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Train times London ► Belgrade:

• Day 1:  Travel from London to Brussels by Eurostar, leaving London St Pancras at 12:57, arriving Brussels 16:03.

• Day 1:  Travel from Brussels to Cologne by high-speed Thalys train, leaving Brussels at 17:25, arriving in Cologne Hauptbahnhof at 19:45.

• Alternatively, if you'd prefer a safer connection in Cologne (and perhaps time to climb Cologne cathedral towers and have a meal), you can leave London earlier, at 10:00, changing in Brussels to arrive Cologne at 15:45.

• Day 1:  Travel from Cologne to Vienna on the excellent City Night Line hotel train 'Donau Kurier', leaving Cologne Hauptbahnhof at 20:06 and arriving in Vienna (Westbahnhof) at 08:35.  The 'Donau Kurier' has sleeping-cars (1 & 2 berth deluxe with shower, 1, 2 or 4 berth standard sleepers with washbasin), couchettes (4 & 6 berth compartments), reclining seats & a bar-restaurant car, see the photos & information below.  The train travels along the famous Rhine Valley between Koblenz and Frankfurt, so if you are in a sleeper and your compartment happens to be on the left-hand side of the train, switch off the lights and watch the Rhine pass by, mountains and castles lit by moonlight, while sipping a glass of Riesling.  Wonderful..!

• Day 2: Travel from Vienna to Belgrade ('Beograd' in Serbo-Croat) on the 'Avala', leaving Vienna Westbahnhof at 09:52 and arriving Belgrade at 20:43.  The 'Avala' is a modern air-conditioned InterCity service, with a Serbian restaurant car serving drinks, snacks and full meals.

On board the City Night Line hotel train from Cologne to Vienna...

The City Night Line 'Donau Kurier' is a travelling hotel, with bar-restaurant-reception car, distinctive double-decker sleeping-cars with 1 & 2-bed deluxe sleepers with private shower & toilet, 1, 2 & 4 bed standard sleepers with washbasin, single-deck couchette cars with 4 & 6 berth compartments, and reclining seats.  A wonderful way to travel..!  The sleeper berths come fully made up with sheets and duvets.  All sleeper passengers get mineral water in the evening and a light breakfast served in their compartment next morning, deluxe sleeper passengers also get a complimentary glass of wine in the evening.  Towels and toiletries are provided, including shampoo and shower gel in the deluxe sleeper.  Couchette passengers get mineral water, each couchette is provided with clean sheets, blanket and pillow.  The bar-restaurant is open to all passengers, and it's normally open to about 2am.  If you like, you can book a table for dinner in the restaurant car before you travel, by emailing service@citynightline.ch or using the online form at www.bahn.de/citynightline.

				3-D panorama, City Night Line 2-berth deluxe sleeper 3-D panorama, double-deck sleeper corridor City Night Line sleeper, couchette & seat numbering plans City Night Line website: www.bahn.de/citynightline.
One of the impressive double-deck sleeping-cars in the new City Night Line red & white livery...		A table for dinner in the train's bar-restaurant.  There's also a bar serving drinks & snacks.

Deluxe sleeper: Compact rooms on top deck, 1 or 2 berths, table & chairs, shower & toilet.  3-D panorama.		Standard sleeper:  Very compact 1 or 2 berth rooms with washbasin.  Mainly lower deck.		4-berth couchettes:  Ideal for families.  Much more space per person than 6-berth, so worth the extra few euros.		6-berth couchettes:  Shown here with middle bunks lowered to form sofa.  Very economical, far better than a seat.		Reclining seats:  The cheapest way to travel, but a couchette is a far better option.

On board the InterCity 'Avala' from Vienna to Belgrade...

This is a modern, air-conditioned train with a restaurant car serving inexpensive meals and a bar serving snacks & drinks.  Treat yourself to lunch & dinner in the restaurant..!
Left:  Comfortable 2nd class seats in a modern Serbian air-conditioned coach on the Vienna-Belgrade 'Avala'.		Above:  The InterCity ' Avala' seen at Budapest Keleti station.  Photo courtesy of B Krisztian

Train times Belgrade ► London:

• Day 1:  Travel from Belgrade to Vienna on the air-conditioned  InterCity train 'Avala' leaving Belgrade at 06:45 and arriving Vienna at 18:08.  Restaurant car available.

