Hi M,

Good of you to do this.

You might want to also post it to Paris Superthread
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2&tid=34519236

Thank you, MorganB. I have also found that PREMs cannot be printed if you are travelling from Paris to Madrid on the overnight train. The only available selection that came up was for free post.

The person that we are renting from in Paris, was gracious enough to accept them for our upcoming trip.

I was under the impression that if you booked a "senior" fare you had to provide documentation when picking up the ticket.

is this true?

MorganB you are a lifesaver. Just in time for me to start booking my 4 different train tickets! Wish me luck

Very nice of you to do this!!!
Thank you again.

Morgan -

Wow, that is an awesome job. I did a similar thing over on slowtrav (yours is much more detailed, by the way) so I know what an effort it takes to put something like this together. You've inspired me to get a few much needed changes done on my slowtrav article.

In any case, I hereby nominate you for good samaritan of the board award !

Bravo !

-Kevin

Ira: Good idea! Just did it .

Vcrew: Arrrg. I meant to add in the FAQ that some international destinations might not allow printing and (oddly) pick-up. Good solution to find a place to have them mailed. You could also book via telephone and they would probably mail them directly to you.

Intrepid1: I have booked senior fares in the past for my mother and picked up the tickets for her. The only place I suspect you would have to show ID is perhaps on the train to the controlleur if he thinks the passenger isnt old enough.

Katzen: Glad you like it. Feel free to ask any questions if you have problems booking. I as well as others here would be happy to help.

Kevin: Thanks very much! I will have to check out slowtrav. Havent seen that site. I have been working on this for a while and just add to it a bit at a time. It does take a while but in the long run it might be easier than answering the same questions over and over. As you see its V2 and I posted the first version here a few months back.

EXCELLENT! Thank you! I will be booking for 4 of us for our September trip and I will print out your instructions to help me step by step. This is so helpful, thanks for taking the time to put it together.

MorganB--thanks again for the info. You may remember from the other thread that I goofed and took the insurance, meaning pickup in France only, which was impossible for Amsterdam to Paris tickets. I then called the phone number you suggested, and on the second try found someone who wouldn't send me a link to print them, but did say they could be mailed, took my address, and said they would arrive in 10 days. Well, they arrived today (the 11th day) in South Florida--guess I got lucky.

Grantop: Glad you find it usefull! Dont hesitate to ask questions if you need help.

Taxatty: Yes I remember your case I am glad to hear you got the tickets!

I guess concerning the mailing I should be more clear in the post. Requesting for them to be mailed when ordering via the net is where the problems lie because the envelope is addressed with France as the country. I assume that over the phone that isnt the case and its okay to have them mailed that way. Could you confirm that your envelope was addressed properly?

Morgan... bravo for a job very well done!

I know what kind of time it takes to put things like this together and I applaud you.

And to confirm one of the answers to the Senior fare question - you don't need to show proof of age for the senior tickets when booking them. But you must provide proof to the conductor on the train.

Patricia

sorry, somehow I deleted part of my sentence...

<<... you don't need to show proof of age for the senior tickets when booking them or picking them up.>>

MorganB--mailing to the US was no problem and the envelope was addressed properly (of course, to the "Etats Unis"!). The SNCF obviously doesn't do this too often, however, as the ticket folder has detailed instructions, but only in French, German, and Dutch.

thanks for the info taxatty! Good to have confirmation that the envelopes are correctly addressed if you call.

topping, b/c the original is up higher on the list.

Topping.

ttt

I find that I can follow the directions just fine, BUT AS SOON AS I REQUEST TICKETS for my kids I can no longer print out my tickets and they must be mailed which does me no good here in the US!
Have any thoughts?
Dan

NOTE: You may put a senior and it will offer PREMS as well as senior fares. However, if you put a child it will only offer a child fare for them and you wont be able to print at all so it is best to enter child as an adult, perform a search and look at prices. Then you can enter adults and child and see which is cheaper.

If the child fare is cheaper and thats what you want to order then you can either call the english language number in the first post or you can arrange with your hotel to have them mailed to the hotel and held until your arrival. Sometimes the child fare is no cheaper than other discount fares that are printable.

bumping for future reference

Hi Morgan! Great instructions, but I'm still having problems. I am on the Order page, step 3 which says "To complete your booking, please provide your personal information". According to your instructions, I should leave this blank (France is listed as the country). But when I hit confirm, the site instructs me to fill in the required address fields.

Any suggestions would be most appreciated. If anyone besides Morgan knows what's going on, feel free to chime in! Thanks!

Thank you, MorganB! This should be quite an adventure.

I'm having the same issues as jbjayhawk. I selected 2 PREMS one-way travel Sept 28, 2006 9:40 am from Lyon Perrache to Paris Gare Lyon. Is it cuz I opted for cancellation insurance, and they'll only mail tickets w/ insurance? Sept is 3 months away; do you still suggest NOT having tickets mailed? thx

MorganB, etal: To heck with the cancel insurance; I got thru the ordering process just fine and printed out my confirmation! Actually it was quite easy, esp with your instructions! Thanks so much for your efforts, which were gallant BTW!

Hi all, have been out of town. Sorry it took to long to answer.

Jbjayhawk: You do need to fill out a bit of info on the order page. The fields with the asterics by them must be filled out. Thats usually name and email.

Katerbug, Yes it was the insurance as it appears you figured out. Have a great trip!

MorganB -

Thanks so much for your suggestions. If not for some major technical problems with the website and my computers over the past two days, I'm sure it would have been an easy task.

However, upon payment and receipt of confirmation, it appears as though the site allowed me to purchase double booked seats for both my wife and I for a trip back to Paris from Lourdes. I've never been to Europe, so this train stuff if new to me and I'm wondering if I just made a major blunder. Suggestions? Laughter at my newbie-to-the-system mistake?

Any and all suggestions would be most appreciated.

Hi Teachntri.

Sorry to hear you had problems. It all depends on what fare you bought. If you got something like a discovery stay fare they are refundable before departure so you could get them reimboursed at the station. If its a printable fare then they are all non exchangable non refundable. Odds are you would need to call and discuss it with the SNCF in that case. Heres the phone number as dialed from the US: 011 33 8 92 35 35 39 (English line).

MorganB -

Thanks for such a prompt response. Just to clarify - if the leg of the trip that says "Double Reservation" is listed as "Regular Fare: Exchangeable and Refundable," we should not have a problem changing the times/reservations or simply getting a refund when we arrive in France? You're setting a novice traveler's mind at ease with any and all advice! Thanks!

Regular Fare is a full fare ticket so you are good. You can get it refunded easily. However I am confused... Where does it say "Double Reservation". I have never seen that before.

When the confirmation of order screen came up at the end of the sale, it indicated that "one passenger has been allocated on an over-booked seat". I tried to enter the information more precisely so that it would not do the same on the next order (placed my wife's ticket order and mine separately because getting two seats together was seemingly impossible this late in the game). It came up again. I then checked the confirmation e-mails and they indicate that the "seats are not guaranteed." Upon checking the dossier on the website, the "details of your journey" link brought up our details and it says a Coach number, then Seat 0 - Double Reservation for each of us on the portions from Lourdes to Bordeaux and from Bordeaux to Paris Montparnasse. I guess it tells me that they will continue to sell seats even beyond the number that they are allotted.

Ah well, I'm taking the attitude that everything is going to be great and we're going to enjoy our trip tremendously! I just hope my training has prepared me for the rides we're doing through the Pyrenees - I may not care what train I'm on when the week is finished.

Thanks again for your help. I'm really glad I found this website and found your French Rail guide. All the best!

MorganB, thanks a million for your help with this.
I don't see any mention of the buy-roundtrip-and-discard-return-ticket method. It seemed to make the total cost plummet. How guilty or apprehensive should I feel about trying that? Obviously they can't track us down in London and march us off to the station for the compulsory ride back to Paris.

Teach, Just saw your reply. Yes indeed they do over book trains. You will need to see the conductor ASAP to get a seat. Try to get to the station about 25 minutes before your train . Your train should be posted on the board about 20 minutes before. The conductor should be on the platform near the train. Locate him and ask for a seat assignment. He may give you one right away or he may tell you to wait in the car and he will come by. Double reservation sounds like a poor translation that should read overbooking. Have a good trip.

Stokebaily,

I have done the toss the return ticket before and did not have any issues. I suppose eurostar could check the records, see the return was not traveled and then rerate the fare and help themselves to the extra cash. Thats what they say they will do in the terms and conditions but I havent heard of them actually doing it.

Am reviving this thread in hopes of some clarification.

Have found PREMS fares which are listed as printable and have declined the insurance. However, on the next screen the only option seems to be pay online and have them mailed.

Am i doing something wrong?

Thanks and sorry if this has been answered before now.

Probably, because that's not normal. I don't think there has ever been a single example of that really happening to anyone on here unless the person was really trying to do something unusual they weren't mentioning. If you are just buying one straightforward PREM fare with no other tickets or qualifications, and no insurance, that isn't normal. Is there anything at all you are doing beyond that which you haven't mentioned? What route and date and time and class are you buying, someone can maybe compare what happens.

I actually figured out the problem; sorry to have bothered anyone or wasted anyone's time.

Hi there. What was the prob out of curiosity? It could help others.

