Best way to visit Budapest, Athens and Istanbul

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Hello,

I will be in Budapest from Aug 24th - Sept 7th (return flight at 13:30).  I want to be able to visit these places within this time frame and hopefully get some advice on how to travel cheap.  What is the name of the train that I will take and where will I catch it? And how much will it costs?  Is the train running 7days a week or are there certain days that the trains are close especially when catching it from Greece.

If I want to travel by sleeper train, with 3 beds or 6 beds (with passangers not related to me), is there a locker in the room? Are women separated from men? How much does the sleeper train costs? Do I have to buy it online or at the train station?  I saw a website where they advice to buy it online from Turkey but maybe there is a better suggestion.

thank you so much,
Helen

You've got a number of possibilities here.
You can actually choose the route you want to take. Three major options for you are Hungary-Romania-Bulgaria-Greece/Turkey or Hungary-Serbia-FYR Macedonia-Greece and Hungary-Serbia-Bulgaria-Turkey. If you want to start with Istanbul, then it is easier to go with 1st or 3rd option, if with Greece - 2nd.
In order to reach Istanbul you will need to make at least one change - in Belgrade, Thessaloniki, Sofia or Buchuresti.
With Athens - during summer months route can be done with one change (in Thessaloniki, till September 20 there are direct carriages from Budapest to Thessaloniki), but rest of the year you will need to change train twice - Belgrade and Thessaloniki.
Most of the trains run 7 days per week - no need to worry about that matter.

If I want to travel by sleeper train, with 3 beds or 6 beds (with passangers not related to me), is there a locker in the room?

What you mean here? If special box where you can lock your valuable things - no, if you mean "locking compartment" - sometimes yes, but not always.

Are women separated from men?

No, but if you really want you can always get "Single"

How much does the sleeper train costs?

Standard fares usually quite low - 10-15 euro for couchette or 3 bed sleeper, but rise if you go in a "single"

Do I have to buy it online or at the train station?

In most cases you simply can't buy online, so the only option is ticket counter at the train station

Fares: most rail fares in the Balkans are rather cheap, so the whole trip Budapest-Greece-Turkey-Budapest can be done roughly for less than 150 euro (including sleeper reservations).
We can help you with more precise number, but only after you decide the exact route you want to go 

Thank you so much for all your helpful tips

Here's my plan:
Aug 24 to Aug 27th - Budapest

Aug 27 Fri - leave Budapest -go straight to Istanbul (I hope to arrive in Istanbul before 6pm so I can find my hostel easily and not yet dark)

Aug 28 or Aug 29th - I'm not sure what date and what time I will arrive in Istanbul but I only want to spend 3 full days and 2 nights.

Sept 2 Thurs - arrive in Athens (I hope to arrive before 8pm if possible, so I can find my hostel easily) I hope to spend 4 days and 3 nights.

Sept 6 Mon from Athens - I hope to be back in Budapest around 7pm or earlier

1. Where can I get a visa for Istanbul, Turkey? Do you know how much it costs? Do I have to get it a month before the trip?

2. Is this route the fastest route?  How much are each ticket and which trip need sleeper train?

3. How long are each trip? How long do I have to wait from one train to the next? I just want to know if I need to stay at the hostel if the train arrived at night and the next train will arrive in the morning.

4. Is it easy to purchase a train ticket from Istanbul to return to Athens, Greece?

5. Is it possible to get the departure/arrival time base on the schedule/date I listed above? Also, where(station) to catch the train and the color of the train if they are identified by color or gate # or company name?


Thank you so much for all your help and sorry if I have too many questions.

