This page explains how to travel comfortably by train from Bucharest to other key European cities, and how to buy the cheapest tickets. Click here if your journey starts in another city. Information current for 2024.
I want to go from Bucharest to...
Brasov,
Sighisoara, Constanta & other destinations within Romania
Sofia,
Veliko Tarnovo &
Bulgaria
All other destinations: London,
Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Spain
Before you buy your tickets
Take a moment to read these tips for buying European train tickets. It answers all the usual questions, "Do I need to book in advance or can I buy at the station?", "Can I stop off?", "Are there Senior fares?" and that old favourite, "Should I buy an $800 railpass or a 35 point-to-point ticket?". How far ahead can you buy train tickets?
At Bucharest Gara de Nord, international tickets are bought from ticket window 1 in a room marked Case de Bilete with a large blue sign, not far from the information kiosk in the centre of the station, see the photos here so you know what to look for.
European train travel FAQ
How to buy tickets for trains within Romania
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Most domestic trains in Romania are run by CFR, Romanian State Railways. You can book Romanian trains at www.cfrcalatori.ro.
Click the UK flag top right for English. It's easy enough to use and normally happily accepts non-Romanian credit cards, although it only books the compulsory-reservation mainline trains, not local trains. You print your own ticket. Local tickets should be bought at the station. Feedback is always appreciated!
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There are 2 or 3 private operators in addition to CFR (Romanian State Railways). It can be better to use the journey planner at mersultrenurilor.infofer.ro as this shows all operators including CFR, with links to book tickets on each operator's site.
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Private operator Astra Trans-Carpatic
A swish modern night train with sleepers & couchettes is now running between Constanta, Bucharest, Simeria & Arad run by private operator Astra Trans-Carpatic, see www.astratranscarpatic.ro (change RO to EN top left for English). This is the top choice for travel between these cities.
Bucharest to Budapest & Hungary
Option 1, by sleeper train - the time-effective option
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A sleeper train called the Ister leaves Bucharest Nord at 17:58, Ploeşti Vest 18:36, Braşov 20:36 or Sibiu 23:29, arriving Budapest Keleti 08:50.
It has a safe, comfortable and civilised Romanian air-conditioned sleeping-car with 1, 2 or 3 bed compartments with washbasin and a Romanian couchette car with 4 & 6 berth compartments, and ordinary seats.
A sleeper is the recommended option, you'll be safe and snug, although couchettes are fine. A bar-bistro is usually attached between Bucharest and Simeria, serving inexpensive drinks, snacks and hot dishes - or take your own picnic and bottle of wine. In spring & summer when it's light, the scenic ride through the Carpathian mountains between Ploesti & Brasov is wonderful.
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There is also an earlier sleeper train, the Dacia Express. This leaves Bucharest Nord at 15:07, Ploesti 15:46, Brasov at 17:46, Sighisoara at 21:12 and arriving Budapest Keleti 05:00, final destination Vienna.
The Dacia Express has a modern air-conditioned Romanian sleeping-car of the latest type, some deluxe sleeper compartments have a private toilet & shower. It also has a Romanian couchette car with 4 & 6 berth compartments.
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There's also a later sleeper train, the Muntenia. This leaves Bucharest Nord at 21:00 and arrives Budapest Keleti at 12:50.
It has a couchette car from Bucharest to Budapest with 4 & 6 berth compartments, but no sleeping-car. However, a Romanian sleeping-car with 1, 2 & 3 bed compartments is attached between Bucharest & Arad and you can continue to Budapest in the seating cars.
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Fares start at 39 with a couchette in 6-berth, 46 with a couchette in 4-berth, 69 with a bed in a 3-bed sleeper, 84 with a bed in a 2-bed sleeper or 162 with a single-bed sleeper all to yourself. All prices per person per berth.
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Book these trains at the Romanian Railways website bileteinternationale.cfrcalatori.ro. Booking usually opens 90 days ahead.
Click EN top right for English. For Bucharest enter Bucuresti. You print your own ticket or can show it on your laptop or phone.