• Day 1:  Travel from Vienna to Cologne overnight, leaving Vienna (Westbahnhof) at 20:35 and arriving at Cologne at 08:42 next morning.  This train is the excellent City Night Line hotel train 'Donau Kurier', with double-deck sleeping-cars (1 or 2-bed deluxe sleepers with en suite shower & WC, 1- 2- or 4-bed standard sleepers with washbasin), couchettes (4-bunk or 6-bunk), reclining seats and a bar-restaurant car.  See the photos & information above.

• Day 2:  Travel from Cologne to Brussels by high-speed Thalys train, leaving Cologne at 10:14 and arriving Brussels 12:35.

• Day 2:  Travel from Brussels to London by Eurostar, leaving Brussels at 14:59 arriving London St Pancras at 15:56.

Fares:

1. London to Cologne  by Eurostar + Thalys:	London to Cologne by Eurostar and Thalys or ICE starts at just £79 return.  This fare is available online at www.eurostar.com or from Deutsche Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66, and certain other agencies.  Book in advance to get the cheapest fares (max 90 days), as the fare rises as cheaper seats are sold.  One-way fares are usually more than a return, so check return fares and throw away the return half if this is the cheapest option.
2. Cologne to Vienna  by City Night Line:	In a reclining seat:	In a couchette		In the sleeping-car
		6-berth	4-berth	4-berth	2-berth	single	deluxe 2-berth	deluxe single
Savings fare one-way:	£21	£28	£35	£42	£49	£92	£85	£128
Savings fare return:	£42	£56	£70	£84	£99	£184	£170	£256
Full fare one-way:	£65	£78	£81	£91	£111	£164	£161	£220
Full fare return:	£130	£156	£162	£182	£222	£328	£322	£440
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.
3. Vienna to Belgrade:	About £42 one-way, £84 return 2nd class About £63 one-way, £126 return 1st class

Alternative options London-Vienna:

See the London to Austria page for alternative journeys from London to Vienna, routed via Paris.

Alternative option Vienna-Belgrade:

If you want to spend a day in Vienna on the way, or would simply prefer a morning arrival in Belgrade, there is a daily overnight train between Vienna and Belgrade, leaving at 19:48 and arriving Belgrade at 06:39 next morning.  Couchettes (6-bunk) and a sleeping-car (1- 2- and 3-bed rooms with washbasin - recommended option) are available.  Returning, it leaves Belgrade at 22:00 and arrives in Vienna at 08:57.  See the London to Austria page for details of train services between London and Vienna.

How to buy tickets online:

The best and cheapest way to buy tickets is online, because there's no booking fee and all the special offers are there for you to see.  It involves three stages on two websites, so it's best to engage brain, jot down exactly what specific trains you want to book on what specific dates, and do a dry run on both sites to check prices and availability before booking for real.  Here's how:

• Step 1, go to www.raileurope.co.uk and using the train times on this page as a guide, buy a combined Eurostar+Thalys ticket from London to Cologne and back.  On the Rail Europe home page, simply enter 'London', 'Cologne' and your dates of travel.  The further ahead you book, the more likely you are to see the cheapest fares.  Tickets can be posted to any UK address.  Obviously, remember that your return date of travel from Cologne to London will be the day after your departure date from Vienna and Belgrade.  One-way fares are usually more expensive than a cheap return fare, so for one-way trips buy a return ticket and throw away the return half.  Bookings for Eurostar+Thalys open 90 days (3 months) before departure.

• Step 2, still on www.raileurope.co.uk, click 'continue shopping'.  Enter 'Vienna' (select 'Vienna (AT) if prompted) to 'Belgrade' (select 'Belgrade (YU)' if prompted), and select a 9am departure time.  Book a ticket from Vienna to Belgrade on the 'Avala', one-way.  It should work, but may not!  This website will not book the return leg from Belgrade back to Vienna, in fact this cannot be booked online at all, so either book your return train from Belgrade to Vienna when you get to Belgrade or try arranging it through the Wasteels office at Belgrade by emailing wasteels@eunet.yu as explained in the section below.

