How to travel from Switzerland to Turkey by train

[@hermandegroot1946]

I visited Turkey three times, 1974, 1984 and 1992 by motorcycle. In 1984 I was with a friend and we visited the Nemrut Dağ volcano near Tatvan. From Tatvan there goes a ferry on lake Van to Van. In the Port of Tatvan a steam engine was waiting for the ferry to push and pull the railway cars on and off the ferry. (Four tracks) We wanted to make pictures but the engineer came running to us and asking to wait a moment because he will make the engine smoke. He did, the engine smoked terribly, we made photographs and we sent some to Turkey, 39 years ago.

[@felixonrails]

Thank you for sharing Herman

[@enjoypladecorrals]

i admire your patience, 5 days is a long time! thank you for a wonderful report. I like your commentary, not too much talk and let the video speak for itself.

[@felixonrails]

Thank you very much!

[@IsabellaMwaura]

Thank you for sharing this very informative trip. I love train trips, they expose you to places that you would not normally see through Road Travel

[@felixonrails]

I'm glad you enjoyed the video, and I agree about train trips. Thanks for your comment!

[@roadtrip999]

I've always wondered what it's like to travel by rail in Europe, where the rail industry is so developed. Thanks for the video, I enjoyed it.

[@felixonrails]

Thanks for watching!

[@nilskulibert5005]

Optima express is not standard. This is one of the last extremely long-running services. Much of Europe has high speed trains instead.

[@ahmadfadzil4104]

One of the best video's journey on a Train. The scenery was fascinating.

[@havvakar1272]

Bu güzellikleri bizimlede paylaştığın ve bilgilendirmelerin için teşekkür ederiz👍🤗

[@jinpetrix5727]

Woow. Pemandangan yg sangat indah tersaji melalui perjalanan antar negara via KA. Luar biasa mantap..👍👍👍

[@hasanakman6227]

Güzel bir video. Adeta o ülkeleri tek tek gezmiş gibi oluyor insan.

[@felixonrails]

teşekkür ederim, evet bu tren yolculuğunun en güzel yanı. Uçuşta sadece havalimanını ve gökyüzünü görebilirsin

[@talldiversvideos3682]

Cool video. Brought back memories of an Interrail trip in 1986 from Basel via Zürich and Schwarzach St.Veit. In Schwarzach we caught the Istanbul Express coming from Munich on a Monday night and rode in Bulgarian Couchette cars to Istanbul all the way into the Sirkeci Station arriving there on Wednesday at noon, just about 2 hours late.

[@felixonrails]

That must have been a wonderful experience! Thank you for sharing 😊

[@rodericksmith8218]

That was an impressive opening, with great graphics to make the journey clear to all. I'm from Australia, and I always think of the route east to west, and have started in Iran, Jordan and Iraq (Murder on the Orient Express had its prolog chapter on Taurus Express from Baghdad). Alas, when Simplon Orient was still running through, I watched it leaving Istanbul, but was catching a later train. I did travel on Direct Orient from Stuttgart to Paris, and on Simplon Orient after the cutback to Wien, but have traversed the route piecemeal (including via Vallorbe) over a few holidays. Hopefully, this great video will inspire others to match your achievement.

[@felixonrails]

Thank you very much for your comment. I hope so too, maybe you can do the journey again one day. The Belmont Simplon Orient Express again runs from Paris to Istanbul, even to Sirkeci again since this years. But it's incredibly expensive.

[@yousefkhanbaee]

Amazing video , useful information , heartful and truly expressions of the travel feeling .

[@felixonrails]

Thanks a lot 😊

[@stephanebelizaire3627]

Very Entertaining Bravo !

[@annemasci5000]

Bonjour. Je suis passionnée des trains depuis mon enfance. Voyager à bord d'un train longue distance me plairait. Voyager avec de magnifiques paysages. Encore merci pour ce merveilleux voyage. Bonne continuation. Si vous avez d'autres vidéos de voyage longues distance je regarderai avec plaisir.

