfortable 1- & 2-bed rooms with
washbasin, a modern
TVS2000 couchette car with 4-berth compartments, TVS2000 pullman
reclining seats cars, and an elegant
TVS2000 restaurant car. This train was re-equipped with ultra-modern,
fully-air-conditioned, soundproofed and smooth-riding
TVS2000 cars in 2005, see the photos above.
Istanbul ► Denizli
(Pamukkale)
Denizli ►Istanbul
Daily *
Daily *
Istanbul (Haydarpaşa
station) depart
17:35
Denizli (for
Pamukkale) depart
17:00
Denizli (for
Pamukkale) arrive
08:20
Istanbul (Haydarpaşa
station) arrive
08:34
* Train cancelled, at least until summer 2010, probably
longer: Engineering work that affected this train in 2008 & 2009 is reported as finished, but unfortunately this train is
still not running. Please check locally.
All
fares one-way per person. Return
tickets cost 20% less than the cost of two one-way fares.
Children under 8 go free, children 8-11 travel for half the
adult fare, children 12 & over must pay the adult fare.
There are direct buses from
Istanbul to Antalya, Marmaris and the Mediterranean coast, but this is a nightmarishly long bus
journey, especially if done overnight slumped in a cramped
bus seat. A much better, more civilised way is to take
the comfortable air-conditioned 'Pamukkale Express'
overnight from Istanbul to Denizli with reclining seats,
couchettes (6-bunk), a modern sleeping-car (1- and 2-bed
rooms) and a restaurant car for your dinner and breakfast.
Then take a bus from Denizli the last bit to Antalya,
Marmaris, Bodrum or Fethiye.
See above for train times &
fares for the Pamukkale Express. Buses run every
few hours from Denizli to Antalya, taking a few hours, and
buses also run from Denizli to Marmaris, Fethiye and Bodrum.
Cappadocia is an incredible land of strange rock
formations and cave dwellings that should not be missed.
Taking the sleeper train from Istanbul to Ankara or Konya
then a relatively short bus ride to Gorëme in Cappadocia is
a great way to get there, avoiding a nightmare 12+ hour bus
journey all the way from Istanbul. It lets you sleep
in a comfortable sleeper on the train, with breakfast in the
restaurant car, before taking a bus ride for the last bit.
Alternatively, for a really short bus section, take the
train to Kayseri just 70 km from Gorëme and take a bus from
there.
Option 1:
Take a train from Istanbul (Haydarpasa station) to
Ankara as shown above.
Take the metro from the station to Ankara's long-distance
bus terminal, located a couple of miles out of the city
centre. Buses run from Ankara to Gorëme or Nevsehir in
Cappadocia every hour or two throughout the day, taking
about 4.5 hours.
Option 2: Take the overnight 'Meram Express'
from Istanbul to Konya
as shown
above. Konya, home of the whirling dervishes,
is well worth a stop in itself. Buses run several times a day
from Konya to Gorëme, taking about 5 hours.
Option 3: Take a sleeper train from Istanbul to
Kayseri as shown
below. Kayseri is only 70 km from Gorëme, so this
is the shortest bus journey (maybe 1.5 hours) though a
longer overall trip.
An enjoyable year-round way from Istanbul to Izmir is across
the Sea of Marmara to Bandirma by fast ferry, then on the
connecting air-conditioned '6 Eylül Express' to Izmir.
Much nicer than 9 hours stuck in a bus! The service
runs daily.
Istanbul ► Izmir
Izmir ► Istanbul
By SeaCat fast ferry:
By '6
Eylül Express'
train:
Istanbul (Yenikapi
ferry terminal) depart:
07:00
Izmir (Alsancak station) depart
09:15
Bandirma arrive:
09:30
Balikesir depart:
13:17
By connecting '6
Eylül Express'
train:
Bandirma arrive:
14:56
Bandirma depart:
09:50
By connecting SeaCat fast ferry:
Balikesir
arrive:
11:31
Bandirma depart:
15:30 *
Izmir (Alsancak station) arrive
15:18
Istanbul (Yenikapi
ferry terminal) arrive:
18:00 *
The ferry is a
fast SeaCat run by the IDO ferry company. See www.ido.com.tr
to check ferry times and fares (the ferry terminal in
Istanbul is called 'Yenikapi'). The Marmara Express has
modern air-conditioned TVS2000
reclining pullman seats & restaurant car. As
of 2010, the train uses Izmir Alsancak station, not Basmane.