Tip: If you want to use the Muntenia and travel in the sleeping-car which is attached between Bucharest & Arad, you'll need to (1) book the sleeper from Bucharest to Arad on train D 78 using the Romanian Railways domestic website www.cfrcalatori.ro, then (2) book a seat from Arad to Budapest on train D 78 using the Romanian Railways international website bileteinternationale.cfrcalatori.ro.
Option 2, by daytime train from 29
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The Intercity train Traianus leaves Bucharest Nord at 05:05 and arrives Budapest Keleti at 20:50.
It runs via Craiova, Timisoara & Arad taking all day, but it's comfortable & air-conditioned. Take a bottle of wine and a good book and enjoy the great scenery on an adventure through the Carpathian mountains and across Transylvania.
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Advance-purchase fares in 2nd class start at 29. Standard tariff is approximately 50 in 2nd class or 75 in 1st class.
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Buy tickets at the Romanian Railways website bileteinternationale.cfrcalatori.ro.
Booking usually opens 90 days ahead. Click EN top right for English. Bucharest is listed as Bucuresti (Romania). You print your own ticket or can show it on your laptop or phone.
You can also buy tickets at the Hungarian Railways (MAV) website jegy.mav.hu from 26.30 and load them into the MAV app on your phone.
Option 3, Bucharest to Budapest using the Astra Trans Carpatic
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A privately-run deluxe sleeper train called the Astra Trans Carpatic operates from Bucharest to Arad, with cars of a higher standard than most Romanian trains - some sleepers have a private shower & toilet. Have breakfast in Arad, then take an air-conditioned day train to Budapest. This is slower than the direct trains, but higher-quality, remarkably cheap and well worth considering.
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Step 1, travel from Bucharest to Arad overnight on the Astra Trans Carpatic, leaving Bucharest Nord at 19:54 and arriving Arad at 07:51.
The Astra Trans Carpatic has an air-conditioned sleeping-car with 1 & 2 bed deluxe sleepers with en suite toilet & shower, 1 & 2 bed standard sleepers with washbasin, shower at the end of the corridor. It also has a swish air-conditioned couchette car with 4-berth compartments, and ordinary seats. See virtual tour of the Astra Trans Carpatic (please let me know if that link stops working).
Fares: Deluxe single-bed sleeper 380 Lei (77), deluxe 2-bed sleeper 280 Lei per person (57), single-bed sleeper 310 Lei (62), 2-bed sleeper 250 Lei per person (50), bed in 4-berth couchette compartment 166 Lei (34).
Book online at www.astratranscarpatic.ro. You print your own ticket.
Have breakfast in Arad, there are food outlets in the shopping mall next to the station and a Lidl across the road, or it's a 10-15 minute walk into the pleasant town centre.
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Step 2, travel from Arad to Budapest, leaving Arad at 09:02 and arriving Budapest Keleti at 12:50.
This air-conditioned Intercity train has 2nd class seats. There's no catering car, so bring your own food & drink.
Fares start at 10.80 if you book in advance, even a few days.
Buy a ticket at the Hungarian Railways website www.mavcsoport.hu, see my advice for using it. Booking opens 60 days ahead. You must show the ticket on the MAV app on your phone.
Bucharest to Vienna & Austria
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The Dacia Express leaves Bucharest Nord at 15:07, Ploeşti Vest 15:46, Braşov 17:46, Sighisoara 21:12, Simeria 23:02 arriving Vienna Hbf 08:20.
The Dacia Express has Romanian Railways' most modern type of air-conditioned sleeping-car with 1, 2 & 3 bed compartments with washbasin plus several deluxe compartments with shower & toilet. It has a Romanian couchette car with 4 & 6-berth couchette compartments and ordinary seats. A bar car is attached between Bucharest and Arad, serving drinks & snacks, or take your own picnic and bottle of wine along. The scenery through the Carpathian mountains between Ploesti & Brasov is wonderful!
Change in Vienna for Linz, Salzburg, Innsbruck,
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Booked online in advance, fares start at 49 with couchette in 6-berth, 59 with couchette in 4-berth, 69 with a bed in a 3-bed sleeper, 90 with a bed in a 2-bed sleeper or 150 with a single-bed sleeper all to yourself.
