Bran Castle, Braşov, Transylvania.  Built in 1377 by Vlad Tepes (the Impaler), inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula...  Courtesy Bryan Dawe.

London to Braşov & Bucharest by train...

In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, young lawyer Jonathan Harker travels from London to Transylvania by train.  You too can travel by train from London to Dracula’s castle at Braşov and across the scenic Carpathian mountains to Bucharest (Bucureşti in Romanian).  This section explains train times, fares & how to buy tickets.

Train times, fares & how to buy tickets...

  Option 1:  London to Romania via Paris & Munich

  Option 2:  London to Romania via Brussels & Cologne

  Option 3:  London to Romania by day trains with overnight stops.

  Trains to Romania from other European cities

  Trains from Romania to other European cities

  How to book trains within Romania

  Bucharest Nord station facilities

  Visiting Brasov & Castle Bran   Visiting Sighisoara

  Hotels & accommodation in Romania

  General European train travel information

  Luggage & left luggage

  Taking bikes   Taking dogs

Route map:  London to Romania by train...

Useful country information

London to Braşov & Bucharest

Option 1, London to Romania via Paris, Munich & Budapest...

This is the fastest and most comfortable option between the UK and Romania.  It runs daily all year round.

	Dinner in the restaurant car of the Budapest to Bucharest sleeper train Ister.   It cost just £4.50 including the beer.  Photo courtesy of Peter Brogdale.

London ► Cluj, Timişoara, Sighişoara, Braşov, Bucharest

• Day 1:  Travel from London to Paris by Eurostar, leaving London St Pancras at 10:24 on Mondays-Fridays & Sundays arriving Paris Gare du Nord at 13:47, or at 09:24 on Saturdays arriving Paris Gare du Nord at 12:47.  It's a 10 minute walk from the Gare du Nord to the Gare de l'Est.

• Day 1:  Travel from Paris to Munich by 200mph double-decker TGV Duplex, leaving Paris Gare de l'Est at 15:55 Mondays-Fridays & Sundays arriving Munich Hbf at 21:36.  On Saturdays you leave Paris Gare de l'Est at 13:55, change at Stuttgart and arrive Munich Hbf at 19:27.

  If staying in Munich overnight, you can also take the 12:24 Eurostar from London to connect with a 17:55 Saturdays-only TGV Duplex from Paris to Munich arriving 23:29.

• Day 1:  You now have a choice...

  Option 1, Travel from Munich to Budapest overnight on the EuroNight sleeper train Kalman Imre, leaving Munich Hauptbahnhof at 23:36 and arriving Budapest Keleti station at 09:24 next morning (day 2).  The Kalman Imre has a modern air-conditioned Hungarian sleeping-car (1, 2 & 3 bed compartments with washbasin), a modern Hungarian couchette car (4 & 6 berth compartments) and ordinary seats (not recommended).  In Munich, there's time for dinner or a beer while waiting for the sleeper to Budapest, try www.augustinerkeller.de at Arnulfstrasse 52, to the north side of Munich Hbf.  Map of Budapest showing Keleti station.  You now have a whole day to explore Budapest.

  Option 2, stay overnight in a hotel Munich, and take a smart Austrian Railjet train from Munich to Budapest next day.  There's a train at 07:31 arriving Budapest 14:19, and another at 09:34 arriving 16:19, both also calling at Salzburg & Vienna Hbf.  Map of Budapest showing Keleti station.  In Munich, suggested hotels near the station with good or great reviews include the Sofitel Munich Beyerpost, Eden Hotel Wolff, InterCity Hotel or (budget) the Pension Locarno.  Have an early dinner in Budapest...

• Day 2, travel from Budapest to Braşov or Bucharest overnight on the EuroNight sleeper train Ister, leaving Budapest Keleti at 19:10 and arriving Sibiu 06:17, Braşov at 09:20, Ploeşti 11:17 and Bucharest Nord at 12:00 next morning (day 3).  The Ister has a modern air-conditioned sleeping car (1, 2 or 3-bed standard sleepers with washbasin, 1, 2 or 3 bed deluxe sleepers with toilet & shower) and 4 & 6-berth couchettes.  A bed in the sleeper is the recommended option, see the photos below.  The Ister should have a restaurant car for dinner & breakfast (euros, lei & forints accepted), but the restaurant isn't always attached, so take some provisions yourself just in case.  Enjoy the descent through the wonderful Alpine scenery of the Carpathian mountains between Braşov and Bucharest.  Ister is the ancient name for the River Danube.

• For Sighişoara, get off the Ister at Sibiu as the Ister no longer goes via Sighişoara.  A local train leaves Sibiu at 07:23, change at Medias, arriving Sighişoara at 10:25.  Or there's a direct local train from Sibiu at 12:04 arriving 14:42.  Or you can get off the Ister at Braşov, and travel to Sighişoara from there.

• For Timişoara, a comfortable air-conditioned Intercity train leaves Budapest Keleti daily at 15:10 arriving Timişoara Nord at 21:15.

• For Cluj Napoca, a comfortable air-conditioned Intercity train leaves Budapest Keleti daily at 14:40 arriving Cluj Napoca at 23:10.

