Taking the Orient Express routes to and from Athens and Istanbul

The days on which The Orient Express provided a direct train service from central Europe to Athens and Istanbul are a distant memory, but if you're happy to make multiple connections in order to reach a destination, then it's still feasible to make flight-free international journeys to and from both Greece and Turkey by train.

However, what had been the usual service pattern of trains for many years between countries to the west and both Greece and Turkey was suspended as consequence of the pandemic.
Though the trains to and from Turkey;

• the year round Sofia-Istanbul Express, and
• the summer only Bosphorus Express to/from Bucuresti / Bucharest
  have both resumed.
  As have trains with a connection on the Bucuresti/Bucharest ↔ Sofia route, which enable a Bucuresti/Bucharest ↔ Halkali (connect for Istanbul) journey during the periods of time when the Bosphor Express isn't operating.

What is also operating as normal* are the train and boat connections which involve travelling on ferries between Bari in Italy and Patras in Greece.
*= the railway route between the ferry port at Patras and Kiato, from where trains depart for Athina / Athens, has been closed for reconstruction work for several years, with buses replacing the trains.

The rail route The Balkans remains suspended

However, the trains between Beograd, Sofia, Bucuresti and Thessaloniki (connect for Athina / Athens) were suspended back in 2020 they're still listed as unavailable on the Greek national rail website.

They have now also been removed from the latest version of the European Rail timetable - which lists the details of rail services which will be available until the end of June.

Hence the 'Orient Express' rail route through The Balkans to/from Athens is not an option until further notice; and in the summer it was also possible to travel via Beograd and Sofia when heading to/from Istanbul by train and this route is inevitably also suspended.

No trains between Beograd and both Ljubljana and Sofia

What's new on the current timetable is the lack of availability of trains, day and overnight, on the Zagreb ↔ Beograd route.
Presumably this is due to construction work in Serbia - the country is in the midst of a radical update of its entire rail network.
Though what needs to be verified is whether these trains will be restored on the summer timetable.

Also currently not available are the trains which had operated during the day on a Beograd ↔ Sofia route.
ShowMeTheJourney's understanding is that this situation, which also affects the route usually taken by the summer only Beograd - Sofia ↔ Thessaloniki overnight train, is due to reconstruction work on the railway.
However, no alternative rail service is available, nor are there any specific rail substitution bus services, so this unhappy scenario has also shut down the Beograd ↔ Istanbul rail route.

For those using Eurail and InterRail passes, all of the trains on these journey guides can be accessed with a pass, but most of them require seats, couchette berths and sleeping cabin beds to be reserved prior to boarding; all of the night trains fall into this category.

If you want to book these rail pass reservations before setting off on your trip, you can try using the Eurail reservation service or the InterRail reservation service - though you will be charged a €2 booking fee per reservation, per person.

The only other means of booking these reservations is at stations; do so when you first arrive in a city from which you'll be making an onward journey.
Or if you will be travelling via Munchen/Munich hbf or Wien/Vienna hbf stop by the Reisezentrum travel desks in those stations, you should be able to book most of the reservations for these trains and you won't be charged a booking fee.

If you'll be buying tickets, any necessary reservations should automatically be included with your booking.
Additional ticket booking links will be added to this guide as online bookings become available - which on these routes is typically 1 - 2 months ahead of the travel date.

Something worth keeping in mind if you are planning a multi-destination rail travel itinerary, with a rail pass or by using separate tickets, is that currently there no trains operating in either direction over the Greek and Turkish border.
The train service which used to operate between Thessaloniki (for connections from/to Athens) and Istanbul (Halkali) had been suspended pre-pandemic.

The alternative route was to travel between Greece and Istanbul the long way round, by connecting in Sofia, but the trains between Thessaloniki and Sofia are also now not available until further notice.

With no trains currently crossing Greek borders, this is route is currently the only option for using Eurail and InterRail passes to travel to and from Athina / Athens.

Though this route involves taking the ferry between Bari in Italy and Patras in Greece.

Though when travelling to Athens/Athina, taking this route is generally less complicated if a Bari departure on Sundays can be avoided.
It's a good idea to allow a minimum of three hours between the arrival by train in Bari and the departure of the ferry to Patras, but on Sundays the ferry typically departs at 13:30, which doesn't allow sufficient time to make the ferry when travelling to Bari by train from the likes of Bologna, Milano, Roma or Venezia/Venice.

So to avoid having to overnight in Bari, it's best to target the ferry departures at 19:30, which are typically, but not always, available on Monday to Saturdays.

The first trains of the day from Milano and from Roma and from Venezia should allow time in Bari to make the 19:30 ferry departures.

However, the railway between Patras and Athina/Athens has been closed for several years now, due to a seemingly never-ending reconstruction project.
Trains are only available from Kiato to Athina, so substitute bus services operate between Patras station and Kiato.