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Book at the Romanian Railways website bileteinternationale.cfrcalatori.ro.
Booking usually opens 90 days ahead. Click EN top right for English. Bucharest is listed as Bucuresti (Romania), for Vienna you should use the German spelling Wien. You print your own ticket or can show it on your laptop or phone.
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Alternatively, daily all year round, you can take the daily Ister from Bucharest to Budapest as explained above and change at Budapest Keleti onto a smart Austrian railjet train for Vienna. Railjets leave Budapest for Vienna every couple of hours taking just 2h45.
Bucharest to Sofia & Bulgaria
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A train leaves Bucharest Gara de Nord at 10:47 every day and arrives Sofia central at 20:25.
In summer from 14 June to 14 October 2024 it's a direct train, or rather, a 2nd class through car.
At other times of year it's a Romanian air-conditioned diesel unit from Bucharest to Ruse arriving 13:39, then a Bulgarian train leaving Ruse at 14:15 for Sofia.
Update: Due to track upgrading, from 7 May 2024 for up to a year, the train will terminate at Sofia Sever (= Sofia North, 2.7 km from Sofia Central, see location map) at 20:25. You can take a taxi from Sofia Sever to your hotel, or take a suburban train to Sofia Central arriving 20:35.
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There's no catering so bring a picnic and some wine or beer. It's a lovely scenic ride, crossing from Romania into Bulgaria over the Danube between Giurgiu & Ruse on Europe's longest steel bridge, 2.5 Km long, then meandering at slow speed through the valleys of Bulgaria.
You can confirm the schedule at the Bulgarian Railways website www.bdz.bg. Click English top right. Click Menu then look for International rail-routes, go to the Bucuresti-Sofia-Bucuresti page and open the pdf timetable. They often only post timetables a few days before they start, so don't expect the June-October timetable to be posted here before May or even early June. Patience!
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The fare is 35 standard tariff, bought at the station or online.
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How to buy tickets
You can book this journey at the Romanian Railways website bileteinternationale.cfrcalatori.ro.
Click EN top right for English. For Bucharest, enter Bucuresti. Don't expect booking to open more than 2-3 months ahead, less at times.
Tickets must be collected from the ticket office at Bucharest Nord (or another Romanian station), so only use this site for one-way or round trip journeys starting in Romania. Feedback would be appreciated.
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Alternative way to book:
If you have trouble booking with Romanian Railways or want to save 10 or so, split the booking:
First book from Bucuresti to Ruse at bileteinternationale.cfrcalatori.ro on the 10:47 departure, this should cost around 12. Click EN top right for English. Bucharest is listed as Bucuresti (Romania). Tickets must be collected from the ticket office at Bucharest Nord.
Now go to the Bulgarian Railways website bileti.bdz.bg, register, then buy from Ruse to Sofia on the same train, 14:15 from Ruse train 463, which should only cost 10 or so. You may have to switch seats at Ruse of course, if you book this way! The Bulgarian ticket should be print-at-home, but might need to be collected at Ruse. Feedback appreciated.
Bucharest to Veliko Tarnovo
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A train leaves Bucharest Gara de Nord at 10:47 every day for Veliko Tarnovo, arriving 17:48.
In summer from 14 June to 14 October 2024 it's a direct train, or rather a through Turkish couchette car in which seats can be reserved.
The fare is around 32 including the couchette car reservation.
At other times of year it's a modern air-conditioned Romanian diesel unit from Bucharest to Ruse arriving 13:39, then a connecting Bulgarian train from Ruse to Gorna and another connecting Bulgarian train from Gorna to Veliko Tarnovo.
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There's no catering so bring a picnic and some wine or beer. It's a lovely scenic ride, crossing from Romania into Bulgaria over the Danube between Giurgiu & Ruse on Europe's longest steel bridge, 2.5 Km long, then meandering at slow speed through the valleys of Bulgaria.
