There is a train running between Istanbul and Sofia and finally we can tell you!

📌 How to buy tickets?

You can only buy them at the ticket offices at Halkalı, Söğütlüçeşme and Sirkeci stations in Istanbul.

❌ Online you can’t.

💳 Pay by credit card or cash lira.

The ticket includes either 2 cabin-size suitcases or 1 large suitcase. If more, you will have to pay about 10 euros for each one.

⚠ Need a Bulgarian visa or open Schengen if your passport does not allow visa-free travel.

Be sure to buy a return ticket at once, because in Sofia you can only buy a ticket for Bulgarian carriages — they say they are worse.

You can buy either a compartment for 1/2/4 people or you can share a compartment with a person of the same sex.

In a 2-seater compartment there is a sink, refrigerator and 1 socket.

20:00 The train leaves from Halkalı — you can arrive half an hour in advance.

≈ 01:30 Turkish border. It is necessary to get off the train and pass it with your feet.

In fact it can be late, from 2 to 3-30.

≈ 02:00 Bulgarian border. Passports are collected and then brought back.

≈ 09:30 Arrival in Sofia. In fact it may be 11.00 late.

In the train there is no restaurant car and boiling water (more precisely boiling water can be asked from the conductor).

🐈 It is possible with animals, with all chips-vaccinations-titers of course.

For October 2023 the cost of a compartment for 2x 120 euros in 2 directions.

😉 To ride back and forth in the framework of entertainment and walk around Sofia is quite possible. Well or for relocation as an option can be, because from Sofia to fly cheaper in the EU.