Book Train Tickets From Sofia to Istanbul
DiscoverByRail can book the Sofia-Istanbul night train, with ticket delivery to your hotel in Sofia.
Please send an email to tickets@discoverbyrail.com for booking inquiries, specifying your date of travel and the number of passengers.
In case you plan to travel in the opposite direction from Istanbul to Sofia, please see the Istanbul-Sofia train page for more details on how to book tickets.
Ticketing procedure
At DiscoverByRail, we can book both regular tickets and Eurail or Interrail passholder fares for the Sofia-Istanbul train.
If you wish to book tickets from Sofia to Istanbul, we can arrange delivery to your Sofia hotel.
This train cannot be booked online through the official Bulgarian or Turkish railway websites, but our local agent in Sofia can purchase tickets for you in advance at the station, ensuring a berth on this popular night train, which often sells out well ahead of time.
Your tickets will be delivered by our local agent to your hotel in central Sofia.
For a supplement, in-person ticket handover can also be arranged, including at your Sofia Airbnb.
This allows you to make the most of your time in the Bulgarian capital without having to visit the ticket office or worry that the train might already be fully booked.
For booking inquiries, simply send an email to tickets@discoverbyrail.com, specifying your date of travel and the number of passengers.
Other stops in Bulgaria
The Sofia-Istanbul night train stops en route in the popular Bulgarian tourist destination of Plovdiv, as well as in Dimitrovgrad, a major junction station.
We can also book your train ticket for travel from Plovdiv to Istanbul, from Dimitrovgrad to Istanbul, or any other Bulgarian station that is served by the Istanbul night train.
However, please note that ticket delivery is only possible in Sofia, and not in any other Bulgarian town.
If you want to travel from Bulgaria to Turkey, the seasonal Bucharest-Istanbul night train might also be an option, as this train stops in popular Bulgarian cities such as Ruse and Veliko Tarnovo en route to Turkey.
At DiscoverByRail, we can also book this train if you plan to travel between Ruse or Veliko Tarnovo and Istanbul, with tickets delivered or handed over in Sofia or Bucharest.
See our Bucharest-Istanbul night train page for more information about this train and its ticketing procedure.
Sofia-Istanbul night train
The Sofia-Istanbul night train departs daily, year-round, making it the most popular overland route among rail travellers heading to Turkey.
This train, known in Turkish as the “Istanbul–Sofia Ekspresi” (Istanbul-Sofia Express), is operated by the Turkish State Railways (TCDD) and runs from Sofia via Plovdiv and Dimitrovgrad to the Svilengrad-Kapıkule rail border, crossing into Turkey and continuing to Istanbul.
The night train currently departs from Sofia’s central station at 18:45 and arrives at Istanbul Halkalı station the following morning at 09:56 local time.
The Istanbul-Sofia Express features both sleeper and couchette compartments – see the section on travel classes below for more details.
Travel classes on Turkish night trains
The Sofia-Istanbul night train offers both sleepers and couchettes.
Each sleeper compartment on a Turkish night train has two berths – one lower and one upper.
You can book a sleeper compartment as either a single (when travelling solo) or a double (if there are two of you travelling together).
These comfortable Turkish sleeper compartments all feature a washbasin and a fridge that doubles as a complimentary minibar, as it is stocked with free soft drinks and snacks.
Turkish couchette compartments feature four berths, with two lower and two upper ones.
On Turkish night trains, you’ll always share a couchette compartment with other passengers of the same sex. If you’re travelling as a mixed-gender group of two, three, or four people, you can still share the same couchette compartment – as long as you book all four berths in that compartment.
In both sleeper and couchette compartments, pillows, sheets, and blankets are provided. However, in a sleeper compartment, your bed will already be made, while in a couchette, you’ll need to make it yourself.
Each carriage on Turkish night trains has one western-style toilet and one traditional Turkish squat toilet at its end.
As there is no dining car, it is advisable to buy plenty of food and drinks for the journey before boarding the night train.
Border crossing
The night trains from Sofia and Bucharest to Istanbul cross the Bulgarian-Turkish border between Svilengrad, the Bulgarian border post, and Kapıkule, the Turkish border post.
When travelling east from Bulgaria to Turkey, you must leave the train at Kapıkule with all your luggage for an X-ray scan as part of the customs check, and complete passport control, both of which are carried out in buildings along the station platform.
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