Fares:
Izmir to Bandirma in a pullman seat is YTL 15. A
combined ferry & train fare from Istanbul to Izmir is YTL 32 (about £13
or $22). Children under 8 go free, children 8-11
travel for half the adult fare, children 12 & over must pay
the adult fare.
* On Mondays to
Thursdays in winter (late September to mid-April) the ferry
connection runs much later, departing Bandirma at 18:30 &
arriving in Istanbul at 21:00.
Traveller's report:
Ryan White travelled in 2008. "I went Istanbul to Izmir &
back with the ferry+train and it was great. The train
and ferry were both very comfortable and on time. One
way Izmir to Istanbul or visa versa was about 30 YTL ($20
dollars).
By train all the way via Eskişehir...
Southbound,
leave Istanbul Haydarpasa station at 17:50 by express train
with reclining pullman seats and restaurant car, arriving Eskişehir
at 21:42.
Depart Eskişehir at 22:19 on the 'Izmir Mavi Tren' (with seats
&
sleeping-cars plus restaurant car) overnight to Izmir
(Alsancak station),
arriving at 08:49. Both trains can be reserved in
Istanbul at Haydarpaşa station.
Northbound, the 18:55 from Izmir (Alsancak station) has seats and couchettes arriving Eskişehir at 06:10,
or the 18:15 Mavi Tren has seats and sleeping-cars arriving Eskişehir at 05:04. The
08:40 from Eskişehir (1st
class only with restaurant car) arrives back in Istanbul at
12:45.
Istanbul to Izmir by direct ferry...
There used to be
a cruise ferry from Istanbul to Izmir, run by
Deniz Lines, but this no longer runs.
There are direct fast ferries
to Bursa from Istanbul's Yenikapi ferry terminal.
Departures from Istanbul are at 07:30 (not Sundays), 17:30
(daily), 20:30 (Fridays & Sundays only).
Journey time 2 hours. Departures from Bursa are at
07:30 (daily except Sundays), 18:00 (daily) and 20:30
(Fridays & Sundays only). More services are run
between June & September. See www.ido.com.tr
to check ferry times and fares (the ferry terminal in
Istanbul is called 'Yenikapi'). You'll also find more
frequent ferries between Istanbul (Yenikapi) and Yalova,
from where you can reach Bursa by minibus taxi.
B = Karesi Express. 1st & 2nd class seats,
couchettes (4-bunk), restaurant car.
You can check times and
fares at www.tcdd.gov.tr
- some pages are now in English, but
www.turkeytravelplanner.com will help you understand the
Turkish parts. It's reported that the trains now (as of 2010) use Izmir's
Alsancak station, they no longer use Basmane, please check
locally.
All fares one-way per person.
Return tickets cost 20% less than the cost of two one-way
fares. Children under 8 go free, children 8-11 travel
for half the adult fare, children 12 & over must pay the
adult fare.
All fares one-way per person.
Return tickets cost 20% less than the cost of two one-way
fares. Children under 8 go free, children 8-11 travel
for half the adult fare, children 12 & over must pay the
adult fare.
It's a long way to eastern Turkey - but the trains have
sleeping-cars, couchettes, and a restaurant car for a
comfortable and wonderfully scenic journey, making the train far more
comfortable, civilised and enjoyable than a long-distance
bus. Most trains now use modern air-conditioned
'TVS2000' sleeping-cars and reclining seat cars.
Güney Express. Runs
from Istanbul to Diyarbakir & Kurtalan on Tues, Thurs, Fri,
Sun, leaving Ankara the following morning. Westbound,
runs from Kurtalan & Diyarbakir on
Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun. Sleeping-car (1 & 2-bed rooms),
pullman reclining seats, ordinary seats, restaurant.
See the TVS2000 sleeper photos
&
TVS2000 restaurant car & pullman
seat photos.
Van Gölü Express.
Runs from Istanbul to Tatvan on Monday & Saturday (departing Ankara
the following morning). Westbound, runs from Elazig on
Tues & Thurs. Sleeping-car (1 & 2-bed rooms),
reclining pullman seats, ordinary seats.