There are hourly trains from Kiato to Athens, the bus should from Patras should arrive in Kiato around 15 mins before the train departs.

Eurail and InterRail passes allow for travel as a 'deck-passenger' on the ferries, if you have a 2nd class pass you can take a seat in one of the on-board lounges, but users of first class passes can access reclining seats - though when using a rail pass, you will have to pay port taxes.
When using Eurail and InterRail passes the sleeping cabins must be reserved in advance and fairly expensive fess are charged for doing so.

On the summer timetables prior to 2020, there were two rail routes available when travelling by train between European cities and Istanbul:

1. The Balkan route via Beograd and Sofia (not available until further notice)
2. A route from Budapest via București / Bucharest - by taking The Bosphorus Express

At other times of the year the Sofia-Istanbul Express is the only regular passenger train as it is available year round.
It conveys couchettes with 6 berths or 4 berths in a compartment (a place in a 6-berth compartment is cheaper), plus sleeping cabins with one bed or two beds - the price difference between travelling in couchette or a sleeping cabin is the equivalent of around €20.

Though on arrival at the Turkish/Bulgarian border station, Kapikule, at around 00:30, all passengers have to disembark from the train in order to pass through customs control.

The Bosphorus Express travels through the night from Buccuresti/Bucharest to Turkey, but the dates on which it will be available in 2024 have seemingly yet to be confirmed.
When the summer timetable commences on June 13th it will presumably resume as a stand-alone train, which conveys seats and 4-berth couchettes.
In previous years The Bosphorus Express between March and June; and between June and October has been combined in Bulgaria with The Sofia-Istanbul express, but this arrangement is absent on the current timetable - but the service dates may yet to have been confirmed for 2024.

Arriving in Istanbul:

This train from Bulgaria (and Romania) no longer arrives at Sirkeci station in central Istanbul, as that station has been closed to long-distance trains since the opening of the Marmaray Tunnel - and its resulting transformation of local rail services in the city.

Instead the train from Sofia (and Buccuresti) travel no further than Halkali station, which is located to the west of Istanbul.
Local trains connect Halkali to central Istanbul every 15 minutes, with a journey time of around 20 mins - and those 'Marmary line' trains make multiple stops in Istanbul city centre.

In addition to a new underground Sirkeci station, located on the west bank of The Bosphorus River, those local trains on from Halkali also call at stations on the east bank of The Bosphorous at Uskardar and at Ayrilik.
They also call at Yenikapi station, which offers interchange with Metro Line 1 and Metro Line 2

On the dates when the 'Bosphor Express' isn't available, the Sofia-Istanbul Express is the only train which crosses the Bulgaria / Turkey border.
Though Sofia is some distance off the most Budapest > Bucharest > Istanbul route, but the Sofia-Istanbul Express also call at the junction station of Dimitrovgrad - which can be reached on a series of trains from Bucuresti / Bucharest, which ultimately offer a connection into the Sofia-Istanbul Express.

The typically available alternative to making an early morning connection in Dimitovgrad is take the train from Bucuresti to Ruse; and to connect there for a train which is scheduled to arrive in Sofia at around 20:20.
You can then spend the night and much of the day in the Bulgarian capital, before departing on the Sofia-Istanbul Express at 18:40.

The year round option:

Dep:	Budapest-Keleti	15:10
Arr:	Buccuresti-Nord	08:42
Dep:	Buccuresti-Nord	10:55
Arr:	Ruse	13:39
Dep:	Ruse	14:15
Arr:	Goma Orjahovica	16:25
Dep:	Goma Orjahovica	17:30
Arr:	Dimotrovgrad	22:00
Dep:	Dimotrovgrad	23;15
Arr:	Halkali (connect for Istanbul)	05:34

Direct from Bucharest to 'Istanbul'

In the summer of 2024 it won't be possible to travel by train from central Europe to Istanbul without making an overnight stop on route, but this route via Bucuresti/Bucharest has the advantage of only requiring two trains to be taken.

Vienna and Budapest to Istanbul by train

from early June to early October: timings to be confirmed

Trains to Wien/Vienna

Dep:	Wien Hbf	19:42	EN
Dep:	OR Budapest-Keleti	23:10
Arr:	Buccuresti-Nord	16:50
Dep:	Buccuresti-Nord	10:55
Arr:	Halkali (connect for Istanbul)	05:34

The train from Wien/Vienna and Budapest to Buccuresti is the EuroNight 'Dacia' service.

Budapest to Istanbul by train option 2
from early June to early October: timings to be confirmed

Dep:	Budapest-Keleti	15:10
Arr:	Buccuresti-Nord	08:06
Dep:	Buccuresti-Nord	10:55
Arr:	Halkali (connect for Istanbul)	05:34

As can be seen, if taking a train to Budapest is a feasible option, heading for Istanbul from the Hungarian capital between June 5th and October 5th is one of the easiest options on these Orient Express routes, with only two train journeys required to complete the trip.

