Zürich to Istanbul without flying! Self-made Orient Express

[@SuperalbsTravels]

What an adventure, one I'd love to take myself! Some great music choices too, really enjoyable video.

[@felixonrails]

Thanks Albie 😁

[@ulfw]

No First Class and dining cars mate. You'd never take it.

[@doc7austin]

@@felixonrailsHow do I add music to my videos ? 😢

[@felixonrails]

@@doc7austin I'll leave that niche to you 😆

[@user6343]

This video is amazing. I absolutely love your B-Roll shots, the zoomed in wide angle shots just give off something special and a warm feeling combined with the colors. I'm really tempted to do the trip as well in summer

[@felixonrails]

Thank you! Yes do it. Every year there is a rumor that this year will be the last one where the Bukarest - Istanbul coach runs, so better do it in case it really ends one year...

Next year, I'm moving to Germany to study masters degree, from Türkiye. And this is my biggest dream now. I was supposed to be studying for my finals now, but after entering KZbin, now I have a new study of planning the trip in a little advance :) Very nice journey!

[@felixonrails]

Hahaha no no no procrastination, trip planning comes after the finals! 😆

[@SimplyRailway]

Lovely video Felix! I didn't know about the public bath in Vienna... now I know where to take a shower ;) keep up the good work

[@paulheydarian1281]

Nice Roma Music! I could feel the breath of Count Drakool over the Carpathian mountains! 🧛🏼‍♂️🙅🏽‍♂️😱☻

[@felixonrails]

yeah unfortunately it's quite challenging to find actually good royalty-free music that is somewhat regional and nice.

[@by_feram]

Schöne Bilder, interessantes Video - gut gemacht. BRAVO & LIKE

[@felixonrails]

Vielen Dank!

[@rj7255]

Wow, könnte mir so eine Reise auch mal vorstellen❤

[@webersteve1547]

Epic travel, very old school ❤

[@talldiversvideos3682]

Super cool video. Reminds me of a trip I took in 1986 from Freiburg i.Br. to Istanbul on an Interrail Ticket. Freiburg to Basel, Basel to Schwarzach St. Veit, Schwarzach to Istanbul Sirkeci on the Istanbul Express which at the time was running from Munich. Took 56 hours and we still needed to get a Bulgarian Transit Visa then. Fun times

[@Chester-y1y]

I took this trip around April 1990. First tried to get to Sofia from Budapest (Nyugati?), train was very crowded, so I went back to Salzburg and got one or another "Orient Express" from there. Ljubljana, Zagreb, Beograd, Sofia, Istanbul. Yugoslavia was still one country, transit visa needed for Bulgaria. Later went to Haydarpasa, all I wanted to do then is board the train to Baghdad.

[@felixonrails]

I really hope that the trans-Balkan route Budapest - Belgrade - Sofia - Istanbul will be possible in a few years again. Sadly Belgrad Sofia seems to be a wish only for some time ...

[@RoseRoshid]

Thank you. I am just about to make novel about a journey visiting all capital cities of Schengen countries then to Istanbul, using train and ferry (no airplane). This video give information that I need about last section to Istanbul.

[@felixonrails]

Great, enjoy your trip!

[@luludufuret4585]

Et vous voilà de retour....que c'est bien! Merci des vos efforts. Lulú Paris

[@felixonrails]

Merci beaucoup pour ce commentaire 😊

[@jamoke_jabroni]

4:05 Schnitzellove 🤩

[@felixonrails]

ich glaube ich habe auf der Reise 3 Schnitzel gegessen. Zwei in Wien und eins in Bukarest... 🤣

[@rail_away]

A great trip and nicely documented, Félix 👍

[@felixonrails]

Thank you Gareth, glad you enjoyed it!