[@felixonrails]

Merci pour votre commentaire, on partage la même passion alors. Malheureusement j'en ai pas plus pour le moment, mais je prévois retourner à Istanbul cet été en passant par Bucarest, et quelques autres projets. Bonne journée

[@Clarissa.Sparkle]

So old but still so amazing!

[@hanifbashir745]

Beautiful...million thanks...b blessed 🙌

[@felixonrails]

Welcome 😊

[@letswander1960]

Very good informative video. Love all the trains and nice scenery. Thank you for sharing.

[@servusallem4396]

Nice program.

[@tractorsmachinesro1405]

Great rail therapy 👀👀💖💖🚂🚂

[@faiyazumar171]

One of the best video attractive seen

[@felixonrails]

Thank you :)

[@user-kv4bz6gj4e]

Much quieter than our trains in the U.S.. Parabéns pelo vídeo e saudações do Brasil .

[@sammishal4069]

Gr8 Journey.

[@felixonrails]

Glad you enjoyed

[@nicknick3136]

You can take many other trains and routes with interrail / eurrail pass, saves you a lot.. bought mine for 285 € for 10 travel days in 2 months.. was a blackfriday offer.. dec 2023.. from the north of Holland to Turkey and back.. the obb nightjet was 36 euro extra.. the Sofia -- Halkali 6 euro for sleeper..

[@felixonrails]

Yes indeed, going via Bukarest is much cheaper, but I really wanted to try Optima Express too. Maybe this year I’ll try another route 🙂

[@dimitarbg5774]

Nice!👍 Hello from Bulgaria.

[@mangoman7913]

your video is amazing....

[@felixonrails]

Many many thanks

[@scogginsscoggins]

Turkiye is a super country. Friendly people.

[@felixonrails]

Absolutely!

[@abus3562]

Thanks for the ride, I really enjoyed it.

[@felixonrails]

Thanks for the comment, glad you enjoyed it

[@jmalandra2566]

WOW THANKS. MY MATERNAL GRAND-MOTHER WENT FROM CONSTANTINOPLE TO PARIS

[@shaikmohamedghouse9081]

Excellent

[@Nadiaandherchildren]

Beautiful

[@roknujjamandipto]

Beautiful ❤

[@felixonrails]

Thank you! 😊

[@UNIVERSE_R_R_DHAGE]

ENJOYABLE PLACE 😍👌😘🍷💘

[@MrTransalpin]

Pour les plus jeunes, il a existé, jusqu' en 1977, le "direct orient " composé d' une voiture UIC SNCF de 2 eme classe, et d' un WL, direct entre Paris et Istanbul, nocturne qui desservait Vallorbe, Lausanne, Brig, passait le simplon pour transiter par l' Italie et la Yougouslavie( à l' époque de TITO ! )

[@akramdeura6019]

Great job ❤

[@felixonrails]

thank you!

[@nemanjamladenovic9457]

The diesel locomotive towing the train from Nis (Serbia) to Bulgarian border is ZS 666 series. It's one of the most powerful GE diesel locomotives in their arsenal and it was originally used to pull the official "Blue train" of former SFRJ president Tito. The low speeds are actually due to appalling state of tracks on that section.

[@felixonrails]

I guess it's a mix of both, maybe? Even powerful for a diesel locomotive, it's still far from electric traction, and it is a pretty steep gradient.

[@qadritrips1978]

Very nice

[@carthtc3429]

Great video, it is kind of cute to see how a Swiss person is surprised by how the railways work in the Balkans. 😂 Anyway, what is the source of the map in the beginning? The country borders are weird in there... No German-Austrian border, Romania and Italy in its pre-WW2 sizes however Czechoslovakia and German-Polish border are post-1945... 😊

[@felixonrails]

Thanks for your comment! Yeah, I'm not so much satisfied with it myself. After some research of reasonable interwar national boundaries, I went with the Historical National Boundaries. Retrieved from the Data Repository for the University of Minnesota, doi.org/10.13020/146x-1412. At least someone noticed ^^

[@bilenttuna6921]

Gruss aus İstanbul.Es war wunderbar.Und liebe grüsse nach Zürich

[@felixonrails]

Teşekkür ederiz, isviçreden selamlar

[@bilenttuna6921]

@@felixonrails Cevabın için çok teşekkür ederim.Uzun yıllar Zürih’te yaşadım ve aynı zamanda İsviçre vatandaşıyım.Zürih’e sık sık gelirim.Trenle ve uçakla seyahat etmeyi severim.Umarım Zürih’te karşılaşır kahve içeriz.İstanbul’da yaşıyorum.Yolunuz buraya düşerse misafirim olun.İstanbul’dan selamlar

[@webersteve1547]

Excelent content :-)

[@408Magenta]

I wonder if Eur-rail pass is still around. Marvellous.