This route isn't available until further notice

In 2022 and 2023 the summer only 'Bosphor Express from Halkali (the station which has easy connections from Istanbul) resumed its service direct to Bucuresti / Bucharest.
This train has onward connections in Bucuresti to Budapest and Wien/Vienna - though whether it will also be available in 2024 has yet to be confirmed.

The year round overnight train, the 'Sofia Express' also resumed on its route from Halkali to Sofia.
When the Bosphor Express is not available it's possible to travel to Budapest and Wien/Vienna on a route via Bucuresti / Bucharest.

However, the only train from Bulgaria on to Serbia is usually the 'Balkan Express' - a daytime train from Sofia to Beograd/Belgrade, but it didn't operate in 2022 / 2023 due to works on the line; and it has yet to be scheduled for 2024 - it's route has been removed completely from the latest version of the European Rail timetable.

Hence the only current viable option for a train journey from Istanbul to central Europe, is to travel through Bucuresti and Budapest.

Departing from Istanbul:

The Sofia-Istanbul express conveys couchettes with 6 berths and 4 berth in a compartment, a place in a 6-berth compartment is cheaper, plus sleeping cabins with one bed or two beds - the price difference between travelling in couchette or a sleeping cabin is the equivalent of around €20.
The only accommodation available on 'The Bosphorus Express' to Buccuresti/Bucharest is a place in a 4-berth couchette.

The overnight train heading west into Europe from Istanbul no longer departs from Sirkeci station in central Istanbul, as that station has been closed to long-distance trains since the opening of the Marmaray Tunnel and its associated transformation of local rail services in Istanbul.

Instead the overnight train to Sofia, (which also conveys coaches heading to Bucharest from June 3rd - October 1st) now departs from Halkali station, which is located to the west of Istanbul.

Local trains connect central Istanbul to Halkali every 15 minutes with a journey time of around 20 mins, though it's a good idea to head off from central Istanbul around an hour before the overnight train will be departing.

Those local 'Marmary line' trains make multiple stops in Istanbul city centre.
In addition to a new undergound Sirkeci station, located on the west bank of The Bosphorus River, these local trains to Halkali also call at stations on the east bank of The Bosphorous at Uskardar and at Ayrilik.
They also call at Yenikapi station, which offers interchange with Metro Line 1 and Metro Line 2.

On arrival at the Turkish/Bulgarian border station, Kapikule, at around 01:30, all passengers have to disembark from the train in order to pass through customs control.

This routing is available on the dates on which the direct Bosphor Express service from Istanbul to Bucuresti/Bucharest doesn't operate.

Dep:	Halkali (Istanbul)	22:40
Arr:	Dimitrovgrad	04:45
Dep:	Dimitrovgrad	05:55
Arr:	Goma Orjahovica	10:35
Dep:	Goma Orjahovica	11:35
Arr:	Ruse	13:30
Dep:	Ruse	14:15
Arr:	Buccueresti-Nord	17:17
Dep:	Buccueresti-Nord	21:00	EN
Arr:	Budapest-Keleti	12:50
Dep:	Budapest-Keleti	13:40	RJ
Arr:	Wien Hbf	16:20

In contrast to the 'Istanbul-Sofia Express, the Bosphorus Express is a summer only service, it was available in 2022 / 2023, but its schedule has yet to be confirmed for 2024, so the timings below are provisional.

On departure from Halkali station in western Istanbul, 'The Bosphorus Express' overnight train from Istanbul to Bucuresti/Bucharest is attached to the coaches of 'The Istanbul-Sofia' Express - it proceeds as one train until it arrives over the Bulgarian border

On arrival at the Turkish/Bulgarian border station, Kapikule, at around 01:30, all passengers have to disembark from the train in order to pass through customs control.

Option 1:

Dep:	Halkali	21:40
Arr:	Buccuresti-Nord	17:05
Dep:	Buccuresti-Nord	22:05
Arr:	Budapest-Keleti	12:50
Dep:	Budapest-Keleti	13:40	RJ
Arr:	Wien Hbf	16:21

This Option 1 routing is a means of travelling from Istanbul to Budapest and Vienna/Wien by train without having to book any overnight accommodation during the journey.

The other options, described below, for an Istanbul to Budapest and Vienna train journey, show how to travel by choosing to spend the night in Bucuresti/Bucharest.

Option 2:

Dep:	Halkali	21:40
Arr:	Buccuresti-Nord	17:05
Dep:	Buccuresti-Nord	13:45	EN
Arr:	Wien Hbf	08:21

Onward connections from Wien/Vienna

As can be seen it's possible to travel from Istanbul to Wien/Vienna by only taking two trains, though it's a three night journey involving two sleeper trains and an overnight stay in Bucuresti/Bucharest.

That 13:45 departure train from Bucuresti also calls in Budapest, but it is due to arrive at Keleti station at 05:20am!

This route won't be available until further notice.

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