[@mureseanu976]

Very detailed presentation. Congratulations ;-) I do see a Hungarian restaurant coach (88-71 WRRmz) just behind Taurus 470 002 of MAV, when 347 "DACIA" was arriving in Wien Hauptbahnhof. I presume it ran empty, otherwise it is only accessible until Budapest Keleti (where the MAV portion of the train is detached). As for the bar car attached in Arad, it is also used in long term to book the 46 seats from the 2nd class section. A lot of domestic trains in Romania run with the closed bar, but with the 46 seats accessible anyway, passengers complained not being able to buy a 5 lei coffee to at least sober up. This non-sense practice should end sooner or later, and just convert all 20* bar cars owned by CFR Calatori into full 2nd class open area cars. More passenger would benefit from the bigger capacity, operating costs would be reduced - just put 1-2 vending machines in a corner, if that is a concern (PKP Intercity is already implementing that). Pity the service for WL supplement holders does not include light breakfast. It is not so hard to hand prepackaged stuff, or even be offered a brochure with 6-8 options to choose from the list, and be brought by the waggon attendant at your door. If Wagons Lits / QBB can do it, why not Romanians ? Regarding the timetable of the trains, I honestly believe 346 / 347 "DACIA" should be reduced to a maximum of 15 hours / way, if border controls are lifted, and construction works are finished in time to enable maximum speed of 160 km/h from Curtici to Simeria. Maybe in 2027 they will also finish the Sighisoara to Brasov portion, and cut almost 2h 30' of journey, making way for better daytime experiences and future revivals of 374 / 375 "PANNONIA" fast train, or why not a QBB Railjet service all the way from Wien to Bucharest ?

[@felixonrails]

Yes it turns out the dining car would have been accessible, until Budapest. The bar car in Romania is really the worst of the compromises- Few places for passengers and almost no offer for customers. The only good thing compared to a vending machine is that we were able to get boiling water for instant noodles. And the WL service was literally nonexistent. He was in his compartment the 19 hours and that's it.

[@MotorRoutings]

Nice video, a new subscriber

[@ki5739]

The train from Bucuresti to Istanbul has several easy solutions, which if implemented, will make the journey several hours shorter so it is used not only by enthusiast but by regular travelers. I am waiting to see if the timetable will be adjusted to reflect the lifting of two border controls on the Romanian-Bulgarian border following the full Schengen membership of both as of 01/01/2025. If they make this easiest step, there is hope for the others.

[@mureseanu976]

BDZ Putnicheski Prevozi should also adapt the schedule of the train, and not just let the direct coaches sit for almost 2 hours until the connecting train takes them over.

[@felixonrails]

In the end it about leaving Bucuresti later, because the coach has to wait for the Sofia express anyway. The question is wether this would allow for an earlier departure in Sofia, with that a more bearable passing in Kapikule before midnight and a more reliable arrival in Halkali

[@mureseanu976]

@@felixonrails If only 3 operators would put their contribution. Well, not CFR Calatori, they withdrew from the Balkan Flexi Pass programme, which is also a saddening event for tourists. I doubt we will ever see 2-3 pairs of direct Sofia to Bucharest trains, neither a permanent Istanbul to Bucharest train with at least WL and Bc accomodations.

[@ki5739]

@@felixonrails I can't remember when exactly you travelled but last year, the Sofia-Istanbul train was diverted for several months due to construction works at Plovdiv central station, resulting in approx. 3 hours more travel. This is now back to normal. In c.a. 3 years, there will be no need for a night train between Sofia and Istanbul as the total travel time shall be reduced to just about 5 hours following the line modernization completion on both sides of the border. I don't believe BDZ will wake up from its hibernation, but TCDD may operate at least one daytime express between both cities.

[@felixonrails]

It was in late August. At least the conductor was surprised by the long delay. I hope that the long distance trains will be able to run on the new Istanbul - Edirne line, not like the other high speed lines in Turkey.

[@kevinweber5129]

In 86 I took a train from Budapest to Athens. I think it was 18 hours regular class. That’s about the longest I would go. Maybe 2 nights if I had a sleeper.

[@kevinweber5129]

I just realize the trip was probably over 24 hours. Memory is difficult almost 40 years ago. I’d say 24-30 hrs but it was only one overnight.

