Across Bulgaria.  Lush green scenery as the train descends the Shipka Pass.

Good morning Turkey!  Dawn breaks as the train speeds east towards Istanbul.

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Bucharest to Belgrade & Serbia

IMPORTANT UPDATE: The incompetent Romanian & Serbian Railway managers have had a disagreement, and since August 2017 the Timisoara-Vrsac trains have been terminating one station short of Vrsac, meaning there are currently no trains at all across the Serbian/Romanian border, completely destroying this international route.  Until or unless this incompetence is resolved, you are advised to travel from Bucharest to Budapest then Budapest to Belgrade.  I'll keep the original advice below in case the situation is resolved:

• There is no longer a direct train between Bucharest & Belgrade, but it's easy to travel between these cities in comfort by train.  It's difficult to find online as int.bahn.de doesn't recognise the local route via Vrsac, so listen up!

• Daily except Sundays, two local trains link Timisoara in western Romania with Belgrade's lesser-known Dunav station.  The journey involves one easy change at the border at Vrsac.

• Timisoara Nord depart 07:48, arrive Vrsac 08:52, change at Vrsac, Vrsac depart 09:40 arriving Belgrade Dunav 11:23.  But see update above!

• Timisoara Nord depart 16:36 arrive Vrsac 17:35, change at Vrsac, Vrsac depart 18:25, Belgrade Dunav arrive 20:08.  But see update above!

• To connect with these trains, either take a day train or the overnight sleeper train from Bucharest to Timisoara Nord, you can book this section at www.cfrcalatori.ro.

• Buy tickets from Timisoara to Belgrade at the station in Timisoara, fare 42 RON (about €9), no reservation needed for this bit, and no online or advance booking possible.

Bucharest to Chişinău & Moldova

The Prietenia from Chişinău to Bucharest about to leave Chişinău.  Photos courtesy of Malcolm B & Peter Brogdale.

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Bucharest to all other destinations

Option 1, using the Bucharest to Budapest sleeper train Ister

• Step 1, travel from Bucharest to Budapest on the sleeper train Ister, leaving Bucharest Gara de Nord at 18:15, Ploeşti Vest 18:53, Braşov 20:53 or Sibiu 23:41, arriving Budapest Keleti at 08:50 next morning.

  It has a safe, comfortable and civilised Romanian air-conditioned sleeping-car with 1, 2 or 3 bed compartments with washbasin and a Romanian couchette car with 4 & 6 berth compartments, and ordinary seats.

  A sleeper is the recommended option, you'll be safe and snug, although couchettes are fine.  A bar-bistro is attached between Bucharest and Simeria, serving inexpensive drinks, snacks and hot dishes - or take your own picnic and bottle of wine.  In spring & summer when it's light, the scenic ride through the Carpathian mountains between Ploesti & Brasov is wonderful.

  Fares start at €39 with a couchette in 6-berth, €46 with a couchette in 4-berth, €69 with a bed in a 3-bed sleeper, €84 with a bed in a 2-bed sleeper or €162 with a single-bed sleeper all to yourself.  All prices per person per berth.  Fares vary like air fares, so book ahead.

  Book this train at the Romanian Railways website bileteinternationale.cfrcalatori.ro. 

  Booking usually opens 90 days ahead.  Click EN top right for English.  For Bucharest enter Bucuresti.  You print your own ticket or can show it on your laptop or phone.

  You can also buy tickets at the Hungarian Railways website www.mavcsoport.hu, see my advice for using it.  Booking opens 60 days ahead.  For Bucharest, type Bucuresti.  You show the ticket on the MAV app on your phone.

• Step 2, travel from Budapest to other European cities, as shown in more detail on the Trains from Budapest page. I'd allow at least 2 hours between trains in Budapest, just in case of delay.

  For Bratislava, a EuroCity train leaves Budapest Nyugati at 11:30 and arrives Bratislava Hlavna at 13:55.  Book this at the Hungarian Railways website jegy.mav.hu with fares from €9.50.

  For Prague, a EuroCity train leaves Budapest Nyugati at 11:30 and arrives Prague Hlavni at 18:13.  Book this at the Hungarian Railways website jegy.mav.hu with fares from €20.

  For Zagreb, a train leaves Budapest Deli at 15:35 and arrives Zagreb at 21:59.  Book this at the Hungarian Railways website jegy.mav.hu with fares from €20, or buy at the station.

  For Krakow & Warsaw, spend the day in Budapest.  A sleeper train leaves Budapest Nyugati at 19:29, arriving Krakow Glowny at 05:59 and Warsaw Gdanska at 08:48.  Book this at the Hungarian Railways website jegy.mav.hu although at the time of writing this won't book sleepers or couchettes (this may change, feedback appreciated)

  For Munich, a railjet train leaves Budapest Keleti at 11:40, arriving Munich Hbf at 18:31.  Book this at the German Railways website int.bahn.de, fares from €27.90, you print your own ticket or can show it on your laptop or phone.  Change in Munich for Stuttgart & Cologne.