Bucharest, Braşov, Sighişoara, Timişoara, Cluj ► London

• Day 1, travel from Bucharest or Braşov to Budapest overnight on the EuroNight sleeper train Ister, leaving Bucharest Nord at 17:45, Ploeşti Vest at 18:25, Braşov at 20:22 & Sibiu at 22:55, arriving Budapest Keleti at 08:50 next morning.  The Ister has a modern air-conditioned Romanian sleeping-car  (1, 2 or 3-bed standard sleepers with washbasin, 1, 2 or 3 bed deluxe sleepers with toilet & shower) and couchettes (4 & 6-berth).  A bed in the sleeper is the recommended option, see the photos below.  The Ister should have a restaurant car for dinner & breakfast (euros, lei & forints accepted), but the restaurant isn't always attached, so take some provisions yourself.  Map of Budapest showing Keleti station.  Spend day 2 exploring Budapest.

• Coming from Sighişoara:  You should board the Ister at Braşov or Sibiu, as the Ister no longer goes via Sighişoara.  A local train leaves Sighişoara at 15:05 arriving Braşov 18:03.  Or a local train leaves Sighişoara at 15:00 arriving Sibiu at 18:09, with time for dinner in Sibiu.

• Alternatively, rather than use the sleeper train you can leave Bucharest or Braşov the following morning on a comfortable air-conditioned daytime InterCity train.  You'll miss out on a free day in Budapest, but you may prefer a daytime ride across Transylvania:  The InterCity Traianus leaves Bucharest at 05:45 and arrives Budapest Keleti 18:50.  The InterCity Transylvania leaves Braşov at 06:00 and arrives Budapest Keleti at 17:50.  The Traianus goes via Timişoara, the Transylvania goes via Sibiu & Simeria.

• Coming from Timişoara:  Comfortable air-conditioned Intercity trains leave Timişoara daily at 07:50 arriving Budapest Keleti at 11:50, and at 14:48 arriving Budapest Keleti at 18:50.  The earlier train gives you an afternoon in Budapest.

• Coming from Cluj Napoca:  Comfortable air-conditioned Intercity trains leave Cluj Napoca daily at 06:54 arriving Budapest Keleti at 13:20, and at 15:09 arriving Budapest Keleti at 21:20.

• Day 2, travel from Budapest to Munich overnight on the EuroNight sleeper train Kalman Imre, leaving Budapest Keleti station at 20:40 and arriving in Munich at 06:10 next morning.  The Kalman Imre has a modern air-conditioned Hungarian sleeping-car (1, 2 & 3 bed compartments with washbasin), couchettes (4 & 6 berth compartments) and seats (not recommended).  If you have a first class ticket, you can use the business lounge in Budapest on platform 9, open 06:00-21:30 daily open for anyone with a 1st class international ticket to, from or via Budapest.

• Day 3:  Travel from Munich to Stuttgart, leaving Munich Hbf at 07:46 on Mondays-Saturdays by InterCity train arriving Stuttgart at 10:00, or at 07:27 on Sundays by ICE train arriving Stuttgart at 09:46.

• Day 3:  Travel from Stuttgart to Paris by 200 mph double-decker TGV Duplex, leaving Stuttgart at 10:55 and arriving Paris Gare de l'Est at 14:19.   In Paris, it's a 10-minute walk from the Gare de l'Est to the Gare du Nord.

• Day 3:  Travel from Paris to London by Eurostar, leaving Paris Gare du Nord at 16:13, arriving London St Pancras at 17:39.

How much does it cost?

Each train is ticketed separately, so just add up the price for each leg of the journey...

How to buy tickets online...

	You can now book the Budapest to Bucharest sleeper train online at the Hungarian Railways website www.mavcsoport.hu.  To collect tickets, look for yellow ticket machines at Budapest Keleti station...  Location of ticket collection machines at Budapest Keleti station

Anyone from any country can buy tickets online this way, at the cheapest prices with few on no booking fees.

• When does booking open?  Booking usually opens 92 days ahead for most trains, but 120 days ahead for Eurostar and 60 days ahead for Budapest-Bucharest.  However, I strongly recommend waiting until 92 days so you can buy most tickets together, doing a dry run on all websites first to check times and prices before booking for real.  Hotel accommodation can be booked before booking your trains risk-free if you use a site such as www.booking.com with free cancellation.  Before you start, I recommend making a list of the specific trains and dates you want to book, as each train is effectively a separate booking.

• Step 1, book the Eurostar:  Go to www.eurostar.com to book your Eurostar tickets between London and Paris.  Use the Eurostar times above as a guide, but by all means book an earlier Eurostar outwards, or a later Eurostar on the way back, if this has cheaper seats available of if you'd like to stop off in Paris for a while.  You print out your own ticket. 

  If you don't live in London, www.eurostar.com, allows you to buy cheap 'through tickets' from 130 other UK towns and cities to Paris.  If your town isn't listed, you can buy a separate ticket up to London to connect with Eurostar, see the advice on buying connecting tickets from other UK towns & cities here. 

  If you want to choose your exact seat on Eurostar, book & pay at www.eurostar.com then use the 'Manage a booking' link on their home page which allows you to choose an exact seat from a numbered seating plan.  See tips on choosing the best seats on Eurostar.

