Istanbul to Athens via Thessaloniki: Overnight Train
 

I am having trouble pinning down this portion of our trip. Any help would be appreciated. Has anyone travelled from Istanbul to Athens via the night train to Thessaloniki, and the train or bus from Thessaloniki to Athens? I would love to hear about any personal accounts. Did you get the train tickets for Thessaloniki to Athens in Thessaloniki? How far out did you get the tickets for the overnight portion? (From what I have read it appears you need to buy the overnight tickets in Turkey, and they only go 15 days out before the departure date…??) Thanks in advance!

Has anyone taken the overnight train from Istanbul to Thessaloniki?

Not much luck here. Why don't you try the same question on Trip Advisor forums (both Istanbul and Turkey forums)

i also remember an earlier thread on the same subject.

You might get more answers on Lonely Planet's thorntree. I only took the train from Meteora to Athens, but I remember reading a report from someone who took the train from Thessaloniki to Istanbul, and had a very long wait at the border.

travel_world, That is a trip I am yearning to do. I probably can't give you any info you don't know but your topic got me excited again. I limited info on the internet about train times about a year ago. I found out that you need to buy your tickets a day or two before the train leaves Istanbul at 8:30 pm and arrives at Thessaloniki at 7:30 am. You can then catch a 10:30 train to Athens. You'll have to check this info for updates. There is a stop at the border during the night. It sounds like an exciting trip and would love to hear your trip report. Good luck!

Thanks everyone for the tips! I am gleaning bits of info here and there, hopefully I can put the whole picture together soon.