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Balkan connections 2025

  • February 19, 2025
  • 8 replies
  • 414 views

ralderton
Railmaster
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I’ve seen a few questions about trains in the Balkans. It’s not always easy to find out routes, so I thought I’d try to gather as much information as possible on the current situation here.

Train travel in the Balkans (and buses and ferries)

In general, rail services in the Balkans are thin - especially international services. (See the map, but bear in mind that shows rail lines, not active services!) It’s also a cheap place for rail travel. Consider saving your pass days for somewhere else, and buy tickets locally. 

You’ll need to use buses (try Rome2Rio, Omio, Flixbus, Getbybus, Busticket4.me for timetables and online booking) to fill the gaps. Sometimes you need to do it the old-fashioned way, and go to the bus station.

There are ferry connections from Italy (Venice, Ancona, Bari, Brindisi) across the Adriatic Sea. Check Rome2Rio or Direct Ferries for schedules to Croatia (Istrian Peninsula, Zadar, Split, Dubrovnik), Montenegro (Bar), Albania (Dürres) and Greece (Igoumenitsa, Corfu, Patras).

A railpass gives you a discount on many ferries, but the discount is often quite small. It’s not valid on buses.

How do I get from?

Croatia - Serbia

  • No direct trains. There are direct buses between Zagreb - Belgrade
  • Alternatively, take a train from Zagreb to eastern Croatia (Osijek or Vinkovici) and pick up a bus from there. This is likely to be slower and more hassle than direct bus

Croatia - Bosnia

  • No international trains running on the Zagreb - Banja Luka - Sarajevo route. No domestic trains running between the two entities in Bosnia (Republika Srpska & Federation of BiH)
  • Buses run between Zagreb - Sarajevo
  • On the Dalmatian Coast, there’s the scenic Ploče - Mostar - Sarajevo line
  • Services run to/ from Ploče (Croatia) on summer weekends only. The rest of the time the line only runs within Bosnia
  • Tip: southern Croatia has no trains beyond Split! Use buses or fast boats (Krilo.hr, TP Line) or slow ferry (Jadrolinija) to reach further south, eg Dubrovnik

Bosnia - Serbia

  • There are no trains running between the two entities in Bosnia (Republika Srpska & Federation of BiH)
  • Buses towards Serbia depart from from East Sarajevo bus station, in the Republika Srpska

Bosnia/ Croatia - Montenegro

  • No trains
  • Plenty of buses, many requiring a change at Dubrovnik
  • Ferry from Dubrovnik to Budva/ Kotor (Adriatic Lines) - avoids the congested coast road

Montenegro - Serbia

  • Bar - Belgrade - very scenic railway. The overnight train runs all year; day train runs in summer only
  • Connect from Croatia by bus

Montenegro - Albania/ Kosovo and onwards to Greece

  • Bus connections from Podgorica
  • Seat61 has some good infomation on international connections, and the domestic Albanian trains (if they’re operating!)
  • Albania is not covered by Interrail

Serbia - Hungary

A new high-speed line is under construction between Belgrade - Budapest. In the meantime, you have to take a slow connecting route, described on Seat61

  • The current route takes 13 hours, changing at Novi Sad, Subotica and Szeged
  • It will reduce to 7 hours, avoiding the change at Novi Sad, but that has been delayed due to a building collapse. Check before travelling, possibly opening in March 2025

Serbia - Bulgaria

  • No direct trains
  • Take the train to Niš, then a bus to Sofia, described on Seat61

Serbia - North Macedonia

  • No direct trains
  • Take the train to Niš, then a bus to Skopje

Serbia - Kosovo - Albania

  • No direct trains
  • Take the train to Niš, then a bus to Pristina, and onwards to Prizren or Tiranë
  • It’s possible that trains may be running between Pristina - Prizren. Check locally

Greece

  • No international trains to/ from Thessaloniki
  • If you’re in Sofia (Bulgaria), domestic trains run to Blagoevgrad, then take a bus to Thessaloniki
  • If you’re in Skopje (North Macedonia), domestic trains run to Gevgelia
  • Domestic trains in Greece are running
  • The easiest way to reach Greece from Western Europe is by ferry from Italy
  • Consider the Greek Islands Pass, which includes the ferry

Greece - best overland route, minimising buses

If you want to go overland, this route via Budapest-Belgrade-Sofia probably the easiest option. It only needs two buses (into and out of Bulgaria).