• Step 2, book the Paris to Munich TGV:  You can do this at either www.loco2.com or the German Railways website www.bahn.de.  By all means check prices at both sites.  If you use bahn.de, I strongly recommend registering when prompted, so you can easily retrieve your bookings and re-print tickets at any time.

• Step 3, book the Munich to Budapest sleeper train:  Use www.bahn.de for this.  Use the journey planner to bring up the Munich-Budapest sleeper train marked EN with 0 changes, and buy the ticket.  It will show if any cheap special fares are available in each type of couchette and sleeper.  You simply print out your own online ticket.

  If you want to take the Railjet rather than the sleeper between Munich and Budapest, you also book this at www.bahn.de.  If you want to stop off in Vienna for (say) a day, simply click 'add stopovers and and enter 'Vienna' in the via box and '24:00' in the 'hh:mm stopover' box.  It'll then book you a 24 hour stopover in Vienna, but still let you buy a cheap €39 fare from Munich to Budapest if it's available.  You can even spend a few hours in Salzburg on the way as well, by entering 'Salzburg' in the via box and (say) '04:00' in the stopover box, then clicking 'add another stopover' and entering 'Vienna' & '24:00'.  All still for €39!

• Step 4, book the Budapest to Bucharest sleeper train:  You can book cheap advance-purchase fares on this train at the Hungarian Railways website www.mavcsoport.hu.  Before jumping in, read my tips & advice for using mavcsoport.hu and how your tickets are collected in Budapest.  For Bucharest you need to use Bucuresti.  You can only use mavcsoport.hu to book one-way or round trip journeys starting in Budapest, as tickets cannot be collected in Bucharest.

• If you have any problems using MAVcsoport.hu, UK residents can book by phone on Deutsche Bahn's UK telesales line, 08718 80 80 66 (lines open 09:00-20:00 Mon-Fri, 09:00-13:00 Sat & Sun).  But you'll pay the full price. DB cannot access MAV's cheap advance-purchase fares for this train.

• One-way tickets from Bucharest to Budapest can also be arranged at local prices with just a small fee through local Romanian agency www.triptkts.ro/contact-eng.

Buy tickets by email from Traintours4u.co.uk...

• Open this special booking form, edit it to your own specific requirements, save it to your PC then email it to sales@Traintours4u.co.uk in London.  They will call you back with a confirmed price which you can then accept or decline, paying over the phone by credit card if you accept.  Traintours4u staff are familiar with making bookings like this.  A £35 booking fee applies.

How to buy tickets by phone...

• If you'd prefer to book by phone, just call Deutsche Bahn's UK telesales line on 08718 80 80 66 (lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday, no booking fee, 2% credit card charge, no charge for debit cards), or a booking agency such as Traintours4u on 020 7619 1080 (lines open 08:30-18:00 Mon-Fri, 09:00-13:00 Saturdays, £35 booking fee).

Have your trip professionally arranged...

• If you want a custom-made trip with train travel, hotels & transfers all arranged for you, contact Railbookers.  Tell them what you want and they'll advise you on the best trains, routes & hotels and sort it all out.  They get positive reviews and look after their customers very well.  And as you're then booking a package, they'll look after you if anything affects the journey or arrangements.

    UK call 020 3327 0761, www.railbookers.co.uk. 

    US call free 1-888-829-4775, see website.

    Canada call free 1-855-882-2910, see website.

    Australia call toll-free 1300 971 526, see website. 

    New Zealand call toll-free 0800 000 554 or see website.

What's the journey like? 

From London to Paris by Eurostar:  See the Eurostar page.

From Paris to Munich by TGV Duplex...  Watch the TGV Duplex video guide

Sit back with a glass of red and enjoy the ride - book an upper deck seat for the best views.  The train has power sockets for laptops & mobiles at all seats in both classes, and a cafe-bar serves drinks, snacks & microwaved hot dishes.  The train soon leaves the Paris suburbs behind and speeds across a vast wide open plateau of woods and farmland at up to 200mph, past picturesque French villages of the Champagne region.  After an hour or two, the train leaves the high-speed line and slowly meanders through pretty wooded hills, the countryside eventually flattening out towards Strasbourg.  On leaving Strasbourg, look out for Strasbourg cathedral on the left with its famously missing second tower.  Minutes afterwards you rumble across the river Rhine into Germany, before heading on to Stuttgart and Munich.
TGV Duplex at Paris Est. These impressive 200 mph double-deck trains link Paris & Munich, a relaxing journey with reading book & glass of wine.  Book an upstairs seat for the best views...		2nd class seats on TGV Duplex upper deck.  There's a mix of unidirectional seating and tables for 4 like this...

1st class seats on the upper deck, with a 'club duo' on the left, a 'club quatre' on the right.		A TGV Duplex.  The red near the door indicates 1st class, pale green indicates 2nd class.

From Munich to Budapest by Kalman Imre sleeper train...  Watch the video

Cosy & inviting, a hotel on rails, this is the modern air-conditioned Hungarian sleeping-car of the Kalman Imre at Munich Hauptbahnhof...  The sleeping-car has 10 compartments with washbasin, each of which can be used as a 1, 2 or 3 berth room, with toilets at the end of the corridor.  The fare includes a light breakfast of coffee, juice & croissant.  Watch the Hungarian sleeping-car video.  There's time for dinner in Munich before boarding, for a Bavarian meal and a beer or two, try www.augustinerkeller.de at Arnulfstrasse 52, to the north side of Munich Hbf.
The Kalman Imre, about to leave Munich...		2-berth sleeper...