[@raileon]

yes it is!

[@felixonrails]

It really is, but not all trains on the journey would be useable with it. The Optima Express doesn't accept Interrail or Eurail unfortunately.

[@marcinklimas2670]

Couchette cars are registred in Slovakia (56). That's old German cars. Sleeping in registred in Austria.

[@felixonrails]

True, and the Couchette cars are - as to my knowledge - owned by GfF Crailsheim how rents them to Optima Express among others.

[@maxart3392]

Yes, only the dining car is Slovenian.

[@zubairahmadawan9236]

👍 👍 ❤ From Pakistan 🇵🇰 👌

[@kevanhubbard9673]

I did Euro Night 262/3 quite a few times in 1990's it was called the Orient Express but only ran from Vienna Westbahnhof(no Hauptbahnhof then although the site was the Sudbahnhof) to Paris Gare de la Est but when they put in the TGV line from Strasbourg to Paris it terminated at Strasbourg which wasn't popular as most passengers were going to Paris.Euro Night 262/3: Orient Express was just a normal train with bed and sitting up coaches.I think that the original Orient Express went from London to Istanbul?

[@felixonrails]

Yes, you're right. By the way the "Orient Express" between Paris and Vienna is operating again since a year or so. All the best

[@freeagent8225]

I did this in January 1989 Pontresina to Istanbul😅.

[@felixonrails]

Crossing the Alps via Bernina to get to Istanbul is also awesome

[@krimskrams]

great video. how did you create the red line following the travel map?

[@felixonrails]

I animated the map in Apple Motion and locked the camera on the line; if you use apple motion, I can share a few tutorials with you. The background map was generated in QGIS with the material in the description IIRC

[@reko5846]

ÖBB has no RegioJet , thats only by Czech Railway , may refresh up yr researches. In the ÖBB RailJET u can pay indeed with CreditCard but may not in yr Train or in Italy coz of the phone connection.

[@felixonrails]

Yes, thanks for the hint - I realized that unfortunately just shortly after publishing the video. For payment, it can't be the phone connection as we had perfect 4g connection.

[@ggreg2258]

Enjoyed the vid. Would have been nice to know exactly what you were eating at each meal. I wasn't sure!

[@felixonrails]

Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it! Will be more clear about it in coming videos 😊

[@esmap610]

Oh my . I would go with you only. How in the world you navigated all ? I would do it if it’s just one train straight.

[@sammayet9002]

Awesome

[@felixonrails]

Thanks 😊

[@hayd8946]

Thank you very much for the information yes I am asking about the transient how many trans how money country

[@randall8379]

I wonder what the most comfortable combination of trains would take me from Paris to Istanbul.

[@felixonrails]

Probably Paris - Vienna on the Nightjet, then Vienna - Bukarest on the Dacia and last the through coach from Bukarest to Istanbul Halkalı.

[@randall8379]

@@felixonrails The through service from Bucharest to Istanbul only operates in summer, no? The rest of the year it seems you have to use a series of trains to get to Bucharest.

[@simaj2]

thank you!

[@krimskrams]

sirkeci will be reconnected again in 2023?! that's wonderful news if that's a fact! I would so much rather have the old route around the Topkapi palace and the Strait of Marmaray rather than having this subway station, which is indeed very anticlimactic! also, haven't the connections between Budapest, Belgrade and Sofia been disconnected now due to maintenance/modernization work?

[@felixonrails]

Yes, not only Sirkeci, but apparently also Haydarpaşa! It's great news and works are in full progress. The line to Sofia and Bukarest are restored. There were no trains for a few years to Belgrade and Budapest anymore afaik.

