Or are you one of those who wants to experience the Eastern Express and go to Van? Or, like us, do you want to skip the struggle of finding a place on the Eastern Express and have a similar experience on a more beautiful route?! Here you go, a 25-hour adventure to Van on a unique train journey: everything about the Lake Van Express is here!
When I couldn't find a ticket for the Eastern Express despite searching for 15 days, I said, come on, aren't there other places where we can make a long journey like this that will also offer beautiful views? Aaand the Lake Van Express came up.
Soon we may hear the saying "they beat up anyone who doesn't go to Kars on the Eastern Express" as "they beat up anyone who doesn't go to Van on the Lake Van Express". When it comes to views, the Lake Van Express seems two notches ahead of the Eastern Express. I say this very clearly.
Lake Van Express
Let's start a wonderful weekend getaway. Although we said weekend getaway, since there are few departures for now you'll need to take at least 1 day off. In fact, if you want to explore Van too like us, you can take 2-3 days off!
In this post we'll briefly share our observations and write a post that will guide you. We'll update the information, from general to specific, as things change. Enjoy reading..
Step by step: for the post where you can read about our experience on the Lake Van Express, come this way.
General Information - Route and Train Times
The Lake Van Express follows the routes "Ankara 11.00 – Irmak 12.20 – Kayseri 17.58 – Sivas 21.38 – Malatya 01.59 – Elazığ 04.58 – Tatvan 12.09" or the reverse, "Tatvan 07.00 – Elazığ 14.05 – Malatya 16.56 – Sivas 21.56 – Kayseri 00.51 – Irmak 06.00 – Ankara 07.20". Our choice was the direction from Ankara to Tatvan!
We're adding all the stations the train passes through below;
Irmak, Yahşihan, Kırıkkale, Balışıh, Çerikli, Sekili, Yerköy, Caferli, Şefaatli, Sarıkent, Karasenir, Kanlıca, Yenifakılı, Himmetdede, Boğazköprü, Kayseri, Sarıoğlan, Karaözü, Yeniçubuk, İhsanlı, Şarkışla, Hanlı, Gözmen, Bedirli, Kalın, Yapı, Sivas, Taşlıdere, Bostankaya, Yenikangal, Çetinkaya, Demiriz, Akçamağara, Akgedik, Hekimhan, Malatya, Battalgazi, Fırat, Kuşsarayı, Pınarlı, Baskil, Şefkat, Yolçatı, Elazığ, Yurt, Çağlar, Muratbağı, Palu, Beyhan, Ekerek, Suveren, Genç, Turna, Nurik, Solhan, Kale, Muş, Sıcaksu, Rahova and finally Tatvan.
Departures run 2 days a week;
- It leaves Ankara every Tuesday and Sunday at 11.00 and arrives in Tatvan the next day at 12.09.
- It leaves Tatvan every Tuesday and Thursday at 07.00 and arrives in Ankara the next day at 07.20.
- The journey takes 1 day.
On this train journey, which offers unique views of Central and Eastern Anatolia all the way, you'll meet wonderful views especially at the Keban Dam in Elazığ and the Murat River crossing, the Muş Plain and around Bingöl. To catch the view of the largest tributary of the Euphrates, all you need to do is wake up at sunrise and be ready for the view from different sides.
Note: Since the "Başkentray" metro works in Ankara have finished, many Ankara-departing lines, including the Eastern Express, now leave from Ankara Train Station.
I'm interested in trains and railways, and I actually work on rail systems. So if I give detailed information about trains and carriages, forgive me in advance!
General Information - Carriage Types
Apart from the high-speed train, TCDD trains generally use 4 kinds of carriage. Let's look at them in turn;
- Pullman Carriage: Made up only of seats, like on coaches, this carriage has a 2+1 seating layout. Quite roomy and comfortable, but how long can the comfort last for 24 hours!