• Step 3, go to www.bahn.de/citynightline, select 'English' top right, and buy a sleeper or couchette ticket from Cologne (Köln in German) to Vienna aboard the "Donau Kurier" City Night Line sleeper train, looking for the cheap 'Savings' fares.  Your simply book online and print out your own ticket in .PDF format using your PC printer.  Easy!  Make sure you select the type of couchette or sleeper that you want.  Bookings for City Night Line open 180 days (6 months) before departure.

How to buy tickets by phone:

If you prefer to buy tickets by phone, call Deutsche Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66 (lines open 09:00-17:00 Mon-Fri, no booking fee),  or www.europeanrail.com on 020 7619 1083 (lines open 09:00-17:00 Mon-Fri, £25 booking fee) or Rail Europe on 0844 848 5 848 (lines open 08:00-21:00 Mon-Fri, 09:00-18:00 Sat, 10:00-17:00 Sun, £6 booking fee).  Click here for a list of agencies and other useful information on how to buy European train tickets.

If you have any difficulty making the return train reservation out of Belgrade, you can enlist the help of the Wasteels agency in Belgrade station, see the 'booking trains in Serbia' section below.

In theory, Serbian railways' reservation system is now linked to the western European railway computer reservation systems, so seat, couchette or sleeper reservations can be made on trains starting in Belgrade from most reservation offices or train booking agencies across Europe, including UK European rail booking agencies.  In practice however, the computer link goes down quite lot and your agency may tell you they are unable to reserve trains starting in Belgrade.  If so, no problem, just email or call the Wasteels travel agency at Belgrade station who can make reservations and/or sell you the travel ticket as well.  You can pick up and pay for the reservations/tickets when you get to Belgrade. Their contact details are:

Putovanja Wasteels
E-mail: wasteels@eunet.yu

Phone: +381 11 265 8868

Agency representative Mr Popovic speaks good English and will be glad to make train reservations for you.  He can also book tickets (probably cheaper than elsewhere in Europe).  Payment must be made in cash in Serbian Dinars, which should be no problem because there is a bureau de change next to the Wasteels office.  Both offices are situated in Belgrade main station at the exit gate in line with the buffer stops.

London to Podgorica & Bar

Travel from London to Belgrade as shown above.  The Belgrade-Podgorica-Bar railway is one of Europe's most scenic.  There is both a daytime train and an overnight sleeper, which uses second-hand French sleepers with 1 2 & 3 bed room with washbasin.  You can find train times online at http://bahn.hafas.de (English button upper right).  Use the Wasteels agency in Belgrade recommended above to arrange your train tickets and reservations from Belgrade to Podgorica or Bar train tickets and reservations.

There is no railway along the coast, but buses run from Podgorica or Bar to most coastal destinations in Montenegro.

London ► Skopje:

• Travel from London to Belgrade as shown in the London to Belgrade section above.  You arrive in Belgrade at 20:55 from Vienna

• A night train leaves Belgrade at 22:20 for Skopje, arriving in Skopje at 07:29 next morning.  Couchettes (6-bunk) and a sleeping-car (1- 2- and 3-bed rooms with washbasin, the recommended option) are available.

• However, there's a chance that you might miss the connection if the train from Vienna runs late.  You may prefer to spend the night in Belgrade and take a daytime train between Belgrade and Skopje leaving Belgrade at 14:05, arriving Skopje 22:54 - you can check train times at http://bahn.hafas.de.

Skopje ► London:

• Leave Skopje at 06:12 arriving Belgrade at 14:59 - you can check train times at http://bahn.hafas.de.  Spend the night in a hotel in Belgrade.

• Travel from Belgrade to London via Vienna as shown above.

Fares:

The fare from Belgrade to Skopje is about £29 one way, £58 return 2nd class, plus a small couchette or sleeper charge.

The Thomas Cook European timetable has train & ferry times for every country in Europe, plus currency & climate information.  Published since 1873 and costing £13.50, it's essential for any serious traveller and an inspiration for armchair travellers.  More information on what the Thomas Cook Timetable contains.  You can buy the latest monthly edition online at www.thomascooktimetables.com with worldwide delivery, or buy it in person from any UK branch of Thomas Cook (ask at the bureau de change).  Or buy the independent traveller's edition from Amazon.co.uk:  Winter 2007/8 edition (December 2007 to June 200