travel by car train

[Bill & Charlie Burns]

Hi All,
Has anyone ever travelled on car train from Nth Austria to Turkey which is only 200 km
from Sunny Beach. Be interested to hear your comments.

Cheers
Bill & Charlie

[Bill & Charlie Burns]

Just keeping you upto date, have booked car/train for part of journey from Sth England to Elenite in April
will keep all who are interested intouch if wanted.

[Di & Sean]

Hi Bill & Charlie,
Sounds very interesting, look forward to hearing all about your trip when you get to Elenite.
Have a good trip, see you soon.

[Bill & Charlie Burns]

Hi All

Well its booked and tickets have arrived, on Midnight train in Austria on 23rd so should be in App;
around mid afternoon on the 24th, so just down to loading car now.

[Bill & Charlie Burns]

Morning All

Well we are here after a very amusing journey, for thos of you that read PFB dont moan if the wording is different as we are on Saga tours and the old brain matter is not the same all the time and forget things and remember other bits.

Journey in the end took 4 days and 3 nights with a total of 1010 miles from door to door, 3 full tanks and about 80euro road taxes and customs

Day 1
left home at 05.00 approx for drive to euro tunnel, managed to get on earlier train to calais arrived at 08.00 just in time for rush hour, but was not too bad, made various stops on way but did not venture to far from car as it was packed to the hilt and only 3 inches of rear view window, with every thing including another ironing board thats 4 Charlie has bought and she promises this is the one and dont need any more, ( watch this space !!) Drove right down into germany with a total of 480 miles before stoping for the night in a great little town with the hotel having a locked carpark, we arrived there around 15.30 and there was a fish fair going on in the centre with bands and bars, sat around for abit taking it all in before going for a well earnt meal and beer in a bistro, beer and food were excellent although the euro spoils the price some what, never the less it was fun, got to bed around 22.00 ready for a 09.00 start in morning to Villach in Austria.
Day 2

Got up went for breakfast and loaded car then left around 09.30, really good drive right the way through to the border, few road works but no serious delay and arrived on the out skirts of Villach around 16.00 some 400 miles later, thats when Tomtom went into one and sent us 23 km the wrong way, after turning round we head for the centre of town to find staion as we think, no luck but we do find 2 policemen so as any good male does gets wife to go and ask, after several mins and lots of arm waving she comes back with the big i sorted it grin on her face, ( ok that was her job for 30 yrs ) off we head to what can only say was a goods yard and pull up behind loads of german cars with Turkish drivers in.
We joined the long line of cars and wait our turn. after about an hour we are at the front of the booking line and stopped infront of a piece of hinged wood, we are then instructed to drive over it if it falls down we are on the bottom level of the train of which it falls down. Once we have ticket issued we head off for a meal and a few beers ready for 22.00 loading and hopefully a good nights sleep. On our return there are about 20 Turks and 3 official people standing around our car waving and pointing and telling us there is a big problem, wot yes your car is too high and wil not fit on the train. To be continued later !!!

[Bill & Charlie Burns]

Well here we are again, with the final phase and must say well worth reading so feet up coffee beside you and we will begin.

Ther we are standing there waiting to see what will happen, officials have walked away, Turkish peoplee are just milling around
when one women turk comes up and says go give them euros and they will let you on, god idea we thought so off i trot to the
booking guy with piece of hinged wood, and in my oxford german start talking, and must say making no sense to him or me, so
use my best english How Much Do You F---- want, You must see my boss is the reply Great!! so off i go back to car with face like thunder.
Charlie !!! go sort these ----- people out before i go into one, so off she goes about 10mins later back she comes beaming like a cheshire
cat, saying no problem they will just juggle the cars around to get us on, Yes result.
So now we are i am joined in long line of cars whilst charlie must wait on platform before boarding sleeper, you must realise this train is
out of Harry Potter times and not in the best condition, we start loading and arms and horns going every where ,but now is my turn to get
into the black hole with men wearing miners lamps to guide you on!! her i am following this 4x4 when we come to a dead holt, the 4x4 has
wedged into the roof, now you have 4 loaders jumping up and down on the 4x4 to unwedge it as it goes between carriages, great i can now
see my car wedged and dented, any way there is no way out but forward so off we go, no problem this i great, get out the car and have gap
of 9" so why pick on us, English plates i dont know but we are on and no damage.
I now have to get off this black hole, no one telling you where to go or nothing so i head for the front and get off to try and find Charlie.as i walk
along the so called platform i notice that people are taking on hampers , bedding and gallons of water, now thinking jesus there is going to be
one hell of a party tonight and all we have bought is 3 ltr of water and small bar of chocolate with an over night bag, wished we had never gone to bar
now and bought all the food we left in the car as we wont be sleeping. Once on the train wego to the caraigge we are allocated, we are taken there by the
guy with the block of wedged timber he is now the porter and the guy who was the one to say your car is to big is now the accomidation manager, god
they are multy tasking, whos driving!!!!
We get on into our box and luckly for us we booked a cabin alone as it is shared by six normaly with 3 bunk beds either side, its bad enough when you sit oppisite each other your knees touch, any way we are here and lets get ready for bed as it is almost 24-00 and we have a long day ahead in morning, this is good says Charlie they have given us 4 clean sheets more than we need , so we make up the 2 beds with enough of the horse hair seats being covered. and get our heads down, well try as it is made outside with people talking and running around plus the train is throwing you all over the place,but hey we are on route and have th time to sit back / lay and enjoy, must say though we have been on the orient express only on a day trip but this one is at the bottom of the line as fair as creature comforts come but we are laughing all the time and saying well its better than driving and at 07-30 we dock and then by 15-00 we will be in our app; so goodnight from me and goodnight from her will complete latter, next part is the finale if your still interested that is if not just say and will close posting. cheers the sun is up and its time to get me tan going