You can confirm schedules at the Bulgarian Railways website www.bdz.bg. Click English top right. Click Menu then look for International rail-routes, go to the Bucuresti-Sofia-Bucuresti page and open the pdf timetable. They often only post timetables a few days before they start, so don't expect the June-October timetable to be posted here before May or even early June. Patience!
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How to buy tickets
Book at the Romanian Railways website bileteinternationale.cfrcalatori.ro/ro/booking/search.
Click EN top right for English. For Bucharest, enter Bucuresti. Don't expect booking to open more than 2-3 months ahead, less at times.
Tickets must be collected from the ticket office at Bucharest Nord (or another Romanian station), so only use this site for one-way or round trip journeys starting in Romania. Feedback would be appreciated.
Tip: In summer, you'll only see tickets available if you select the couchette option (even though it's an all-daytime journey). If you want to save a few euros and use the seats cars Bucharest-Gorna then Gorna-Veliko Tarnovo, you should split the booking, first book Bucharest-Gorna at bileteinternationale.cfrcalatori.ro/ro/booking/search then book Gorna-Veliko Tarnovo at Bulgarian Railways bileti.bdz.bg.
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Alternative way to book:
If you have trouble booking with Romanian Railways or want to save 15 or so, split the booking:
First book from Bucuresti to Ruse at bileteinternationale.cfrcalatori.ro on the 10:47 departure, this should cost around 12. Click EN top right for English. Bucharest is listed as Bucuresti (Romania). Tickets must be collected from the ticket office at Bucharest Nord.
Now go to the Bulgarian Railways website bileti.bdz.bg, register, then buy from Ruse to Veliko Tarnovo on train 461 from Ruse, which should only cost 7 or so. The Bulgarian ticket should be print-at-home, but might need to be collected at Ruse. Feedback appreciated.
Bucharest to Thessaloniki, Athens & Greece
Option 1, via Sofia
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Step 1, travel from Bucharest to Sofia by daytime train, as shown above.
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Stay overnight in Sofia. The Hotel Favoritan is inexpensive with great reviews just 10 minutes walk from Sofia station.
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Step 2, travel from Sofia to Thessaloniki by daytime train as shown on the Trains from Sofia page.
Update 2024: This train is only running as far as Kulata on the Bulgarian side of the Greek border. There are no onward trains.
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Step 3, travel from Thessaloniki to Athens by Greek Intercity train, these run regularly, see the Trains from Athens page.
Bucharest to Istanbul..
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A direct Bucharest-Istanbul couchette car runs in summer, see the Bucharest to Istanbul page.
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When this direct couchette car isn't running, you take a series of connecting trains from Bucharest to Dimitrovgrad in Bulgaria, where you join the sleepers & couchettes of the Sofia-Istanbul Express to Istanbul, see the Bucharest to Istanbul page.
Bucharest to Belgrade & Serbia
IMPORTANT UPDATE: The incompetent Romanian & Serbian Railway managers have had a disagreement, and since August 2017 the Timisoara-Vrsac trains have been terminating one station short of Vrsac, meaning there are currently no trains at all across the Serbian/Romanian border, completely destroying this international route. Until or unless this incompetence is resolved, you are advised to travel from Bucharest to Budapest then Budapest to Belgrade. I'll keep the original advice below in case the situation is resolved:
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There is no longer a direct train between Bucharest & Belgrade, but it's easy to travel between these cities in comfort by train. It's difficult to find online as int.bahn.de doesn't recognise the local route via Vrsac, so listen up!
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Daily except Sundays, two local trains link Timisoara in western Romania with Belgrade's lesser-known Dunav station. The journey involves one easy change at the border at Vrsac.
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Timisoara Nord depart 07:48, arrive Vrsac 08:52, change at Vrsac, Vrsac depart 09:40 arriving Belgrade Dunav 11:23. But see update above!
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Timisoara Nord depart 16:36 arrive Vrsac 17:35, change at Vrsac, Vrsac depart 18:25, Belgrade Dunav arrive 20:08. But see update above!
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To connect with these trains, either take a day train or the overnight sleeper train from Bucharest to Timisoara Nord, you can book this section at www.cfrcalatori.ro.
