London to Istanbul by train

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Green_Blue

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So I've been accepted to go on exchange to London and I have decided that after the semester is finished a bit of travel might be good. I would really like to travel before hand but my mate who I would be travelling with can only travel from December to January.

The basic plan is that we would take the eurostar to Paris stay there for 3 days with friends then go visit her relatives in Eindhoven for 4-5 days whilst going on day trips to Belgium/Holland/near Germany. Then we would go down to Berlin and then to Prague. The straight to Budapest stay for a day or two, and then take the sleeper train to Bucharest and then the next sleeper train to Istanbul.

I realise that this is going through a lot of countries really quick but the main idea is to get down to Istanbul in the most economical way possible whilst being able to see some countries along the way as we have friends who are travelling in the general direction.

So is it feasible to go from London to Istanbul in a month via train? Also are there any notable festivals or events that go on around January in Europe?

On a side note, are there any recommended places to buy film in the UK or should I just stock up on an order from freestyle and take it with me on the plane.
 
... an Australian in central Europe in January eh? ... don't forget the thermal-underwear, anyway it sounds like a great trip apart from the cold
 
I did a similar trip a few years back, although my stops were London - Cologne - Vienna - Budapest - Bucharest - Istanbul. It was a great trip. Have a look at www.seat61.com for some really useful info on travelling by rail in Europe. It's certainly possible in a month, I was away for a little less than 2 weeks.
 
If the plan is to go to Istanbul in the most economical way, why don't you just fly there from London? Going by train must cost several times the price. I just check Easy Jet's web site. To go from London to Istanbul, it's about £35. Going by train is probably going to cost you over £200 each. Meandering across the continent by train will also cause you to spend an inordinate amount of your time in a train, not seeing much, and being uncomfortable. If you want to see more than London and Istanbul, I think you should just pick one or two other places and fly to each. You could spend two weeks in Paris and not be bored and two weeks in Berlin and have a cool time there. The last few days could be spent in Istanbul.
 
russelljtdyer said:
If the plan is to go to Istanbul in the most economical way, why don't you just fly there from London? Going by train must cost several times the price. I just check Easy Jet's web site. To go from London to Istanbul, it's about £35. Going by train is probably going to cost you over £200 each. Meandering across the continent by train will also cause you to spend an inordinate amount of your time in a train, not seeing much, and being uncomfortable. If you want to see more than London and Istanbul, I think you should just pick one or two other places and fly to each. You could spend two weeks in Paris and not be bored and two weeks in Berlin and have a cool time there. The last few days could be spent in Istanbul.
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ditto....unless you want to shoot from the train.
 
Yeah I think you guys might be right about concentrating on specific areas rather than wasting time on the train. I'll have to rethink the plan. I will have to somehow convince my travelling partner, who has never been to Europe, who seems to want to go to as many countries as possible!
 
Hi,

Go to the man in seat 61 site (mentioned above) and look up Inter Rail Passes. The journey should be part of the holiday.

Regards, David
 
Green_Blue said:
Yeah I think you guys might be right about concentrating on specific areas rather than wasting time on the train. I'll have to rethink the plan. I will have to somehow convince my travelling partner, who has never been to Europe, who seems to want to go to as many countries as possible!
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Personally I don't view the time travelling as 'wasted'. I was getting bored with just dropping out of the sky to visit places - arriving overland gives a completely different perspective and in my opinion is worth the additional time.

I will never forget the approach to Istanbul first thing in the morning after the overnight trip from Bucharest in an ex- first class sleeper carriage and a midnight border crossing. Arriving at the final station felt like an achievement rather than a routine part of the trip. I've arrived in Istanbul by plane, train and bus from the other side of the Bosphorus and the train wins.

Of course, if you are short of time...
 
Travelling overland is part of the experience. I've gone to and from Central Asia dozens of time, but the one time I spent four consecutive days on a train doing it was special.
 
Thanks for the advice guys! I think I should rephrase that whilst it doesn't have to be the cheapest possible option, as a student, I'm trying to find a good bang for buck option with regards to the experience of travelling around in Europe/Istanbul as it is unlikely I will be back again within 4-5 years. That is probably the underlying reason why I'm considering travelling by train because I have never done it before and also why the particular route across central europe.

I'm sure it will be fun either way although it will be cold and right now in Melbourne it is 14 degrees and that is considered cold during the day! But if I wanted sun there is plenty of it in Australia.
 
Green_Blue said:
Thanks for the advice guys! I think I should rephrase that whilst it doesn't have to be the cheapest possible option, as a student, I'm trying to find a good bang for buck option with regards to the experience of travelling around in Europe/Istanbul as it is unlikely I will be back again within 4-5 years. That is probably the underlying reason why I'm considering travelling by train because I have never done it before and also why the particular route across central europe.
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In that case, an InterRail pass (http://www.interrailnet.com) is probably the best option you can get. If you're under 25, a 30-day pass for all of Europe costs 400 EUR. If you can do with solutions like "10 days on the train within a three-week period", it gets cheaper still.

It's pretty much the ultimate bang-for-the-buck for overland travelling in Europe - plus it gives you absolute flexibility, and travelling by train is nice all by itself.
 
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