See the TVS2000 sleeper photos
&
TVS2000 restaurant car & pullman
seat photos.
Trans-Asia Express.
Carries International passengers only. Runs from Istanbul on Wednesdays, departing Ankara on
Thursdays. Westbound, runs from Tatvan on Saturdays.
Air-conditioned TVS2000 4-berth couchette cars & restaurant car
Istanbul-Ankara-Tatvan-Tehran. See the London to Iran page.
TVS2000 couchette photos.
Fares for other
journeys will be broadly similar. Return tickets cost 20% less than
the cost of two one-way fares.
Children under 8 go free, children 8-11 travel for half the
adult fare, children 12 & over must pay the adult fare.
Traveller's
report:
Traveller
Matt Dwyer reports on a trip from Istanbul to Kars on the
Dogu Express: "We went directly to the Haydarpasa
train station to buy tickets. It was quite simple to tell
the ticket guy the date, train, and "Yatakli Vagon"
('sleeper') and he handed us our tickets. We paid 53
YTL one way, but that was with our teacher discount (I think
any teacher or student can get that discount, he wasn't very
strict about proof), but I expect a regular ticket would be
about 70 YTL (£29 or $50). Our Yatakli Wagon was the
last car on the train, behind the cafe car, had 10 cabins
with two beds each. They were not full, but we did pick up
several groups along the way, especially in Ankara. The
porters were very helpful and nice, announcing meals, making
beds, etc. Our cabin was not luxurious, but certainly
comfortable with a working sink, soap and hand towels, lock
on the door from the inside (all my female friends asked me
about that!), clean linens, etc. We felt no worries
about leaving stuff in our cabin when we went to the cafe
car. There was a restaurant car, serving decent grub.
Beer on the train is expensive, I suggest people bring some
along! The toilet at the end of the car was clean for
the first day, then started to get pretty grubby. The
scenery is spectacular, especially the second day as you go
along the Euphrates and the mountains and gorges are
striking." The Dogu Express has since been
equipped with modern air-conditioned TVS2000 cars. Right: A 2-bed sleeper on the Dogu Express, in daytime mode as
a private sitting room. Photo courtesy of Matt Dwyer.
The
station for Ephesus is Selçuk, 78km by train from Izmir.
The ruins at Ephesus are walking distance from the modern
town of Selçuk. Denizli is the station for the
magnificent natural springs at Pamukkale. Please
check these times locally, the line to Denizli may be
affected by line improvement work.
Izmir ► Selçuk
(Ephesus) ► Denizli
Note:
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Izmir (Basmane
station)
depart
07:35a
09:00
15:15
18:35
19:08
21:30
Selçuk for Ephesus
arr/dep
09:39
10:37
17:04
20:12
20:37
23:05
Denizli for
Pamukkale
arrive
-
14:14
20:45
23:33
-
-
a = arrives/departs Izmir
Alsançak, not Izmir Basmane.
All trains have 1st and 2nd
class seats.
Denizli ► Selçuk (Ephesus) ► Izmir
Note:
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Denizli for Pamukkale
depart
-
05:00
06:13
08:55
-
15:30
Selçuk for Ephesus
arr/dep
06:42
08:33
09:40
12:12
17:41
19:06
Izmir (Basmane)
arrive
08:06
10:17
11:16
13:43
19:23a
20:57
You can check times &
fares at www.tcdd.gov.tr.
Children under 8 go free, children 8-11 travel for half the
adult fare, children 12 & over must pay the adult fare.
There is now a
good and cheap train
service from Istanbul to Thessaloniki & Athens: A new
air-conditioned Istanbul-Thessaloniki sleeper train was
introduced in July 2005, with connections by modern Greek InterCity train
to/from Athens.
Istanbul ► Thessaloniki ► Athens
Athens ► Thessaloniki ► Istanbul
Filia Express
InterCity
Istanbul (Sirkeci)
depart
21:00 day 1
Athens
depart
13:23 day 1
Uzunköprü (T frontier)
arrive
00:00 day2
Larissa
depart
16:59 day 1
Uzunköprü
(T frontier)
depart
00:30 day 2
Thessaloniki
arrive
18:17 day 1
Pithion (Gr.
frontier)
arrive
02:08 day 2
Change trains...