Have a great train trip!

MorganB - trying to use mappy.com to get directions from Avignon TGV station to my hotel in St. Remy. Can't find the address for the train station anywhere and when I see the dialogue box not sure which is the appropriate address for TGV. As always, thank you.

Hi MorganB - got my tickets no problem. I found it very easy to follow your directions. I printed out my tickets, but I just want confirm. I neither need to go to a ticket booth before boarding nor need to validate them - I just board. Thank you for your response and kind advice.

Re: the problem with printing....it appears I was trying to print out tickets which were a possible "mix" of fares.

Auhntie, sorry just saw your question! The official address is Chemin du confluent – La courtine
84008 AVIGNON . You can get lots of info (in french) on that station here:

http://www.voyages-sncf.com/guide/gare_en_mouvement/avignon_TGV.htm

JOB816:

You have it right, with home printed tickets you just board the train. No additional steps needed.

Dukey:

Thanks for your reply! Yes the tricky mix of fares gets alot of people.

Not that I doubted it...BUT THIS ALL WORKS! I had to do it a few times to get to print off my tickets but I gottem!

Yaaaay. I think the train journey from Roissy to St. Raphael will be a great part of the vacation!

Good news Suzie! Have a nice trip.

Now, if we can get a guide for Trenitalia...

Another huge thanks!

Had no problem whatsoever booking/printing Paris/Lyon tickets today.

Note to everyone: If your destination has more than one train station, PAY ATTENTION when you select. Even though you enter a specific station when you get started, others will come up...

Glad to hear it worked for you djkbooks! Have a nice trip.

bookmarking

Great work MorganB BUT....
I have tried everything you said to buy 2 PREM tickets from Roissy (CDG) to Lyon, one way...SNCF wants to mail them to me....of course the Canadian postal code knocks out that option. I can't for the life of me get the option for France counter pick-up.

I sent SNCF an e-mail last night and their server wouldn't accept it!

I tried the Thalys web site route but they don't have a link to SNCF that I can find.

I just tried the English version phone number you noted and it connects me with the Eorostar office!

How frustrating! I am tempted to just take my chances when I arrive....this may actually be my only option!

Did you decline the insurance?

I did both: with and without insurance. With insurance I get post option only. Without insurance I also get the print option. I NEVER get the pick up at a french counter option.

I would prefer with insurance just in case my flights into Paris get messed up and I miss that train.

I just got a reply from my e-mail to SNCF (they were closed for the weekend hence my problems with their server!). Nothing they suggest is any different from the MorganB Booking Guide.

RailEurope has tickets for 3 times the price of SNCF (maybe they are worth it given the time I have spent on this project!).

Hi Ferros. Prems cannot be picked up at the counter which is why you arent getting the option. You must print them, have them mailed, or buy them directly at the station or boutique. Of course by the time you get to France all the Prems will be gone.

You might want to read the insurance carefully. I am not sure it will help if your plane is late. I suggest allowing some time between your plane and train , not selecting insurance and just printing your tickets at home.

Alternately you may want to consider booking a plane ticket that includes your train travel.

If you're taking an overnight flight from the USA to CDG, skip the insurance and just select a reasonable train departure time.

My understanding (with which I have little confidence) is that the insurance covers you if public transportation (a strike, perhaps?) to the train station is not available. The coverage is translated from French to English and not very clear. Don't think it covers your plane being late, but you may have a different understanding or interpretation.

In all our trips to Europe, only once was our flight delayed (medical emergency on the inbound plane from London with Virgin, or at least that what they told us, three hour delay).

I would think if you allow plenty of time, in case you are bussed to the terminal because there is no gate available for your arriving flight, there's a long line at passport control, or the luggage is slow in coming out, you'll be just fine without the insurance.

I think there some kind of voodoo against me booking through SNCF! I have gotten as far as inputing my Visa details (tried several times with different computers and different Visa card numbers... (all legitimate and available for business with anyone who would care to take my money...per discussions with the bank)...YET SNCF claims that my bank is refusing to process the payment!

I have sent 2 emails to SNCF (one in very pathetic high school French!) and am now beseeching them to give me a contact phone number!

I suspect RailEurope is trying to cut in on the North American action hence SNCF is making it as difficult as possible.

It is making me more determined than ever to avoid RailEurope where the fares are more than 3 times the price. I don't mind service fees but honestly THAT is a big gouge! If all else fails I will just take my chances after I land in Paris.

Are you always trying at the same time of day? They often take down the payment system around midnight or so French time for maintenance and such.

Thanks for the time tip but I have tried day and night.....BUT now finallyuccess...sort of!:

I got a email back from SNCF today (in French)with a phone number (same as your French number in your "guide")> I more or less understand French so finally made it through to a very nice English-fluent lady who manged to book me 2- 2nd class tickets at 75 Euros each (on line they are 52 Euros each for 1st class!)....only to be told that my bank was again refusing payment. I thanked her and proceeded to raise hell at my Visa bank. My bank was completely USELESS saying that the payment request was not even registering on their end and my card was in good standing!!! and all European merchants were obliged by law to honor my card!!! Well duh...reality was proving the legal system really useless!...came home and tried an old MasterCard that we never use and BINGO it worked like a charm. I have printed the tickets and am going 1st class because it was cheaper than 2nd Class (go figure!).
I conclude that this is all about the darned Visa chips that they are so obsessed about in Europe! Looks like the biggest rail company in France just does not accept North American Visa cards (at least not the Canadian ones!)..it does not even TRY to process the payments!

Am applying for an Amex card just in case!

Am moving on to booking a ferry between Normandy and England...wish me luck. Nothing could be so convoluted!
Thanks for all the advice!

Glad you got it done! My US visa works fine with their booking system. Doesnt have a chip. I would chalk it up to one of the great visa network mysteries! Glad you perservered and got first class!

Thank you, MorganB! What a great service you have done for people to document these steps. You saved me so much time and frustration - you would have saved me more if I had read your instructions an hour earlier! I was trying to book a route that had a prem leg and a regular fare leg but I could not print at home. But I managed to book just the PREM tickets leg and I can do the 2nd leg when I arrive in Paris! I'm saving a lot of money - I was looking at 177 euro each for Paris to Bruges. I found a PREM for Paris to Lille for 116 euro for TWO! So, if you are in Paris early September, we should meet so I can buy you a glass of wine!

Hi there Cls. Glad the instructions worked for you and thats a great savings! I should be here for the first half of September, I'm up for a free glass of wine any time

Hi Morgan, my e-mail is cls2paris@aol.com. Let's schedule a drink!

HELP! I can't seem to get to the english version of the site. It always take me to the french site: http://org-www.voyages-sncf.com/leisure/fr/indispo/home.htm

and there is no flags at the bottom. Can someone post the specific web site address for the english page please?

Thank you!!

The SNCF web site is currently down, which is why you're getting that strange page. I would try again by entering www.sncf.com, then clicking on the english flag at the bottom in 5
or 6 hours as it's now very late at night in Europe (just before 2am).

Good night
Andre

Hi everyone,

I have read through the entire thread but still did not find the answer to my question. Apologies if this has been answered before.

I am trying to by two tickets from CDG to Lyon and back to Paris de Lyon with a Saturday night stay. I think I qualify for the 25% discount either by using the Discovery deal or the Deux 25% discount.

Now my question is since I will be taking the train right after my plane lands at CDG. I run the risk of purchasing the tickets and missing the train due to flight delays. There is currently no specials going on Voyages-sncf. Therefore, am I better off purchasing the ticket in person at the TGV ticket office (since the online fare is Regular Fare only)? I am assuming I can get the 25% in person as well. In other words, is the regular fare on Voyages-sncf website same as the fare I get in person at the TGV ticket office? Thanks a lot for your help!

yes, the regular fare is the same either online or in person.

Christina is correct, you can get the decouvert sejour and "a deux" discounts at the ticket window. However, if the train is very full, they will not offer these discounts. I would suggest making a reservation about 3 days before you intend to travel. Then select that you will pay at the ticket window. This will hold your reservation up until 1 hour before you travel. (Check this on your confirmation ) . You can then just go up to the window with your confirmation and pay for your tickets. Easier than trying to book and purchase at the window and holds the price in.

Thanks Christina & MorganB!

Can I get some advice, please?
If I'm arriving CDG on United at 920A. Do I have enough time to make the 1124A train to Avignon. Is it safe to book a PREMS fare?
What is this Discovery deal or Deux 25% discount? I don't see anything on the SNCF site about it. We are a party of 2 and will be spending a Saturday night.
We are planning to use public transportation to visit the cities and towns in Provence. Should we be buying some type of railpass? Is the railpass available through SNCF? or do I have to buy that from RailEurope?
Thanks for your help.

First, Railpasses are a marketing product for tourists, so you don't buy them from SNCF. You can buy them from Raileurope (probably other sites, also, the price won't vary wherever you get them). You shouldn't buy a railpass if you just plan to make short day trips as those are very cheap. Those railpasses work best if your itinerary includes at least one expensive, long TGV trip, and some other trips that are at least moderate in cost. Now it might be useful for your trip to Provence, but if the rest are just day trips, I still don't think it will be cost-effective. However, it might be if you intend to return by TGV to Paris, and because there are two of you, you get a discount.

