‎

‎

Istanbul To Sofia By Train - Slowly Slowly

Traveling from Istanbul in Turkey to Sofia, Bulgaria can be done in a few ways. You can fly, travel by car, take a coach, or use the slow train. Driving won’t take more than a very long day, and a coach is probably pretty cheap. But, there’s something kind of romantic about getting the train between cities, especially when it’s a sleeper train, with cabins.

I needed to make my way to Sofia and leave behind my beloved Istanbul. As always, I travel with a bag the size of a static caravan, so it usually doubles my airline ticket. Traveling by land is the move, and I knew there was a train between Sofia and Istanbul, so I got to researching.

It was a lot more simple than I expected, significantly cheaper, and much more beautiful.

Istanbul To Sofia By Train - Slowly Slowly

Buying Tickets

It isn’t possible to buy tickets for the Istanbul to Sofia train online, so it is a case of making your way to the office in the city. The office is in the old Sirkeci station right by the Bosphorus Sea. It’s an incredible building if you’re into stations. The office is just on the left as you go in.

Tickets vary in price, depending on what you want out of the journey. Options range from a simple seat all the way up to a private dorm. I was lucky enough to book a double and have the whole thing to myself for the journey.

The prices are incredibly reasonable. They’re one of the cheapest things I found in Istanbul, really. My ticket, for a shared cabin, was only £35. A private comes to around £50, and a seat is about £20. The inflation in Istanbul is apocalyptic, so I expect prices will change.

I gave my details, including my passport to photocopy and phone number, and was told when and where to go.

As I mentioned, I was lucky enough to be on a mostly empty train, but I was traveling in December. In the summer I expect it will fill, so buy those tickets a few days in advance.

Istanbul To Sofia By Train - Slowly Slowly

Halkali Station For The Istanbul To Sofia Train

The station the Istanbul Sofia train leaves from is far out of the city to the north called Halkali. From where I was staying in Kadikoy, it was a simple case of hopping on the B1 train all the way to Halkali. It cost a few pennies and took me and my luggage directly to where I needed to be.

My train was due to leave at 20.00, so I got there a little early. This gave me half an hour to say goodbye to Eda, but not for the last time. She brought snacks, water, kisses, a nazarlık for the trip, and one last hug before I climbed aboard.

The station is not busy, and it has little to nothing inside it, unlike most other Istanbul stations. If you’re unprepared, this is not the place to do it. Bring food, snacks, water, and whatever else you may need for the journey before you arrive. There is a small selection of snacks and water in the fridge inside the cabin, but not enough for the trip.

I boarded the train at a quarter to eight and found my cabin easily. There was almost nobody else there, and my room was warm and clean. The windows were streaked with the rain outside, and I immediately felt cozy. I unpacked my laptop and snacks and got settled. Before too long we were pulling out of the station, and into the night.

Rainy train window in Istanbul

Easy Life

I sat back and watched the dark night skyline of outer Istanbul move past the windows in the rain. The gentle rocking of the carriage and rumble of the engine were all too familiar to me. Working for a few years on the rail made it oddly nostalgic, and quickly made me drowsy. I slept a lot when I worked on trains, and the sound of the diesel engine was like a lullaby.

In my cabin, I had three seats that pulled out and turned into a suitably-sized bed. I am not a particularly broad man, and I had space to roll around. The bedding, including a pillow, sheet, and blanket, were all packaged in plastic, guaranteeing freshness.

I watched the world for a while before I decided to lie down and see if I could sleep. I made my bed and used the bathroom. As a nice touch, I had a private sink and mirror to take out my contacts and brush my teeth. Rather than close the blinds, I kept them open and lay with my head by the window. From here I was able to prop myself up and watch the world go by.

There was something peaceful and mesmeric about the whole situation. It was similar to my journey down the Amazon. For a brief moment, I was disconnected from the internet, by choice mind you, and had nothing to do but wait until my destination. I am not good at being alone with my own thoughts, not because I don’t like them, but because I always find a way to drown them out.

The train from Istanbul to Sofia was a small oasis of quiet for my mind of a kind that only comes around every few years.

Crossing The Border Between Turkey And Bulgaria

The guard had come knocking as the train departed to check names, passports, and other documents. He was a delight. He had a bushy white mustache, impressive English, Turkish, and Bulgarian, and a wonderful attitude. Really, he couldn’t be further from the vampiric, capitalist boot-licking, braindead, ticket scum of the UK rail.

At the border stop he woke us all with a knock at the door. It was about 1 AM and I was subconsciously ready for it. I already had my passport ready to go. We emptied out of the train onto a platform mostly used for cargo.

Lonely man on a platform

The mist was so thick I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face. The train emptied, revealing just how few of us there were. The platform became some kind of liminal space, lost in time. Between the hulking tankers of goods trains, we sleepily slumped through an underpass and into the immigration office.

The process was quick and painless. A simple hello, what do you want, where are you going, and off you go. But I am English, and borders are no problem for me at the moment. There was also a station cat that stood guard at the door. It eyed everyone from the windowsill and demanded at least one pet or your immigration stamp wasn’t being given.

We climbed back aboard, and the guard dispatched us again, to roll slowly into through the borderlands between Bulgaria and Istanbul. It took another hour before we reached the Bulgarian side.

Here, we gave out passports to the guard, who gave them to the border police. There was no need to leave the train. Within fifteen minutes he delivered them to us all individually with a smile and reassurance that this was the last disturbance between Istanbul and Sofia.

I got back into bed and watched the world rattle by slowly, until I dropped off.

Cabin in Istanbul Sofia train

Arrival At Sofia

We rolled into Sofia around 10.30 AM, about half an hour before scheduled. I had woken up two hours before, grabbed coffee from the cafe car, and freshened up. I watched the Bulgarian landscape roll past. It was a contrast to the Istanbul I had gotten used to over the previous two months.

The Eastern Bloc influence was immediately visible. Beautiful rolling mountains and wide open plains were interspersed with crowded little villages of single-skin brick houses. They were populated with locals moving around, sharing road space with goats, donkeys, and ’90s European hatchbacks. It reminded me a lot of Central America.

Huge hulking soviet buildings still stood, proud, like tombstones of soviet rule, throughout the landscape. Their hollow, concrete, imposition still appeals to me, and I wished for a little time to photograph them.

It wasn’t long before we pulled into Sofia. Off we hopped, and that was that. Istanbul to Sofia by train. A dream.

Woman and Stitch in Sofia

One Last Piece of Advice For Leaving The Station

As I left the train a small chatty Bulgarian man walked with me to the exit. He had a lanyard on his neck, but I think it was empty. I knew what he was up to anyway. He walked me to the exit, nattering away the whole time. At the end, he held out his hand.

I didn’t have any currency on me at all, so I gave him some dried cranberries for his five minutes of effort.

When you leave Sofia station, every transport you could need is right there. Long and short distance busses work from a minute walk away and the metro is just outside. The metro is fantastic and costs pennies. The tram is also available, and just as easy to use. Tickets for all of these can be bought with card.

No responses yet

Leave a Reply