Filia Express
Pithion (Gr.
frontier)
depart
02:50 day 2
Thessaloniki
depart
19:38 day 1
Alexandroupolis (Dialogi station)
arrive
04:15 day 2
Alexandroupolis (Dialogi station)
depart
00:39 day 2
Thessaloniki
arrive
09:20
day 2
Pithion
(Gr. frontier)
arrive
01:56 day 2
Change trains...
InterCity
Pithion
(Gr. frontier)
depart
02:51
day 2
Thessaloniki
depart
10:21 day 2
Uzunköprü (T frontier)
arrive
02:59 day 2
Larissa
arrive
11:40 day 2
Uzunköprü (T frontier)
depart
03:55 day 2
Athens
arrive
15:16 day 2
Istanbul (Sirkeci)
arrive
08:07
day 2
Filia Express
= FILIA-DOSTLUK ('FRIENDSHIP') EXPRESS. Daily
sleeper train, introduced in 2005, highly recommended. This train
has modern air-conditioned sleeping-cars with 1- & 2-bed
rooms (no seats or couchettes, only
sleepers). One set of coaches is Greek, with
second-hand French
'T2' sleeping-cars, the other Turkish with
modern Turkish TVS2000
sleeping-cars. You will need to get off
the train briefly at the Turkish frontier (Uzunköprü) to have your
passport stamped (and, eastbound, buy a Turkish
visa), but this does not take long and you are soon back
in bed... Expect to arrive an hour
or two late, just build this into your schedule and don't plan any tight connections.
InterCity
= Fast modern air-conditioned InterCity train with
cafe car.
Highly recommended. The scenery on the Thessaloniki-Athens
route is excellent, especially on the section through the
mountains south of Larissa, over the viaducts famously blown
up by the British SOE (Special Operations Executive) in
world war 2. Just south of Thessaloniki, the train
passes right by Mt Olympus, mythical home of the Greek gods.
You can confirm
times and fares at
www.ose.gr
(English button top right) or
www.tcdd.gov.tr which will also confirm fares. The
Turkish version of
www.tcdd.gov.tr
is often more up to date than the English version. In
the top red bar, click 'Avrupa trenleri' for international trains to Europe,
and remember that Turkish for Salonika (Thessaloniki) is 'Selanik'. A useful link is
www.letsgoistanbul.com/tren.htm. There are lots
more trains between Athens, Larissa &Thessaloniki, in case
you want to stop off and see something of Thessaloniki.
There was a
daytime Istanbul-Thessaloniki service, with several changes,
but this was withdrawn in late 2009.
If using the Filia-Dostluk Express, add a sleeper
supplement of 25 euro to the 2nd class fare for a bed
in a 2-bed sleeper, add 50 euro to the 1st class fare
for a single-bed room. Add an InterCity
supplement for Thessaloniki-Athens, approximately 20
euro.
You can easily buy tickets at
Istanbul, Athens or Thessaloniki stations. You cannot
book online.
Istanbul to Thessaloniki on
the Filia-Dostluk Express...
There
are no direct ferries between mainland Greece & Turkey,
but you can take a ferry between southern/western Turkey
& several Greek islands, then a domestic Greek ferry
between those islands & Piraeus (the port of Athens).
Step 1, take a ferry from southern Turkey to either Kos,
Lesvos, Samos or Rhodes:
Ferries between Kusadasi & Samos sail once or
twice daily (08:30 & 17:00) between early April & late October.
See
www.meandertravel.com/ferrytosamos/ for details.
Journey time 1 hour 15 minutes minutes, fare around 30
euro (50 euro open return).
Ferries between Ayvalik (a few hours north of
Izmir by bus) & Lesvos (Mytilini) sail daily
Monday-Saturday, crossing 1 hour 10 minutes, fare 30
euro.
A hydrofoil sails every day between Bodrum & Kos,
fare 35 euro, crossing 1 hour, see
www.olymposyachting.com.
You may or may not need to overnight on the island,
depending on schedules, but always allow several hours
for connections at least.
Step 2: Take a ferry from Kos, Lesvos, Samos or Rhodes
to Piraeus. Piraeus is the port of Athens, 25 minutes from
central Athens by metro. The port on Lesvos is
called Mytilini.
For Lesvos (Mytilini) to Piraeus, see
www.hellenicseaways.gr to check sailing dates,
times, fares and to book online. The voyage
takes 9.5 hours.