It might be a reasonable idea if you don't buy PREMs for the RT from Paris, but regular TGV tickets. The rail ticket is only $207 first person, $177 second person for three days unlimited travel, or about $70 a day. Right now, the regulat TGV fare is about 90 euro second class CDG-Avigion, or $115. So, two of those is worth $230, cheaper than the three-day railpass.

I think the pass could work if you don't buy PREMs and want the RT TGV, otherwise, no. Local train trips down there will be maybe 10-20 euro.

I don't know all the intricacies of these other possible discounts (the decouverte sejour, etc.), but there are a lot of rules and they only apply on certain runs and times. I don't think they have them on popular routes or during peak periods. These things are detailed in some of the guides on the SNCF website (like some guide du voyageur or guide des tarifs or something like that). It's in the passengers' guide section.

MorganB: Hey. Quick question. I successfully booked train tickets on SNCF website last summer, following your guidelines. (Thanks!) Today, I am following the same procedure, but after filling out the dates, number of passengers etc. I click on the green writing to go forward and it reverts to starting the whole process over again, so my dates etc. are now gone. Am I doing something wrong at that juncture or is the system being whacky?

Thanks for any advice!
letour

ttt

ttt

Hi Letour,

Do you see some red writing near the departure cities? You might be entering the departure or arrival in a slightly different way than the database.... click on the link below where you enter the cities and choose from the list. Let me know if that helps . Will check back after this weekend as I wont be in pocket before then.

Hi, Morgan. Another snafu. I am trying to print my tickets ordering directly from SNCF but it appears (see below) that I can't have this option if I am purchasing Prem. tickets (discounted.) Here is the question/answer excerpt from the SNCF page.
Any ideas?
Thanks!
Letour


Pourquoi ne pas me proposer l'option Billet Imprimé ? Imprimer cette question / réponse

L’option Billet Imprimé® n’est proposée qu’avec les tarifs :

Prem’s, Offres Dernière Minute, tarif Fréquence Grand Voyageur

Smilys, Print & Go (uniquement pour la France et l’Allemagne)

®iDTGV

HI Letour,

There could be several reasons..

Be sure to deselect travel insurance otherwise you cant print.

Make sure both directions and all trains you take are PREM fares. If you are connecting from a small regional train to a TGV you may need to book tickets seperately so you can print your PREMS and pick up the regional tickets in the station.

Are you traveling outside of France? Many destinations outside of France do not allow printable tickets as they are not equiped to accept them in their stations.

Hope that helps!

That helps! I was selecting travel insurance! I'll try again. Interestingly, I wrote SNCF and they did say that I could print PREM tickets, which is what I had been selecting. Your explanation helps. Looking back on last summer, I don't think that I selected travel insurance, so that may be the issue.
Really appreciate your help!!!
letour

SHENNENFENT, please click on my name and see my trip report on Annecy, Chamonix and Paris. I had a detailed description in terms of how long it took to get to the TGV station. My plane landed around 7:45AM, I barely caught my 9:45AM train. But I arrived in Terminal 1 and the TGV station is at Terminal 2. So please check out my post, I had a fairly detailed report.

Also, I think the Discovery discount is 25% discount if you have a Saturday night stay, Deux is 25% discount for party of 2. However, I could not figure out how to get these discount online since when I purchased my tickets, all the PREMs were gone. I wound up calling them directly and was given 35% discount, the final ticket price is only within a couple euros of the PREMs price that I saw earlier. Just for your information.

I have to add this tidbit to the thread:
In september I flew into Paris and was going to take a train to Nice, after my stay there I was taking the overnight train back to paris for a few days.

I ordered my tickets online for my overnight train. I saved a ton and it was very easy once i got the hang of it.
Thanks to this thread.

But I didnt want to buy tickets for the trip down because i was unsure if there would be delays.

My plane landed around 8am terminal 2, I made it though customs and our bags were first off the belt but i noticed them as it was going back under, so i had to wait for it to come out again.

Getting throught CDG to the station took awhile.

I got on a long line for my tickets and arrived at the ticket window at 9:45. I requested tickets for the 11:10 train and I was told that the train was SOLD OUT. But there were first class tickets left on the 10:05 train.
Total cost for both tickets was close to 280 euros!!!
2 tickets purchased on line for a first class couchett 160 euros (prems)

Bottom line order your tickets online before you go.

MorganB: I figured it out! The problem was that my son is under 12 and so I was asking to buy him a ticket and receiving regular child fare for him--not a PREMS. As a result, I wasn't getting a chance to print the tickets out as an option. My choice now is probably among these options: 1. ask our French friend to buy the tickets for us and send them to us. 2. buy the same tickets from raileurope directly. the downside there is that they are more expensive and showing only 2nd class availability 3. moving my son's age up three months and buying him an adult ticket as well. The third option would buy us all first-class tickets for $10 more than raileurope's 2nd class tickets. (I actually like having 1st class train tickets, tho' I know not everyone feels that way.) Anyway, another quirk to the sncf sytem. I did write them to ask if they would make an exception for me, but I think I am dealing with too much of a bureaucracy for that to happen!
letour

Hi again,

Yes I forgot that one, as you have found, child fares are not printable. Just up the age and book a PREM. It is completely allowed and you will have no issue at all. The idea of a child fare is to give a discount for the child but if the Prem fare is less or if you just prefer to book a prem, the SNCF has no problem with that.

PS, you might want to try giving my original post another read, step 11 mentions the child printing issue.

MorganB,
I have been fumbling around with the SNCF site and following your advice and directions. However, when I go to print and have to agree to the terms, I don't see the US on the list where it is OK to pay online and print the tickets. Do you suggest ignoring that and going ahead to print? There is quite a bit of savings over the RailEurope site, so I would hate to pay more if I don't have to.
Thanks for your help!
L

Bookmarking an excellent resource. Thanks, MorganB.

Jim

Leilei,

Strictly according to the conditions of sale , you should indeed be in one of the mentioned countries to print from that site. Indeed, those from the US are instructed to buy from RailEurope.

However, in pratice, you can buy on the SNCF site with no issues. Just print out your ticket and show up at the train. The person that checks the tickets doesnt care where you bought them and will just check names and birthdates on the tickets (assuming you printed them at home) against your ID.

Enjoy your trip!

Just wondering if anyone has completed the process- booking/printing online thru SNCF and actually traveled using those printed tickets. Any problems? Any tips?
Thanks!

I have many many times. No probs.

We travelled from Paris to Avignon this September with printed at home Prem Tickets. Going to Avignon the conductor took our ticket and scanned it with a hand held scanner. It took awhile to "take" and I was starting to get concerned but no problem. On the way back he took our tickets and just used a hole-puncher to punch them. I can't remember, we may have been asked for ID/passport going but for sure we were not asked for any ID coming back to Paris.

Thanks MorganB and rosieg, that makes me feel better about trying this for the first time!

Just to add that I did print them successfully last summer with no hitch in using them in France. It was the printing of the non-PREM ticket for a child that had me sytmied this past week.
I plan on making another attempt to print them buying all 4 PREM tickets, even though my son is underage. As ever, MorganB, thanks for the tips!
letour

MorganB: Happy ending to my ticket snafus. Somehow, after shifting my son to a jeune (only adding a few months to his birthdate,) I actually ended up with a price pretty close to what they were originally charging me for a younger child's ticket. I had so many iterations, I can't exactly remember how I was quoted the higher price for the four tickets--maybe I was on the English version of sncf, but, in any event, I ended up getting the tickets that I wanted at the price that I wanted. C'est chouette, non! Merci encore!
letour

Letour,

thanks for posting back. Glad to hear it all worked out. Have a great trip!

Hi MorganB: The story isn't quite over!
We're going from CDG to Aix, and then, five days later, from Aix to Paris Gare du Nord.)Turns out that there was a technical error when I went to purchase one set of tickets (CDG to Aix) and the program sent me back to redo my order, which I did. Nonetheless, I got charged for that first effort, and essentially bought the same tickets (same seats were available) on the retry purchase. That resulted in my credit card company freezing my credit card, because they were worried about multiple purchasing of tickets from France! The bills are listed with my credit card company, in part, "travel Agent" on the charge. Because I bought one set of PREMs (or two, my bad luck!) and one set of regular tickets, the billing looks like two different companies. Anyway, hopefully I'm getting it straightened out. I heard from SNCF today by e-mail, accounting for the error and stating that if I did not contact them in 24 hours, they would annul all of my tickets! So, hopefully, I'm getting that worked out and don't have to start all over again! By the way, I don't remember a fee for printing my own tickets from last summer, but I see that there is a charge of $12. to Elvia Paris, which I can only assume is related to the ticket printing process. Incidentally, too, SNCF had two slightly different charges for my first purchase of tickets and the second one that I made after being instructed to try again. Interesting to note that the charge that seems to be sticking on my credit card is the more expensive of the two(due to fluctuating exchange rate over 10 minutes time?) while the less expensive version of the order remains on my credit card but is not being processed to date. Hope this is making sense!
letour

I have a feeling Elvia is the travel insurance. There is no charge for booking tickets.

You can indeed get more than one booking in your "basket" at once. Sometimes when you get kicked back to the home page, the old booking that you were working on will end up in the basked. Always best to read the page that says what you are buying before you move to the payment page. It will list the multiple trips if there is more than one. Not sure if that is what happened to you or not.

