Arad to Istanbul by train
Travel from Arad (Romania) to Istanbul (Turkey) by train (843km): schedule and information to the train connection. Compare fares and buy your ticket.
To travel by train from Arad in Romania to Istanbul in Turkey, make use of the direct overnight train from Bucharest to Istanbul, crossing Bulgaria.
Your travel route could be like that.
843 km
How to use the following information: we show you the best routes and where to buy tickets. On longer routes you may need more than one ticket. Book your tickets step by step as explained. If you have questions about the route from Arad to Istanbul, please ask in our forum. Of course, sometimes there are as well other travel routes possible.
The following links could be interesting for you.
train connections : popular connections travelled by other users
Istanbul - Arad / Bucharest - Ankara / Bucharest - Izmir / Brașov - Istanbul / Cluj-Napoca - Istanbul / Constanța - Istanbul / Iași - Istanbul / Sibiu - Istanbul / Timișoara - Istanbul1 Arad (Romania) - Bucharest (Romania) - Istanbul (Turkey)
The route consist of more than one step. You have to buy several train tickets.
1a Travelling from Arad (Romania) to Bucharest (Romania)
To travel in Romania by domestic trains of "CFR Calatori" (Romanian Railways) buy your ticket via the given booking links or locally at a railway station.
International trains are also available via the given booking links or at a railway station.
Romania offers a lot of long-distance train connections also by overnight train.
Where to buy a ticket from Arad to Bucharest?
Check times&prices 
The following links could be interesting for you.
train types: Train types you are likely to travel with.
InterCity (IC) / InterRegio (IR) / Regio (R)
night train: Night trains that might be suitable for this trip.
EN 346 Bucharest - Vienna / IC 406 Brașov - Budapest / EN 472 Bucharest - Budapest / Bosfor Bucharest - Istanbul / 402/106 Bucharest - Chisinau
train company:
CFR Căile Ferate Române
train connections: popular connections travelled by other users
Bucharest - Arad / Bucharest - Arad / Bucharest - Brașov / Bucharest - Cluj-Napoca / Bucharest - Constanța / Bucharest - Craiova / Bucharest - Iași / Bucharest - Sibiu / Bucharest - Timișoara / Brașov - Timișoara / Iași - Arad
search for train schedules here: Online timetable information, on which you can find relevant, up-to-date connections.
rail.cc Deutsche Bahn
1b Travelling from Bucharest (Romania) to Istanbul (Turkey)
Travel from Bucharest to Istanbul by direct overnight train Bosphorus Express. This daily overnight train has a journey time of 18:30 hours. Train tickets start from 52 EUR.
At off-season (October to May) you have to use connection trains to get to Dimitrovgrad (Bulgaria) where you can enter the overnight train. Travel from Bucharest via Ruse and Gorna Oryahovitsa to Dimitrovgrad (Bulgaria) where the night train departs at 22:40. You have enough time to change trains at each of these railway station.
The direct overnight train Bucharest to Istanbul departs at "Bucharest Gara de Nord" railway station at 11:00. The arrival time in Istanbul Halkali railway station is at 05:20 in the morning. After midnight you have to leave the train at the Turkish border with all your luggage and put your luggage through an X-ray machine.
The ticket price is 38 EUR plus a supplement of 14 EUR for a berth in a 4 person compartment. Buy the ticket at the railway station in Bucharest or on the website of Romania railways CFR. Select "Halkali" as destination.
The arrival station Istanbul Halkali is located 25 kilometres outside of the historic city centre. Get by Marmaray suburban train directly to Istanbul Sirkeci railway station (the former historic railway station) and on to "Söğütlüçeşme", the departure station for the high-speed-trains in direction of Ankara. These suburban trains run every 15 minutes with a ticket fare of less than 2 EUR. The journey time from the Istanbul Halkali station to the historic city centre is 35 minutes.
Where to buy a ticket from Bucharest to Istanbul?
The following links could be interesting for you.
night train: Night trains that might be suitable for this trip.
Bosfor Bucharest - Istanbul / Bosfor Istanbul - Bucharest
train connections: popular connections travelled by other users
Istanbul - Bucharest
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Do you have questions about the connection between Arad and Istanbul? Does something not work as it should? Just ask in our forum and get competent answers from our rail travel experts.
Eurail: if you want to travel this route by Eurail instead of train tickets, have a look here for reservation fees and further information.