[@DerZazaa]

Cooles Video! Hab ich das richtig gesehen? Man hat eigene Toiletten für sich oder stehen die im Gang ?

[@felixonrails]

Danke! Sowohl im Schlafwagen als auch in den Liegewagen sind die Toiletten im Gang und geteilt.

[@hayd8946]

Thank you very much for this video how much is it the ticket completely to Istanbul the problem Hungary they are not good with people

[@SonicFictionTV]

That was a truly amazing video! I had no idea that trains could be so costly. I reside in Niš, Serbia, and a plane ticket from Niš to Basel typically costs around 120-140 euros for a 2 hour journey. Best regards.

[@yogiaol]

In Bulgaria, most of the route has been modernized and the Bulgarian trains run on it at 160 km/h. I don't know why your train was moving in Bulgaria at only 80 km/h.

[@felixonrails]

It was two years ago, so probably it was being in construction. Happy to hear that the situation is much better today, thank you!

[@samtrak1204]

Where was the stainless steel sleeping car manufactured? It looks similar to the classic Budd streamline cars built in the states.

[@felixonrails]

The 61 81 70-70 003-2 WL AB30 ex P is a former SNCF / CWL sleeper, so my guess is France, but I'm not sure.

[@felixonrails]

Your question puzzled me, and I did some research. The P sleepers from CWL were built in the 1950s and indeed with a licence built Budd Company process. The rolling stock construction company Carel et Fouché, who built these sleepers (and a lot of other French rolling stock) produced in licence for Budd Company in France since 1935. I never knew, thanks for the interesting question.

[@samtrak1204]

@@felixonrails My pleasure.✌

[@Luigi-uj5ml]

Google Translate pronounces the Italian part of Venice Santa Lucia almost like in Italian and not like the island Saint Lucia in the Caribbean

[@qwentin555]

From Venice to Villach it was RailJet, not RegioJet, which goes a little differently

[@felixonrails]

You're right, no idea how I got to think it is a Regiojet. Thanks!

[@backup_hdd]

(and the regiojet isn't by öbb, but a (czech, i think?) private operator)

[@Calibike]

tried to reserve on optima express in english no luck

[@medi768]

How much cost the whole journey Paris-Istanbul?

[@tennisclashindiankites]

❤❤❤

[@mkaandemircan1279]

Felix abi, çok güzel bir video olmuş. Ada Ekspresi'ne binmek istersen; artık Pendik'ten değil Gebze'den kalkıyor, haberin olsun.

[@felixonrails]

Teşekkür ederim. Sadece şantiye için mi ya da Pendikte artık hizmet vermeyecek?

[@mkaandemircan1279]

@@felixonrails Tam bir bilgim yok ancak şuan da Gebze'den faaliyet veriyor.

[@felixonrails]

@@mkaandemircan1279 Tamamdır, teşekkür ederim bilgi için

[@thegreatsurvivor3135]

Your trip sounds exciting but definitely exhausting…. I did long trips in Europe like Istanbul to Hungary then to Germany. Your route was very long 😱

[@felixonrails]

Once you start, it's difficult to stop. But the arrival in Istanbul was very welcome, indeed.

[@Professor_Franquêta-SergipeBr]

Parabéns pelo vídeo e saudações do Brasil 🇧🇷🇧🇷👏

[@taposjubaervlogs9611]

Which camera you make this video ? I am from Bangladesh.

[@felixonrails]

Mostly with DJI Pocket 2, some iPhone too

[@ceylinkayikci3215]

Türkiye'den isvicreye yok mu bu tren?

[@zairol79]

As a Malaysian, Serbia is the only country that we need to apply visa to enter. In this case, do I need to apply for a tourist visa, or transit visa or not all all? As I can't see its stopping in Serbia. Anyway, good experience though as alternative to tran-siberian train journey

[@felixonrails]

Very good question. I’d assume that Serbia also provides Transit Visa, since you don’t exit the train at any point and you won’t spend much more than 24h in it. But probably Optima Express will know about it better

[@minitrix1000]

Felix, from Venice to Villach it is called Railjet, not Regiojet.