BTW, If you are leaving from Aix to go back to Paris , you will arrive in Gare de Lyon, not Gare du Nord.

Yes, that makes sense; I think that that is the travel insurance--thanks for pointing that out. The computer allowed me to go to Gare du Nord but I see that in my printed version, it reads Gare de Lyon. Thanks for pointing that out too!!!

Elvia is the insurance company SNCF uses -- their logo is at the bottom of the voyages-sncf.com webpage.

Thanks so much for all of the tips, finding this post has cut my rail ticket price in half for an upcoming trip. I have never traveled on a train in Europe so I have a perhaps naive question about the seating assignments that SNCF gives--for 2 travelers we keep getting seat assignments that don't appear to be together (i.e. 2 middle seats that are not consecutively numbered). Is there a way to ensure that we are sitting together? How about getting a window seat, is that out of the question? Would doing 1st class for a bit more money help in this regard and, if so, how much nicer will 1st class be than 2nd class? Thanks!

Hi Sara,

Most seating in second is 2 x 2 and in first is 2 x 1. Seats are larger in first so you have more room and of course there are less people seated in the train car so its quieter. The decor is a little nicer also. The sncf website will put you together if it cant. If it isnt then it cant... however, there are no middle seats on the TGV, only window and asile. You can also click on the placement button and select the type of seat you prefer, not on a seat map but by a drop down list of seat type. Glad to hear you are going to save some $$ .

MorganB

I'm a little late posting this, but I need to buy my tickets next week. I do not see the options for seating on the order form. I assume it is for non smoking, etc. Where is it? Thank you very much.

What do you mean by order form, do you mean the website? It's the button marked "placement" on the right side that you get when choosing a fare. I'm not sure about the English version, but I think it has a picture of a seat and says "options" next to that and is at the upper right side next to the basic journey description and time. I don't think they allow smoking on TGVs at all any more. A drop down screen lets you put in your "preferences" in broad terms (aisle, window, upper or lower deck, basically).

Hi SFJohn. Check steps 15 through 17 for help with seating. Like christina said, it says "options". Its next to each train listing on the outward and return journey page BEFORE you select the exact train you will be traveling on. TGVs are indeed fully non smoking.

Morgan B. You have been a great help to all of us Fodorites. You should receive some medal. Thank you so much for all of your help on this excellent post.
Christina, also thanks for your help. The options box is very clear. I think I need my glasses adjusted.

This is wonderful - thank you...
Bookmarking...

Thanks John! Glad you found it helpful. I cant take all the credit as it is both information from my personal experiences as well as info that I compiled from many of the other posters on this forum.

Travel Fun, your welcome too!

One more question for the French train Guru. We are taking the train from CDG to Avignon. There is an 11:40 AM TGV train that we are going to reserve tomorrow (our 90 day window). The SNCF web site lists 2 trains with PREM fares going at the same time. Different train numbers, different seat assignments, etc. but leaving together. What does this mean?
Thanks again, one of your confused Fodorites.

Hi again SFJohn,

Its two trainsets attached together. Odds are once they reach Marseille they will seperate, one will stop in Marseille and the other will continue onwards perhaps to Nice for example. It wont impact your travel however. You can book either.

Again thanks. You have been very kind and helpful. (I feel like we should pick you up and take you with us!!)

Your welcome John.

One tip for boarding the train... When you get to the platform, look for a digital board that says Composition des Trains. It will have your train on it and will show each car with the car number. Next to the car will be letters. Locate the letter closest to your car. Then look above your head and you will see the letters are posted along the platform. Move to the place on the platform where your letter is. That way, when the train comes into the station you will be in the right place and dont have to go running down the platform looking for your train car.

Thanks again Morgan.

Morgan - have read tons of information and still don't know if this is right regarding the voyages-sncf website. We will be flying in to Paris CDG. Then we want to take the TGV (I am assuming) down to Avignon. When I go on to the voyages-sncf website it shows us only having the option - Paris Gare de Lyon to Avignon TGV. Is the Paris Gare de Lyon Rail Station close to the Paris CDG airport?

Just want to make sure I am doing this right.

thanks!

emh

Go to the voyages-sncf.com site

Click on the English version at the bottom

On the next page click on "Timetable" at the top

On the next page use Roissy as your departure point and Avignon as the arrival point

Choose a date and a time

You'll find there are several direct departures from the CDG TGV station to Avignon each day

As Dukey said, use Roissy as your departure for CDG. That station is located in the airport terminal 2. Gare de Lyon is in the city of Paris so not good for what you want to do. Dukey suggests viewing timetables which will give you a glimpse into the schedules. Use the steps at the begining of this post when you are ready to book. Happy travles!

Thank you sooooo much! I was going crazy. Roissy is the word!!!

Thank you.

emh

Just a quick note about iDTGV and traveling with bikes. You can't...officially anyway!

We booked all iDTGV last year and were traveling with bikes, unlike the other trains, there are no places for bikes. From Paris we had to keep one bike in the open area on the train and then constantly watch it, on the way back from Aix, there was plenty of baggage storage...but on the second floor.

I asked a rep at the station what to do, they said sneak the bikes on (they were in soft sided cases...so they kind of looked like large suitcases) or buy new tickets. We succeeded in sneaking but were worried we'd get kicked off the train in some awful place like Futurama or something!!!

Just my 2 cents.

Based on the iDTGV website, bikes are allowed in the train but they must have the wheels removed and in a bag no larger than 1.20 meters x 0.90 meters. As usual, the reps in the station were wrong and make up some nonsense answer.

I took the iDTGV last two days ago and was traveling with a dog. The agent said I should have pre-purchased my ticket for the dog online and charged me 10 extra euros. They stated that they started selling tickets for animals online in November. Yet when you go to the website, it clearly states that tickets for anmimals are NOT available for purchase online. Basically, the reps will tell you whatever they like. Its most annoying.

Actually Morgan our bikes were in soft sided specially designed suitcases with a carrying strap and everything. We showed the bags to the operator and they told us to sneak it on but that it was not permitted.

Maybe it was just that operator but it sure made for a stressful ride....

So you're saying that they are officially allowed then? Have you seen that printed anywhere? Because I'd like to take a iDTGV in the future but had thought I'd have to book another train because I always have my bike..

Thanks, Jen

Hi Jen,

Its only in French and can be found here:

http://www.idtgv.com/fr/index.php?page=infos_pratiques

Then click on : "Transporter des bagages à bord "

Heres the text:

"Un bagage à main par voyageur et une paire de skis ou une poussette d'enfant ou un fauteuil roulant ou une bicyclette dont les roues démontées sont rangées ensemble dans une housse spéciale de 1,20 x 0,90 m maximum ou une planche nautique dans une housse de 1,20 m x 0,90 m au maximum."

Thanks Morgan. I'll print that and tuck in in my bag somewhere and then relax on my next iDTGV train ride!

THanks for the great advice, Morgan.
I wonder if you have seen the SNCF site return this error message:"We cannot make a reservation for this train. Foreign reservations closed."

I'm trying to "book" a practice trip from Nice to Verona in April for the real trip we'll take in June. The site says it has no tickets when I try Nice to Verona, but offers Yellow and Gray fares (but no children) for Nice to Milan. I figure I can get the second leg from the Trenitalia site. But when I click on "choose this outward Journey" I get that message.

I'm new to this forum, just started reading some postings the last few days, such helpful info!
We are going to Provence in June, arriving Paris CDG 3:05pm June 20 Wed, there's a TGV train at 5:04pm, arriving Avignon 8:30pm which sounds perfect, is that enough time to make it? Appreciate any input, thanks!
Sue

Sue, that sounds about just right to me, it's what I would like when I book (2 hrs between arrival and the train departure), assuming your plane is not late, of course. I think I had a train departure time like that last summer, and I had quite a bit of extra time, actually, as it really only took me about 45-60 minutes from landing to getting to the train departure point. Usually getting through immigration and off the plane, etc., and collecting baggage at CDG has only taken about 45-60 minutes on average for me.

Thanks, Christina. Good to have someone telling me from their experience, rather than my own guess work, so I know what to expect. Thanks again!
-Sue

"Question: I followed everything you said and it still is only offering a mail only option! What am I doing wrong?"

I just ran into that situation trying to book tickets from Paris to Montpellier and back. The problem turned out to be that I was trying to buy both a regular ticket (all that was available for the trip out) and a PREM at the same time. When I split it into separate transactions, the pick-up option was available for the regular ticket.

Okay, I have read both of MorganB's sncf threads in their entirety, but I still have a question or two.

1) When I order my tickets on the phone by calling sncf, this is the one situation where they WILL mail it outside of France? If they do not, then do I need to make sure I am buying a PREM or iDTGV so that I can be referred to a link where I can print them out?

2) Since RailEurope is designated for us US buyers, why would sncf mail tickets to the US if I were to contact them by phone and buy my tickets that way?

3) I want to buy tickets for an overnight train from Venice to Nice, but there is not PREM or iDTGV fare, so I cannot print these tickets, nor can i pick them up in France since I will be departing from Italy. I know the first recommendation would be to buy these tickets through the TrenItalia website, but they are not available for purchase there, according to my persistent attempts to check all sorts of dates. Could I buy these via phone and have them mailed to the US?

