Sleeper Train to Satu Mare: A Journey Across Romania

February 4, 2024June 1, 2024 Koen 0 Comments

This review shows the wonderful journey from Bucharest to Carei and Satu Mare (Romania) by sleeper train.

A trip to Satu Mare

Apart from travelling to various international destinations, I also travel frequently within my adopted home country of Romania, exploring all the different sights and regions in this large and diverse country.

The județ (county) of Satu Mare was such a place I had not visited before, so I thought it would make for a great destination for a summer weekend break.

Apart from visiting the city and county seat of Satu Mare itself, I also planned to visit the nearby city of Carei, famous for its historic Károlyi Castle.

To reach Satu Mare, I essentially had the option of taking a daytime train, a sleeper train, or a domestic flight.

My choice fell on the overnight train, as it’s a much more time-effective and comfortable way to travel long distances, with private sleeper compartments being perfectly affordable in Romania.

Given that Carei is located one stop before Satu Mare on the railway line, I thought it would be most logical to disembark from the night train here, explore the city, and then continue later in the day with a train for the short hop to Satu Mare.

I booked a ticket from Bucharest to Carei two weeks prior to the travel date on the website of CFR, the Romanian Railways, and the total cost for a private sleeper compartment was 316.80 Romanian lei (€64).

satu mare romania — *The old town centre of Satu Mare. ©Paliparan*

satu mare city hall brutalist high-rise building — *Satu Mare City Hall, a brutalist high-rise. ©Paliparan*

Károlyi Castle Carei — *Károlyi Castle, Carei. ©Paliparan*

Bucharest to Carei by CFR sleeper train
Train IRN1741 – Operator: CFR Călători
Departure: 6.45pm – Arrival: 8.35am (+1)
Duration: 13h50m – Distance: 743 kilometres
Price: 64 euro for a private sleeper compartment

bucharest oradea carei satu mare night train map — *The route across Romania of the night train from Bucharest to Satu Mare, with the most important stops en route shown. ©OpenStreetMap/Paliparan*

Bucharest Gara de Nord

My journey began at Bucharest North station (București Gara de Nord), the main railway terminus of the Romanian capital.

Although it may not be Europe’s prettiest station, and certainly not the best maintained as neglect is visible everywhere, I always enjoy soaking up the classic railway vibes at Bucharest Gara de Nord.

bucharest gara de nord station — *București Gara de Nord, the main station of the Romanian capital of Bucharest. ©Paliparan*

bucharest gara de nord taxis — *Taxis in front of the main entrance of Bucharest Gara de Nord. ©Paliparan*

bucharest gara de nord — *The passage from the main entrance to the station platforms. ©Paliparan*

bucharest gara de nord railway station sleeper train — *People standing in front of the main departures board at Bucharest Gara de Nord station. ©Paliparan*

Boarding the sleeper train

After a bit of trainspotting, I headed to the platform where my sleeper train to Carei and Satu Mare would depart.

Since Bucharest Gara de Nord is a terminus, trains starting their journey here must be reversed into the station.

This was also the case for the Bucharest-Satu Mare sleeper train, which consisted of a sleeping car, couchette car, and several second class coaches.

In my Romanian train guide you can find a lot more information about train travel in the country, including an overview of all travel classes, as well as the most important domestic and international connections.

trains bucharest gara de nord — *Trains at Bucharest Gara de Nord. ©Paliparan*

double deck train locomotive driver romania — *Locomotive driver of a double deck train. ©Paliparan*

bucharest gara de nord sleeper train satu mare — *The sleeper train to Satu Mare is reversed into the station of Bucharest Gara de Nord. ©Paliparan*

sleeping car bucharest carei satu mare night train — *The ‘vagon de dormit’ (Romanian for sleeping car) of the Bucharest-Satu Mare night train. ©Paliparan*

Sleeper compartment

As I’ve reviewed a journey on a Romanian night train before, I will keep everything brief in this report.

My sleeper compartment on the Bucharest-Satu Mare night train was perfectly comfortable, featuring a lower and upper berth and a washbasin.

One bottle of water, as well as an amenity kit with basic items such as a washcloth, wet wipes, soap, a toothbrush and some toothpaste, were provided.

Sadly, the window was enormously dirty and had some condensation between the two layers of glass, which was less than ideal for enjoying the view outside.

There was another issue too, one that you will only come across on this type of sleeping car and not on other types (CFR operates quite a few different types of sleeping cars, and there is no guarantee which type will be used for your departure).

This particular type of sleeping car has a large backrest that encroaches into the personal space of the lower berth, significantly reducing its width compared to the upper berth.