[Bill & Charlie Burns]

Well here we are again, with the final phase and must say well worth reading so feet up coffee beside you and we will begin.

Ther we are standing there waiting to see what will happen, officials have walked away, Turkish peoplee are just milling around
when one women turk comes up and says go give them euros and they will let you on, god idea we thought so off i trot to the
booking guy with piece of hinged wood, and in my oxford german start talking, and must say making no sense to him or me, so
use my best english How Much Do You F---- want, You must see my boss is the reply Great!! so off i go back to car with face like thunder.
Charlie !!! go sort these ----- people out before i go into one, so off she goes about 10mins later back she comes beaming like a cheshire
cat, saying no problem they will just juggle the cars around to get us on, Yes result.
So now we are i am joined in long line of cars whilst charlie must wait on platform before boarding sleeper, you must realise this train is
out of Harry Potter times and not in the best condition, we start loading and arms and horns going every where ,but now is my turn to get
into the black hole with men wearing miners lamps to guide you on!! her i am following this 4x4 when we come to a dead holt, the 4x4 has
wedged into the roof, now you have 4 loaders jumping up and down on the 4x4 to unwedge it as it goes between carriages, great i can now
see my car wedged and dented, any way there is no way out but forward so off we go, no problem this i great, get out the car and have gap
of 9" so why pick on us, English plates i dont know but we are on and no damage.
I now have to get off this black hole, no one telling you where to go or nothing so i head for the front and get off to try and find Charlie.as i walk
along the so called platform i notice that people are taking on hampers , bedding and gallons of water, now thinking jesus there is going to be
one hell of a party tonight and all we have bought is 3 ltr of water and small bar of chocolate with an over night bag, wished we had never gone to bar
now and bought all the food we left in the car as we wont be sleeping. Once on the train wego to the caraigge we are allocated, we are taken there by the
guy with the block of wedged timber he is now the porter and the guy who was the one to say your car is to big is now the accomidation manager, god
they are multy tasking, whos driving!!!!
We get on into our box and luckly for us we booked a cabin alone as it is shared by six normaly with 3 bunk beds either side, its bad enough when you sit oppisite each other your knees touch, any way we are here and lets get ready for bed as it is almost 24-00 and we have a long day ahead in morning, this is good says Charlie they have given us 4 clean sheets more than we need , so we make up the 2 beds with enough of the horse hair seats being covered. and get our heads down, well try as it is made outside with people talking and running around plus the train is throwing you all over the place,but hey we are on route and have th time to sit back / lay and enjoy, must say though we have been on the orient express only on a day trip but this one is at the bottom of the line as fair as creature comforts come but we are laughing all the time and saying well its better than driving and at 07-30 we dock and then by 15-00 we will be in our app; so goodnight from me and goodnight from her will complete latter, next part is the finale if your still interested that is if not just say and will close posting. cheers the sun is up and its time to get me tan going

[tomhoneyman]

Oh My God!!!! I thought Bourgas airport was a nightmare!!! lol.xxx

[janet1]

sounds like fun !!!!!!!!!!!

[Bill & Charlie Burns]

So here we are back again.