I think that's it.... any guidance would be great, it's an amazing asset to have all of you to help sort through this process!

Correction: I have now been able to find tickets on TrenItalia (don't know what I was doing wrong before) BUT they are about 15E apiece more (70E v. 55E) than on SNCF... so same issue still, would prefer to find a way to buy them from SNCF.

1) Yes they will mail them. I have also read they will send a link to you if it is a Prem or iDTGV ticket.

2) Who knows. Not a question a would fret about. Just be happy about the savings.

3) I would suspect they will mail these as well. Just call and ask.

Wow, what a great service you provided.

Does the Thalys webpage work basically the same? I'm looking for a ticket from Cologne, Germany to Paris, a SMLY or something I think they're called. I'm told you have to buy a roundtrip but you can throw away the return and it's significantly cheaper than all others. As long as I can print them at home am I okay to book them through the Thalys.com webpage? The Eurorail person in the US I was working with volunteered to book for me but I'm not sure if he will charge extra for that.

Also any idea how long in advance of your departure time I would need to get to the Cologne station? I'm not sure how huge that station is.

Thanks.

Hi there Crose,

Yes you can toss the return without a problem. As long as you can print your tickets you are good and should book on thalys.com for the savings. I have used the site only a few times but after you get off the main page the booking pages appear to be identical to those of the SNCF. In fact you can also book your Thalys tickets through the SNCF website.

Raileurope will happily book your ticket for a premium. There is the extremely rare case where their prices are lower (eurostar comes to mind). You might want to compare but it is doubtful that they will be less.

Cant help with the station in cologne, never been there.

Happy travels!

MorganB, thanks for your help. Can you see any advantage to booking through the SNCF site versus Thalys or vice versa? Reading through your instructions it appears that they are very similar.

You've done a great service for a lot of people.

Glad to be of help. I dont think theres really a difference between the two sites as long as you can print your tickets.

Hi everyone. I have two probably dumb questions- first, what does PREMS mean? Can anyone buy these tickets? Also, do the tickets stay the same price or do they get more expensive closer to the date of travel (like airline tickets)? I would like to go from Paris to Charleville-Mezieres at March 31/April 1st for 'Criterium International', a big bike race, but I'd like to wait a while to book until my plans are really set. Thanks for the info!

MorganB: Thanks so much for all your good information. However, I still have a question. We are traveling from Paris Nord to Brussels, but we want to return from Brussels Midi to CDG in Paris. I can't seem to find a way to do this. Can you help? Many thanks.

Hi LS, anyone can book PREMS. They are advanced purchase discount fares. Currently there are some for 15 euros on your route. The sooner you book the better for getting the cheapest prems. You must book at least two weeks in advance to get a good deal on prems. Between 2 and 1 week they are also available but more pricey. 1 week out Prems are no longer available.

Hi Nancy, there are 5 trains a day from brussels midi to CDG. Here are the times:

07:55 10:46 12:58 16:25 20:36

On tuesdays the 10:46 is moved to 10:28.

If you are booking online you can book two one way tickets. If the fare you are trying to get requires a round trip you will have to book by phone. I know with the TGV they allow you to depart from any station in the Ile de France and return to any Ile de France station. I am not sure if that is the same with Thalys but worth a call.

Thank you SO much, MorganB. What a wonderful help you are. If they gave out Oscars for the best Fodorites, you'd be be at the top of the list!

Nancy

"ditto" from me as well, Nancy!

Merv

Your most welcome Nancy. Thanks for the compliment. You too agcity.

Bingo! Aix-en-Provence to Gare-de-Lyon for 4. Not bad for a simple Kiwi.

Thanks again MorganB.

Merv

I purchased Cologne-Paris tickets for our shortly upcoming trip, and I printed them out. The top part of the page is the ticket, and the lower part is the conditions (in French).

So just to clarify, I do not need to validate this page of paper? I just show it to the conductor, and he/she compares it to the birthdate and name on my passport?

Cautionary note: I put in my credit card details, clicked on "confirm and pay for your order" ....and the next screen said, "Due to a time-out, your request has failed."

Not quite. I went to the email account that I gave as a contact, and lo! there was the confirmation email, and most important of all, a link to my dossier which once clicked on, showed that my transaction HAD gone through; I was then able to print out the tickets.

I strongly suspect that had I taken sncf at their initial word that the request had failed, and gone and re-performed the transaction, my CC would now be showing a bill for duplicate tickets!

Moral of story: always check your email in between attempts.

Thank you MorganB, for your tremendous work here.

WillTravel,

Home printed tickets need no validation usually. I have never boarded in germany so I dont really know how they handle the printed tickets but I would assume no validation since the printed tickets are only good for the date and time of travel and cannot be changed.

Sue: You make a very good point. Glad you caught the error! Thanks for the compliment. Have a nice trip.

Well this is more of a website problem - several years ago I set up an account / log-in on the SNCF website - I still get promos (put in my SPAM folder) to the email address I used. Now I am going back to France and want to purchase tickets and of course do not remember my log in. When I try to get them to resend my password it tells me "Not a valid email address" (but they are sending me promos!)I tried creat a new account but it did not seem to "take", then I got an email in my SPAM folder from PAYPAL saying my info had changed - I think these must be connected since it was just after trying to log in / create new account but why would the SNCF be directly linked to Paypal? Are you confused? I am frustrated! Any suggestions?

SNCF doesnt have anything to do with Paypal so that was just a random event. If you are having so much trouble registering, you can simply book without registering.

suec1 - I will leave it to "the master" to answer your question but I was able to buy and print out tix without creating an account at all. Are you sure you have to use your pre-existing account or create a new one?

*****

MorganB, I've been examining our tix, checking to make sure they printed out correctly. I read the page "les points a verifier sur votre billet imprime"

http://tinyurl.com/37dyae

and as far as I can tell, all 4 conditions have been satisfied. But, when I printed out the page, no barcodes appeared on the specimen ticket. Plus:

I checked the QandA on printing at this link:

http://tinyurl.com/39kezg

Scroll down to 2 - "Quelles sont les conditions d'utilisation du Billet Imprimé® ? " and there you find facsimiles of how the printout is supposed to look.

Our format looks like the second ticket displayed, the "igTGV" ticket, except that no igTGV symbol appears (as far as I know, we didn't buy igTGV tickets, just Prem tickets for an ordinary TGV Paris-Arras) and more to the point, no bar codes appear anywhere on our ticket- just scrambled boxes of the type appearing in the first ticket.

Is this normal, i.e. are my tickets valid without visible bar codes, or is my computer/browser somehow blocking the printing of these codes (I used Mozilla Firefox as the browser)?

I'm sure Morgan knows this best, but I've bought PREMs and printed them, and they don't have any barcodes on them. They have a picture of a woman's face on the ticket part, your name and birthdate at the top, and some numbers and things at the bottom. YOu can see that on the website, I guess.

The other ticket is called iDTGV (not igTGV). They don't have those tickets to Arras, so you didn't get one. They only have those to limited cities in the south or SW.

Good catch Sue. That FAQ is out of date and now both types of tickets resemble the iDTGV layout. However, only the iDTGV ticket has a barcode. Others do not. Christina describes the regular tickets well. The face can be of a man or a woman.

You are good to go.

Thanks to you both, Christine and MorganB, for the quick response.

I was almost certain we couldn't buy, and indeed hadn't bought, iDTGV tickets for that route, but I was confused since the sheet of paper that emerged from my printer has four rectangles, just like the example iDTGV ticket shown in the link. One of these rectangles shows the actual ticket details with a background showing, among other things, a person's face (a man in the instance of my tix.) You have to turn the sheet of paper 90 degrees to view the face and ticket details. (The fourth rectangle, at bottom left, isn't blank like in the sample iDTGV ticket, but has an advertisement - sigh.)

Anyway, on my tickets, the size of the ticket rectangle is half the length of the page, whereas in the first specimen ticket displayed in Section 2 in the Q and A link (or, for that matter, the ticket shown in the "Les Points a verifier" link) - the ticket spans the full width of the page, and the face is viewed without having to turn the page 90 degrees. Talk about confusing, a 'specimen ticket' that does not, in fact, correspond to what the user will print out!!

It's a great relief to hear that the barcodes aren't necessary. But how does the conductor check the ticket? Obviously not by scanning it...

Hi again Sue,

He just reads the date of travel, train, car, seat to make sure you are on the right train. He then compares your name and birthdate on the ticket to that of the ID he will ask you to present.

great reference

Just to update, I did not validate our printed-out Thalys tickets (they wouldn't have fit in any machine anyway). On the Cologne-Paris leg, the conductor punched the bottom of the paper, but didn't bother looking at our passports. On the Paris-Cologne leg, the conductor neither punched the paper nor looked at our passports. I think they reasonably assume that if no one else has claimed these seats on a full train, most likely the people sitting there who are holding these printed-out tickets are indeed the legitimate "owners" of the seats, but of course a passport check is always possible.

As a side note, Thalys second class was fine, but there is not a great deal of legroom, nor are the aisles particularly spacious. So I'd rate the experience as more comfortable than flying a budget flight, but not extremely so.

MorganB
You provide a great service. From a train traveller that has only uses SNCF tickets, you have positively given fellow traveller another option.