  For London, see the London to Romania page.

A 1, 2 or 3-bed sleeper with washbasin.  Larger photo.		The sleeping-car (vagon de dormit) on the Ister boarding at Bucharest.  Sleepers convert from beds to private sitting rooms for day use.  Courtesy of DiscoverByRail.

The vagon cuseta (couchette car) on the Ister, boarding at Bucharest.  Couchettes convert from bunks at night to seats by day.  Courtesy of @AndyBTravels, DiscoverByRail.com .		4 or 6-berth couchettes.  Larger photo.

Option 2, using the Bucharest to Vienna sleeper train Dacia Express

• Step 1, travel from Bucharest to Vienna by Dacia Express, leaving Bucharest Gara de Nord at 14:40, Ploeşti Vest 15:18, Braşov 17:11, Sighisoara 20:27, Simeria 22:39 and arriving Vienna Hbf at 08:20.

  The Dacia Express has a modern air-conditioned Romanian sleeping-car with 1, 2 & 3 bed compartments with washbasin plus several deluxe compartments with en suite shower & toilet, and a couchette car with 4 & 6-berth couchette compartments.  A bar car is attached between Bucharest and Arad, serving drinks & snacks, or take your own picnic and bottle of wine along.  The scenery through the Carpathian mountains between Ploesti & Brasov is wonderful!

  Booked online in advance, fares start at €49 with couchette in 6-berth, €59 with couchette in 4-berth, €69 with a bed in a 3-bed sleeper, €90 with a bed in a 2-bed sleeper or €150 with a single-bed sleeper all to yourself.

  Book at the Romanian Railways website bileteinternationale.cfrcalatori.ro.

  Booking usually opens 90 days ahead.  Click EN top right for English.  Bucharest is listed as Bucuresti (Romania), for Vienna you should use the German spelling Wien.  You print your own ticket or can show it on your laptop or phone.

• Step 2, travel from Vienna to other European cities, as shown in more detail on the Trains from Vienna page. I'd allow at least 1½ to 2 hours between trains in Vienna, just in case of delay.

  For Bratislava, a regional train leaves Vienna Hbf every hour at xx:17 minutes past each hour for Bratislava Hlavna, taking just 1h09.  The fare is €11.00, either buy at the station or at www.thetrainline.com (easy to use, in €, £ or $, overseas credit cards no problem, small booking fee) or the Austrian Railways website www.oebb.at (more fiddly, same prices, in €).  You print your own ticket.

  For Prague, a railjet train leaves Vienna Hbf at 11:10 arriving Prague Hlavni at 15:13.  Fares start at €14, book this train at www.thetrainline.com (easy to use, in €, £ or $, overseas credit cards no problem, small booking fee) or the Austrian Railways website www.oebb.at (more fiddly, same prices, in €).  You print your own ticket.

  For Munich, a railjet train leaves Vienna Hbf at 10:28, arriving Munich Hbf at 14:32.  Book this at the German Railways website int.bahn.de, fares from €27.90, you print your own ticket or can show it on your laptop or phone.  Change in Munich for Stuttgart & Cologne.

  For Berlin, a ICE-T train leaves Vienna Hbf at 10:13, arriving Berlin Hbf at 17:53.  Book this at the German Railways website int.bahn.de, fares from €37.90, you print your own ticket or can show it on your laptop or phone.

  For Nuremberg & Frankfurt, an ICE-T train leaves Vienna Hbf at 11:13, arriving Frankfurt (Main) Hbf at 17:36.  Book this at the German Railways website int.bahn.de, fares from €27.90, you print your own ticket or can show it on your laptop or phone.  Change in Frankfurt for Hamburg, Cologne, Düsseldorf.

  For Zurich & Switzerland, a railjet train leaves Vienna Hbf at 13:28, arriving Zurich HB at 21:20.  Book this at www.thetrainline.com (easy to use, in €, £ or $, overseas credit cards no problem, small booking fee) or at the Austrian Railways website www.oebb.at (more fiddly, same prices, in €).  You print your own ticket.

  For Venice & Italy, a railjet train leaves Vienna Hbf at 12:24, arriving Venice Santa Lucia at 20:05.  Book this at www.thetrainline.com (easy to use, in €, £ or $, overseas credit cards no problem, small booking fee) or at the Austrian Railways website www.oebb.at (more fiddly, same prices, in €).  You print your own ticket.