Helen   

Fastest way to go from Budapest to Istanbul is via Belgrade: you depart Budapest 11pm, arrive to Belgrade early morning, Sofia evening and Istanbul 7:50am next day, change in Belgrade or Sofia required. So if you'll leave Budapest evening Aug 27, then you will arrive in Istanbul morning Aug 29.
Buy Budapest-Belgrade-Budapest ticket in Budapest (26 euro), then Belgrade-Istanbul in Belgrade (ticket 48 euro + 3 bed sleeper for 18 euro/2bed -30 euro/ single - 60 euro).
Istanbul-Thessaloniki: 8:33pm-9:33am (ticket app. 25 euro + 25 euro for double sleeper)
Thessaloniki-Athens: 10:13am-15:21pm (expensive InterCity train) or 12:42pm-6:18pm cheaper regular train (roughly 45-50 euro vs. 20 euro)
For you way back from Athens to Budapest it is better to use direct carriage Thessaloniki-Budapest (will be running during summer), it departs Thessaloniki at 5:02pm (arrives to Budapest 14:55pm next day), so you will need to arrive to Thessaloniki by this time (two options for Athesn-Thessaloniki in this case - either 9:21am-3:02pm by regular train or 10:51am-15:48pm by InetCity train). In Thessaloniki buy ticket Thessaloniki-Belgrade (app. 30 euro) and sleeper Thessaloniki-Budapest (20-25 euro) + use return part of you Budapest-Belgrade-Budapest ticket.
Question about visa cost was answered here - http://europetrainsguide.com/forum/index.php/topic,58.msg219.html#new
You get visa at the border.
Concerning train stations: in Budapest it is Budapest-Keleti station, in Istanbul - Sirkeci. Rest of your transfer destinations got only one major train station. No color identification for mentioned trains.
Trains for your route are operated by state railways of the relevant countries: ZS, TCDD, OSE, MAV etc.

Thank you so much for all the info.  This is very helpful   I only have few more questions to clarify:

1. "In Thessaloniki buy ticket Thessaloniki-Belgrade (app. 30 euro) and sleeper Thessaloniki-Budapest (20-25 euro) + use return part of you Budapest-Belgrade-Budapest ticket." --I just want to clarify this, so I have to use 3 tickets? buy tickets for Thessaloniki-Belgrade and sleeper Thessaloniki-Bupadest together and show my budapest-belgrade-Budapest ticket at the counter?

2.  Is it possible to purchase tickets at the counter few days ahead? Like for example, when I arrive in Budapest on Aug 24th, I want to purchase a ticket for Aug 27th and when I arrive at Istanbul on Aug 29, I will purchase my return ticket to Athens for Sept 2?

Thank you so much!

Helen

I just want to clarify this, so I have to use 3 tickets?

Yes, but it is not 3 tickets, but 2 plus sleeper reservation. The whole idea is to cover your full route Thess.-Budapest. For railways it doesn't really matter whether you use one direct ticket for the full route or combination of tickets covering different parts of the route. No need to show your Belgrade-Budapest ticket at the counter in Thess. If they ask - ""What about Belgrade-Budapest part?" Just say that you already have separate ticket for that. Then, when you board your carriage Thess.-Budapest you will need to show both tickets and sleeper to the conductor.

2.  Is it possible to purchase tickets at the counter few days ahead?

Yes, you can buy Budapest-Belgrade-Budapest ticket as well as Istanbul-Thess. couple days in advance.

Thank you so much for all your help

If you allow one suggeston from me:
It will be cheaper if you buy Balkan Flexipass when you arrive in Belgrade. The one valid 5 days within one month will cover your trip Belgrade - Istanbul - Athens - Belgrade(Belgrade - Istanbul 2 days, Istanbul - Athens 1 day, and Athens - Belgrade 2 days). It costs 81 eur (51 eur for under 26 years old). Compering to ordinary tickets (Belgrade - Istanbul 48 eur + Istanbul - Thessaloniki 25 eur + Thessaloniki - Athens - Thessaloniki 40 eur + Thessaloniki - Belgrade 30 eur = 143 eur total) it is much cheaper if you buy Balkan Flexipass. Then after that you just need to buy sleeper/couchette reservations. For all other seating trains, except IC/ICE in Greece, you don't need any reservation.

Rasha, thanks for additional suggestion, but it seems that there is one problem, that is why we didn't suggested this Balkan Flexi Pass option before. As far as we know, fares you quoted is only valid for European citizens (those who can use Interrail instead of more expensive Eurail pass). Cashiers specifically ask your passport and print in your nationality. If you aren't European citizen (helen seems to be an overseas visitor), then the fares are much higher and sum of the ordinary tickets will cost cheaper.

No, the price for Balkan Flexipass should be same for every Earth citizen. Overseas agencies sell it for much higher prices. But, if you buy it in Balkans it's the same price for everybody. Cashiers ask for passport like thay ask for Interrail, not for different price but for reason, that you cannot give your ticket to someone else.