  1. Reach Budapest however you like
  2. Then take the connecting route to Belgrade (sleep Belgrade)
  3. Serbian train to Niš, then bus to Sofia (sleep Sofia)
  4. Bulgarian train to Blagoevgrad, bus to Thessaloniki (sleep Blagoevgrad or Thessaloniki)
  5. Train to Athens

Reaching Greece from Dubrovnik or Montenegro will require some long hours on buses, via Skopje or Tiranë. See this Seat61 page for guidance.

Turkey

A bit beyond the scope of this guide, as not in the Balkans! but again Seat61 has some excellent route suggestions. The most obvious options are:

  • Budapest-Bucharest-Istanbul (direct couchettes from Bucharest-Istanbul in Summer, several changes required at other times)
  • Budapest-Belgrade-Sofia-Istanbul (follow Greece route as far as Sofia, then pick up a direct sleeper to Istanbul which runs year-round)

8 replies

ralderton
Railmaster
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  • Author
  • Railmaster
  • 1537 replies
  • February 20, 2025

Suggested itineraries

with easy connections (by train, unless otherwise specified)

  • Ljubljana - Zagreb - Split - Dubrovnik (high-speed boat) - Mostar (bus) - Sarajevo - Belgrade or Zagreb (bus)
  • Dubrovnik - Kotor (bus or boat) - Bar (bus) - Belgrade - Budapest

 

Ferry Routes

Getting across the Adriatic

Large ferries go from Italy to Zadar, Split, Dubrovnik, Bar, Dürres, Igoumenitsa, Corfu, and Patras. Pick your Italian departure port (Venice, Ancona, Bari, Brindisi) from this page on Direct Ferries to see timetables. Some are daily some are weekly or seasonal.

Small passenger ferries run by Adriatic Lines make the short crossing from Venice to the Istrian Peninsula.

Passholders get a discount or free travel on Blue Star, Anek, Superfast, Hellenic Seaways, Grimaldi Lines, Minoan Lines and SNAV. See the Interrail benefits portal for details.

Getting up and down the Croatian coast

Frequent services run up and down the coast - mostly within Croatia, but there is a service to Montenegro. None of these is covered by the pass

Jadrolinija has the biggest network (map). Krilo and TP Line run impressive fast catamarans, which are nicer than the bus to get to Dubrovnik

Adriatic Lines runs services from Dubrovnik to Kotor and Budva in Montenegro.

 


Forum|alt.badge.img+1
  • Keeps calm and carries on
  • 55 replies
  • February 20, 2025

There is a bus from Sandanski to Serres, if one wants to truly maximize train!


Forum|alt.badge.img+9
  • Railmaster
  • 10626 replies
  • February 20, 2025
Gordon_Matheus wrote:

There is a bus from Sandanski to Serres, if one wants to truly maximize train!

Do you know where to find the timetable or who operates it?


Forum|alt.badge.img+1
  • Keeps calm and carries on
  • 55 replies
  • February 20, 2025
rvdborgt wrote:
Gordon_Matheus wrote:

There is a bus from Sandanski to Serres, if one wants to truly maximize train!

Do you know where to find the timetable or who operates it?

Union Ivkoni !

 

www.union-ivkoni.com

 


There is one daily bus


ralderton
Railmaster
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  • Author
  • Railmaster
  • 1537 replies
  • February 20, 2025

I'm not proposing to put bus and ferry timetables into the guide, since they’re liable to change. Even the operators come and go!

I think it's sufficient to point people towards the tools they can use, such as Rome2Rio or Omio.


ralderton
Railmaster
Forum|alt.badge.img+6
  • Author
  • Railmaster
  • 1537 replies
  • February 20, 2025
Gordon_Matheus wrote:

There is a bus from Sandanski to Serres, if one wants to truly maximize train!

I don't see any onward connections from Serres though? 


Eurail Community Moderator
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Hi ​@ralderton 

This is super helpful, thank you for sharing! 


Forum|alt.badge.img+9
  • Railmaster
  • 10626 replies
  • February 25, 2025
ralderton wrote:
Gordon_Matheus wrote:

There is a bus from Sandanski to Serres, if one wants to truly maximize train!

I don't see any onward connections from Serres though? 

2 trains per day to Thessaloniki, see www.hellenictrain.gr.