I chose a random town I’d never heard of on a train map and jumped on an overnight sleeper train from Istanbul in Turkey to Veliko Tarnovo in Bulgaria.
Watch the video below to see the real and raw adventure and what happens when you have no plans and keep reading below for some more information about the experience.
I’d just finished up an epic trip around Turkey. My travel buddy for that trip, Hannah, set off on her next leg and I had some down time for a few extra days in Istanbul while I tried to decide what to do next.
After about five extra days in the same hostel catching up on video editing and eating at the same local kebab shops, I knew it was time to get moving again.
My birthday was only two days away and I wanted to be in a new place to enjoy that excited feeling of being somewhere new and feast my eyes on new sights.
I love train travel and wanted to travel across Europe by land so I went to the train station in Istanbul and picked a random town on the map that I could get to from Istanbul. I bought the next available ticket which was for the following night – a sleeper train!
Overnight sleep train from Turkey to Bulgaria
Overnight trains are not only great for saving money on accomodation for the night but I get SO excited by the adventurous feeling of snuggling up into bed on a moving train and waking up with glimpses of a brand new destination being unveiled outside the window.
I chose Veliko Tarnovo because it was a lesser known city and a quick Google search suggested it was surrounded by greenery, which I’d been craving after a week in the city.
It was also a logical direction for where I was headed overall as I noted I could continue north west by rail from there once I was done.
So I took a late night train from the main Istanbul city station to an outer station to begin my journey to the next country.
Just getting to that outer station was a little mission in itself as everyone had to walk from the connecting train through a building site and across the train tracks to reach the waiting overnight sleeper train to Bulgaria. Yes, my thirst for adventure was already being greeted with a cheeky grin!
The train ticket was written in Bulgarian so after looking in several train carriages with a desperately confused look on my face, I found a train guard who cheerily pointed me in the right direction.
The train carriages split up during the journey to different destinations so it’s vital you find the right one. Although, considering I wasn’t decisive about my destination, I’m sure I would have been fine regardless!
What is the bed like on a sleeper train?
I had a room which is supposed to sleep four people all to myself! There were two top bunks and the two bench seats on the bottom folded down into beds too. I’d read that it’s common practice not to book men in rooms with single women so as I was the only solo female traveller on this train, I truly was solo. (I can’t confirm this is always the case, maybe I was just fortunate.)
A train steward delivered a big, fluffy pillow and a clean, white sheet and pillow case. What I nice surprise as my last overnight train experience in India I used my own travel sleeping bag and rolled up a jacket to use as a pillow! What a luxury.
After the initial excitement of laying down with my face glued to the window staring at the city lights passing by, we headed into the darkness as went cross-country and I dosed off for a couple of hours before we stopped at the border to Bulgaria.
Passport control Turkey-Bulgaria border crossing by train
Everyone had to get off the train to go through a little passport control office. I took my ‘hand carry’ backpack with all my money, passport and camera gear and left my suitcase of clothes on board in my room. (Pro tip: don’t pack valuables in your big suitcase when travelling by train because you can’t always keep it with you.)
A quick wait in line, a stamp of approval in my passport and I was back on the train and settled in for a decent sleep for the remainder of the 13-hour journey. And it was surprisingly comfortable!
I woke up feeling rested and the incredible view of the Bulgarian countryside was enough adrenaline to distract me from the lack of coffee on board.
The train steward stopped by to let me know we would reach Veliko Tarnovo in half an hour so I’d be ready to get off (unlike planes, trains have more stations to travel to so you’ve got to be ready to get off!) and once we pulled up he helped me get my suitcase off the train.
To see the inside of the train and to find out about what I got up to in Veliko Tarnovo, you’ll just have to watch the video! It wasn’t all smooth sailing but it was certainly an adventure to remember in a beautiful town soaking up the quiet greenery to enjoy my birthday alone.