WillTravel: Thanks for the update. Is good to hear back from fellow travelers. It adds to the usefulness of the thread. Glad your travels went smoothly.

RandyM. Thanks very much. Glad you find the thread helpful.

I don't know if this has been asked, but do we have to order the tickets ahead of time, or can we get them the day of travel at the station? Will be traveling from Paris to Avignon on May 13, 2007. Thanks--

You can get them the day of travel assuming your dates dont fall on a french holiday. However, to get a much cheaper price is best to book ahead. 90 days for classic TGV or 6 months for iDTGV. Select Avignon TGV as your destination. You will then transfer via shuttle to down town. There are a few train that go straight to the historic center but they take MUCH longer than the TGV station.

I am seeing 39 to 59 euros for coach and 45 to 75 euros for first depending on your date of travel. Just depends on what train you select.

MorganB - I am trying to book train tickets from Rennes to Paris on 5-5-07. I know I can book them 90 days out and that is supposed to be the best price. However, they are quoting 82E for two tickets at the time we want to travel. (our rental car has to be turned in at 10 am, and I don't know what we'd do with our luggage if we traveled later in the day - unless there are lockers in the station?) Later in the day the tickets are 64E for two. Do you think these 82E will go any lower, or should I book them before they're gone?

> Do you think these 82E will go any lower, or should I book them before they're gone?

They can't "go lower"- there is a certain number of seats for a certain fare, when these are sold next fare step applies... and so on until only the full-price tickets remain.

Thanks, Altamiro. I ordered the tickets and printed them. Didn't want to miss out!

Today is the first day I can book a ticket on May 18. I'm trying to reserve a seat from Lille to Paris mid-day on the TGV. The SNCF site is telling me there is only one train running that day, at 6:30 in the evening. On all other days, they have them going almost every hour. Is there a chance they will add more trains to the booking site later? I can't see any reason for the curtailed schedule except that the day before, May 17 is Ascension Day.

You are booking too early.

OK, I'll be patient. thanks

GaryCA, they will go on sale tomorrow. Your a day early.

I thought I counted 90 days correctly, but I guess not. Thanks, Morgan.

Thanks MorganB for your fabulous advice. We managed to book and print tickets for our trip in April from Canada with no problem at all. One question, when you print on 8 1/2 x 11 paper, the ticket prints out a bit smaller than if you had used the European paper. The info is all there, and is legible. Just wondered if they have any trouble scanning it when it is printed at 95% full size.

Hi westcoaster, glad you got your tickets purchased! Dont worry about the paper size, you can substitute letter size paper for A4 and the tickets still work fine. Have a great trip!

Hi MorganB,

Big thank you for this incredibly helpful info!!

I'm researching a trip from Paris to Geneva and was trying to snag an iDTGV fare. I re-read your instructions and all the following replies, and went to the iDTGV site. I discovered that my route is not eligible for that fare.

So your information saved me hours of frustration! Thanks so much!!

s

You were right about the timeframe for buying, Morgan. Mission accomplished. Thanks again.

swandav: Glad you found it helpful and good to hear you got your tickets.

Gary: I've never really figured out the exact formula for the ticket sales starting. Some say 90 days, some say 3 months. However, the way I knew it was going to happen the next day is by looking at days prior to your date of travel. Since the day before your date of travel had all booking options available, I knew that on the following day, your date would open up. Is a handy little trick if you want to be sure and grab the tickets the day they go on sale.

I was starting to feel like an obsessive/compulsive trying to get access to those tickets, but now I see the PREM's tickets are getting snapped up already, so I guess it wasn't so neurotic after all.

BTW, do you know Lille-Flandres station well enough to know if a 5 minute connection between trains is OK?

Hi again Gary,

Yes the selection can go quickly so good to buy them early for maximum choice.

As far as a 5 minute change, if the SNCF sells it that way then yes its enough. They will probably have the trains right across from each other on the same platform. I have never taken the train to Lille so cant speak to the station however.

Thank you so much for all this information! I do have one question that I haven't seen addresed. I have problems with motion sickness when I travel in a seat facing backwards. Is there any way to reserve a TGV seat that faces the direction of the train? Thanks!

SNCF has a new weekend special "Flash" that has great rates. 30E and 40E for two. Now I wish I had waited!

Hi CJM:

You can request seats in the direction of travel on certain TGV but only if you travel in first class. You select it when you click on the seating options during the booking. Otherwise just try to move if you get a backwards facing seat.

I'm thinking of buying a great prems fare for Paris-Milan on artesia night train for my mom for June 3 (only 35 e!) Rest of family (DH, self, 3 kids) will be travelling on Eurail passes - and booking our couchette reservation separately ($35 couchette reservation fee w/ railpass).. think there is any problem with getting Mom to be able to switch with someone to sleep in our 6-person car? Assume no way to specific this when ordering prem fare tickets thru SCNF? I'm right at 90-day window to buy ticket - do you think it matters if i wait 3-4 days to book her prem ticket after we make our reservations for couchettes? Can you make reservations only on scnf site w/railpass (similar to raileurope site) or just for purchase tickets? thanks-- veebee

hit the button before i finished.. or maybe if i call scnf english number they could accomplish both for me - reserved couchettes with railpass and prem fare for mom? HELP!!!

I would suggest you call. That way they can book you all in the same cabin at once. If they cant help you with the rail pass reservations , do that via rail europe asking for an empty cabin then call sncf and tell them where your family is to add yourself. As far as waiting a few days after the PREMS are released, its really hard to say, they can go quickly or they can stay for weeks and weeks , depends on the demand for the route.

MorganB, I have hit a snag that I did not expect. My wife and I and two granddaughters are traveling Rome to Paris via the overnight train. We have finally entered the 90 day period for 2 June travel, but the computer will not book all four of us in the same cabin under the couchette for four arrangements. Elsewhere on Trenitalia's site I read that there are cabins reserved for all ladies on the coach. Does this mean that the only way we can travel and be in the same compartment is to go first class?

I have also noted that it is MUCH easier to manuever through these options on the SNCF site, but you write that we could not pick up our tickets in Rome if they were purchased from SNCF, correct? I am curious because they do show an option on the site for selecting a place to pick up tickets other than France.

Thanks for your excellent guide.

Jim

thanks - i'm going to make all my bookings/railpasses Monday via BudgetEurope travel and then call SCNF to try to purchase Prems fare and get 6th person (my mom!) in same cabin...don't know with Prems fares if you basically get what you get.. but we'll find out! All the info has been great - i wouldn't have even ckd out the scnf site and paid LOTS for ticket direct with raileurope or budgeteuropetravel!

Hi Jim,

If you select Italy as the country where you would like to collect your tickets, they will be mailed there. You cant pick them up at the ticket window if purchased from the SNCF site. If you want to buy your tickets from the SNCF you can order them via phone and have them mailed to you in the US. Mailing to the US only works via phone, not the sncf site.

I cant really help you on the layout of the night train as I have never taken it. Hope you are able to work it out!

Morgan

Hi, MorganB

Well, I broke through, much much more than I wanted.

Something is amiss with their server and it continued to show me that my attempts to purchase tickets (first class, double sleeper) were denied by my VISA, then MC. Outraged, I called VISA. Oh, sir, they replied, but you have TWO purchases approved tonight. I suspect same happened with MC. The Trenitalia's customer section and its links where one can check purchases, etc., show no reservations or tickets, but apparently I have bought at least 12!! The purchases were going through, but their server would not (and still has not) acknowledge them.

Banks' advice is to get them on the telephone line with a conference call and have them agree to rescind the charges. So far, I can't get them to respond to my FAX...

Ahh, the trials of international travel...

Thanks for your help. I will let you know how this one plays out.

Jim

Hi MorganB - need some quick help. I bought my TGV tix from Paris to Avignon the other day; no problem with those. However I'm now attempting to purchase tickets from Lausanne to Paris. Since my travel is not originating in France, it does not give me the option as it did with the PREMS fares (I'm getting Piccolo fares though). So, my question is, should I choose France or Switzerland for the country where I will collect my tickets? I'm thinking I should change it to Switzerland, but if I do that, my only option is to have them sent free by post. If I still choose France, it asks if I want to pick them up at the ticket counter. Which option do I choose?

Hi Jim, I dont know alot about the Trenitalia website. Hope you get it all straightened out!

Jenblase: If you are going to be in France before the Lausanne - Paris leg you can pick them up at anytime in France. Otherwise, you would need to call and book your tickets over the phone with the SNCF and have them mail them to you. You can't really use the website if you are originating in another country unless the tickets are printable.

Another option would be to book via the swiss train website. I have never used it so cant really help you with that.

well - I called SNCF English number - got thru - booked my prems fare - gave cc# - but then when she asked where i wanted tickets mailed - said they no longer mail to US - went to ask her manager - who confirmed - no mailing to US - also could not print due to fact they are Paris - Milan (tried this online)...so she gave me a confirmation number and told me i could pick up in France at a rail station.. I'm a little uncertain and asked her whether prems fares could be picked up and she said "It's OK - dont' worry - i confirmed with my manager" and said to bring my amex and confirmation number. However, I am worried!! Asked for email to confirm - she said they didn't do this - so i am going to send my own confirming email via SNCF website (since she also did not get any contact info from me if cc transaction has problems??) and maybe bring my amex statement confirming the charge? WOuld you be worried? We do not leave for trip until May 30th so will have plenty of time to hit my statement..??