- Covered Couchette Carriage: The carriage is divided into rooms, with 4 seats & beds in each room. By seat & bed we mean 4 normal seats which also turn into beds like bunks. Clean bedding is given, but you make the beds yourself.
- Sleeper Carriage: The carriage is divided into 2-person rooms, making a setting where couples can stay comfortably. There's a mini fridge, a desk and a sink.
- Dining Carriage: In the restaurant run by TCDD where food is served, you can find soup, grilled dishes and junk-food snacks. There's currently no alcohol option on trains run by TCDD. Food is quite limited too, and you're not allowed to eat food you've brought from home. Odd rules in my beautiful country.
Lake Van Express Fares - February 2018
- Pullman: 47₺, discounted 37₺
- Covered Couchette: 62₺, youth-student discount 52₺
- Sleeper for 2: 96₺ per person, youth-student discount 86.5₺
- Sleeper for 1: 116₺, youth-student discount 100₺ (one person stays in a two-person room)
The prices above apply to Ankara - Tatvan. If you get off earlier, prices will drop a little.
Besides the youth-student one, there are other discounts too. TCDD applies:
- If you buy your ticket as a return, an extra 20% discount
- For ages 13-26, which we chose, a 20% Youth discount
- For all teachers currently working at public and private schools of every level and type under, or approved by, the Ministry of National Education, a 20% discount
- For soldiers and civil servants currently serving in the Turkish Armed Forces, a 20% discount
- For groups of 12 people or more, a 20% discount
- For passengers aged 60-65, a 20% discount
- For passengers aged 65 and over, a 50% discount
- For press card holders, a 20% discount
- For TCDD staff currently working at TCDD and their families (first degree), and TCDD retirees and their spouses, a 20% discount
- For children aged 7-12, a 50% discount .
- Train tickets for children under 7 are free.
When Do Tickets Go on Sale?
These days, since demand for train journeys has risen enormously, unfortunately you can't find a place whenever you want. TCDD has no official statement about ticket release times. Considering my attempt to get Eastern Express tickets, they open now and then in the morning and at midday. In fact, TCDD doesn't release tickets all at once, to stop them falling into the hands of tour companies.
It releases tickets in stages. For example, when I looked for the Lake Van Express at around 01.00 at night, tickets hadn't come out yet, but when I looked at 04.00 there was 1 room in the sleeper carriage on the train, and I grabbed it right away! :) We later learned that TCDD releases tickets at 02.00 at night. When we looked at the sleeper carriage, 8 of the 10 rooms in the carriage had been reserved by a tour company. By some luck we managed to find a good place. 🙂
When Should You Go?
We suggest experiencing this train journey, which offers unique views of our country, in the January-March period. With snow, incredible scenery appears. The sun deserves its credit too!
If you're working people like us, choosing Sunday will make more sense. Of course, if you have no problem with leave and you'll explore other places besides Van, you can choose Tuesday if you like.
We arrived in Tatvan on Monday and finished our journey by exploring, that day and the next, Van and Doğubayazıt. In the evening we flew back to Istanbul.
How Are Cleanliness & Comfort on the Train?
Although this varies from person to person, we'll tell you our observations. We don't expect extremely fussy people to make looong journeys by train anyway.
Compartment & Bedding Cleanliness
Apart from TCDD's high-speed trains, I'm sure the average age of the other trains is greater than ours. We're almost turning 26 from 25! ☺
Based on earlier research and experiences we got from friends, we took pillowcases with us. The sheets come spotless, ironed and packaged. Since it'll be hard to get the same hygiene with the pillows, our tip for you too is to have pillowcases with you. If you say you can't sleep on those pillows, then you must take a pillow with you. If you say you can't carry one, we don't think you'll have much trouble; the cleanliness wasn't bad.
Friends, please don't smoke on the train, especially inside the rooms! Because of you, even the pillows can smell of cigarettes. We expect a bit more consideration on this!
