How to get from Istanbul to Prague
 

We're about to begin (on March 1) our 2nd of four 6+ week trips (India, the Maldives, Qatar, South Africa, Zambia, Botswana, the Seychelles and Morocco), spanning one year and taking us around the world.

Our 3rd trip, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Poland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Estonia, Russia and Finland, mid-June to the end of July, starting in Istanbul.

So......how difficult is the drive from Istanbul to Prague....or should we go by train??


For those interested, our 1st trip (11-1-15 to 12-15-15) was New Zealand, Australia (Sydney), Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, Hong Kong, London.

It is close to 2000 kms.

Turkish Airlines fly direct from ISt to PRG - I saw prices about 130 €.

Trains might work too.

You may have difficulties finding a rental that allows you to cross eastern European (Bulgaria, Romania) and/or Balkan (Macedonia, Serbia, etc.) borders and drop off the car in the Czech Republic.

I am a big fan of train travel, but unless I wanted to spend time in places en route I would fly from Istanbul to Prague - see skyscanner.net for available flights.

See: http://seat61.com/international-trai...anbul_to_Sofia for info about having to take a bus for the first part of the route. Plus you can spend an inordinate amount of time waiting at some of the borders, and some eastern European trains can be pretty decrepit.

If you only have six weeks for all those countries, you don't have time to meander through the Balkans, which isn't on your list.

>>If you only have six weeks for all those countries, you don't have time to meander through the Balkans, which isn't on your list.<<

I think so too, but did you see what they covered on their 6 week trip to NZ/OZ/Asia and the UK (8 countries/3 continents) or the one they are on now?. They obviously don't <i>linger</i> much ;)

Ramblero: You probably have great difficulty finding a car you can rent for that journey and if you can it will cost a fortune. Flying will be best really. Were you planning on driving over the rest of your itinerary after Prague? If so you will also have trouble finding a car you can pick up in say the Czech Republic, drive in Russia, and drop in Finland.

Thanks for all your feedback. Having driven somewhat extensively in Spain, Italy, France, Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia-Hertzgovinia, Montenegro, Greece and now New Zealand, I (naively) thought it might be a viable alternative to flying (my last preference...I'm a big believer in "poking dead things with a stick"...because how much can you really see in a country/region/city/town by flying over it) or by train (not much better than flying) and wouldn't mind spending some time by car (my drive notion would only be between Istanbul and Prague....most travel between the countries is, of course, by plane, tho we are taking the train from Moscow to St. Petersburg)...however your points are well taken. I hadn't had time yet to look how far it is (1000+ miles) and, given that, will probably fly. And no, meandering/lingering is not one of my wife's fortés. ( I kid her by telling people traveling with her is like marching thru Georgia with Sherman. :) Fortunately we have approx 2 months to get the specifics about RTW III. (sent from Jaipur, India)