Of course, there is an easy workaround when you are travelling alone and have your own private sleeping compartment, as you can use the lower berth for sitting and use the upper berth for sleeping.

However, when traveling with a companion, one of you still needs to use the lower berth, which is less than ideal if you prefer sleeping on your stomach or back (for side sleepers there are fewer issues).

private sleeper compartment cfr romania satu mare night train — *My private sleeper compartment on the Bucharest to Satu Mare night train. ©Paliparan*

*The lower berth in the sleeper compartment. ©Paliparan*

bed sleeper wagon ister cfr night train satu mare bucharest — *The upper berth of the sleeper compartment. ©Paliparan*

washbasin sleeper compartment — *Washbasin in my compartment. ©Paliparan*

dirty window train romania — *Unfortunately, the window was rather dirty and had condensation between the layers of glass. ©Paliparan*

Departure from Bucharest

The sleeper train departed from Bucharest right on schedule for its 779-kilometre-long overnight journey to Satu Mare.

I would get off the train 36 kilometres before the final stop at Satu Mare at the station of Carei, a journey which would take 13 hours and 50 minutes.

If you do the math, you will find that the sleeper train doesn’t go much faster than 54 kilometres per hour on average, which is quite typical for Romania given the poor condition of the railway tracks.

It’s therefore certainly a leisurely journey, but in the comfort of your own sleeper compartment that’s not a bad thing, as you get plenty of time to watch the scenery, rest, read a book, or sleep.

Once we passed the railway yards around Gara de Nord and the suburbs of Bucharest, we proceeded onto the Wallachian plain, heading north towards Ploiești.

sleeper train bed — *Watching in comfort how my train rolls out of Bucharest. ©Paliparan*

abandoned factory — *Riding by abandoned factories and grain elevators. ©Paliparan*

romania wallachia train view — *Watching the world go by from the train window. ©Paliparan*

Ploiești Vest railway station — *Ploiești Vest station. ©Paliparan*

Dinner on the train

As there are no dining cars on domestic Romanian sleeper trains, it’s essential that you bring along your own supply of food and drinks.

That was exactly what I did, as I made myself a charcuterie board with some delicious cheeses, cold cuts, and garlic bread.

I also brought a bottle of excellent Moldovan sparkling wine on board with me.

It unquestionably resulted in a wonderful evening on the railway tracks, sipping sparkling wine and enjoying a good snack while watching the scenery unfold.

charcuterie board cheese cold cuts sparkling wine satu mare night train romania — *I made myself a small charcuterie board on the train, and brought my own bottle of sparkling wine. ©Paliparan*

Across the Carpathians

If you travel on the Bucharest-Satu Mare sleeper train in summer, you can still witness how the train crosses the Carpathian Mountains in the evening while the sun is slowly setting.

Soon after the train departs from Ploiești, the Carpathian foothills start to appear, and they turn into proper mountains once the train reaches Sinaia.

Being the most important of the Carpathian resort towns along this railway line, Sinaia is an important stop for the sleeper train,

Sinaia is well worth a visit, both for its mountain scenery and for Peleș Castle, which functioned as the summer residence for Romania’s former royal family.

carpathian foothills — *The foothills of the Carpathians appear. ©Paliparan*

satu mare sleeper train — *Since my sleeping car was located at the rear of the train, I enjoyed a decent view of the carriages in front, especially around sharp corners. ©Paliparan*

sinaia railway line — *Approaching Sinaia. ©Paliparan*

sinaia railway station — *Sinaia railway station. ©Paliparan*

Regio Călători train sinaia — *A Regio Călători train at Sinaia. ©Paliparan*

From Sinaia to Brașov

After Sinaia, the Bucharest-Satu Mare sleeper train continues its journey up the mountain valley (Prahova Valley) and stops at the mountain resort towns of Bușteni, Azuga, and Predeal before descending down the mountains towards Brașov.

The best mountain scenery can be admired from the left-hand side of the train when riding north between Sinaia and Bușteni.

Another excellent way to appreciate the beautiful mountain views is by walking to the rear of the train and observing the scenery over the railway tracks from the vestibule.

Unfortunately, there was a bit of cloud cover this time around when we approached Bușteni, which obscured the highest mountain peaks such as Caraiman, a 2,384-metre (7,822 ft) high mountain topped with a summit cross.

sinaia brasov railway line romania bucharest satu mare sleeper train — *Rear view from the train as we ride out of Sinaia and make our way towards Brasov. ©Paliparan*

*Riding non-stop through Poiana Țapului station. ©Paliparan*

Sinaia Bușteni railway line — *Stretch of railway line between Sinaia and Bușteni. ©Paliparan*

Bușteni station master romania bucharest satu mare sleeper train — *The station master of Bușteni gives the sign for our train to depart. ©Paliparan*

Bușteni railway station sleeper train romania — *Riding out of the station of Bușteni. ©Paliparan*

Bușteni railway line — *Departing Bușteni. ©Paliparan*

Bușteni Predeal railway line Carpathians — *Making our way across the Carpathians from Bușteni to Predeal. ©Paliparan*

Into the night

At 9.35pm, our sleeper train pulled into the station of Brașov, a major stop along the route north.