Bookmarking

VeeBee, I wouldnt worry at all. When we book over the phone here in France we can pick up our tickets at the station with the reservation and credit card. You can also pick them up from any train station or SNCF boutique prior to travel. You dont have to wait for the day of travel. Interesting that they wont mail them anymore. You should be able to consult your reservation here:

http://www.voyages-sncf.com/dynamic/_SvHomeRAD?_TMS=1173194982700&_DLG=SvHomeRAD&_LANG=UK&_AGENCY=VSC

MorganB, Didn't i read somewhere in this post that Prem fares usually can't be picked up at station? That was one concern. ALso, do you know if there is some deadline to pick up tickets x days after booking or before travel? Seems like i read this somewhere on sncf site? This ticket is for travel June 3 and we won't be arriving until May 31 in Paris. One other potential issue - will this ticket then have to be validated with credit card at station? Which may be a problem with US CC? Actually, BETS was pretty helpful - they booked the other 5 railpass couchettes for me - and was able to look up my confirmation number for the Prem fare (1 traveller - Mom not travelling on railpass) and it is in the system - so does make me feel little better....

Hi VeeBee,

You can pick up your tickets anytime before travel up to as close as you can cut it and still get on the train because you have already paid for the tickets. At one time PREMS were internet only but thats changed so you can pick them up in the station. Your US credit card will work fine to pick up your tickets but only at the ticket window, not the automatic ticket machines. You must take your credit card used to buy the tickets and your reservation number to get the tickets. Its all good

morganb,

thanks, thanks and thanks again! Yes, its alot of details but has helped me tremendously!!

Bookmarking this fabulous guide for this summer-
CDG to Amboise
Dijon to CDG.
Thank you MorganB!!!

We will be in France in June on the first day we can buy PREM tickets for our Sept trip. I will not have my PC with me, so can't order using the internet.

Can I purchase PREM tickets at any SNCF station? I prefer this method over calling them and having the tickets mailed to our Gite in France or to the US. On this thread, the following is the only reference I've found about buying them at a ticket office. I would like some sort of second confirmation of this.

>>Author: MorganB
Date: 08/21/2006, 06:03 pm
Hi Ferros. Prems cannot be picked up at the counter which is why you arent getting the option. You must print them, have them mailed, or buy them directly at the station or boutique<<

I understand that PREMs can now be picked up at the counter, but I'm trying to find out if they can be purchased at the counter.

Also, when I was doing a little planning yesterday, I noticed that starting April 1, Thalys no longer provides service from Brussels to CDG - only the TGV goes there after that date.

Stu Dudley

Hi Stu, yes you can now purchase PREMS at the ticket windows and boutiques.

I prefer this method over calling them and having the tickets mailed to our Gite in France or to the US

I want to know HOW you got them to mail tickets to the US????????

You can have tickets mailed to the US if you call the SNCF directly. However, recently someone tried and reported that the agent told them they were no longer mailing them to the US. They were offered a pick up at the station option instead. I am not sure if this was just the agent who was wrong or a new policy.

I called the other day and got my Lausanne/Paris tickets mailed to the US free of charge. So maybe it was a misinformed agent.

>>>Hi Stu, yes you can now purchase PREMS at the ticket windows and boutiques<<

Thank you.

I also got tickets mailed to me in the US - but that was about 6 years ago. We called the English number.

Stu Dudley

i'm the one who recently called - made booking and then when asked for address and gave US address - she said no mailing to US. She even went off to ck with her supervisor who confirmed no mailing to US "anymore" and offered for tickets to be picked up at a station with no problem. Wish they had mailed them - guess just depends who you get on the phone?

Thanks to MorganB for excellent instructions! Last night I successfully booked tickets from Paris to Avignon for June, and printed them at home without a hitch.

The detail you provided made it almost a no brainer. Thank you.

In addition, I rechecked availability for the same time and route this morning to find the 25 euor tickets no longer available. New fares seem to be posted midnight France time, and are available here the evening before. If you are sure of your travel dates 90 days in advance and book immediately you can save nearly half per ticket.

One question. Should I be worried about Coach 18? It must be the caboose!

Are you sure it's 90 days, and not 3 months??? Did you book last night for June 16th???

Today I saw PREMS for June 16, and it's 92 days till then.

Stu Dudley

Stu: I stand corrected. It is three months, by the calendar date.

Hi Charnina,

Glad the instructions helped! Hope you have a great trip. Coach 18 is fine. The TGV are a bit strange in numbering. The first train set might be 1-9 and the second 10 - 18 but 18 might be in the middle. So the train would be :

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10.

Or it could be in number order or 18 could be at the head of the train . You just never know. They connect the trains together at different stations and they come from different directions so 1 is not always in front. Just read the LCD screens next to the door and allow 10 minutes to walk the full length of the train.

I plan to book PREM from Avignon to Roissy (CDG) for June 29 at the SNCF website. I have been watching the available trains, and interested in the 18h41 train. Somehow after June 8 this time schedule is no longer available, does any one know why? Thanks!

Well, I screwed up. See my other post above where I said the agent would mail the tix to me in the US. She told me they would do it free of charge. However I didn't have my credit card with me so I needed to call back to buy the tickets.

That was two weeks ago. I called back today and now apparently they're not mailing them to the US anymore and I have to buy them through Rail Europe.

Jenblaz, You might give the Swiss rail site a try. I know they have online booking but do not know the ins and outs of it. It would probably be the same price as the SNCF site and they might offer rail station pickup.

MorganB - I'm waiting for the days to tick over to make my ticket purchase - I want the Roissy - St Pierre des Corps route. We fly in at 13.00 and the train I want is 15.42 - I have figured after reading lots of posts that we probably have time to make it. My question is, as PREMS don't seem to be available on that route and the fares don't seem to vary that much, should I purchase ahead to collect at the station and risk not making the train, or purchase them when we arrive at the station? Does anyone know if these trains are ever totally full?

Any suggestions would really be appreciated!

Nerida

Oh, I meant to say, the train we want tickets for is on Sunday 24 June. Maybe that's why there are no PREMS available - is Sunday a really busy day?

MorganB or any one, can you help with this question please, thanks!

I understand that the SNCF seats are only available for reservation 3 months in advance, when I checked on the very first open day, some of the schedules are not displayed, e.g. Avignon to Roissy 18h41 for June 22, it shows up on June 23 and some previous days. Does this mean that certain train schedule are not available for on-line reservation? or did I do something wrong that they don't get displayed? Hope someone can shed some light, thanks!
Sue

ttt

Nerdia, I like you do not see PREMS on that route for any date. PREMS arent available on every route so that must be one that they are not offered. What type of fare are you looking at ? Full fare? If so you can just book it and pay it as full fare can be changed at anytime.

If not, you can book 3 days before your travel and just select to hold the reservation. Then take the reservation number to the desk and pay the reservation. The hold will expire 30 minutes before the train departs.

SueLee, not sure why that isnt showing up. It is on the schedule. I suspect that for some reason or the other they havent loaded in that train for that day. I would give it a couple of days and see if it shows up.

MorganB - Yes, we would be paying full fare. So does that mean I would book and pay now, then collect at the window up to 30 minutes before?
Thanks for your assistance with this.

Morgan, we will be taking the TGV from Roissy to Avignon after "trying to sleep" on a night flight from NYC. I know I won't be able to sleep very well on the plane. I am hoping I can take a couple hours nap on the train so we get to Avignon I will be able to stay up until normal bedtime that night. You stated in one of your posts that the upper deck is sunnier and lots of foot traffic to the snack area and the lower deck is quieter/darker and not much foot traffic. What would you suggest for the best location in 1st class to be as quiet and private for two people (as possible) to get in a good nap?

Thanks for your help.

emh

Thanks! MorganB for responding to my question. You're most helpful. I'll continue to check...
Sue

Nerida: If you pay online you can book at anytime and pick up your tickets at anytime up until the train leaves.

SueLee: Your welcome. Good luck!

EMH : Downstairs for sure in a "dual side by side" or "duo cote a cote". Its much quiter downstairs and with a duo side by side you will be seated like in a plane next to each other with a window and asile.

Perfect, that is what I needed. Thank you Morgan. You are such a big help.

emh

Morgan--Thank you so much for taking the time to post all this information! I was able to buy our tickets today, and got the PREM fares!

Hi all, I would also like to buy a RREMs ticket from Paris CDG TGV to Aix-en-Provence TGV in 21/6. My return date is 2/7. But when I try to buy it, there always a sentence "there's no train after your requested date", what does it means? Besides, as I know TGV always need to make a reservation for seat and pay for the resevation. If I buy the ticket online and print it at home. Do I need to make the reservation for TGV seat at the staion counter on the date I depart?
Last Question, there's a "choisir Ma Place" option when we buy our ticket, there are so many options for us to choose, which one of them is best based on your opinion? Thanks.

bookmark
thanks morganb

irene, seat preference is just personal, the factors are obvious, I think (although I can't recall what they are -- window versus aisle, I suppose, and sometimes upper versus lower). Sometimes they show those tables but if I'm alone, I always prefer a single seat if they have them--many trains do. The upper level usually has nicer views, but it's not a big deal and if you have a big bag, the lower level is easier for that.