6-berth couchettes...		4-berth couchettes		Hungarian couchette car at Munich

Good morning Budapest!

From Budapest to Bucharest by EuroNight sleeper train Ister...

The Ister from Budapest to Brasov & Bucharest has a modern air-conditioned Romanian sleeping-car with carpeted 1, 2 or 3-berth compartments with proper beds & washbasin, plus several deluxe 1, 2 or 3 bed compartments with private toilet & shower, see the photos below.  Travelling in the sleeping-car is safe, comfortable & civilised.  The Ister also has a Romanian couchette car with 6-berth & 4-berth compartments, each berth with rug, sheet & pillow, berths converting to seats by day.  Couchettes are fairly basic, and a proper bed in the sleeper is much more comfortable and secure yet costs very little extra, so is the recommended option.  There's a modern Romanian restaurant car serving dinner and a cooked breakfast, but taking some supplies of your own is always a good idea.  The Ister also has air-conditioned seats cars, but a mere seat is not recommended.

Traveller Philip Dyer-Perry reports:  "Budapest to Bucharest on the Ister is an absolute pleasure. I booked online with MAV and travelled in the new sleeping car, which was comfortable, smooth, and clean. There is a shower, but obviously not intended for use as most of the hose assembly was missing.  There was a dining car, and if you ask you can get a menu, but it's better to ask the man what he's got and negotiate a price.  If you have hard (non-Romanian) currency there is a certain amount of flexibility.  In the evening it was chicken & potatoes, next morning it was a rather tasty omelette.  Just be aware that the main purpose of the dining car is as a place for the traincrew to smoke!  It's good though, and a world away from Western Europe..."

Deluxe sleeper...  The en suite toilet & shower in a deluxe sleeper from Budapest to Bucharest.  Courtesy Andy Brabin.		A sleeper set up as a  1-berth compartment with middle & top berths folded away against the wall.  Courtesy Andy Brabin.		The Budapest-Bucharest Ister:  This is the modern air-conditioned Romanian sleeping-car.  The letters above the windows say 'Voiture-Lits - Sleeping-car - Carrozza Letti - Vagon de Dormit'...  Welcome to your hotel on rails, some compartments with toilet & shower.

The vagon cuseta (couchette car) on the Ister, at Budapest.		6-berth couchettes.		4-berth couchettes.

From Bucharest or Brasov to Budapest by air-conditioned InterCity train...

An InterCity train to Romania (left) about to leave Budapest.		The restaurant car on the InterCity train to Romania...

Air-conditioned 2nd class used on the Traianus from Budapest to Bucharest.  Or take your own picnic, beer or wine...

Option 2, London to Romania via Brussels & Vienna...

London ► Sighişoara, Braşov, Bucharest

• Day 1:  Travel from London to Brussels by Eurostar, leaving London St Pancras at 12:58, arriving in Brussels Midi at 16:08.

• Day 1:  Travel from Brussels to Cologne by high-speed Thalys train, leaving Brussels Midi at 17:28 and arriving in Cologne Hauptbahnhof at 19:15.  Have dinner in Cologne.

• Day 1:  Travel from Cologne to Vienna by EuroNight sleeper train, leaving Cologne Hauptbahnhof at 21:21 and arriving in Vienna Hauptbahnhof at 08:20 next morning.  This Austrian Railways sleeper train has sleeping-cars (1, 2 & 3-berth deluxe sleepers with shower, 1 & 2-berth standard sleepers with washbasin), couchettes (4 & 6 berth compartments) & ordinary seats.  The train travels along the famous Rhine Valley between Koblenz and Frankfurt, so if you are in a sleeper and your compartment happens to be on the left-hand side of the train, switch off the lights and watch the Rhine pass by, mountains and castles lit by moonlight, while sipping a glass of Riesling.  Wonderful!  More pictures & information about this EuroNight train.

You then have a choice:

Bucharest, Braşov, Sighişoara ► London

You also have a choice for the return journey:  

How much does it cost?

Ask about reductions if you are over 60 or under 26.  You might want to consider a Eurail, InterRail, or selection of Eurodomino railpasses for this journey, although sleeper or couchette supplements will need to be paid in addition to buying the pass.

Braşov is 12km from the skiing resort of Poiana Braşov, and starting point for trips to Castle Bran - Dracula's castle!

How to buy tickets online...

The cheapest way to book this part of this trip is online, because there's no booking fee and all the special offers are there for you to see.  It involves two or three websites, so do a dry run on both sites to check prices and availability before booking for real.  Here's how:

• Step 1, book your London-Cologne ticket:  Go to the Belgian Railways international website www.b-europe.com and book a ticket from London to Cologne and back using the train times on this page as a guide.  You print off your own tickets.  B-europe.com can book both Eurostar+Thalys and Eurostar+ICE, and their booking system handles this two-leg journey well, finding the cheapest prices for each leg.  Allow plenty of time for the connection in Cologne, preferably at least an hour when connecting with a sleeper train.  Remember that your return departure date from Cologne is the day after your departure from Vienna!  By all means take an earlier train from London to Cologne, or a later train returning from Cologne to London, if this has cheaper fares available or if you'd like some time in Cologne.