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Buy tickets from Timisoara to Belgrade at the station in Timisoara, fare 42 RON (about 9), no reservation needed for this bit, and no online or advance booking possible.
Bucharest to Chişinău & Moldova
Bucharest to all other destinations
Option 1, using the Bucharest to Budapest sleeper train Ister
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Step 1, travel from Bucharest to Budapest by sleeper train Ister, leaving Bucharest Gara de Nord at 17:58, Ploeşti Vest 18:36, Braşov 20:36 or Sibiu 23:29, arriving Budapest Keleti 08:50 next morning.
The Ister has a safe, comfortable and civilised Romanian air-conditioned sleeping-car with 1, 2 or 3 bed compartments with washbasin and a Romanian couchette car with 4 & 6 berth compartments, and ordinary seats.
A sleeper is the recommended option, you'll be safe and snug, although couchettes are fine. A bar-bistro is attached between Bucharest and Simeria, serving inexpensive drinks, snacks and hot dishes - or take your own picnic and bottle of wine. In spring & summer when it's light, the scenic ride through the Carpathian mountains between Ploesti & Brasov is wonderful.
Fares start at 39 with a couchette in 6-berth, 46 with a couchette in 4-berth, 69 with a bed in a 3-bed sleeper, 84 with a bed in a 2-bed sleeper or 162 with a single-bed sleeper all to yourself. All prices per person per berth. Fares vary like air fares, so book ahead.
Book this train at the Romanian Railways website bileteinternationale.cfrcalatori.ro.
Booking usually opens 90 days ahead. Click EN top right for English. For Bucharest enter Bucuresti. You print your own ticket or can show it on your laptop or phone.
You can also buy tickets at the Hungarian Railways website www.mavcsoport.hu, see my advice for using it. Booking opens 60 days ahead. For Bucharest, type Bucuresti. You show the ticket on the MAV app on your phone.
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Step 2, travel from Budapest to other European cities, as shown in more detail on the Trains from Budapest page. I'd allow at least 2 hours between trains in Budapest, just in case of delay.
For Bratislava, a EuroCity train leaves Budapest Nyugati at 11:30 and arrives Bratislava Hlavna at 13:55. Book this at the Hungarian Railways website jegy.mav.hu with fares from 9.50.
For Prague, a EuroCity train leaves Budapest Nyugati at 11:30 and arrives Prague Hlavni at 18:15. Book this at the Hungarian Railways website jegy.mav.hu with fares from 20.
For Zagreb, a train leaves Budapest Deli at 15:35 and arrives Zagreb at 21:59. Book this at the Hungarian Railways website jegy.mav.hu with fares from 20, or buy at the station.
For Krakow & Warsaw, spend the day in Budapest. A sleeper train leaves Budapest Nyugati at 19:29, arriving Krakow Glowny 06:20 & Warsaw Centralna 09:08. Book this at the Hungarian Railways website jegy.mav.hu although at the time of writing this won't book sleepers or couchettes (this may change, feedback appreciated)
For Munich, a railjet train leaves Budapest Keleti at 11:40, arriving Munich Hbf at 18:31. Book this at the German Railways website int.bahn.de, fares from 27.90, you print your own ticket or can show it on your laptop or phone. Change in Munich for Stuttgart & Cologne.
For London, see the London to Romania page.
Option 2, using the Bucharest to Vienna sleeper train Dacia Express
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Step 1, travel from Bucharest to Vienna by Dacia Express, leaving Bucharest Gara de Nord at 14:40, Ploeşti Vest 15:18, Braşov 17:11, Sighisoara 20:27, Simeria 22:39 and arriving Vienna Hbf at 08:20.
The Dacia Express has a modern air-conditioned Romanian sleeping-car with 1, 2 & 3 bed compartments with washbasin plus several deluxe compartments with en suite shower & toilet, and a couchette car with 4 & 6-berth couchette compartments. A bar car is attached between Bucharest and Arad, serving drinks & snacks, or take your own picnic and bottle of wine along. The scenery through the Carpathian mountains between Ploesti & Brasov is wonderful!