For Kos-Piraeus or Rhodes-Piraeus see
www.bluestarferries.gr to check sailing dates,
times, fares and to book online. Ferries
normally sail Rhodes-Piraeus overnight, with cabins
available.
This train has one Istanbul-Belgrade
sleeping-car, which is a comfortable older Turkish sleeper with 1
& 2-bed compartments with carpet and
washbasin, see the Turkish
sleeper photos above.
It also has one Istanbul-Sofia sleeping-car which is Bulgarian, with 1, 2
&
3-bed compartments with washbasin, see the
pictures below. All sleeper compartments lock securely
with locks that cannot be undone from the outside, and the
sleeping-car is looked after by a sleeper attendant.
Travel on this train in the sleeper is safe and comfortable
and can be recommended even
for women travelling alone. The train also has several very basic 2nd class seats cars, but travel in
the seats is neither comfortable nor secure, so is not
recommended. There are no couchettes on this train,
just seats and sleepers. You can double-check train
times at
http://bahn.hafas.de or using the Turkish website,
www.tcdd.gov.tr
which will also give fares. The Turkish version of
www.tcdd.gov.tr
is often more up to date than the English version. In
the top red bar, click
'Avrupa trenleri' for international trains to Europe.
Note: After some problems
during 2009 when the through Istanbul-Belgrade sleeping-car
didn't run, requiring a change of train (and transfer
between sleeping-car and seats cars) at Sofia, it's reported
in November 2009 that the Istanbul-Belgrade through
sleeping-car is running normally once again. If you have any more information,
please email me.
Add a
sleeper supplement
to this,
about 23 YTL (£10 or 11 euro) for a bed in 3-bed compartment (with
2nd class fare) or 35 YTL (£15 or 17 euro) for a bed in 2-bed
compartment (with 2nd class fare) or 81 YTL (£35 or 39
euro) for sole
occupancy of a single bed compartment (with 1st class
fare).
Istanbul - Belgrade:
112 YTL (£48 or 53 euro) one-way 2nd
class, 169 YTL (£72 or 80 euro) one-way 1st class.
Add a
sleeper supplement
to this,
about 42 YTL (£18 or 20 euro) for a bed in 3-bed compartment (with
2nd class fare) or 70 YTL (£30 or 33 euro) for a bed in 2-bed
compartment (with 2nd class fare) or 140 YTL (£60 or
66 euro) for sole
occupancy of a single bed compartment (with 1st class
fare).
How to buy tickets...
You can easily buy tickets at
Istanbul Sirkeci station (ticket window 4), Sofia station or
Belgrade station, but you cannot book this train
online.
You can also arrange
reservations for journeys starting in Belgrade through the
Wasteels travel agency located at Belgrade station,
Note that you will need to get off the train
briefly at the Kapikule on the Turkish frontier to have
your passport stamped (and, on arrival eastbound, buy a
Turkish visa in pounds sterling or euros at the visa
office first). This is no real problem, and you are
soon back in bed. Take your valuables with you, of
course, but you can leave you main bags in your
compartment on the train.
The Istanbul-Sofia sleeping-car, provided by Bulgarian
Railways...
Istanbul
► Aleppo (Syria),
Damascus, Amman (Jordan), Petra, Cairo (Egypt)
There's a daily
train & bus option from Istanbul to Syria. Take the daily
air-conditioned sleeper train through great scenery from
Istanbul Haydarpasa station to Adana (see
above) then a bus to Aleppo in Syria. Then catch a
100mph air-conditioned train from Aleppo to Damascus. From
Damascus you can catch a bus to Amman in Jordan, with onward
buses & ferries to Petra, Aqaba & Egypt. See the London
to Syria, London to Jordan &
Egypt pages for information about
each stage of this great journey. You might be
inspired by a blog about travel from the UK to Egypt this
way,
www.unplaned.com.
Sadly, the
weekly direct sleeping-car from Istanbul to Aleppo is still
suspended, and has been for a few years now, showing no sign
of resuming. There's a new Gaziantep-Aleppo train
twice a week, but as train service from Istanbul to
Gaziantep is also suspended due to long-term engineering
work, this isn't much use for travellers from Europe!
Details of all options from Istanbul to Syria are shown on
the Syria page.