  For Paris, an ICE-T train leaves Vienna Hbf at 11:13, change at Frankfurt (Main) Hbf onto an ICE3 train running daily except Saturdays arriving Paris Gare de l'Est at 22:52.  Book this at www.thetrainline.com (easy to use, in €, £ or $, overseas credit cards no problem, small booking fee), you print your own tickets or can show them on your laptop or phone.

  For Brussels, an ICE-T train leaves Vienna Hbf at 11:13, change at Frankfurt (Main) Hbf onto an ICE3 train arriving Brussels Midi at 21:35.  Book this at the German Railways website int.bahn.de, fares from €49.90, you print your own ticket or can show it on your laptop or phone.

  For Amsterdam, an ICE-T train leaves Vienna Hbf at 11:13, change at Frankfurt (Main) Hbf onto an ICE3 train arriving Amsterdam Centraal at 23:29.  Book this at the German Railways website int.bahn.de, fares from €49.90, you print your own ticket or can show it on your laptop or phone.

  For London, see the London to Romania page.

  For Barcelona & Spain, first travel to Zurich as shown above, and stay overnight.  Next day, travel to Geneva, Lyon then Barcelona as shown here.

• Tip:  The Romanian Railways website bileteinternationale.cfrcalatori.ro will - remarkably - book journeys from Romania as far afield as Paris, but it usually applies expensive standard-tariff fares for parts of such journeys outside Romania.  You're usually better off using bileteinternationale.cfrcalatori.ro to book from Romania to Budapest or Vienna, then using a site such as www.thetrainline.com to book from Budapest or Vienna to Germany, Paris and so on.

Option 3, using a daytime train from Bucharest to Budapest, overnight stop in Budapest, then onward train

• Step 1, travel from Bucharest to Budapest by daytime Intercity train.

  The Traianus leaves Bucharest Nord at 05:05, runs via Craiova, Timisoara & Arad and arrives Budapest Keleti at 20:50.

  The Fogaras leaves Brasov at 07:00, runs via Sibiu & Simeria and arrives Budapest Keleti at 18:50.

  Advance-purchase fares in 2nd class start at €29.  Standard tariff is approximately €49 in 2nd class or €74 in 1st class.

  Buy tickets at the Romanian Railways website bileteinternationale.cfrcalatori.ro. 

  Booking usually opens 90 days ahead.  Click EN top right for English.  Bucharest is listed as Bucuresti (Romania).  You print your own ticket or can show it on your laptop or phone.

  You can also buy tickets at the Hungarian Railways (MAV) website jegy.mav.hu from €26.30 and load them into the MAV app on your phone (tickets cannot be printed out).  At the time I write this it will book seats, but not couchettes or sleepers on night trains.

• Stay overnight in Budapest.  Top choice for an inexpensive stay next to Budapest Keleti is the Intercity Hotel just across the square in front of the station.  Also try the Royal Park Boutique Hotel, the inexpensive Baross City Hotel across the road or the Elit Hotel two minutes walk away. Of course, if you want to push the boat out, the luxurious Corinthia Hotel opened in 1896 was almost certainly the inspiration for the 2014 film The Grand Budapest Hotel, 20 minutes walk or 9 minutes by taxi from Keleti station.  More hotels in Budapest.

• Step 2, travel from Budapest to other European cities, as shown in more detail on the Trains from Budapest page.

  For Vienna, a railjet train leaves Budapest Keleti at 07:40, arriving Vienna Hbf at 10:20, or there are later departures every hour.  Book this at the Book this at the Hungarian Railways website jegy.mav.hu with fares from €13 or if you have any problems, www.thetrainline.com.

  For Bratislava, a EuroCity train leaves Budapest Nyugati at 05:30 and arrives Bratislava Hlavna at 07:55, or there are trains at 07:30, 08:30, 09:30 and every 2 hours through the day.  Book this at the Hungarian Railways website jegy.mav.hu with fares from €9.50.

  For Prague, a EuroCity train leaves Budapest Nyugati at 05:30 and arrives Prague Hlavni at 12:11, or there are trains at 07:30, 09:30 and every 2 hours through the day.  Book at the Hungarian Railways website jegy.mav.hu with fares from €20.

  For Zagreb, a train leaves Budapest Deli at 15:35 and arrives Zagreb at 21:59.  Book this at the Hungarian Railways website jegy.mav.hu with fares from €20, or buy at the station.

  For Ljubljana, a train leaves Budapest Deli at 09:00 and arrives Ljubljana at 16:35.  Book this at the Hungarian Railways website jegy.mav.hu with fares from €20, or buy at the station.

  For Krakow & Warsaw, a train leaves Budapest Nyugati at 08:12, with a portion for Krakow Glowny arriving 16:28 and a portion for Warsaw Centralna arriving 19:34.  Book at the Hungarian Railways website jegy.mav.hu.