Sink & Toilet
If you're staying in the sleeper carriage, the sink in your room will be under your control anyway, so it won't get very dirty during the journey. All carriages have two toilets, one squat and one Western, and there are enough napkins and paper towels. The water is enough for the sink and for washing. The flushes are vacuum. But as the journey goes on, the toilets can lead to not very pleasant sights. Ah, if only we could educate our lovely people about shared spaces too! I'm sure many who wouldn't behave like this at home are quite careless outside about shared spaces they'll use themselves…
TCDD does its best, but it's not going to clean the toilets throughout the journey! Our conductor turned out to be very experienced and sharp about this. He hardly let people from other carriages into the sleeper carriage even to take photos. He kept one toilet in the carriage locked until halfway through the journey, protecting it in his own way. As a result, the Western one stayed clean throughout the journey.
Restaurant & Cafeteria
You don't have many options in the restaurant. It's relatively clean. You can go and see it both to get some air and for a change of scene. A tea wouldn't be bad at all. ☺ Unfortunately, hot water isn't sold for herbal teas or coffees you've brought with you. RailChef is quite strict about this. Once we bought a herbal tea and used its water, and once we got our hot water with a simple coffee maker from the room next door.
Comfort - Sleeper Carriage
The sleeper carriage turned out more comfortable than we'd hoped. You use it as a seat, and you can also lie on the lower bed and enjoy the view. You can put the food you bring in the fridge. You can easily take care of things like brushing your teeth and washing your hands in your room. In the mini fridge, guests are given juice, Albeni chocolate, cheese crackers and a cup of water. Something healthier is possible, of course🙂 For us, the most important and best part is having a table and it giving you the comfort of home on the train!
What Should We Bring for a Pleasant Journey?
If you're in the sleeper carriage, we recommend taking a multi-plug; if it's 2-3 metres long, you'll be very comfortable.
Keep a solid stock of paper towels and wet wipes, which you'll need almost constantly. Taking a few freezer bags is always good for the unexpected!
If you'd describe yourself as fussy, we suggest bringing your own pillowcase, blanket and towel.
In the sleeper and couchette carriages you can set the room temperature yourself, but take it from us and bring thin clothes with you anyway. Of course the weather in Van will be just as cold, so don't forget warm clothes too.
You're on the train for a 25-hour journey, so of course you'll get hungry. To get through this part nicely, you can bring snacks. They can be raw hazelnuts, almonds, and dried and fresh fruit. Most importantly, water: you can stock up. We also took wine; since it's a bit hard to find along the route, we suggest bringing your drinks with you.
How to Get from Tatvan to Van?
The Lake Van Express doesn't go to Van, but to Tatvan, a district of Bitlis. So you need to find transport to get from Tatvan to Van. There's a ferry option run by TCDD on which you can travel across Lake Van. But this ferry's departure time isn't fixed. Since the ferry carries TCDD carriages, carrying people is secondary. There are two kinds of ferry; the fast one reaches Van in 3 hours, the slow one in 5 hours.
Our choice, to use our time efficiently, was the road. A minibus to central Van leaves right in front of Tatvan Station. The journey takes 2 hours and the fare is 20₺
Must-See Places in Van
The city of Van turned out more beautiful than we expected. With its wonderful islands, the pleasure of Lake Van, its castles, mosques and people, it's definitely a must-see.
Using the High-Speed Train to Reach Ankara
We were thinking of driving from Istanbul, but use the high-speed train: you'll be comfortable and it'll be more economical. To make the most of Saturday, we first went to Eskişehir, and on Sunday we went from Eskişehir to Ankara. The Ankara journey takes 4 hours from Istanbul and 1.5 hours from Eskişehir.
Are There Other Alternative Routes?
Of course! There's always another way. The Sofia Express and the Eastern Express, which we'd really like to try, are on our to-try list. If you have the means and the time, why shouldn't you try them too?!
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