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Above:  Bran Castle, Brasov, Transylvania.  Built in 1212, it was used by Vlad Tepes (Vlad the Impaler), the inspiration for Bram Stoker's 'Dracula'...  Photo courtesy of Bryan Dawe.

In Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’, young lawyer Jonathan Harker travels from London to Transylvania by train.  You too can travel by train from London to Dracula’s castle at Brasov and across the scenic Carpathian mountains to Bucharest ('Bucureşti' in Romanian).  This section explains train times, fares & how to buy tickets.

Option 1, London to Romania via Paris & Munich...

This is probably the fastest and most comfortable option between the UK and Romania.  It runs daily most of the year, 4 times a week in winter.  On days when it doesn't run, or if you'd prefer to stop off in Vienna, or for travel to Sighisoara, see option 2 below.

Train times London ► Braşov & Bucharest

• Day 1, travel from London to Paris by Eurostar, leaving London St Pancras at 15:00, arriving Paris Gare du Nord at 18:56.  In Paris, it's a 10 minute walk from the Gare du Nord to the Gare de l'Est.

• Day 1, travel from Paris to Munich overnight by the City Night Line sleeper train 'Cassiopeia', leaving Paris Gare de l'Est at 20:20 and arriving in Munich at 07:16 next morning.  This excellent train runs daily in summer, but only 4 times a week in winter.  It runs daily until 13 Dec 2008, then on Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays until 26 March 2009, then daily until 2 November 2009, then on Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays again.  It has sleeping-cars (1, 2 & 3 bed compartments, standard with washbasin or deluxe with shower), 4- & 6-berth couchettes & ordinary seats, see the photos & information below or click for more pictures & information about this train.

• Day 2, travel from Munich to Budapest by air-conditioned Austrian 'RailJet' train, leaving Munich at 09:27 and arriving in Budapest Keleti station at 16:53.  A restaurant car is available, so treat yourself to lunch!  Map of Budapest showing Keleti station.

• Day 2, travel from Budapest to Bucharest overnight on the EuroNight sleeper train 'Ister', leaving Budapest at 19:15 and arriving Sighişoara at 05:09, Braşov at 07:05, Ploeşti 09:38 and Bucharest at 10:13 next morning (day 3).  The 'Ister' has modernised air-conditioned sleeping cars with 1, 2 or 3-bed compartments (the recommended option, see photos below) and 4 & 6-berth couchettes.  It also has a restaurant car for dinner & breakfast (Euros & Lei accepted, but reportedly not Hungarian Forints).  Enjoy the descent through the wonderful Alpine scenery of the Carpathian mountains between Brasov and Bucharest.

Train times Bucharest & Braşov ► London

• Day 1, travel from Bucharest to Budapest overnight on the EuroNight sleeper train 'Ister', leaving Bucharest at 18:50, Ploeşti at 19:30, Braşov at 21:35 & Sighişoara at 23:26, arriving Budapest Keleti station at 07:37 next morning.  The 'Ister' has modernised air-conditioned Romanian sleeping-cars (1- 2- & 3-bed rooms) and couchettes (4 & 6-berth) available.  Spend the morning in Budapest.

• Day 2, travel from Budapest to Munich by air-conditioned 'RailJet' train, leaving Budapest Keleti station at 13:10 and arriving in Munich Hauptbahnhof at 20:34.  A restaurant car is available, so treat yourself to lunch!

• Day 2, travel from Munich to Paris overnight by the City Night Line sleeper train 'Cassiopeia', leaving Munich Hauptbahnhof at 22:44 and arriving at Paris Gare de l'Est 09:30 next morning.  This excellent train runs daily in summer, but only 4 times a week in winter.  It runs daily until 13 Dec 2008, then on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays until 25 March 2009, then daily until 1 November 2009, then on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays again.  The trains has ordinary seats, couchettes (6-berth & 4-berth) and sleeping-cars (1, 2 or 3-bed rooms, deluxe with shower or standard with washbasin).  Click for more pictures and information about this train.  Walk from the Gare de l'Est to the Gare du Nord.

• Day 3, travel from Paris to London by Eurostar, leaving Paris Nord at 11:13 and arriving London St Pancras at 12:38.

Introducing the City Night Line Paris-Munich sleeper ...

The Paris-Munich overnight train is one of the German Railway's excellent City Night Line sleeper trains.  Called the 'Cassiopeia', it has modern 'Comfortline' sleeping-cars (1, 2 & 3-berth deluxe rooms with private shower and toilet, 1, 2 & 3-berth standard rooms with washbasin.  There is a shower at the end of the corridor for passengers in standard rooms, and all rooms have power-points for laptop computers), modern air-conditioned couchettes (choose between a berth in a 4- or 6-berth compartment), and ordinary seats (not recommended).  Inclusive fares are charged covering travel plus sleeping accommodation.  The sleeping-car fare includes a light breakfast. Click for more pictures and information about this train.