• Cheaper tickets?  You can also try the German Railways website www.bahn.de for booking your London-Cologne tickets, as they offer Sparpreis London fares from London to Cologne from €59 each way.  However, you'll only find these fares on journeys which involve the two or three German ICE trains between Brussels & Cologne, not on those involving Thalys.  In the outward direction that means leaving London much earlier (at 10:58, 08:58 some days) and spending some time in Cologne.

• Step 2, book the Cologne to Vienna sleeper train:  Go to www.bahn.de and buy a ticket from Cologne (Kφln in German) to Vienna aboard the direct EuroNight train, looking for the cheapest fares.  Your simply book online and print out your own ticket in .PDF format using your PC printer.  Easy!  Make sure you select the type of couchette or sleeper that you want.  Bookings open 90 days (3 months) before departure.  I recommend registering when it asks you before completing the purchase, so you can easily retrieve any bookings.  It's also worth checking prices for this train at the Austrian Railways website www.oebb.at as I have often found it cheaper there.

• Step 3 if you want the Vienna to Bucharest Dacia Express:  First try booking at www.oebb.at as you MAY be able to book a couchette or sleeper from Vienna to Bucharest (type Bucuresti) on the Dacia Express online here - look for the train marked EN (EuroNight) with 0 changes in the search results.  If it says 'not available' you can't book it, if a price is shown you can.  Alternatively, you MAY be able to book the Dacia Express online at www.loco2.com.  Enter 'Vienna' and 'Bucharest'.  Enter your dates of travel, remembering that your departure date from Vienna will be the day after your departure from London.  Sometimes the train is there, sometimes not, it depends whether staff at UK Voyages-sncf (formerly Rail Europe, to which Loco2 connects) have loaded this train into their system.  If neither method works, buy your Vienna-Bucharest ticket by phone with Deutsche Bahn's UK telesales line on 08718 80 80 66 (lines open 09:00-17:00 Mon-Fri).  Alternatively, you may find it easier and cheaper to use a Railjet train to Budapest then the Budapest-Bucharest Ister, as both trains can then easily be booked online with cheap advance-purchase prices.

• Step 3 if you want to travel via Budapest, book a ticket from Vienna to Budapest at the Austrian Railways website www.oebb.at.  You collect the ticket from the self-service machine at any Austrian ΦBB station.

• Step 4, now book the Budapest to Bucharest Ister:  You can book cheap advance-purchase fares on this train at the Hungarian Railways website www.mavcsoport.hu.  Before jumping in, read my tips & advice for using mavcsoport.hu and how your tickets are collected.  For Bucharest you need to use 'Bucuresti'.  You can only use mavcsoport.hu to book one-way or round trip journeys starting in Budapest, as tickets cannot be collected in Bucharest.

• If you have any problems using MAVcsoport.hu, UK residents can also book the Budapest to Bucharest train online at www.loco2.com.  However it only seems to offer 6-berth couchettes or 2-bed sleepers eastbound, 3-berth & 2 berth sleepers westbound, not the full range of accommodation.  In 6-berth couchettes or 3-berth sleepers, the prices are similar to or slightly lower than those charged by German Railways' telesales line, making online booking a good option.  However, for 2-bed sleepers the French system accessed by Loco2 still assumes you need a 1st class ticket even though that's no longer the case on this route, so it charges £142 instead of the correct £118.  So the best way to book this train if you want a sleeper is to book by phone by calling Deutsche Bahn's UK telesales line on 08718 80 80 66 (lines open 09:00-20:00 Mon-Fri, 09:00-13:00 Sat & Sun). 

• One-way tickets from Bucharest to Budapest or Vienna can also be arranged at local prices with just a small fee through local Romanian agency www.triptkts.ro/contact-eng.

Buy tickets the easy way from Traintours4u.com...

• Open this special booking form, edit it to your own specific requirements, save it to your PC then email it to sales@Traintours4u.co.uk in London.  They will call you back with a confirmed price which you can then accept or decline, paying over the phone by credit card if you accept.  Traintours4u staff are familiar with making bookings like this.  A £35 booking fee applies.

How to buy tickets by phone...

• You may prefer to book the whole journey by phone.  The best agencies to call for this trip are either Deutsche Bahn's UK telesales line on 08718 80 80 66 (lines open 09:00-20:00 Mon-Fri, 09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday, no booking fee, 2% credit card charge, no charge for debit cards), www.traintours4u.co.uk on 020 7619 1080 (lines open 08:30-18:00 Mon-Fri, 09:00-13:00 Saturdays, £35 booking fee), or Ffestiniog Travel on 01766 772050 (8% booking fee).  Click here for a list of agencies and other useful information on how to book.

Have your trip professionally arranged...

• If you want a custom-made trip with train travel, hotels & transfers all arranged for you, contact Railbookers.  Tell them what you want and they'll advise you on the best trains, routes & hotels and sort it all out.  They get positive reviews and look after their customers very well.  And as you're then booking a package, they'll look after you if anything affects the journey or arrangements.

    UK call 020 3327 0761, www.railbookers.co.uk.

    US call free 1-888-829-4775, see website.

    Canada call free 1-855-882-2910, see website.

    Australia call toll-free 1300 971 526, see website.

