We have spent almost 2 months in Turkey (or should I say Turkiye now). After 2 months we decided to catch Istanbul - Sofia (Bulgaria) train to start our European adventure.

Here are the things we gathered and we thought you would like to know if you want to catch this overnight train.

• Where do you get the tickets?

  You are not able to get online tickets! You need to go to Sirkeci Train Station in Istanbul and purchase the tickets from there.

  When you arrive in the Sirkeci Station you can easily find the ticket boots for Sofia tickets. Tickets cost us $108 (AUD) for 2 people which is around 1,340 TL for 2 people room/couchette. Prices are cheaper if you choose a bed in 4 people couchette.

  The train departs from Istanbul (Halkali) at 8:45pm everyday. We were there one hour early just in case but train didn’t leave Halkali until almost 10pm lol!

• What type of tickets you can find?

  They have options for sleeping cart for 2 or 4 people per room. Of course we chose 2 people sleeping couchette. There are 2 seat on the bottom and bunk beds on one side for 2 people. We will add the photos below.

• How long does it take?

  Well, it was supposed to take 12 hours (include border crossing) but we had a very big journey and arrived in Sofia 6 HOURS late!

  The train left Istanbul more than an hour late and on the way breaks caught on fire (what can go wrong lol) So it was not an ordinary train ride!

  Normally train leaves at 8:45pm and arrives in Sofia at 9:30am next morning.

• Is it comfortable or clean?

  We felt really comfortable despite the fire! Beds are comfy and you can lock the door when you enter your sleeping couchette/room. There is a bar fridge in your room (ours didn’t cool so much but worked). Linens come in sealed bags and they were really clean. There is also a table, sink, rubbish bin and storage area in your room.

  Each room has powerpoint and aircon that you can control the temperature which was a blessing for August weather.

  Toilets, hmmm for an overnight train they were good. One side is traditional squat toilet and other side there was a normal toilet. They provided toilet paper, paper towels and soap but we suggest you to take a spare toilet paper roll just in case as it might finish until the morning especially if your trip takes longer than expected like ours.

• Does train have a food cart?

  No! That’s one thing you need to prepare for. We bought our dinner and breakfast (you can store in the fridge) and heaps of snacks. You need to bring especially water with you as train does not have drinkable water. We wish they offer hot water for a cup of tea but we managed :)

• How do they do passport control and border crossing?

  Well, safe to say this was not the fun part! They wake you up before Kapikule Border (it is the border between Turkiye and Bulgaria) around 3 am in the morning. You leave the cart and line up for passport control. This takes around 1 hour but one good thing about the wait is there is a small shop where they serve toasties, sandwich and hot tea and coffee.

  Then you go back to your room, fall a sleep back and around 4:30-5am they wake you up again this time for Bulgarian Border Security. They take your passports away for check and bring it back with stamps. This is the time they request your visa from you if you need one. We heard Bulgarian Custom search your bags but they only asked if we have money, gold or cigarette and we had neither of those so they didn’t even check.

• Do you need visa for Bulgaria?

  Australians do not need a visa for 90 days to enter Bulgaria as a tourist but Bulgaria is part of EU and in the Schengen Area which means depends on where you are from you might need a Schengen visa. You can simply Google the visa requirements for your country.

• Tips and recommendations:

  • Do not leave your bags unattended. We read people lost some stuff before. Better to be safe than sorry!

  • Bring your own food and bring extra if your journey takes waaaay longer than expected like ours.

  • Bring an extra toilet paper and soap just in case.

  • It will be little cold in the rooms so better to bring a jumper and a pair of socks. They provide a thick blanket but if you are sitting and get cold easily definitely wear long pants and bring extra clothes.