1, 2 or 3 bed sleeper: The most comfortable & civilised option, with proper beds & washbasin.		4-berth couchettes:  Ideal for families, much more space per person than 6-berth couchettes.		6-berth couchettes:  A very economical option, far better than a seat for just a few euros more...		Above:  One of the new 'Comfortline' sleeping-cars on the Paris-Munich City Night Line sleeper train.  More pictures...

From Budapest to Bucharest by sleeper train...

You can choose between a comfortable sleeper (carpeted 1- 2- or 3-bed rooms with proper beds and washbasin) or a basic couchette (6-bunk rooms).  The Romanians run comfortable modern sleeping cars like this one on the night trains between Budapest and Bucharest, bought second-hand from German railways.  In the Romanian sleepers, there's even a shower at the end of the corridor (although water pressure and temperature might not be brilliant, even if it works!).  Couchette cars on all trains have compartments with 6 seats by day which convert to bunks for night time use with rug, sheet and pillow supplied.  Couchettes are fairly basic - a proper bed in the sleeper is much more comfortable and secure, costs very little extra, and is the recommended option.
A Romanian sleeping-car, of the sort used on both the 'Ister' between Budapest and Bucharest.  They have comfortable, carpeted bedrooms.		A sleeper, set up here as a 1-berth, the same room can be used as 2 or 3-berth.		The same sleeper, in evening mode with beds folded away, sofa folded out.		6-bunk couchette.  The other 3 bunks are just out of shot to the left...

How much does it cost?

Each train is ticketed separately, so just add up the price for each leg of the journey...

1. London to Paris  by Eurostar:	Return fares start at £59 2nd class,  £149 1st class.  One-way fares start at £44 2nd class.  Advice on one-way Eurostar fares.  Child, youth & senior fares
2. Paris to Munich by  sleeper train (per person)	In a seat	In a couchette		In the sleeping-car (standard room *)
		6-bunk	4-bunk	3-bed	2-bed	1-bed
Savings fare, one way:	29 euro (£21)	39 euro (£28)	49 euro (£35)	-	-	-
Savings fare, return:	58 euro (£42)	78 euro (£56)	98 euro (£70)	-	-	-
Normal fare, one-way:	110 euro (£79)	122 euro (£87)	127 euro (£91)	139 euro (£99)	156 euro (£111)	258 euro (£184)
Normal fare, return:	220 euro (£158)	244 euro (£174)	254 euro (£182)	278 euro (£199)	312 euro (£222)	516 euro (£368)
Child 0-14 with own berth:	55 euro (£39)	61 euro (£44)	64 euro (£46)	70 euro (£50)	78 euro (£56)	-
Child 0-5:	Child 0-5 sharing berth travels free...
Savings fare = Special cheap fare, book in advance, limited availability, no refunds, no changes to travel plans.  Normal fare = fully flexible, refundable, buy any time. * The fare for a deluxe sleeper with shower is around 10%-25% more than the equivalent fare for a standard sleeper.
3. Munich to Budapest	Special fares from 39 euros (£33) one-way or 78 euros (£66) return 2nd class  Normal fare 105 euros (£88) each way.
4. Budapest to Bucharest	£69 each way in 6-berth couchettes, £74 each way in 4-berth couchettes  £80 each way in 3-bed sleeper, £91 each way in 2-bed sleeper (all per person)

How to buy tickets online, using www.raileurope.co.uk...

You can book from London as far as Budapest online, although Budapest-Bucharest needs to be booked by phone.  You may of course prefer to book all your tickets together by phone, but at least you can go online and see what fares area available for your dates of travel for the London-Budapest part of the journey!

• Step 1, go to www.raileurope.co.uk, and book the sleeper from Paris to Munich.  Tickets can be sent to any UK address or can be collected at the station.  Only UK credit cards are accepted.  It's best to book the Paris-Munich sleeper train first and double-check arrival an departure times before booking the Eurostar connection, in case times vary from the ones shown above.

• Step 2, after booking the Paris-Munich sleeper train, add it to your basket & click 'continue shopping'.  Now book the Eurostar from London to Paris and back.  Use the recommended Eurostar times above as a guide, but by all means book an earlier Eurostar outward or a later Eurostar on the way back if these have cheaper seats available or if you'd like to stop off in Paris.

• Step 3, now go to the German Railways website http://bahn.hafas.de, use the journey planner to bring up the connecting Munich-Budapest train shown in the train times above, and buy the ticket.  It will show if any cheap special fares are available.  Tickets can be sent to any address, or in some cases printed out yourself.