[@PabloEstrada24]

0:55 Austria is Anschluss by Germany

[@felixonrails]

Yeah the borders I used for this map are the late interwar years

[@PabloEstrada24]

@felixonrails Are these your favoured borders? 😂

[@adf5739]

I would like to know if the train reaches Romania at night after Jan 1 if the passenger is going thru a passport check,or not.I saw a video of someone travel from Romania to Bulgaria, Russe ,by car and both coming and going back did not have any border check at all, because of Shengen.

[@felixonrails]

yes you are right, since first of January there is no border check anymore, but the timetable of the trains is still the same. It will now wait, but you won't be woken up during the night. Possibly this will change in December 2025.

[@barvdw]

They should time the border crossing at Kapıkule to happen later at night,, that delay was a blessing in disguise. It would also mean you can leave later from Bucharest and Sofia. It's not like the return train leaves immediately anyway... Ideally, it leaves also one hour earlier from İstanbul (Halkalı), so the border check happens around midnight, late, but not extreme, with arrival in Sofia (and Bucharest?) a little earlier, so more connections are possible. I can understand (begrudgingly) why they want to check passports off the train, but the combination of this with the arrival time is just beyond me.

[@sensatovideos]

01:25 today i learned there's luxury train services that cost 20 thousand+ euros?? wtf 😵 - lovely video btw!

[@doc7austin]

sehr nettes Video. Da kommen schöne Erinnerungen hoch. Langweilig wurde es im türkischen Liegewagen wohl nie.

[@loccusloccus5315]

Incredible journey! The border controls between Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria should dissipate ss Romania and Bulgaria will be granted full Schengen membership, from January 2025 onwards. Also, Kudos for taking the T6 to arrive in Sirkeci the classic way. Hopefully the Sofia Express will be extended to Sirkeci again, to reduce the necessity of transfers within Istanbul proper.

[@felixonrails]

I hope so too but they botched the track layout very badly. As it’s now only a single track, it seems already clogged up only with the T6…

[@loccusloccus5315]

@@felixonrails It's single track, but with plenty of double track sections and sidings. This corridor will be also used for freight trains for the soon to reopen Haydarpasa to Sirkeci traject, for goods that aren't allowed through the Marmaray tunnel. Also, the T6 is only operating at low frequency. So, it shouldn't be an issue to squeeze in the handful of passenger trains that are operating on the European side of Turkey (2 passenger trains to/from Edirne, 1 train to Uzunkopru and the sleeper to Sofia... that all.)

[@barvdw]

@@loccusloccus5315 maybe, I'm not too hopeful, though, international trains tend to be quite unreliable timewise, and that would definitely not help with fitting them in. T6 also deserves a higher frequency...

[@randall8379]

Thanks. Interesting. I'd like to travel from London to Istanbul by train. Getting to Bucharest could be done on day trains, no? The problem would be getting from Bucharest to Istanbul. I couldn't endure a couchette trip at this stage of my life. Is there any other route with a comfortable single occupancy sleeper that gets one into Istanbul?

[@felixonrails]

Yes, you could get to Bucharest slower on day trains. The only other possibility to get to Istanbul by sleeper is to somehow get to Sofia and there take a sleeper. But it will be the same mess in Kapikule in the middle of the night. But the couchette berth on the turkish TVS 2000 are really comfortable, not comparable to the ÖBB Nightjet ironing boards... The other alternative is to take the route my wife and I did in 2022. Try to get from London somehow to Villach in Austria, and from there take the Optima Express to Edirne. Usually in season they also rent a sleeper that you can book as single occupancy, but it's quite expensive, something around €600 IIRC.

[@randall8379]

@@felixonrails Thanks for answering. I did a bit of research. I see that there is a Sofia-Istanbul sleeper with single compartments with sink however does this run all year round? By the way, do compartment windows open at all?

