Athens to Sofia

i am planning a short backpacking trip around southern europe this summer. our trip will begin in istanbul, then we will go on to thessaloniki in greece for a few days before heading south to athens to meet some friends. we then hope to get a train from athens to sofia, and i was wondering if this would require another stop off in thessaloniki?

also, has anybody made a similar journey from athens to sofia? if so do you have any advice/reccomendations/information?

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There is a night train that goes from Athens to Sofia. It leaves at 22:55 from Athens, and arrives in Sofia at 12:40. It does stop in Thessaloniki at 06:30.

If you buy a sleeper ticket, you won%26#39;t have to get off the train at all in Thessaloniki (or anywhere along the way). They just hook up the sleeper car to the connecting train. If you are on the seat compartments, then you will have to get off the train, go into the station, and buy a seat reservation for the connection train. It%26#39;s a pain. I had to do this once, and the line to buy the seat reservation was so slow that I missed the connecting train by the time I got up to the window. So, had to wait in the station for 2 hours for the next train. After that, I decided that the only way to go from Sofia to Athens (and vice versa) is by sleeper car. Much more relaxed and restful.

Here is the website to get the train schedule: www.bdz.bg

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Sofia to Athens:

tripbg@gmail.com

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