Bucharest to Istanbul by train
Travel from Bucharest (Romania) to Istanbul (Turkey) by train (446km): schedule and information to the train connection. Compare fares and buy your ticket.
To travel by train from Bucharest 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.
446 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 Bucharest 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 - Bucharest / Bucharest - Ankara / Bucharest - Izmir / Arad - Istanbul / Brașov - Istanbul / Cluj-Napoca - Istanbul / Constanța - Istanbul / Iași - Istanbul / Sibiu - Istanbul / Timișoara - Istanbul1 Bucharest (Romania) - Istanbul (Turkey)
1a 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?
Check times&prices 
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
Need a cheap place to sleep? We recommend booking.com
Find a cheap flight! Compare prices on Kiwi.com
Do you have questions about the connection between Bucharest 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.