Istanbul / Ankara
► Tehran
(Iran)
A weekly
express train, the 'Trans-Asia Express', with modern
air-conditioned sleeping-berths and restaurant car, runs from Istanbul
& Ankara to Tabriz &
Tehran in Iran. See the London to
Iran page for full details.
Istanbul /
Ankara
► Tbilisi (Georgia)
Take a train from Istanbul or
Ankara to Erzurum or Kars, then a bus or dolmus (local
minibus taxi) to
the Georgian border at Sarp, followed by another dolmus the 16km
to Batumi, just the other side of the frontier. There
is a comfortable daily overnight train from Batumi to
Tbilisi,
with Russian-style 2-berth and 4-berth sleepers, leaving
around 22:30 and arriving in Tbilisi at 06:45. If you have feedback on travel via
this route, please
e-mail me.
Traveller Gregory Heilers travelled to Tbilisi in 2009:
"(1) From Erzurum, take the Artvin Express mini bus, which
runs twice daily at 07:30 & 18:00 taking 5.5 hours from
Gurcu Kapi district of Erzurum to Hopa (via Artvin, hence
the name). Fare 30 TL. (2) Travel from Hopa to
Sarp by dolmus - you can get dropped off there which the
driver did for me after the mini-bus attendant understood I
was headed to Georgia (Gurcistan in Turkish). Cost 3.5
TL. (3) In Sarp, walk across the border- there was a
line 2km long of vehicles waiting to cross that included the
buses from Turkish cities to Batumi/Tblisi and beyond... I
was glad to have not taken a direct bus. (4) Take a
Georgian dolmus (marshutka) from the frontier to Batumi,
cost 1 lari. Pretty much the only direction you can go
as I saw, so even if you can't understand the writing or
language- may as well try. (5) Travel from Batumi to
Tbilisi train, fare 40 lari. It departs 22:30 and
arrives Tblisi 06:45."
Istanbul
► Yerevan (Armenia)
The border with
Armenia is currently closed, and there is no train service
between Turkey and Armenia. However, it's possible to
travel from Turkey to Tbilisi in Georgia (see above), then
travel from Tbilisi to Yerevan in Armenia by overnight
train. The Tblisi-Yerevan train runs every second day,
departing Tblisi at 16:40 on even dates arriving Yerevan at
07:35 next day. Returning, it leaves Yerevan at 19:00
on odd dates arriving Tblisi at 09:15 next morning. It
has 2-berth & 4-berth sleepers.
Traveller Fergus Reoch reports from a trip
in 2006:
"After getting
to Erzurum, we caught the bus to Sarp, and a dolmus (local
minibus taxi) from there to Batumi. From Batumi we took the
overnight train to Tbilisi (comfortable berths, although not
air-conditioned) with three of us sharing a 4 berth
compartment. From Tblisi there is a train that I have used
five times now to Yerevan in Armenia. First class 2-bed
sleeping compartments cost about £13, with a 1000 Armenian
Dram (£1.20) charge for bedding. We had to get visas at the
Armenian border. For UK passports these cost $30, and
require little more than filling in a form. We arrived in
Yerevan 15 hours after leaving Tbilisi. The same journey in
a marshrutka (minibus) takes about 7 hours, though I much
prefer the train."
If you have any
more feedback on this or any other route,
please e-mail me.
Above:
The sleeper train from Tblisi to Yerevan in Armenia,
with 4-berth & 2-berth compartments.
Exterior & 4-berth photos courtesy of Paul Carey.
2-berth photo courtesy of Eugene Maguire.
Istanbul
►
Baku (Azerbaijan)
First, travel from Istanbul to Tbilisi as above.
There's then an overnight train from Tbilisi to Baku in
Azerbaijan on Tuesdays, Fridays & Sundays at 18:15 arriving
09:05 next morning. Westbound, it leaves Baku at 20:35
on Wednesdays, Fridays & Sundays arriving Tbilisi at 10:55.
Kupe 4-berth sleepers & hard seats available, distance
551km. It may also have 2-berth sleepers.
Above: The
sleeper train from Tblisi to Baku in Azerbaijan.