[@felixonrails]

yes it runs the whole year - the challenge is how to get to Sofia and then, again, the border crossing at 2 am in Kapikule. The windows don't open fully, just the upper part can be pivoted. It's the same type of carriage than in the video from Bukarest to Istanbul, just as sleeper.

[@FromtheWindowSeat]

This looks like an incredible journey … and a really well produced video too! I’m all the more excited as I’m planning a trip to Romania and Bulgaria this year and can’t wait to see some of this scenery (particularly the Carpathians) for myself. Cheers!

[@felixonrails]

Thank you so much - yes the Romanian and the Bulgarian landscape is stunning. When you're in Sofia, you should definitely hop to Istanbul overnight for one or two days, though 😀

[@hayd8946]

Thank you very much for this video very nice video please how much is it the ticket from Europe's to Turkey

[@felixonrails]

Thank you! In total, we paid around €250 for the train tickets per person - without any reductions.

[@mangoman7913]

monsieur ....c'est chouette!

[@felixonrails]

Merci!

[@mangoman7913]

@@felixonrails Bienvenue à Doha Monsieur. Votre video est interassant. .....Contunuez!

[@belarussamsun9962]

Well, that seemed like it was very fun because I did it back in 1987

[@bilenttuna6921]

Willkommen in Istanbul Felix

[@MutluSönmez-n5o]

Tarihi bir rotada keyifli bir seyahat.. Eski Orient Ekspres kadar olmasa bile yine de benzer bir güzergahta yolculuk yapmak müthiş bir duygu veriyor insana. Fakat maalesef Türkiye'yi yöneten gerici ve beceriksiz iktidar ülkede demiryolu ulaşımını perişan etti. Dünyanın en önemli, en hareketli ve en kalabalık şehirlerinden biri olan İstanbul bugün artık demiryolu ulaşımında ikinci plana düşmüş durumda. Çünkü daha önce İstanbul'daki Haydarpaşa ve Sirkeci Garları ülkenin her yönüne giden trenlerin kakış ve varış yerleriydi. Ama artık bu iki gar da demiryolu ağının dışında kaldı. Haydarpaşa Garı zaten tümüyle hizmetten çıkarıldı ve iptal edildi. Sirkeci Garı ise sadece kent içi ulaşımda geçiş istasyonu olarak kullanılıyor. Bugün koskoca İstanbul'da bir tren garı yok. Yani aslında Orient Ekspres yeniden seferlere başlasa, İstanbul'da varacağı bir gar bulamayacak. Avrupa yakasında Halkalı istasyonu ve Asya yakasında da Söğütlüçeşme istasyonu gar gibi kullanılıyor. Tam bir rezalettir bu durum. Ayrıca demiryolu hizmetleri de berbat. Tarife ve zaman tabelaları yok, bilgilendirici anons yapılmıyor, yolcular her şeyi birbirine sorarak öğrenmeye çalışıyor, insanlar sağda solda koşturarak telaşla trenini arıyor. Ayrıca trenler gerektiği gibi temiz değil ve teknolojik açıdan da çok yetersiz. Vagonlarda bilgilendirici ekran yok, yolcular trenin hangi istasyona vardığını bilemiyorlar ve mutlaka birilerine sormak zorunda kalıyorlar. Aksi takdirde inecekleri istasyonu kaçırabilirler. İstasyon binaları da teknolojik donanım açısından zayıf. Büyük şehirlerde bile istasyon binaları kötü durumda. Ve dahası trenlerde artık yemek vagonu yok, mevcut yemek vagonlarında ise yemek yok, sadece atıştırmalıklar ve aperatif yiyecekler satılıyor. Oysa eskiden yemek vagonlarında hemen her çeşit yemek sunulurdu. Türkiye'de demiryolu ulaşımı ve ve hizmeti bugünkü gerici iktidarın yanlışları yüzünden her geçen gün daha da kötüleşiyor.

