Turkey by train
How to travel in Turkey by train: information, connections, blog and travel reports. Help in our forum to buy train tickets.
Turkey offers high-speed trains and long-distance trains which run overnight.
If no train connection is available, travel by one of the many bus connections. Bus tickets are also available via the booking links.
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Online timetable information, on which you can find relevant, up-to-date connections.
Turkey -
Bulgaria
Travel from Turkey to Bulgaria by direct overnight train. The daily overnight train from Istanbul to Sofia has a journey time of 12 hours. Train tickets start from 29 EUR.
Istanbul is well connected by train with other Turkish cities. If you travel from Istanbul in direction of Varna or Burgas, a direct bus might be the faster travel option for you.
The direct overnight train Istanbul to Sofia departs at Istanbul Halkali station at 21:40 and arrives in Sofia at 08:40. Buy your train ticket locally at the Istanbul Sirkeci train station (ticket window 4). This is not the departure station Istanbul Halkali. The ticket price is 19 EUR plus a supplement of 10 EUR for a 4-berth couchette or 15 EUR for a 2-bed sleeper. The private sleeper compartment for one single traveller is 28 EUR plus a supplement of 35 EUR. In the middle of the night there is a control at the border.
The departure station Istanbul Halkali is located 25 kilometres outside of the historic city centre. Buy your ticket at Istanbul Sirkeci railway station and get by Marmaray suburban train directly to Istanbul Halkali. These suburban trains run every 15 minutes with a ticket fare of less than 2 EUR. The journey time is 35 minutes.
Turkey -
Georgia
Travel from Turkey to Georgia by train. For the border crossing you have to use a bus.
First travel by train to Erzurum or Kars. There is an overnight train available from Ankara with a journey time of 22 hours (Erzurum) or 27:30 hours (Kars). This overnight train called "Doğu Express" is comfortable and it is a very scenic journey. The train ticket fares start from 60 TRY (7 EUR) in a seat and from 80 TRY (9 EUR) in a 4-bed sleeper-wagon.
From Erzurum or Kars take a bus to the border at Sarp. The journey time is 5 hours. The bus ticket fare is about 10 EUR. Cross the border by foot. And continue by bus to Batumi.
Other options by bus are as follows:
the bus line from Trabzon (Turkey) to Batumi (Georgia). At least four connections daily for about EUR 15. From Istanbul (Turkey) to Batumi (Georgia) at least two connections daily for about EUR 25.
Trabzon (Turkey) is not connected to the railway network of Turkey. Therefore the easiest way is to take a bus directly from Istanbul or Ankara (Turkey) to Batumi (Georgia). Buy your bus ticket for Metro Turizm online.
In Batumi (Georgia) change to a train to continue to Tbilisi (Georgia).
Border crossing is currently: you leave the bus with the luggage before the border, cross the border by foot (easy) and after the border the bus picks you up again.
In future there will be a train connection from Turkey to Georgia. But it is still under construction.
Turkey -
Greece
Travel from Turkey to Greece by bus. There exists no direct train connection anymore. If you want to travel by train, travel from Istanbul to Sofia (Bulgaria) and from there to Thessaloniki. But it takes a lot more time than by bus.
There are several direct (overnight) bus connections available from Istanbul (Turkey) to bigger Greek cities (Athens, Thessaloniki, ...). Find bus and train schedules via the booking links provided.
The bus journey time from Istanbul to Thessaloniki is 10 hours. Buy your bus ticket for this travel route from 45 EUR.
To book your ticket, use the following city names to find connections.
Istanbul = Istanbul Avrupa
Thessaloniki = Selanik
Athens = Atina
Turkey -
Iran
Travel from Turkey to Iran by "Trans-Asia Express" on the route from Ankara via Tatvan, Van and Tabriz to Tehran. The travel distance is 3.000 kilometres with a total travel time of 80 hours. The train ticket price is 55 EUR in a 4-bed compartment.
The journey starts in Ankara by a train of Turkish railway. The train offers 4-bed compartments with fours seats in day-position and four beds at night. You get a pillow, sheet and blanket to make your bed by yourself. Toilets and washrooms are available at the end of the corridor of the wagon. A train restaurant is available.
In Tatvan the train ends and you change to the ferry to Van. The journey time of the ferry is six hours and included in your train ticket. The train directly arrives at the ferry pier of Tatvan and departs as well directly from the ferry pier in Van. No need to walk or have transfers by bus or taxi.
From Van you continue by a train of Iranian railways which also offers 4-bed compartments including pillow, sheet and blanket. You get free water, juice and cake. You can order meals which are served to your compartment.
The train schedules from Ankara to Tehran is as follows.
- Ankara departure at 14:25 on Wednesday
- Tatvan ferry pier arrival at 14:25 on Thursday
- Ferry crossing to Van ferry pier
- Van ferry pier departure at 21:00 on Thursday
- Kapıköy (border station in Turkey) arrival at 23:30 on Thursday
- Razi (border station in Iran) arrival at 02:00 on Friday
- Tabriz arrival at 09:50 on Friday
- Tehran arrival at 23:20 on Friday
Find train schedules and buy your tickets via the given booking links.
Turkey -
Romania
Travel from Turkey to Romania by direct overnight train. The daily overnight train from Istanbul to Bucharest has a journey time of 20:30 hours. Train tickets start from 49 EUR.
At off-season (October to May) you have to leave the overnight train in Dimitrovgrad (Bulgaria) at 04:30 in the morning and continue your journey via Gorna Oryahovitsa and Ruse.
The direct overnight train Istanbul to Bucharest departs at Istanbul Halkali station at 21:40 and arrives in Bucharest at 17:00. Buy your train ticket locally at the Istanbul Sirkeci train station (ticket window 4). This is not the departure station Istanbul Halkali.
The ticket price is 38 EUR plus a supplement of 10 EUR for a berth in a 4 person compartment.
In off-season buy a ticket Istanbul to Dimitrovgrad. And the other tickets locally at the stations where you have enough time, at least one hour in Dimitrovgrad, Gorna Oryahovitsa and Ruse. It is also possible to buy the ticket in the train from the conductor.
The departure station Istanbul Halkali is located 25 kilometres outside of the historic city centre. Buy your ticket at Istanbul Sirkeci railway station and get by Marmaray suburban train directly to Istanbul Halkali railway station. These suburban trains run every 15 minutes with a ticket fare of less than 2 EUR. The journey time is 35 minutes.
Turkey -
Serbia
To travel from Turkey to Serbia by train, make use of the direct overnight train from Istanbul (Turkey) via Sofia (Bulgaria) to Belgrade (Serbia). Train tickets are available at train stations only.
Turkey -
Ukraine
To travel from Turkey to Ukraine, first travel to Istanbul Haydarpaşa ferry and rail terminal. From there take the ferry to Chornomorsk (Ukraine). The journey time is about 30 hours. Ticket price starts from USD 80. In Chornomorsk which is located 20 kilometres south of Odessa, take a taxi, mini-bus or bus from the port to the railway station of Odessa.
