Just read Maymunn's train review from Denizli and I'm wondering if anyone has taken the train to/from Istanbul-Ankara. Have to be in Ankara next month and was going to take the bus, but I am fed up with buses. Trains also appear to be a few ytl cheaper. Was looking at the overnight train (Fatih Express) from Haydarpasa. Am unfortunately looking at the budget option of sleeping in the seats, rather than the beds. Imagine it's still better than sleeping squished on the bus seats and not being able to get up and walk around. Anyone done this? Did an overnighter in Spain once and it was absoulutely terrible, with thieves trying to get into our bags, even though we were sleeping on them. Won't be taking luggage this time, so not an issue, but wondering if it's comfortable enough, bearing in mind that we will need to be awake enough to attend a visa interview the following morning. Also, do they generally run relatively on time? Every bus I have taken has arrived about 1-2 hours late.

Coming back, we would take an afternoon train, so it would be the Cumhuriyet Express. I guess it's pretty much the same as the overnight train.

If anyone has anything to say about these, please let me know (positive or negative).

Also, may need to stay the night there, so if anyone has any good budget accommodation suggestions, please let me know. Will need to be able to get to Gaziosmanpasa easily.

Thanks,

Monique

I totally love the overnight train. In fact I'm pretty evangelical about it. Go for it. It's loads cooler than the bus. I generally take the sleeper, the Ankara Ekspresi, and if you can make the price of that (around 140 lira return for a little cabin with a fridge and a sink ALL TO YOURSELF) I'd really recommend it. The sheets are clean and the buffet car is cheap. You run the risk of being button-holed by some drunkard who wants to chat, but that's part of the fun for me. in fact, I may well BE a drunkard who wants to chat.

I've used the cheaper overnight trains on a few occasions and had absolutely no problems. The seats are comfy. Of course, the train clanks and squeeks and shakes at various points and it stops every now and again (pendik, eskisehir, sincan, etc). So you don't get a great night's sleep. But you don't on a bus either and the train is a laugh: 1,000 times safer than a bus. You can stretch your legs, use the buffet and generally soak up the atmos of one of Europe's last state-run train networks (POLITICS ALERT) which is finally getting some much-needed investment under the AKP.

Additionally, the two train stations at each end are both architectural gems in their own different ways. Waking up at Haydarpasa is one of life's great moments. Waking up at Ankara, is different, of course.

oh, and on punctuality, I've very rarely had problems. Sometimes in winter there are delays, but I'd say 90 percent of the time my overnight train pulls in at exactly the scheduled time.

I've taken the Fatih a few times and loved it. One cannot put a price on being able to go to the bathroom whenever one chooses on those overnight trips! As long as I was travelling with one or 2 other people we split the price and went ahead and reserved the entire sleeping cabin, as Spine suggested. Have fun!

Great. Thanks for the positive responses. Unfortunately, we really can't spend the money on the sleeper, but we will test out the normal seats. No need for hotel recommendations any more, as M's exams are on that weekend, so can't stay the night now.

Will give my review afterwards.

Forgot to write my report. Train was great. As we didn't get a sleeper, we didn't get a whole lot of sleep. But the fact that we could go to the loo when we wanted, get food (although, we didn't), and had big comfy seats was a great bonus over the buses. And for Mujdat, he could wander off for a smoke any time. Tickets were also slightly cheaper than the bus, and although it took maybe 1 extra hour (can't remember now), as it was overnight, it made no difference. Train actually got in early too. Would definitely recommend it over the bus.

Ended up catching a bus back, as we got back to the station late and all the return tickets were sold. This time we came with Nilufer (I have mostly travelled with Metro, who I have been less than thrilled with lately). Nilufer's tickets were slightly cheaper than Metro (only by a few lira). Bus was comfortable, on-board service was great (got more than one offer of water and a cake, unlike Metro), and the driver was excellent - no speeding, swerving, or anything else I am used to on the other buses. We also got back to Sisli (via service from Kavacik) about half an hour earlier that we expected. Would definitely recommend them if going by bus.