From Budapest to the Croatian Coast by Night Trains

From June 18 to September 30, the Adria InterCity will run three times a week to the Croatian coast from the Hungarian capital, writes Turizmus.com. From Budapest, the trains will depart every Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday, and from Split, every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday, MÁV-Start announced.

Selected by The Guardian in 2022 as one of Europe’s 10 best rail journeys, the service will depart from Budapest Keleti Train Station at 6:45 p.m., crossing the southern shore of Lake Balaton to the border, then descend to the coast to Split, in the immediate vicinity of the old town and harbor after crossing the passes in the Dinaric Alps at an altitude of almost 900 meters above sea level, arriving at 9:49 a.m.

The return train from Split will depart at 5:54 p.m, arriving in Budapest at 9:35 a.m. the following day. In addition to the capital, those interested can get on and off the train in Székesfehérvár (central Hungary), Siófok (southern shore of Lake Balaton), Fonyód (southern shore of Lake Balaton), Balatonszentgyörgy (western Hungary), Nagykanizsa (western Hungary), and Gyékényes (near the Croatian border) on the way home. On the 789-kilometer journey, families and groups of friends can stay in four or six berth cabins, while couples and smaller families can stay in one to three berth sleeper cabins. All carriages on the route are air-conditioned.

Breakfast with hot drinks is included in the ticket price, while sleeping car passengers have a choice of breakfast menus. A dining car is open throughout the journey.

Tickets for Adria InterCity services are available from March 15 at ticket offices and on Elvira. Tickets for couchettes start from EUR 49 per person and for sleeping cars from EUR 88. Tickets for children aged 6 to 15 start from EUR 30. Passengers traveling together can also book a private sleeper cabin for three to six passengers for up to EUR 256.

The popularity of the service is demonstrated by the fact that 5,500 people traveled on board Adria InterCity in 2021, despite the COVID pandemic situation. The number of passengers doubled in 2022, and in 2023, more than 13,000 people traveled by night train to the Croatian coast.

MÁV-Start will also launch the Retró Istria express train, running daily between Budapest, Koper, and Rijeka (Fiume)

from June 28 to August 31, with seated, couchette, and sleeping cars, and tickets will also go on sale shortly.

Via Turizmus.com; Featured image via Facebook/MÁV