[@felixonrails]

Yes, I understood. I have no clue how I came up with Regiojet 😅

[@CrystalizedYT1]

Euraillpass covered this trip? I will try istanbul to Budapest

[@felixonrails]

The Optima Express is a private carrier that sadly doesn't accept interrail. Enjoy, it's going a great trip, though it's unclear today if the through coach from Budapest is going to get in service again. Maybe you will have to travel to Bulgaria first.

[@gregessex1851]

"Venezia" is Latin for city of many steps....starting with the front of the railway station.

[@felixonrails]

I didn't know that, thank you!

[@gregessex1851]

@@felixonrails Only joking. 😀

[@simonpd38]

Wonderful video man, but your girlfriend was way more busy and worried about her freaking phone then making a video with u hahaha❤… keep filming man u good at this! PS. Did u see that couple on the harley davidson driving all alone same path as u? Thats my dream traveling:))

[@felixonrails]

Nah, that's alright. We like to make videos, but we aren't videogenic (is that a thing?) so filming each other is also pretty awkward and looking at the phone is a bit distracting when filming 😉

[@mashhoodakhtar]

What is the music name, starts 27.55????

[@felixonrails]

Ali Sabah - Sabah

[@jloj774]

Is the train from villach to turky is running all the year or it’s only from juin to October?

[@felixonrails]

The Optima Express runs from May to October I think, not the whole year unfortnately

[@jloj774]

@@felixonrails ok thanx

[@yesimtaninmis2547]

Zürich Istanbul tren bileti almak icin hangi telefonu aramamiz gerekir?

[@felixonrails]

Zürich istanbul treni yok

[@oadka]

Eastern europe, particularly former Yugoslavia seems to have a long way to go in terms of railways. 30kph average is simply too slow.

[@felixonrails]

Yes I agree, unfortunately in some areas especially Serbia the network is in dire condition

[@natashaadams6767]

Of course a long way to go. America and the west ruined that magnificent country and now eu boss said that the west is blooming garden and the rest are -jungle .

[@henrikwessels3843]

Can you say me how you made the animations?

[@felixonrails]

Sure! Which ones? the map?

[@henrikwessels3843]

Yes, the map:)

[@felixonrails]

@@henrikwessels3843 I created the map as background in QGIS, depending on the location. Then I animated the maps in Apple Motion by using the custom maps as background and by adding the lines as animations.

[@henrikwessels3843]

@@felixonrails Thank you very much

[@ShababAlummah]

How much cost?

[@michaelrasch4843]

Bekommt man in Edirne Fahrkarten? Wann und wieoft fahren Züge nach Istanbul

[@felixonrails]

Ja, man kann die Fahrtkarten auch Online einige Tage im voraus buchen. Es gibt genau einen Zug am Tag, Abfahrt um 8:20 in Edirne, Ankunft 12:29 in İstanbul (halkalı). Wenn du online buchst, dann musst du aufpassen, dass du Istanbul mit kleinem i suchst und nicht I, weil das sind im türkischen Alphabet zwei unterschiedliche Buchstaben. ebilet.tcddtasimacilik.gov.tr/view/eybis/tnmGenel/tcddWebContent.jsf

[@michaelrasch4843]

@@felixonrails Danke für die Antwort, kann man in Edirne auch Fahrkarten am Schalter kaufen?

[@felixonrails]

Eigentlich sollte es mögich sein. Das gilt als Regionalzug und es gibt eigentlich immer einen Schalter oder einen Kiosk für Fahrkarten. Aber der Zug ist immer rappelvoll ab Çerkezköy, daher würde ich lieber einen Sitzplatz vorher buchen.

[@michaelrasch4843]

@@felixonrails Okay Danke

[@Calibike]

Is optima express still running

[@felixonrails]

it should, yes

[@tonylarussa4046]

Not quite the Orient Express is it??