Booked online in advance, fares start at 49 with couchette in 6-berth, 59 with couchette in 4-berth, 69 with a bed in a 3-bed sleeper, 90 with a bed in a 2-bed sleeper or 150 with a single-bed sleeper all to yourself.
Book at the Romanian Railways website bileteinternationale.cfrcalatori.ro.
Booking usually opens 90 days ahead. Click EN top right for English. Bucharest is listed as Bucuresti (Romania), for Vienna you should use the German spelling Wien. You print your own ticket or can show it on your laptop or phone.
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Step 2, travel from Vienna to other European cities, as shown in more detail on the Trains from Vienna page. I'd allow at least 1½ to 2 hours between trains in Vienna, just in case of delay.
For Bratislava, a regional train leaves Vienna Hbf every hour at xx:14 minutes past each hour for Bratislava Hlavna, taking just 56 minutes. The fare is 11, either buy at the station or at www.thetrainline.com (easy to use, in , £ or $, overseas credit cards no problem, small booking fee) or the Austrian Railways website www.oebb.at (more fiddly, same prices, in ). You print your own ticket.
For Prague, a railjet train leaves Vienna Hbf at 11:10 arriving Prague Hlavni at 15:15. Fares start at 14, book this train at www.thetrainline.com (easy to use, in , £ or $, overseas credit cards no problem, small booking fee) or the Austrian Railways website www.oebb.at (more fiddly, same prices, in ). You print your own ticket.
For Munich, a railjet train leaves Vienna Hbf at 10:28, arriving Munich Hbf at 14:32. Book this at the German Railways website int.bahn.de, fares from 27.90, you print your own ticket or can show it on your laptop or phone. Change in Munich for Stuttgart & Cologne.
For Berlin, a ICE-T train leaves Vienna Hbf at 10:13, arriving Berlin Hbf at 17:53. Book this at the German Railways website int.bahn.de, fares from 37.90, you print your own ticket or can show it on your laptop or phone.
For Nuremberg & Frankfurt, an ICE-T train leaves Vienna Hbf at 11:13, arriving Frankfurt (Main) Hbf at 17:36. Book this at the German Railways website int.bahn.de, fares from 27.90, you print your own ticket or can show it on your laptop or phone. Change in Frankfurt for Hamburg, Cologne, Dόsseldorf.
For Zurich & Switzerland, a railjet train leaves Vienna Hbf at 13:28, arriving Zurich HB at 21:20. Book this at www.thetrainline.com (easy to use, in , £ or $, overseas credit cards no problem, small booking fee) or at the Austrian Railways website www.oebb.at (more fiddly, same prices, in ). You print your own ticket.
For Venice & Italy, a railjet train leaves Vienna Hbf at 12:24, arriving Venice Santa Lucia 20:04. Book this at www.thetrainline.com (easy to use, in , £ or $, overseas credit cards no problem, small booking fee) or at the Austrian Railways website www.oebb.at (more fiddly, same prices, in ). You print your own ticket.
For Paris, an ICE-T train leaves Vienna Hbf at 11:13, change at Frankfurt (Main) Hbf onto an ICE3 train running daily except Saturdays arriving Paris Gare de l'Est at 22:52. Book this at www.thetrainline.com (easy to use, in , £ or $, overseas credit cards no problem, small booking fee), you print your own tickets or can show them on your laptop or phone.
For Brussels, an ICE-T train leaves Vienna Hbf at 11:13, change at Frankfurt (Main) Hbf onto an ICE3 train arriving Brussels Midi at 21:35. Book this at the German Railways website int.bahn.de, fares from 49.90, you print your own ticket or can show it on your laptop or phone.
For Amsterdam, an ICE-T train leaves Vienna Hbf at 11:13, change at Frankfurt (Main) Hbf onto an ICE3 train arriving Amsterdam Centraal at 23:29. Book this at the German Railways website int.bahn.de, fares from 49.90, you print your own ticket or can show it on your laptop or phone.
For London, see the London to Romania page.
For Barcelona & Spain, first travel to Zurich as shown above, and stay overnight. Next day, travel to Geneva, Lyon then Barcelona as shown here.
