Stockholm to Istanbul by train

Travel from Stockholm to Berlin by train. The journey takes 13 hours. The train ticket costs from 49 EUR. You have three travel options:

1) From Stockholm to Berlin by night train ‘Snälltåget’. The journey time is 15:30 hours. The train offers the following service classes:
- Standard seat from 49 EUR.
- Bed in a couchette car from 85 EUR.
- Bed in a private sleeping car from 390 EUR.
Departure from ‘Stockholm Central’ is at 16:20. Arrival in ‘Berlin Hbf’ at 07:46. This train does not run daily. Prices vary depending on your travel date.

2) From Stockholm to Berlin by night train ‘SJ’. The journey time is 16 hours. The train offers the following service classes:
- Standard seat from 49 EUR.
- Bed in a couchette car from 65 EUR.
- Bed in a 2-bed sleeper compartment (another person can travel with you) from 175 EUR.
- A bed in a private sleeping car (just for you) from 350 EUR.
Departure from ‘Stockholm Central’ at 17:34. Arrival in ‘Berlin Hbf’ at 09:25. Prices vary depending on your date of travel.

3) With a day train connection with changes in Copenhagen and Hamburg. ‘Deutsche Bahn’ offers cheap tickets starting at 56 EUR. The travel time is 12 hours. You travel as follows:
- From Stockholm to Copenhagen with the high-speed X2000 Snabbtåg train. The journey time is 5 hours 15 minutes.
- From Copenhagen to Hamburg by Intercity/Eurocity. The travel time is 4:30 hours.
- From Hamburg to Berlin by ICE. The journey takes 1:45 hours

Travel from Berlin to Budapest by train. Train tickets start from 29 EUR. A comfortable overnight train is available. The journey time by the direct day train is 11 hours.

The night train offers as cheapest category seats from 29 EUR. More comfortable is a berth in compartments for 4 or 6 persons. Or a sleeper compartment which you can book for one to three persons. The departure time in Berlin is 18:40. The arrival time in Budapest Keleti railway station is 08:35.

Train ticket fares for the direct day train start from 46,90 EUR. The departure time in Berlin is 09:15. The arrival time in Budapest is 20:20.

Find the exact train schedules and buy your ticket via the given booking links.

Travel from Budapest to Bucharest by overnight train or by day train. The journey time is 15 hours. Train tickets start from 29 EUR.

The overnight train is comfortable and the recommended way of travel. It offers couchettes for 4 or 6 persons per compartment with ticket fares from 39 EUR. And sleeper compartments for one to three travellers with ticket fares from 55 EUR. The departure time in Budapest is 19:10 and the arrival time in Bucharest is 12:30.

Beside the overnight train there is a comfortable air-conditioned Intercity train which run at daytime. Ticket fares start from 29 EUR. The departure time in Budapest is at 07:10 and the arrival time in Bucharest is 23:59.

As third option there is the overnight train "Dacia Express". It offers sleeper compartments as well with shower and toilet. The departure station of the train is Vienna (Austria), therefore the arrival time in Bucharest is very late the next day at 16:00. The departure time in Budapest is 23:10. You can board the train already one hour earlier. The ticket fares are the same like mentioned above.

All in all it is a recommended rail trip trough the beautiful scenery trough Transylvania and of the Carpathian mountains.

Find the exact train schedules and buy your ticket via the given booking links.

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.

To travel from Stockholm to Copenhagen by train, you have frequent direct SJ X2000/Snabbtåg trains - at least every two hours. The journey time is about five hours. More connections are available with change in Malmö including an Öresundståg on the second part.

Saver train tickets starts from 20 Euro. The ticket price depends on your travel date and train connection. You find exact schedules and ticket fares via our booking links.

There is even the option to use a night train: first by SJ night train NT1 from Stockholm to Malmö. There you change to an Öresundståg via the Öresund Bridge to Copenhagen.