[@felixonrails]

Yorumunuz için teşekkür ederim. Ne yazık ki Türk demiryollarının, dediğiniz gibi, çok fazla iyileştirme olanağı var. Özellikle İstanbul'da Sirkeci, Haydarpaşa veya Söğütlüçeşme'deki durum oldukça üzücü. Ama diğer yandan, bunun dışında hizmetler harika. Yüksek hızlı trenler harika ve yaygın olarak mevcut. İstanbul'dan Ankara, Konya ve hatta Sivas'a! Pek çok ülkede bu kadar kapsamlı bir yüksek hızlı ağ yok. Ayrıca, gece trenleri, TVS 2000 yataklı trenleri harika. Gebze ve Sapanca arasında çalışan yeni trenler de güzel.

[@MutluSönmez-n5o]

@felixonrails YHT trenleri daha iyi evet ama diğer normal trenlerde teknolojik donanım yetersiz. İstanbul'da gar yok. Eski iki büyük gar bu YHT tutkusu yüzünden hizmet dışı kaldı. Diğer şehirlerdeki garlarda da zamanı ve güzergahı gösteren elektronik tabelalar yok. Hangi trenin hangi perondan kalkacağı belirsiz. İnsanlar bunu başkalarına sorarak öğrenmeye çalışıyor. Sadece Ankara Garı yeterli teknolojik donanıma sahip. Bu şartlarda sadece YHT trenleriyle kendimizi avutamayız.

[@luludufuret4585]

Je vous pensais des suisses....quant à vous je vous croyais francophone mais d'après le vidéo, je constate que vous êtes sans doute de langue maternelle allemande. Ceci étant dit, je me demande pourquoi vous et votre ami si vous êtes suisses, tous les deux, vous vous parlez en "hochdeutsch" et non en "schweizerdeutsch". De Paris, toutes mes amitiés, Lulú

[@felixonrails]

Vous avez très bien observé et décortiqué la situation. En effet, c'est un peu compliqué... Je suis Suisse et francophone, j'ai grandi et j'habite en suisse romande, mais je suis aussi d'origine maternelle allemande, donc aussi germanophone, et ça, en "hochdeutsch". Je ne parle pas en suisse allemand. Mon ami Joseph cependant est allemand et vit en Allemagne.

[@vlady3746]

If your friend watch movie on trains then why he didn't stay home? What is the reason to make such long journey if you are not enjoying the landscapes?

[@felixonrails]

He was courageous and wanted to give it a try at least 😄

[@YusrinaYusup027]

Thank you for sharing. Love to try this route😍. Will this route; from Bucharest to Istanbul open whole year or only in Summer?

[@felixonrails]

the through coach only runs from mid June to mid October, but the trains the through coach uses run the whole year. So somehow you can travel the whole year, but you'll change trains in Gorna and Dimitrovgrad, far less comfortable.

[@ulfw]

How something can be called Dacia Express when it makes frequent stops and goes at pedestrian walking speed is beyond me. You proved the trip can be done but also proved it really really shouldn't be. I feel sorry for your friend who clearly didn't share your excitement about long slow train journeys to not that far away places.

[@felixonrails]

Well said haha

[@sorinhaldan4976]

Most of the railway on the Romanian part of the route is being rebuilt, from about 100km from the Hungarian border, to Brasov, just before crossing the Carpathians. This means 3-400km in total, in different stages. This would be a complex task in the west, so back here, is even more so, as some parts are delayed by 2-3 years. Wisely, as all the trains are slow due to passing through what are basically construction sites, someone though they might as well stop to more stations on the route, as, at speeds of 50km/h, is not much of a delay. Also, because delays on this route are very common, this is actually a way to also recover some lost time, by stopping just 2 minutes in a station where a 5 minutes stop is scheduled.

[@bernardbouzon5499]

Vous n'avez pas testé le wagon restaurant

[@felixonrails]

oui, car aucun des trains n’en a un malheureusement

[@bernardbouzon5499]

Il n'y a plus de contrôle de passeport depuis le 1er janvier

[@felixonrails]

Oui vous avez raison