  For Munich, a railjet train leaves Budapest Keleti at 07:40, arriving Munich Hbf at 14:32, or there are later departures roughly every 2 hours.  Book at the German Railways website int.bahn.de, fares from €27.90, you print your own ticket or can show it on your laptop or phone.  Change in Munich for Stuttgart & Cologne.

  For Berlin, the EuroCity train Hungaria with restaurant car leaves Budapest Nyugati at 07:30 arriving Berlin Hbf at 18:43.  Book at German Railways int.bahn.de.  For details, see the Budapest to Berlin section.

  For Switzerland, a railjet train leaves Budapest Keleti at 06:40 and arrives Zurich at 17:20.  Change in Zurich for anywhere else in Switzerland.  Book at www.thetrainline.com and print your own tickets.

  For Italy, catch the 07:40 railjet train to Vienna from €19.90 and take the afternoon 12:24 railjet to Venice from €29.90, book each train at www.thetrainline.com and print your own tickets.

  For all other destinations, see the Trains from Budapest page

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Hotels in Bucharest & other cities

For advice on hotels in Bucharest, see the hotels section on the Bucharest Gara de Nord station page.

Backpacker hostels

• www.hostelworld.com:  If you're on a tight budget, don't forget about backpacker hostels.  Hostelworld offers online booking of cheap private rooms or dorm beds in backpacker hostels in most cities at rock-bottom prices.

Travel insurance & VPN

Always take out travel insurance

Never travel overseas without travel insurance from a reliable insurer, with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover.  It should also cover cancellation and loss of cash and belongings, up to a sensible limit.  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 with Staysure.co.uk myself.  Here are some suggested insurers.  Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy through these links.

  www.staysure.co.uk offers enhanced Covid-19 protection & gets 4.7 out of 5 on Trustpilot.

  www.columbusdirect.com is also a well-know brand.

  If you live in the USA try Travel Guard USA.

Get an eSIM with mobile data package

Don't rely on WiFi, download an eSIM with a mobile data package for the country you're visiting and stay connected.  Most newer mobile phones can download a virtual SIM card so you don't need to buy a physical SIM, including iPhone 11 & later, see device compatibility list.  Maya.net is a reliable eSIM data retailer with a 4.5 out of 5 Trustpilot rating and a range of packages including unlimited data.

Get a Curve card for foreign travel

Most banks give you a poor exchange rate, then add a foreign transaction fee on top.  A Curve MasterCard means no foreign transaction fees and gives you the mid-market exchange rate, at least up to a certain limit, £500 per month at time of writing.  The money you spend on your Curve card goes straight onto one of your existing debit or credit cards.

How it works:  1. Download the Curve app for iPhone or Android.  2. Enter your details & they'll send you a Curve MasterCard - they send to the UK and most European addresses.  3. Link your existing credit & debit cards to the app, you can link up to two cards with the free version of Curve, I link my normal debit card and my normal credit card.  4. Now use the Curve MasterCard to buy things online or in person or take cash from ATMs, exactly like a normal MasterCard. Curve does the currency conversion and puts the balance in your own currency onto whichever debit or credit card is currently selected in the Curve app.  You can even change your mind about which card it goes onto, within 14 days of the transaction.

I have a Curve Blue card myself, it means I can buy a coffee on a foreign station on a card without being stung by fees and lousy exchange rates, just by tapping the Curve card on their card reader.  The money goes through Curve to my normal debit card and is taken directly from my account (in fact I have the Curve card set up as payment card on Apple Pay on my iPhone, so can double-click my phone, let it do Face ID then tap the reader with the phone - even easier than digging a card out).  I get a little commission if you sign up to Curve, but I recommend it here because I think it's great.  See details, download the app and get a Curve card, they'll give you £5 cashback through that link.

Get a VPN for safe browsing.  Why you need a VPN

When you're travelling you often use free WiFi in public places which may not be secure.  A VPN encrypts your connection so it's always secure, even on unsecured WiFi.  It also means you can select the geographic location of the IP address you browse with, to get around geoblocking which a surprising number of websites apply.  See VPNs & why you need one explained.  ExpressVPN is a best buy with a 4.7 out of 5 Trustpilot ranking which I use myself - I've signed up as an ExpressVPN affiliate, and if you go with expressvpn.com using the links on this page, you should see a special deal, 3 months free with an annual subscription.  I get a small commission to help support this site.

Carry an Anker powerbank

Tickets, reservations, vaccination records and Interrail or Eurail passes are often held digitally on your mobile phone, so it's vital to keep it charged.  I always carry an Anker powerbank which can recharge my phone several times over if I can't get to a power outlet.  Buy from Amazon.co.uk or from Buy from Amazon.com.