Travel from Copenhagen to Berlin by train. The journey time is 6:50 hours. The train ticket price starts at 37 EUR. You have two travel options:

1) From Copenhagen to Berlin by Snälltåget overnight train. The journey time is 11 hours. The stop is called "Høje-Taastrup" which is 15 minutes away of Copenhagen main train station. The train offers the following service classes:
- standard seat from 49 EUR.
- reclining seat: a wider seat with less travellers in the wagon. The ticket price starts from 74 EUR.
- bed in a private compartment.

2) By a day train connection with change in Hamburg. The German railways Deutsche Bahn offers discount price tickets from 37 EUR. The journey time is 6:50 hours. You travel as follows:
- from Copenhagen to Hamburg by Intercity/Eurocity train. The journey time is 4:30 hours.
- from Hamburg to Berlin by ICE train. The journey time is 1:45 hours.

Travel from Berlin to Budapest by train. Train tickets start from 29 EUR. A comfortable overnight train is available. The journey time by the direct day train is 11 hours.

The night train offers as cheapest category seats from 29 EUR. More comfortable is a berth in compartments for 4 or 6 persons. Or a sleeper compartment which you can book for one to three persons. The departure time in Berlin is 18:40. The arrival time in Budapest Keleti railway station is 08:35.

Train ticket fares for the direct day train start from 46,90 EUR. The departure time in Berlin is 09:15. The arrival time in Budapest is 20:20.

Find the exact train schedules and buy your ticket via the given booking links.

The train connection from Budapest to Belgrade is currently only possible with two changes. The line has been under reconstruction since 2019 and should be fully operational again from 2026. Until now, direct trains took around six hours to cover the 350-kilometre route. In 2026, the journey time should be reduced to 2 hours and 40 minutes, at a possible speed of 200 km/h.

Your train departs from "Budapest Nyugati" station. You have to change trains in Szeged and Subotica. Then you continue via Novi Sad and arrive at "Beograd Centar" station.

You have to buy the following tickets:

#1 From Budapest to Subotica with the Hungarian railway MAV. If you buy one train ticket, it costs 26 EUR. If you buy two train tickets, it is cheaper. First from Budapest to Szeged from 6 EUR. Then from Szeged to Subotica for 5 EUR.

#2. From Subotica to Belgrade, the ticket costs 15 EUR. These can be bought on the Serbian Railways website. At the moment it is only in Serbian, but you can understand it. Otherwise, buy the ticket at the station.

There are currently three train connections per day with departure from Budapest at 05:50h, 11:50h and 14:50h. Arrival in Belgrade is at 12:40h, 18:40h and 21:20h. You can find the exact timetables on the websites of the Hungarian and Serbian railways.

Travel from Belgrade to Sofia by direct day train connection. In off-season (October to May) you have to change trains in Nis and Dimitrovgrad. Sometimes an overnight train is offered as well.

The journey time from Belgrade to Sofia by direct day train is 11:30 hours. Train tickets are available from 21 EUR in 2nd class. Buy your ticket locally at the railway station. The departure time in Belgrade (Topcider) is 09:15. The arrival time in Sofia is 20:45.

If no direct train is available, you have to travel in several steps:
1. Belgrade to Nis. It might be the case that you have to stay overnight in Nis.
2. Nis to Dimitrovgrad.
3. Dimitrovgrad to Sofia.

Find the exact schedules via the booking links.

Travel from Sofia to Istanbul by direct overnight train. The daily train has a journey time of 11 hours. Train tickets start from 29 EUR.

The departure time in Sofia is 18:30 and the arrival time in Istanbul is 05:30. Buy your train ticket locally at the railway station of Sofia. 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 at the border, you have to get out of the train with all your luggage put it through an X-ray machine.

The arrival station is Istanbul Halkali which is located 25 kilometres outside of the historic city centre. Get by Marmaray suburban train in direction of the city centre, to the old Istanbul Sirkeci railway station. These suburban trains run every 15 minutes with a ticket fare of less than 2 EUR. The journey time is 35 minutes.

If you want to continue your journey in direction of Ankara, continue by Marmaray suburban train until the station "Söğütlüçeşme. Here is the departure of the high-speed-trains to Ankara.