Traveling through the Balkans


Hey community :)

 

I bought a ticket to Berlin a few months ago in order to visit Russia from Germany but then war happened etc. Now I’ve changed my trip to the following travel itinerary:

Berlin to Thessaloniki (airplane, bought)

Thessaloniki to Sofia (train? bus? Didn’t find much info, didn’t bought yet. HELP)

Sofia to Istanbul (train? bus? what do you recommend?)

Istanbul to Tirana (airplane, bought)

 

Regarding the pending itinerary, what do you recommend?

 

Thanks!

MartinM 1 year ago

Hey Juliana,

for Thessaloniki-Sofia I’d recommend to take a bus as the trip is not so long - 5-6 hours and price is low with around 20-25 euro (depending on the company). There will be no cross-border trains this summer.

When exactly do you plan to travel? (month) There are rumors that the Sofia-Istanbul nighttrain might restart again soon. If it does, then definitely go for the train - you will have a normal bed and price is similar to bus (maybe 4-5 euro more). Busses are usually crowded, so not very comfy to spend the night. But so or so try to use a nightbus (if the train is not available) - the road is very boring, so better to do it at night.

BTW: Baltics are Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania. The area you mean is the Balkan ;-)

Safe travels

View original

12 replies

Userlevel 7
Badge +9

There are currently no trains international trains from/to Greece or Turkey.

Userlevel 7
Badge +6

Hey Juliana,

for Thessaloniki-Sofia I’d recommend to take a bus as the trip is not so long - 5-6 hours and price is low with around 20-25 euro (depending on the company). There will be no cross-border trains this summer.

When exactly do you plan to travel? (month) There are rumors that the Sofia-Istanbul nighttrain might restart again soon. If it does, then definitely go for the train - you will have a normal bed and price is similar to bus (maybe 4-5 euro more). Busses are usually crowded, so not very comfy to spend the night. But so or so try to use a nightbus (if the train is not available) - the road is very boring, so better to do it at night.

BTW: Baltics are Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania. The area you mean is the Balkan ;-)

Safe travels

Userlevel 7
Badge +5

This pass is -put simply and plain-simply not good value to travel in this area. Indeed many longer dist trains have been cancelled , the ones still running are often very old and scrappy and local fares are so low that a pass would cost more. And even if they would run-a night on trains in seats would be even more  uncomfy as in a bus. There are on major lines more buses and some offer better comfort-at higher prices.

BTW-this also applies to the 3 Baltic states.

Userlevel 7
Badge +6

This pass is -put simply and plain-simply not good value to travel in this area. Indeed many longer dist trains have been cancelled , the ones still running are often very old and scrappy and local fares are so low that a pass would cost more. And even if they would run-a night on trains in seats would be even more  uncomfy as in a bus. There are on major lines more buses and some offer better comfort-at higher prices.

BTW-this also applies to the 3 Baltic states.

Just for the info for you “expert”: The nighttrain Sofia-Istanbul consists only of couchettes… (comfortable and clean ones) so of course it is more comfortable than any bus on that route. 

But Mr. bus and plane lobbyist knows it ofc better.

Yes, BALKANS! Sorry, I was planning to travel thru Baltics in the beggining of year, but postpone my plans due to War. :( 

 

Thanks for all your info!

Userlevel 7
Badge +9

Istanbul - Sofia runs again from 25.4. Sofia - Istanbul starts on 26.4. From 3.6. from/to Bucharest (only in summer):

https://www.economic.bg/bg/a/view/noshten-vlak-otnovo-shte-pytuva-po-marshrut-sofija-istanbul

Hello community,

Is it now possible to travel the Baltics by train from Poland?  
 

Thanks a lot,

Kees

Userlevel 7
Badge +9

Is it now possible to travel the Baltics by train from Poland?

There are trains again between Poland and Lithuania:

https://ltglink.lt/en/kaunas-bialystok-kaunas

Note the days of operation. They only operate on weekends.

Thanks for the good news rvdborgt!

Hi community,

We just arrived in Vilnius by brandnew double decker train :-)

But, no connection by train to Daugavpils or Riga. Only a bus to Riga. So we will book it to finally arrive in Talinn. 

Does anybody know if there is a train connection between Riga and Talinn? 
 

Thanks a lot,

Kees

Userlevel 7
Badge +9

Does anybody know if there is a train connection between Riga and Talinn?

https://www.seat61.com/trains-and-routes/riga-to-tallinn-by-train.htm

Verify the timetables on Latvian and Estonian railways’ websites.

There are also bus services; Luxexpress has a 20% discount (no pass travel day needed):

https://benefitsportal.eurail.com/benefits/lux-express/

Thanks again !! We’ll be on the bus tomorrow to Riga. Really enjoyed Vilnius :-)

Riga - Tallinn by train :-) 

Any recommendation for railing Finland? Most beautifull tracks? 

Thanks,

Kees 

Reply