During the night, the sleeper train will slowly makes it away across Transylvania on the mainline from Brașov to Cluj-Napoca via Sighișoara, Mediaș and Aiud.

I finished the last of the sparkling wine and went to sleep early, knowing that a full day of sightseeing awaited me tomorrow.

Brașov railway station — *Arriving at the station of Brașov. ©Paliparan*

sparkling wine train — *A final glass of Moldovan sparkling wine before going to sleep. ©Paliparan*

Morning on the railway tracks

After an excellent night of sleep I woke up some minutes after our sleeper train had left the station of Oradea at 7.11am.

A lot of people using the Bucharest-Satu Mare sleeper train use it to travel to Oradea, as the 7am arrival is certainly convenient for travel to this beautiful city on the border with Hungary.

After departure from Oradea, the sleeper train traverses the railway line towards Carei and Satu Mare, which runs almost parallel to the Romanian-Hungarian border.

The terrain in this part of Romania is as flat as a pancake, with the scenery characterised by various types of agricultural fields and little variation.

As the views weren’t the most exciting, I took my time to freshen up and to prepare for our arrival in Carei.

satu mare sleeper train window view — *Morning view over north-western Romania. ©Paliparan*

Pannonian steppe — *The part of north-western Romania that borders Hungary is as flat as a pancake. ©Paliparan*

rural romania train window view satu mare — *View from the window. ©Paliparan*

*Approaching Săcuieni Bihor station. ©Paliparan*

Săcuieni Bihor Székelyhíd station — *Săcuieni Bihor station. ©Paliparan*

Arrival at Carei

After a stop in the small town of Valea lui Mihai, which just like Oradea is another important junction and border station from where a railway line branches off into Hungary, our train continued towards Carei.

The Bucharest-Satu Mare sleeper train arrived spot on time in Carei.

I lingered a while longer at the platform to witness the departure of the sleeper train on its final stretch towards Satu Mare.

bales of hay — *Bales of hay in a field, as seen from the train. ©Paliparan*

freight train locomotive satu mare — *Overtaking a freight train. ©Paliparan*

bucharest satu mare sleeper train carei station — *The Bucharest to Satu Mare sleeper train has arrived at the station of Carei. ©Paliparan*

Carei railway station

Carei’s railway station was built between 1910 and 1912 when the town was still was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

It’s therefore no surprise that the train station looks a lot like stations across the border in Hungary.

Carei still has a Hungarian majority at 52.14%, with Romanians making up 42.39% of the town’s population of 18,957.

In Romania, towns with a significant ethnic majority or minority display bilingual or even trilingual station signs, and Carei is no exception, as the Hungarian town name of Nagykároly is also written on it.

I had a look around the charming but somewhat neglected railway station and then ventured into town to discover what else Carei had to offer.

koen carei satu mare railway station romania — *Yours truly at the station of Carei after a great journey on the Bucharest-Satu Mare sleeper train. ©Paliparan*

carei station canopy — *Standing underneath the station canopy. ©Paliparan*

carei station factories — *The railway line extends out of Carei to the north-east towards Satu Mare. ©Paliparan*

carei railway station — *Carei railway station. ©Paliparan*

carei railway station satu mare night train — *The station building of Carei, which is called *Nagykároly in Hungarian*. ©Paliparan*

station departure board carei — *Station departure board at Carei. ©Paliparan*

carei railway station hall — *The main hall of Carei railway station. ©Paliparan*

carei train station — *Inside the station. ©Paliparan*

front entrance carei railway station — *The front entrance of Carei railway station. ©Paliparan*

carei railway train station — *Carei railway station. ©Paliparan*

Conclusion

Sleeper trains make for a convenient and comfortable way to cover large distances, and that’s certainly the case when travelling across Romania from Bucharest to Carei and Satu Mare.

I enjoyed a good glass of wine and some beautiful views from the window in the evening, before getting a good night of sleep and finally waking up fully rested at my destination in the morning.

At just 64 euro for a private sleeper compartment, the night train was excellent value too, making it highly competitive with a domestic flight.

If you need to travel across Romania from one side of the country to the other, I can really recommend taking a sleeper train.