Photo courtesy of Paul Carey
Istanbul &
Gaziantep
► Mosul & Baghdad (Iraq)
In February 2010, a new weekly
train started between Gaziantep in south eastern Turkey and
Mosul in northern Iraq, restoring train service between
Turkey and Iraq. The train leaves Gaziantep on
Thursdays at 21:00 arriving Mosul at 14:00 on Friday some 18
hours later. Westbound, it leaves Mosul at 12:00 on
Tuesdays, arriving Gaziantep at 05:40 next morning
(Wednesday). The fare 25 euros plus 5 euros if you
want a berth in a 4-berth couchette car. The train
cuts through a short section of Syria, so a Syrian transit
visa is required. Check security and visa information
for Iraq before even thinking of travelling there, and Mosul
has particular security issues. Unfortunately, train
service from anywhere else in Turkey to Gaziantep is still
suspended due to long-term engineering work, so even though
a Gaziantep-Iraq train has been restored, Istanbul-Gaziantep
trains haven't been, so you still can't get to Iraq
from Europe without a bus ride somewhere along the line!
Latest update April 2010: Gaziantep-Mosul train now
discontinued, permanently!
A daily fast ferry and regular
conventional ferry link Taşucu in southern Turkey with Girne
(Kyrenia) in northern Cyprus, just north of Nicosia.
See
www.fergun.net
for ferry times, fares and booking. For train
connections from Istanbul to Taşucu via Karaman, see the
Cyprus page.
Thomas
Cook Timetables
There
are two truly remarkable books that are a 'must' for
serious overland travellers and an inspiration for
armchair travellers:
This is probably the most adventurous timetable ever
produced. It has train, bus & ferry times for every country in
Asia, Africa, North and South America and Australasia,
including non-European Russia, Asian Turkey, Mongolia, China and the
Trans-Siberian Railway. It costs £13.99 from any branch of Thomas
Cook or you can buy it online at
www.thomascooktimetables.com.
Alternatively, buy the
independent traveller's edition at Amazon.co.uk,
Overseas Timetable
Summer 2010 edition
The Thomas Cook Rail Map of
Europe...
This is the best and most comprehensive
map of train routes right across Europe, from Portugal in the
west to Istanbul, Moscow & Ukraine in the east, from Finland
in the north to Sicily & Crete in the south. High speed
&
scenic routes are highlighted. Highly recommended!
Buy online
at Amazon.co.uk with worldwide delivery. See an extract from the map
The
Middle East guidebook is less detailed, but covers Egypt,
Syria, Jordan, Iran, Israel and other countries as well as
Turkey.
How to book Turkish train tickets online
The Turkish Railways website has a good online booking
facility, now available in English. But if the English
version gives you problems it really isn't difficult to book
using the Turkish version with minimal knowledge of
Turkish using the step-by-step help below. The system
will book most long distance domestic trains within Turkey,
including seats, couchettes and sleepers. You print
out your reservation details and pick up the tickets in
Turkey. You can only book 14 days or less before
departure.
To check train times in Turkish...
Go to the
www.tcdd.gov.tr home page. The Turkish
version is often more up to date than the English version.
In the top red bar, click 'anahat trenleri' for
mainline trains, 'bölgesel
trenleri' for regional trains, 'Ortadogu yönlü
trenleri' for international trains to the Middle East or
'Avrupa trenleri' for international trains to Europe.
To book online in Turkish...
Go to the
www.tcdd.gov.tr home page, in the red bar
at the top click 'Bilet satiş
yerleri' then 'Online Bilet Satis Rezervasyon'.
On the almost empty page which
then appears, click the first of the three options at the
top of the page.
On the login page, click 'Yeni
Kayit' (new user)
On the
registration page, enter your details as follows (only the
compulsory items with an asterisk need to be filled in):
'kullanici adi'
= user name. Just pick one..!
'sifre' =
password (max 8 letters). Just pick one and confirm
it in the second 'sifre' password box.
'ad' and 'soyad'
= your first name and surname
'dogum tahiri'
= your date of birth
'bay' = man, 'bayan'
= woman
In the 'seciniz'
drop down box, select the first option under 'seciniz' to
indicate you want 'normal fares' with no concessions.
Enter your
address in the top address box (only the upper address box
needs to be filled in).
In the drop
down box, pick any random Turkish city, as it doesn't have
an 'overseas' option.
It seems to
check phone area codes against addresses, so use area
phone code '212' (Istanbul) and make up an address in
Istanbul.
When you're
finished, click 'Onay' to continue.