We fell to sleep straight away until wakened by police at a border, its 04-30 and we think they speak Bulgarian, thats handy we say its on time to dock at 07-30 so all is going to plan, we have passports checked and back cat napping till around 06-00, then we get up to have quick wash and use the loo, Shock No 1 toilet is smaller than broom cupboard with pedal so once you have done whatever you push the pedal and trap door opens onto railway line, ( Dont leave flap open otherwise you get sucked down!!! i tell Charlie ) go into wash room and thats about the same size with wash bason about the size of a saucepan you boil 4 eggs in with no plug and only cold water, this is going to be some wash. You try standing on one leg doing 70mph and pumping a pedal to get water out of, anyway once we have done what we can Charlie comes back and says its really quite out there bill do you think we are running late. Hang on i will put my sat nav on and see how far to go. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it comes up with 1200kms WHATthats got to be wrong, so i go one way up train and charlie the other to ask someone, my way not a site of anyone but charlie comes back with the face of oops dreadful over site made here, the train is a 32 hr journey and not 8 as we were given to understand, so out comes the ticket and timetable and as sure as eggs are eggs it says 23-30 load and 07-30 unload, what it fails to say anywhere is 24hrs later.
Now we are -------ed clothes for one day, 1ltr water left and a small bar of chocolate, mobile phones have no battery and no way of informing those who are worried about 2 OAPs well nearly, travelling somewhere in darkest europe. What do we do laugh and say oh well we always want to see europe and its better than driving anyway.
by now people are getting up and the long line to the loo is something to be desired, 60 people per coach x 5 coaches and 3 loos in each coach imagine the smell and the railway track. When we booked they said there was no reastrant car so hence the turks bringing loads of food on, luckly for us there was a buffet car where they did snacks and drinks, rather expencive but at least we could eat and drink.
well the day went pretty fast considering, but some of the places we past through were less desirable and what ever you think of Uk it is alot better than what these poor people have, floods everywhere and towns under water, during the day we stop around 6 times either to change engines or for customs, but we managed to laugh the whole time, we had a few embarrasing moments but thats another story and only the nearest and dearest will be told!!
Hoorah we arrive in Turkey a little late but we are here, we are at the border and on come customs for passports etc, we need a stamp which cost 15 euros each off we get to the office and give the man our money and get the stamp, great we will be on our way now, nope 2 hrs later we leave, get to the siding where we are to be unloaded, every one running round like headless chickens going no-where , now we go to unload even in daylight it is inpossible to see in the carriages and peopl are falling down the gaps or banging there heads, engines reving and fumes filling up any space thats left, now weget off and join a endless line for customs for the car, leave car go get stamp return move car 2 mtr wait this goes on for about 3 hrs, we are now at the front of the line. OPen says this big official Turkish guy, oh shit no we are going to get done as everything is packed from pillar to post not even foom for news paper, he has made others empty there car and mine took us 3 days to pack. Beer !! No, Ciggarettes !! No then you go , wot is he being nice to me , get in car Charlie before this guy changes his mind, Unlucky for us satnav does not work in turkey and we have no maps either, but a turckish guy told us turn left find a big Mosque and turn right and carry on to border, so off we troat not having a clue where we are or going, we find the mosque and turn right staright into a accident and the road is blocked, Great evryone running around trying to be crime investecators with nowhere to go cant turn round and bos infront, off the bus gets for guys pull a post down a lets the bus and us through.
We arrive some one and half hours later at the turckish bierder with more stamps and questions, but the good thing is the computor is linked to the railway customs and after 1 hr we are stamped and through with no search.. now we arrive at BG border , oops everything on the forbidden list is in our car, now what. What have you in the car, Bedding , clothes cutlery ect,ect is it all new no i say 50-50, charlie says something then me and her are having heated disgustion ,Guy looks at us and thinks ---- this i dont want this on a sunday and says have a nice holiday and go PLEASE.
The journey to S/Beach went like a dream roads empty but loads of pot holes but all in all a good trip.

Now would we do it again, if we are here for more than 6 weeks yes, esp as we now know what not to do , would we load car up with everything again no you would never be as lucky as that again we think, well we would not be, price wise would think a little more than driving but less stessfull in the end. Well thats our trip any one want details of this route just email us, we are now here for a few months+ unwinding we hope before looking on how we will get back, have a great holiday to those of you coming out and at present weather is 100%
Cheers from him and cheers from Her. sorry if there are spelling mistakes but cannot be bothered to check them

[Andy&Kaz]

Sounds fab ! Thanks so much for sharing this - made me smile loads !
Not sure we could ever attempt it with 2 kids but great reading
Karen

[tomhoneyman]

Im Exhausted!!!!! Tom.x

[Dave]

Sounsd like you had a hell of an experience , thanks for sharing it.