    New Zealand call toll-free 0800 000 554 or see website.

What's the journey like?

From London to Brussels by Eurostar: See the Eurostar page for photos & information on Eurostar, check-in arrangements. From Brussels to Cologne by Thalys:  Thalys trains have 1st & 2nd class and a cafe-bar, all seats have power sockets and there's on-board WiFi, free in 1st class but paid for in 2nd.  The 1st class fare includes a snack and drink.  See the Thalys page for more photos & information about Thalys
Thalys 1st class (Confort 1)...		Thalys 2nd class (Confort 2)...		A 186 mph Thalys at Brussels.

From Cologne to Vienna by Austrian Railways EuroNight train...   Watch the sleeper video guide.  This is an Austrian Railways (ΦBB) EuroNight sleeper train, with sleeping-car, couchettes & seats.  The sleeping-car has compact 1 & 2 bed compartments with washbasin, plus two deluxe compartments with 1, 2 or 3 beds plus private shower & toilet.  The sleeper berths come fully made up with sheets and duvets, all sleeper passengers get mineral water in the evening and a light breakfast served in their compartment next morning.  Towels & toiletries are provided, including shampoo and shower gel in the deluxe sleepers.  In the more economical couchettes, you can book a couchette in a cheaper 6-berth compartment or a less-crowded 4-berth compartment, each provided with sheet, blanket, pillow & small bottle of water, and couchette passengers get a tea or coffee in the morning.  When waiting for the northbound sleeper train in Vienna, if you have booked a sleeper you can use the first class ΦBB Lounge with complimentary drinks.  More pictures, video guide & information about this EuroNight train.
1 or 2-bed sleeper, in night & morning modes.  Breakfast is included.				The sleeping-car or schlafwagen on the Austrian EuroNight train from Cologne to Vienna...

Austrian couchette car or liegewagen...		6-berth couchettes...		4-berth couchettes...
As night falls, the sleeper train speeds along the Rhine Valley.  Above, crossing the Rhine at Mainz...

Vienna to Bucharest on the Dacia Express...  The Dacia Express from Vienna to Brasov & Bucharest has a comfortable Romanian sleeping-car with carpeted 1, 2 or 3-bed compartments with proper beds & washbasin, see the photos below.  Bought second-hand from German Railways, these sleepers are safe, comfortable & civilised.  There's even a shower at the end of the corridor, although water pressure & temperature might not be brilliant, assuming it works!  The Dacia Express also has one Romanian couchette car with 4 & 6-bunk compartments.  The couchettes have compartments with 6 seats by day which convert to bunks for night time use with rug, sheet and pillow supplied.  Couchettes are fairly basic, and a proper bed in the sleeper is much more comfortable and secure yet costs very little extra, so is the recommended option.  The Dacia Express also has several air-conditioned seats cars, but making this journey in an ordinary seat is not recommended.
The Dacia Express about to leave Vienna for Bucharest.  The Romanian sleeping-car attendant greets passengers at the door...		2-berth sleeper with washbasin on the Vienna-Bucharest Dacia Express...		4 or 6 berth couchette compartment on the Dacia Express...

Option 3, London to Romania by daytime trains with hotel stops...

This takes a bit longer so it's not so time-effective as using sleeper trains, but if you prefer daytime trains through the scenery with overnight stops in comfortable hotels, this is the option for you.  It's also potentially the cheapest option, although this is not necessarily true once the cost of the hotels is added.  By all means stop off for longer between trains, what you do is up to you.

	Lunch in the Hungarian dining-car on one of the daytime trains from Budapest to Romania...  Courtesy of Philip Dyer-Perry.

London ► Cluj, Timişoara, Craiova, Braşov, Bucharest

• Day 1:  Travel from London to Paris by Eurostar, leaving London St Pancras at 10:24 (12:24 on Saturdays) arriving Paris Gare du Nord at 13:47 (15:47 on Saturdays). It's a 10 minute walk from the Gare du Nord to the Gare de l'Est.

• Day 1:  Travel from Paris to Munich by 200mph double-decker TGV Duplex, leaving Paris Gare de l'Est at 15:55 Mondays-Fridays & Sundays arriving Munich Hauptbahnhof at 21:36.  On Saturdays, it leaves Paris at 17:55 arriving Munich at 23:29.  There's a cafe-bar on board, and I recommend an upper deck seat for the best views.

  On Saturdays if you'd prefer an earlier arrival in Munich you can also leave London at 09:24 to connect with a TGV leaving Paris at 13:55 for Stuttgart, change there for Munich arriving 19:27.

  Alternatively, you can travel from London to Munich by Eurostar & ICE train via Brussels & Cologne, see the London to Germany page.

• Stay overnight in Munich.  Hotels right next to the station with good or great reviews include the Sofitel Munich Beyerpost, Eden Hotel Wolff, InterCity Hotel or (budget) the Pension Locarno.  More hotels in Munich

• Day 2:  Travel from Munich to Budapest by smart modern Railjet train, leaving Munich at 09:34 and arriving Budapest Keleti station at 16:19, or there's an earlier one at 07:31 arriving 14:19.

