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Anyone taken the train from Budapest to Istanbul lately?

My husband and I were planning on traveling our own version of the Orient Express, but we're daunted by reports that due to construction we'll have to get off the train and transfer to a bus once we hit the border with Turkey. Also, we're not that excited about spending a night in Bucharest. But maybe we should be? Anyone have advice on this or traveled from Budapest-->Bucharest-->Istanbul recently? Thanks,
JM

Posted by
17634 posts

Bucharest isn't nearly as bad as the reports. Actually there are some real points of interest and things for tourists are reportedly getting better every day. I wouldn't mind going back again. Romania in general can be pretty spectacular. Some of my favorite places in the world are in Romania and Bulgaria. You might consider taking the train to someplace like Sibu or Sighisoara and then do a brief tour of Transylvania before leaving out of Bucharest for Istanbul. Or you can go through Sofia and spend time in Bulgaria on the way. Plovdiv and Veliko Turnovo are two places not to be missed. I can give you the name of the guides we used in both of these countries if you are interested. They were both excellent and the prices in Romania and Bulgaria are very reasonable. Another option might be the Danube Express train; http://www.danube-express.com/train-journeys/transylvanian_east if you want first class luxury. And a third option would be to have someone actually drive you from Budapest through Romania to Bucharest. Faster and more comfortable than a train and you get to stop along the way and see some amazing sights. Again, I know the guide that will do it if you are interested. Not sure if I provided any help?

Posted by
1840 posts

Last September we rode the train from Istanbul to Stara Zagora, Bulgaria. That was an interesting night train ride that we would not take again. Stara Zagora is about half way to Bucharest (Bucuresti) and we enjoyed three full days there. Bucharest through Budapest to Vienna was much nicer. Always go first class and say no to night trains. They are slow, slow, slow, and stop wherever there are milk cans along the tracks. Train travel in eastern Europe is quite different than western Europe until you get to Poland, Austria, and the Czech Republic. Second class there is pretty bare bones. Third class is abominable for older people like us.

Posted by
8 posts

Monte, I appreciated hearing about your first-hand experience on the trains. James, your post was very helpful, and I was glad to hear that Bucharest is better than the reports coming out of it. You gave me a lot of great options and things to start investigating for future travel--thank you. I think what we're going to do is leave Romania and Bulgaria for a future trip. We simply don't have enough time on this itinerary to do anything but travel through them, and thanks to the construction along the Turkish part of the rail line, even that is not ideal this year. Thanks again to both of you for taking the time to share your tips with me! JM