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Hello! According to our plans, unfortunately, the train journey from Turkey to Berlin exceeds 1 day by about 40 minutes. To solve this problem, we made a plan to get off at the Prague Hilavni Nadrazi stop, walk to another stop, and then take a bus to Berlin. Can you suggest a better plan or give me some advice?

@The MEC of Wanilyas 

Could you indicate us the timetable (departure Turkey, arrival Berlin)? I don’t think that it is possible to make this journey in 1 day and 40 minutes… Or I didn’t understand your question correctly.

 


Yeah, the quickest by train would be about 50 hours…

A travel day is valid from 0:00-23:59 CET. But! You can finish every train journey started on Day 0 without the need for an extra travel day, even if that train arrives the next day.

So that means, if you board a train, e.g. from Prague Hlavni Nadrazi at 23h50 (Day 0) to Berlin hbf, arriving the next day a couple of hours later (D+1) it would still only cost one travel day, not two.

As soon as you take another train on Day +1, you will need an extra travel day of course.


Uh, sorry. I didin’t write it correctly.

The journey from Turkey to Berlin by train takes 50 hours and 36 minutes, according to the Interrail Rail Planner app. This means that we will lose 3 days from the 7-day travel time given to us according to our flex pass plan. However, it would be sad to lose 1 travel day with only 36 minutes. (The app says "+2 days". So can we directly say that this adventure will be counted as 2 travel days?)

All train adventures from Istanbul to Berlin start at 20:00 and arrive in Berlin at exactly 20:36. If we were to lose 1 day in this case, we would have to get off at Prague Hlavni Nadrazi station and provide the rest of the way by alternative means.

This is where two questions come to mind:

1- Will this journey be reduced by 3 or 2 days from the travel days when it is completed according to the classic plan?

2- If the Prague Hlavni Nadrazi alternative has to be chosen, what are your experiences, ideas and recommendations on this subject? Do you think it would be appropriate to go to Berlin by bus?


If your arrival time is 20:36 in Berlin (Südkreuz), then doing Prague-Berlin by another means of transport (or by buying a separate ticket) doesn't save you a travel day. It would be the same travel day you already started in the morning in Budapest.

Also see:

https://www.interrail.eu/en/support/interested-in-interrailing/what-is-a-travel-day

In addition, I wouldn't plan a 26-minute change in Bucharest.


Can you specify exact travel dates, and specifc trains, and can you share your exact itinerary?Otherwise it’s very difficult to answer your question in a very hypothetical way, especially on how much travel days it would cost and what best to do, to save a travel day or potential alternatives. 😉

I don’t see where you can save a travel day, by getting of in Prague if you get off in Prague, since you would’ve started your travel day earlier in Hungary… If you want to visit Prague, and go a couple of days later to Berlin, and not use a travel day, the bus of an ordinary ticket is an option. But I’lld do this elsewhere (see below).

Also, best not use the rail planner app, but www.bahn.com for travel planning, it’s more up to date and it’s easier to add a bit of extra time for buffering in the planner.

A quick search learns that the + 50 hours route has some very tight connections for these long distances, you might want a bit of buffer for unexpected delays (you can expect some during long routes like this).

If you want to save a travel day, best do this in Bulgaria or Romania, as train travel is rather cheap there. Ordinary train tickets there can be quite a bit cheaper than the cost of a travel day on a rail pass. Long distance busses can fill in gaps, rather cheaply all over Europe, but don’t have the comfort or frequency of a train (especially in Central and Western Europe). Others might give better advice on this though, I’m not very well travelled in Eastern Europe.

 


First, thanks for the https://www.bahn.com idea, we will search it!

Let’s make it easier to solve! 😅
https://share.eurailapp.com/share/journey?id=E0A1F8C0-D3FE-11EF-9991-5DD1B0596DAB&type=list&brand=interrail
This is Interrail App View (View on mobile app)

 

20:00 - 04:10 (Halkali to Dimitrovgrad)

07:15 - 11:10 (Dimitrovgrad to Gorna Oryahovitsa)

11:35 - 13:31 (Gorya Oryahovitsa to Ruse)

14:15 - 17:32 (Ruse to Bucuresti Nord)

17:58 - 08:50 (Bucuresti Nord to Budapest-Keleti)

09:30 - 16:15 (Budapest-Nyugati to Prague Hlavni Nadrazi)

16:28 - 20:36 (Prague Hlavni Nadrazi to Berlin Suedkreuz)

 

Hey, I think I am wrong. A day starts at 00:00 and ends at 23:59. 
Discuss these possibilities:

 

1: (IF TRAVEL DAYS STARTS AT 00:00 AND ENDS AT 23:59. JUST RESERVATIONS’S START TIME INCLUDED FOR TRAVEL DAY)

First day started with Halkali to Dimitrovgrad

Second day started with Dimitrovgrad to Gorna Oryahovitsa

Third day started with Budapest-Nyugati to Prague Hlavni Nadrazi

So 3 days will be gone. But we can buy a Nyugati to Berlin ticket with our own money and we have still 7-2=5 days to travel. Be tactical 🛸

 

2: (IF TRAVEL DAYS STARTS AT WHEN WE START THE TRAVEL AND ENDS AT THAT HOUR. JUST RESERVATIONS’S START TIME INCLUDED FOR TRAVEL DAY)

First day started with Halkali to Dimitrovgrad

Second day started with Budapest-Nyugati to Prague Hlavni Nadrazi

So 2 days will be gone. We can be happy and relax right. 😁

 

3: (IF TRAVEL DAYS STARTS AT 00:00 AND ENDS AT 23:59. RESERVATİON START AND END TIMES INCLUDED FOR TRAVEL DAY)

First day started with Halkali to Dimitrovgrad

Second day started with Halkali to Dimitrovgrad

Third day started with Bucuresti Nord to Budapest-Keleti

So 3 days will be gone. Sooory for this 😞

 

There is a “night trains option” UPS, I didin’ t see it!
Sorry for my long and ridiculous question..

 

 


Yes, your first option describes correctly, how a pass day with the night train rule works. You would need three travel days but you could continue by train from Prague to Berlin on the same day as you arrive in Prague sometime in the afternoon → enough time to find a train towards Berlin.

If you only want to use two travel days, I would buy ordinary tickets for the night train out of Turkey as Budapest to Prague/Berlin tend to be expensive in last minute.

But keep in mind that delays of more than 60 minutes and cancellations can occur in Bulgaria and Romania so I’d suggest to keep buffer in Bucuresti and buy ordinary tickets through Bulgaria if you insist of only using two travel days towards Prague/Berlin.


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