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Tip: The Romanian Railways website bileteinternationale.cfrcalatori.ro will - remarkably - book journeys from Romania as far afield as Paris, but it usually applies expensive standard-tariff fares for parts of such journeys outside Romania. You're usually better off using bileteinternationale.cfrcalatori.ro to book from Romania to Budapest or Vienna, then using a site such as www.thetrainline.com to book from Budapest or Vienna to Germany, Paris and so on.
Option 3, using a daytime train from Bucharest to Budapest, overnight stop in Budapest, then onward train
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Step 1, travel from Bucharest to Budapest by daytime Intercity train.
The Traianus leaves Bucharest Nord at 05:05, runs via Craiova, Timisoara & Arad and arrives Budapest Keleti at 20:50.
The Fogaras leaves Brasov at 07:00, runs via Sibiu & Simeria and arrives Budapest Keleti at 18:50.
Advance-purchase fares in 2nd class start at 29. Standard tariff is approximately 49 in 2nd class or 74 in 1st class.
Buy tickets at the Romanian Railways website bileteinternationale.cfrcalatori.ro.
Booking usually opens 90 days ahead. Click EN top right for English. Bucharest is listed as Bucuresti (Romania). You print your own ticket or can show it on your laptop or phone.
You can also buy tickets at the Hungarian Railways (MAV) website jegy.mav.hu from 26.30 and load them into the MAV app on your phone (tickets cannot be printed out). At the time I write this it will book seats, but not couchettes or sleepers on night trains.
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Stay overnight in Budapest. Top choice for an inexpensive stay next to Budapest Keleti is the Intercity Hotel just across the square in front of the station. Also try the Royal Park Boutique Hotel, the inexpensive Baross City Hotel across the road or the Elit Hotel two minutes walk away. Of course, if you want to push the boat out, the luxurious Corinthia Hotel opened in 1896 was almost certainly the inspiration for the 2014 film The Grand Budapest Hotel, 20 minutes walk or 9 minutes by taxi from Keleti station. More hotels in Budapest.
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Step 2, travel from Budapest to other European cities, as shown in more detail on the Trains from Budapest page.
For Vienna, a railjet train leaves Budapest Keleti at 07:40, arriving Vienna Hbf at 10:20, or there are later departures every hour. Book this at the Book this at the Hungarian Railways website jegy.mav.hu with fares from 13 or if you have any problems, www.thetrainline.com.
For Bratislava, a EuroCity train leaves Budapest Nyugati at 05:30 and arrives Bratislava Hlavna at 07:55, or there are trains at 07:30, 08:30, 09:30 and every 2 hours through the day. Book this at the Hungarian Railways website jegy.mav.hu with fares from 9.50.
For Prague, a EuroCity train leaves Budapest Nyugati at 05:30 and arrives Prague Hlavni at 12:15, or there are trains at 07:30, 09:30 and every 2 hours through the day. Book at the Hungarian Railways website jegy.mav.hu with fares from 20.
For Zagreb, a train leaves Budapest Deli at 15:35 and arrives Zagreb at 21:59. Book this at the Hungarian Railways website jegy.mav.hu with fares from 20, or buy at the station.
For Ljubljana, a train leaves Budapest Deli at 09:00 and arrives Ljubljana at 16:35. Book this at the Hungarian Railways website jegy.mav.hu with fares from 20, or buy at the station.
For Krakow & Warsaw, a train leaves Budapest Nyugati at 08:12, with a portion for Krakow Glowny arriving 16:28 and a portion for Warsaw Centralna arriving 19:34. Book at the Hungarian Railways website jegy.mav.hu.
For Munich, a railjet train leaves Budapest Keleti at 07:40, arriving Munich Hbf at 14:32, or there are later departures roughly every 2 hours. Book at the German Railways website int.bahn.de, fares from 27.90, you print your own ticket or can show it on your laptop or phone. Change in Munich for Stuttgart & Cologne.
For Berlin, the EuroCity train Hungaria with restaurant car leaves Budapest Nyugati at 07:30 arriving Berlin Hbf at 18:43. Book at German Railways int.bahn.de. For details, see the Budapest to Berlin section.