• Stay overnight in Budapest.  For an inexpensive hotel with great reviews right next to Keleti Station, try the Royal Park Boutique Hotel.  More hotels in Budapest

• Day 3 for Braşov, a comfortable air-conditioned InterCity train leaves Budapest Keleti daily at 05:55 and arrives Braşov at 21:57.  A restaurant car is available for lunch and dinner.  There's also a later InterCity train leaving Budapest Keleti at 09:10 and arriving Arad 14:21, Simeria 16:57, Sibiu 20:02, and Braşov at 22:45.

• Day 3 for Bucharest, Craiova & Timişoara, the comfortable air-conditioned InterCity train Traianus leaves Budapest Keleti daily at 07:10 and arrives Arad 12:24, Timişoara Nord 13:14, Craiova 19:30 & Bucharest Nord at 22:52.  A Romanian cafe-bar car is available for snacks & drinks.

• Day 3 for Cluj Napoca, a comfortable air-conditioned Intercity train leaves Budapest Keleti daily at 05:55 arriving Cluj Napoca at 14:06.  Or there's a later train leaving Budapest Keleti at 14:40 and arriving Cluj at 23:10.

Bucharest, Braşov, Craiova, Timişoara, Cluj ► London

• Day 1, from Bucharest, Craiova, Timişoara, travel from Bucharest to Budapest by air-conditioned InterCity train Traianus, leaving Bucharest Nord at 05:45, Craiova 09:00, Timişoara Nord 14:48, Arad 15:39 and arriving Budapest Keleti at 18:50.  A Romanian cafe-bar car is available for snacks & drinks.

• Day 1, from Braşov, travel from Braşov to Budapest by air-conditioned InterCity train, leaving Braşov at 06:00, Sibiu 08:38, Simeria 11:39, Arad 14:28, arriving Budapest Keleti at 17:50.

• Day 1 from Cluj Napoca, comfortable air-conditioned Intercity trains leave Cluj Napoca daily at 06:54 arriving Budapest Keleti at 13:20 and at 15:09 arriving 21:20.  Take your choice...

• Stay overnight in Budapest.  For an inexpensive hotel with great reviews right next to Keleti Station, try the Royal Park Boutique Hotel.  More hotels in Budapest

• Day 2:  Travel from Budapest to Munich by one of several smart modern Railjet trains.  There's one leaving Budapest Keleti at 11:40 arriving Munich at 18:25, but earlier or later ones are available at 07:40 or 15:40.

• Stay overnight in Munich.  Hotels right next to the station with good or great reviews include the Sofitel Munich Beyerpost, Eden Hotel Wolff, InterCity Hotel or (budget) the Pension Locarno.  More hotels in Munich.

• Day 3:  Travel from Munich to Paris by 200 mph double-decker TGV Duplex, leaving Munich Hbf at 06:25 Weekdays or 06:29 at weekends, arriving Paris Gare de l'Est at 12:05.   In Paris, it's a 10-minute walk from the Gare de l'Est to the Gare du Nord.

• Day 3:  Travel from Paris to London by Eurostar, leaving Paris Gare du Nord at 13:13, arriving London St Pancras at 14:39.

  If you'd prefer a leisurely breakfast and later departure from Munich, there are later options via either Paris or Brussels, see the London to Germany page.

	You can now book cheap tickets for the Budapest to Bucharest daytime trains online at the Hungarian Railways website www.mavcsoport.hu.  To collect tickets, look for these yellow ticket machines at Budapest Keleti station...

How much does it cost?

• London to Paris by Eurostar starts at £45 one-way or £69 return in 2nd class, £110 one-way or £159 return in 1st class.  Like air fares, the price rises as cheaper seats are sold, so book early for the best price.

• Paris to Munich by TGV starts at €39 (£34) each way 2nd class, €69 each way in 1st class.

• Munich to Budapest by Railjet starts at €39 (£34) each way 2nd class, €69 in 1st class.

• Budapest to Bucharest by InterCity train starts at €29 (£25) each way.

• Budapest to Brasov by InterCity train starts at €19 (£16) each way, 1st class €76.

• Each of these fares vary like air fares, so book early for the cheapest prices.

How to buy tickets online...

Anyone from any country can buy tickets online this way, at the cheapest prices with few on no booking fees.

• When does booking open?  Booking usually opens 92 days ahead for most trains, but 120 days ahead for Eurostar and 60 days ahead for Budapest-Bucharest.  However, I strongly recommend waiting until 92 days so you can buy most tickets together, doing a dry run on all websites first to check times and prices before booking for real.  Hotel accommodation can be booked before booking your trains risk-free if you use a site such as www.booking.com with free cancellation.  Before you start, I recommend making a list of the specific trains and dates you want to book, as each train is effectively a separate booking.

• Step 1, book the Eurostar:  Go to www.eurostar.com to book your Eurostar tickets between London and Paris.  Use the Eurostar times above as a guide, but by all means book an earlier Eurostar outwards, or a later Eurostar on the way back, if this has cheaper seats available of if you'd like to stop off in Paris for a while.  You print out your own ticket. 

  If you don't live in London, www.eurostar.com, allows you to buy cheap 'through tickets' from 130 other UK towns and cities to Paris.  If your town isn't listed, you can buy a separate ticket up to London to connect with Eurostar, see the advice on buying connecting tickets from other UK towns & cities here. 