[@LegalHong]

the Problem with current simplton oriental express is overpricing. I love the art'deco of reviving historical rail car. But a bizzare sum of full journey of £16800, just kill me off. I thought EUR 4300 would be fine. 😂

[@nnk-ecdd5425]

Hey are you guys Switzerland citizens bro? :)

[@felixonrails]

I am, yes

[@nnk-ecdd5425]

@@felixonrails hello from Turkey then ❤️

[@MortiZbS_YT]

Hey i have an question, when were you passing Beograd centar station?

[@felixonrails]

that must have been on 27th of june at 3:40 pm last year. I was not able to record it unfortunately - or more corrrectly, I recorded it with one camera - but by accident I deleted the footage

[@MortiZbS_YT]

@@felixonrails thanks a lot

[@muhammedshah1071]

How long does it take ??

[@felixonrails]

5 Days

[@wblars]

Und wie ging's dann wieder zurück?.

[@felixonrails]

Wir sind dann 2-3 Wochen in der Türkei geblieben und anschliessend zurückgeflogen. Dieses Jahr werde ich versuchen, via Bukarest zu fahren, aber der Kurswagen Bukarest Halkalı scheint ja auf der Kippe zu stehen.

[@lucadecarlo6723]

Omg im from biel/bienne🤯🤣🤣🤣

[@victoriausa100]

how much/

[@tchin6339]

What is the fare of your journey?

[@felixonrails]

about 400 € per person 🫠

[@mehmanseven]

Ça coût combien le billets

[@felixonrails]

À peu près 400 € par personne en total. 600 € pour le compartiment privatisé de l'Optima Express.

[@berangert]

09:32 Almdudler, on sait que l'Autriche n'est pas loin ;)

[@felixonrails]

Eh oui, on voit tout de suite que c’est une voiture restaurant des ÖBB

[@pedrorubiotejero_aka_prt]

27:01 Well, you write fine the new name of that country which was called before in English as "Turkey"

[@felixonrails]

Thanks for pointing it out 😄 Btw. Türkyie isn't a new name at all- it's the Turkish name of the country that it requested to be used in other languages as well ;)

[@diprahman2414]

Istalbul to london,tarkey istalbul to Switzerland by TRAIN ? Omg.....

[@leosmcchannel9565]

the VSOE still exists

[@felixonrails]

Yes

[@Idrischouhan]

Hi how are you?Are you from ? can you give me details for booking ?

[@felixonrails]

Sure! We booked the tickets for Italy through www.trenitalia.com/en.html for the ÖBB on www.oebb.at/en/ The Optima Express www.optimatours.de/?lang=EN and the TCDD train to İstanbul on ebilet.tcddtasimacilik.gov.tr/view/eybis/tnmGenel/tcddWebContent.jsf Do you need anything else? all the best from Switzerland!

[@iirekm]

Yeah, but the problem is: Orient Express was luxurious and direct, your trains weren't. Today's equivalent of Orient Express is simply 1st or business class on plane. Trains are great for distances up to 500 km (1000 km with high-speed ones like TGV), anything above that - airplane!

[@TRANCANTHO140]

Một chuyến du hành bằng xe lửa từ lausanne - Swiss đi Istanbul-Turkey ( thuyết minh tiếng Anh/ phụ đề tiếng Đức) kzbin.info/www/bejne/iJrUXqltmMuad8ksi=vwThxTUaSMoBuh0F

[@peterlj613]

Would prefer to fly LCC for 100 euro one way and it would take 2-3 hrs only. Such long train trip is only for those who have plenty of time and go home. No A/C and can't take proper shower for 3 days. No thank you. BTW, your lady is pretty!~

[@doc7austin]

nice video! Did you claim 50% of the total fare back - as the initial delay of more than 2 hours has already occurrd on EU soil

[@felixonrails]

Thanks! I considered it, but then decided that I'm glad enough that there is a service as Optima Express and I consider their efforts and hardships to be worth overlooking such a goof as a delay

[@ki5739]

At 23:44, this station, the same train from the outside roughly about the same time kzbin.info/www/bejne/n6San6xpgMp4eNk

[@felixonrails]

Thanks for sharing! The special AB30 Sleeper is there, but it has different restaurant car. You can see it 27:22, when we were in Jesenice, they changed it.