When it accepts
your registration, it will give you a registration
confirmation number.
Once it has accepted your
registration, log on using your new user name and
password.
Click 'Giris' (= enter) to
enter the reservation process.
From the next menu, select 'Bilet
Satisi' to buy tickets including reservation or 'Rezervasyon'
to make just a reservation without a ticket. 'Danisma'
means 'information'.
Find and book your train.
The system relies on you knowing the train name, so use
this seat61 webpage to find the name of the train you
want, for example, 'Ankara Express Haydarpasa-Ankara' or
'Pamukkale Express Haydarpasa-Denizli'.
Yatakli = sleeper, kusetli =
couchette. It may also offer you upper, middle or
lower berth options for these.
Bay = male, bayan = female
(your sex is necessary to book sleepers).
Once you have booked, print
off the confirmation page ('Internet Bilet Satis Sonuc
Ekrani').
You can now pick up your
tickets up to an hour before departure from any Turkish
Railways computerised reservation office, which includes
Istanbul Sirkeci and Haydarpasa stations.
With thanks to Philip Dyer-Perry.
Feedback from
travellers who have used this system is always welcome.
Hotels
in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Denizli or elsewhere in Turkey...
A good guidebook like the Lonely Planet or
Rough Guides will point you at some good hotels in each town
or city when you get there, or you
can pre-book hotels inanywhere in Turkey through
www.hotelscombined.com, just use the search box
below. This is not a hotel booking website, but a free search tool
which checks all the main hotel booking sites for you (AsiaRooms,
Opodo, Expedia, Travelocity, LateRooms and many others) to
find the cheapest hotel rates on the net. Set up in
2005, it's an amazing system and probably the best place to
start for booking any hotel online in any country, worldwide.
Never travel without insurance from a
reliable travel insurer, with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover. It should also cover loss of
cash (up to a limit) and belongings, and cancellation. An annual
multi-trip policy is usually cheaper than several single-trip
policies even for just 2 or 3 trips
a year (I have an annual policy myself). Here are some suggested insurers.
Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy through these
links.
If you live in the UK, get quotes from
Columbus Direct or
Go Travel Insurance, or go to
Confused.com to run a price comparison on a whole range of
travel insurance providers for your dates of travel, seeing
their policy's features at a glance.
Don't expect travel insurance to bail you out of every missed
connection, but European international rail conditions of
carriage (known as the 'CIV') contain consumer protection
provisions that entitle you to travel forward by the next
available train if you miss a connection because of a delay to
the first train, irrespective of who operates which train, and
even if your ticket is in theory train-specific and
non-changeable.
Feedback from using
insurance for rail & ferry travel is always welcome.
If you're a
UK citizen travelling in Europe, you should apply for a free
European Health Insurance Card, which entitles you to free or
reduced rate health care if you become ill or get injured in
many European countries, under a reciprocal arrangement with
the NHS. This replaced the old E111 forms
as from January 2006. The EHIC card is available from
www.ehic.org.uk. It doesn't remove the need for
travel insurance, though.
Get a pre-paid euro currency MasterCard from Caxton FX...
You can save money on ATM charges and exchange rates using a
Caxton FX euro currency MasterCard, or indeed the
multi-currency 'Global Traveller' MasterCard.
Find out about these cards & sign up here.
Get an international SIM card...
Mobile phones can cost a fortune to use abroad, and if you're
not careful you can return home to find some huge bills
waiting for you. I've known people run up over £1,000 in
data charges just by leaving their iPhone connected during a
simple trip to Europe. However, if you
buy a global SIM card for your mobile phone from a company
such as
www.Go-Sim.com you can slash the cost by up to 85% and
limit any damage to the amount you have pre-paid. Go-Sim
cuts call costs in 175 countries worldwide,
and you can receive incoming calls and texts for free in 75 countries. It's pay-as-you-go, so no nasty bills
when you get home. It also allows cheap data access for laptops
& PDAs. A Go-Sim account and any credit on it doesn't
expire if it's not used between trips, unlike some
others, so a Go-Sim phone number becomes your 'global phone
number' for life.
Children under 8 go free, children 8-11 travel for half the
adult fare, children 12 & over must pay the adult fare.
If you live in the UK, get quotes from
If you live in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or the
EU, see
If you live in the USA or Canada, see