  If you want to choose your exact seat on Eurostar, book & pay at www.eurostar.com then use the 'Manage a booking' link on their home page which allows you to choose an exact seat from a numbered seating plan.  See tips on choosing the best seats on Eurostar.

• Step 2, book the Paris to Munich TGV:  You can do this at either www.loco2.com or the German Railways website www.bahn.de.  Loco2 allows you to choose upper or lower deck, bahn.de doesn't, although I have often found bahn.de cheaper than the French system used by Loco2 so check prices at both sites.  If you use bahn.de, I strongly recommend registering when prompted, so you can easily retrieve your bookings and re-print tickets at any time.

• Step 3, book the Munich to Budapest Railjet train:  Use www.bahn.de for this.  Use the journey planner to bring up the Munich-Budapest RailJet marked RJ with 0 changes, and buy the ticket.  You simply print out your own online ticket. If you want to stop off in Vienna for (say) a day, simply click 'add stopovers and and enter 'Vienna' in the via box and '24:00' in the 'hh:mm stopover' box.  It'll then book you a 24 hour stopover in Vienna, but still let you buy a cheap €39 fare from Munich to Budapest if it's available.  You can even spend a few hours in Salzburg on the way as well, by entering 'Salzburg' in the via box and (say) '04:00' in the stopover box, then clicking 'add another stopover' and entering 'Vienna' & '24:00'.  All still for €39!

• Step 4, now book Budapest to Bucharest at the Hungarian Railways website www.mavcsoport.hu. Before jumping in, read my tips & advice for using mavcsoport.hu and how your tickets are collected.  You can only use mavcsoport.hu to book one-way or round trip journeys starting in Budapest, as tickets cannot be collected in Bucharest.

• One-way tickets from Bucharest to Budapest can also be arranged at local prices with just a small fee through local Romanian agency www.triptkts.ro/contact-eng.

How to buy tickets by phone...

• If you prefer to book the journey by phone, or if you have problems booking online, call Deutsche Bahn's UK telesales line on 08718 80 80 66 (lines open 09:00-20:00 Mon-Fri, 09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday, no booking fee, 2% credit card charge, no charge for debit cards), or www.traintours4u.co.uk on 020 7619 1080 (lines open 08:30-18:00 Mon-Fri, 09:00-13:00 Saturdays, £35 booking fee).  They can offer the same cheap fares that are available online as far as Budapest, but be warned that neither agency can access the cheap €29 fares available online direct from the Hungarian Railways website, then can only sell full-price international tariff fares for this sector.

What's the journey like?

(1)  London to Paris by Eurostar:  See the Eurostar page.

(2)  Paris to Munich by 200 mph TGV Duplex...   Watch the TGV Duplex video

Sit back with a glass of red and enjoy the ride - book an upper deck seat for the best views.  The train has power sockets for laptops & mobiles at all seats in both classes, and a cafe-bar serves drinks, snacks & microwaved hot dishes.  First class passengers on this route are given a simple but tasty meal box with a small bottle of beer or wine served at their seat, included in the fare.  The train soon leaves the Paris suburbs behind and speeds across a vast wide open plateau of woods and farmland at up to 200mph, past picturesque French villages of the Champagne region.  After an hour or two, the train leaves the high-speed line and slowly meanders through pretty wooded hills, the countryside eventually flattening out towards Strasbourg.  On leaving Strasbourg, look out for Strasbourg cathedral on the left with its famously missing second tower.  Minutes afterwards you rumble across the river Rhine into Germany, before heading on to Stuttgart and Munich.
TGV Duplex at Paris Est. These impressive 200 mph double-deck trains link Paris & Munich, a relaxing journey with reading book & glass of wine.  Book an upstairs seat for the best views...		2nd class seats on TGV Duplex upper deck.  There's a mix of unidirectional seating and tables for 4 like this...

1st class seats on the upper deck, with a 'club duo' on the left, a 'club quatre' on the right.		A TGV Duplex.  The red near the door indicates 1st class, pale green indicates 2nd class.

(3)  Munich to Budapest by Austrian Railjet...

Economy class on RailJet, comfortable open saloons with picture windows.  Some seats arranged around tables, most unidirectional.		The RailJet from Munich, arrived at Budapest Keleti spot on time.  More photos & information about Railjet trains.

Railjet first class, with black leather seats...		Business class...		The restaurant...

(4)  Budapest to Brasov or Bucharest by air-conditioned InterCity train.

An InterCity train to Romania (left) about to leave Budapest.		The restaurant car on the InterCity train to Romania...

Air-conditioned 2nd class used on the Traianus from Budapest to Bucharest.  Or take your own picnic, beer or wine...

Bucharest Nord station

Click for map of Bucharest showing station

Bucharest has one main station, the imposing Gara de Nord (Bucureşti Nord), opened in 1872.  I've always found the grand scale of the architecture somewhat dark and oppressive but it's improved in recent years.  The station is a terminus, with some 14 platforms.  Photos courtesy of Disocverbyrail.com.

Left luggage & ATMs

There's a left luggage office 50m past the Relay newsagents, and now privately-run luggage lockers too, see here for prices.  There are plenty of ATM cash points around the station.

Somewhere to eat...

There is a MacDonalds, a KFC & a Springtime inside the station, as well as many kiosks selling drinks and snacks.  Further feedback appreciated!