For Switzerland, a railjet train leaves Budapest Keleti at 06:40 and arrives Zurich at 17:20. Change in Zurich for anywhere else in Switzerland. Book at www.thetrainline.com and print your own tickets.
For Italy, catch the 07:40 railjet train to Vienna from 19.90 and take the afternoon 12:24 railjet to Venice from 29.90, book each train at www.thetrainline.com and print your own tickets.
For all other destinations, see the Trains from Budapest page
Hotels in Bucharest & other cities
For advice on hotels in Bucharest, see the hotels section on the Bucharest Gara de Nord station page.
Backpacker
hostels
www.hostelworld.com: If you're on a tight budget, don't forget about backpacker hostels. Hostelworld offers online booking of cheap private rooms or dorm beds in backpacker hostels in most cities at rock-bottom prices.
Travel insurance & VPN
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Always take out travel insurance
Never travel overseas without travel insurance from a reliable insurer, with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover. It should also cover cancellation and loss of cash and belongings, up to a sensible limit. An annual multi-trip policy is usually cheaper than several single-trip policies even for just 2 or 3 trips a year, I have an annual policy with Staysure.co.uk myself. Here are some suggested insurers. Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy through these links.
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If you live in the USA try
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Get an eSIM with mobile data package
Don't rely on WiFi, download an eSIM with a mobile data package for the country you're visiting and stay connected. Most newer mobile phones can download a virtual SIM card so you don't need to buy a physical SIM, including iPhone 11 & later, see device compatibility list. Maya.net is a reliable eSIM data retailer with a 4.5 out of 5 Trustpilot rating and a range of packages including unlimited data.
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Get a Curve card for foreign travel
Most banks give you a poor exchange rate, then add a foreign transaction fee on top. A Curve MasterCard means no foreign transaction fees and gives you the mid-market exchange rate, at least up to a certain limit, £500 per month at time of writing. The money you spend on your Curve card goes straight onto one of your existing debit or credit cards.
How it works: 1. Download the Curve app for iPhone or Android. 2. Enter your details & they'll send you a Curve MasterCard - they send to the UK and most European addresses. 3. Link your existing credit & debit cards to the app, you can link up to two cards with the free version of Curve, I link my normal debit card and my normal credit card. 4. Now use the Curve MasterCard to buy things online or in person or take cash from ATMs, exactly like a normal MasterCard. Curve does the currency conversion and puts the balance in your own currency onto whichever debit or credit card is currently selected in the Curve app. You can even change your mind about which card it goes onto, within 14 days of the transaction.
I have a Curve Blue card myself, it means I can buy a coffee on a foreign station on a card without being stung by fees and lousy exchange rates, just by tapping the Curve card on their card reader. The money goes through Curve to my normal debit card and is taken directly from my account (in fact I have the Curve card set up as payment card on Apple Pay on my iPhone, so can double-click my phone, let it do Face ID then tap the reader with the phone - even easier than digging a card out). I get a little commission if you sign up to Curve, but I recommend it here because I think it's great. See details, download the app and get a Curve card, they'll give you £5 cashback through that link.
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Get a VPN for safe browsing. Why you need a VPN
When you're travelling you often use free WiFi in public places which may not be secure. A VPN encrypts your connection so it's always secure, even on unsecured WiFi. It also means you can select the geographic location of the IP address you browse with, to get around geoblocking which a surprising number of websites apply. See VPNs & why you need one explained. ExpressVPN is a best buy with a 4.7 out of 5 Trustpilot ranking which I use myself - I've signed up as an ExpressVPN affiliate, and if you go with expressvpn.com using the links on this page, you should see a special deal, 3 months free with an annual subscription. I get a small commission to help support this site.
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Carry an Anker powerbank
Tickets, reservations, vaccination records and Interrail or Eurail passes are often held digitally on your mobile phone, so it's vital to keep it charged. I always carry an Anker powerbank which can recharge my phone several times over if I can't get to a power outlet. Buy from Amazon.co.uk or from buy from Amazon.com.