As for the no trains available after the date -- there is a time limit on what they show online, they only allow reservations a certain amount in advance, and it appears your final date is past the window they allow you to book. It was over three months from the date you tried that, and they won't allow booking that far in advance in many cases, so you should do this within three months of the date.

TGV tickets include the seat reservation, the seat number is shown on the ticket, so there is no need to get one in person at the ticket window if you've bought online and bought the kind you can print yourself.

Thanks Morganb.
Hope you can help with this one.

I am trying to book tickets for late May. However, when reading the terms and conditions, they seem to indicate that the tickets must be picked up no later than 7 days after purchase (for purchases made 11-62 from trip date).
If I purchase now, can I still pick up my tickets at the station? Or do I lose my reservations/tickets?

Hi Christina, really thanks a lot for your help. Your reply is really clear and helps a lot. Can I ask one more question althogh I've posted this question several days before under other headline, I hope to get some more advice. If I land the CDG airport at 6:30a.m., can I have enough time to catch the TGV at CDG to Aix at 8:40a.m.? is it too risky? coz if I can't take that train, probably I need to wait for 5 hours in the airport to catch another direct-route train to Aix at 1:30p.m.Can you give me some advice so that I can make up my mind to book the PREMs ticket now? Thanks.

I hate to be a pain!

Last night I tried booking fron CDG to Brussels Midi returning to Paris Central.

Gave me a message that the cities were wrong. Please help me!

epaulino

I hope I've understood your problem correctly, if not my apologies.

Did you try entering Paris Nord as your departure point? (From CDG, you could commute by local RER or taxi to the Gare du Nord, takes about half an hour.)

You would return to the same station (Gare du Nord), which is considered to be central Paris.

Irenewong, unless your flight arrives late, you should be fine to catch the 8:40 TGV. From my experience it rarely takes more than an hour to clear immigration & customs. You didn't mention which terminal you're flying into, but no matter which one, it shouldn't take more than an hour to get over to the TGV station. And unlike a plane, you can board the train right up until the minute the doors close! Of course all bets are off if your flight is late ... if that happens, you could avoid a 5-hr wait at the airport by going into Paris and taking a TGV from Gare de Lyon. The SNCF counter in the airport station can help you organize this.

Hi Mlaffitte, my flight will land at Terminal 2, CDG airport. and I would like to ask as you say if my fight is late, the SNCF will help me take another train at the Gare de Lyon. But if I buy the PREM's ticket which is unchangeble and unrefundable, what will happen to me if I miss the train? Probably no one can help me at that time, and I need to buy a new(probably more expensive)ticket,right? So, every difficult to decide which train to take!

Irene you will indeed have to buy a new ticket if you miss your train.

MorganB, thank you so much for your instructions. I was able to purchase my ticket Brussels to Paris online and print it. Just to be safe, I printed from my PC at work as my operating system is Safari (with Firefox) at home.

I've been watching fares for weeks for Amsterdam to Paris and the prices have been high. I went to AAA with thought of purchasing through them, but they quoted me a very high amount and they would not be able to make my reservation for the Thalys portion -- I would have to do that at the station and pay even more.

So I went back to the website and was able to get a discounted ticket (35E, 2nd class, reservation included) for Brussels to Paris. As the trains between Amsterdam and Brussels were not on sale I didn't feel the rush to buy one now and I have flexibility to decide later which train I want to take out of Amsterdam. If it's a pretty day I may get up early and train to Brugge for a couple of hours and then proceed to Paris.

And I haven't decided yet whether I want a first class or second class ticket for the first portion of the trip -- 2 two hours and 45 minutes. After flying coach from California the princess in me wants first class on the train. Is there much difference between first class and second class? This will not be a Thalys train.

Long explanation, but what I learned is I was able to get a better price and more schedule options by breaking down my trip into two pieces as what was showing up for the two legs combined was too costly and restrictive

Thanks again -- you're my hero. Diane

Hi Diane! Thanks for your very nice post. Glad you found a good price. I personally prefer first but there isnt a large difference. First is 2-1 rather than 2-2 so the seats are wider, nicer fabric, a bit more leg room, and they recline a little. At least that is the case on the bullet train. I am a bit unclear as to what leg you are asking about. If its a dutch train from Amsterdam to Brussels that you are asking about then i am unsure of the difference in 1st and 2nd because i have only traveled on the Thalys on that leg. Hope you have a nice trip!

TTT

Thank you so much MorganB! Your instructions were invaluable! I was able to purchase First Class PREMs for an upcoming summer trip (Paris to Avignon return) for approximately $150 CDN less than what RailEurope wanted for Restricted Second Class seating. I don't even want to calculate what RailEurope would have wanted for the seats that I purchased. Talk about price gouging! I printed off the tickets at home and now we are ready to go. Again, many thanks for your instructions!

ttt

Morgan,
I posted this on a separate thread but thought I would re-post under here to see if I could get your help.
"We will be traveling from Lyon to Annecy. When I look up the tickets on the SNCF website it lists the train information but when I go to order the tickets it says "Attention, you cannot make reservations for certain journeys in this list" and they all say "without reservation" on them. Should I still book the tickets? What happens and are we guarenteed seats? Thanks."

Hi MorganB, thanks so much for your helpful info. I was able to book PREMs in 1st class using your guide. I have a question. The ticket says a meal is included. Do I need to order something before the trip or is it a standard meal as on a plane. The trip is from Paris to Koln leaving at 12.55pm. Thanks again.

I reserved my tickes (Prems) from Avignon to Paris fairly easily.

The next day I got what seems to be a sort of 'here's all our other offers' email, subject line "Votre première lettre d'information". It's in French and I don't see a little English flag anywhere on it, as there was on the original website. I could probably struggle through the French but it would take me a pretty long time and I'm sure I'd miss the subtleties.

Has anyone received one of these emails? If so, can you see anything on it that would allow me to translate it to English?

Thanks for all this advice but I am still having problems with booking.
I tried to book but when I get to my paying options then the problems start.
The options that are given to me are to mail to me which I don't want to do since I live in the USA. The other options is to pay by using the automated machines but I don't want to do this either since I don't have a credit card with their chip in it or the option that I would like to use is to reserve it now and then pay for it by the date given . The only problem is that the day given is before I get there so how do I pay for the ticket in Paris before I even get there? Thanks!What can I do?

Topping. Found this thread after topping an older version.

Oops, I did too - forgot there was a second version, so here's what I just posted on the first version...

Hi,

Just wanted to add to notify your credit card company before trying to purchase tickets, or they might block the sale.

Thanks to the directions on here, I had no problems navigating the site (THANKS!!!), but when I went to pay, a message would instantly appear saying my bank had blocked the charge.

I thought I read somewhere in this long thread that if it was the middle of the night French time, that message might appear as they do maintenance or something. So I ignored it and kept trying. After 1-1/2 days, I finally decided to call my credit card company, just in case. Sure enough, they WERE blocking it!

They unblocked it for that sale, and while I missed out on the cheapest prems, I was able to get a prem fare.

BTW, I was not able to print the tickets, but was able to choose from mailing, retrieveing from automated machine, or retrieveing from any SNCF office. I chose the later as I don't have the credit card with the embedded chip - besides, one less piece of paper to worry about keeping track of before the trip, lol!

Looks like the SNCF has changed up their site! They have hidden the english version of their site and when you select france as your country it pushes you to the French version. For those of you not comfortable in French you might want to give the following a try. I just figured it out and hopefully it will work for everyone.

If this works then this will give us a back door to the english booking site for the SNCF that we have all been using and that they seem to have hidden away from us!


Go here:

http://tinyurl.com/2dkfne

If the page comes up in French just hit refresh. After that it should go to english...

Click "reserve your train ticket on line"

Then you should be able to just go to step 4 of my booking guide and push on through.

Let me know your results if you can. Would be helpful.

Once we get an idea that this works and continues to work for a couple of weeks I will update the guide.

Thanks!

I tried that website and it gives me 2 choices...should I select collect from travel agent? I'm a little confused

Collect your tickets from your travel agency
Or profit from the electronic ticket service and collect your ticket from an SNCF terminal in a station.
With your card number : SNCF S'Miles cards (Frequent Traveller, Better Journeys), Banker's Cards (CB, Visa, Eurocard Mastercard) Find out
With your file reference and associated name

never mind I went through the french site and it let me print the tx! yay!

Ah yes i see what you mean about the options. It appears not to give the print option. So scratch that URL above, its not useful for american travelers.

I will keep looking and see if I can find another english interface that allows printing.

Thanks for the updates. They'll be most usefull for next summer's trip.

This is really a great find as I've been researching purchasing point to point tickets instead of the rail pass because they are less expensive. Thank you, MorganB, for posting and answering the questions.

I'm a little confused about the train stations in Paris in relation to the airports. Which train station is closest to BVA? How long will it take to get to the train station and is it easy to find transportation (cheapest) to the train station.

Also, in testing the English SNCF site I'm bounced out of it when I'm ready to purchase tickets and am sent to the French site. It seems to have a mind of its own and I'm a little uneasy about making the purchase. What if I can't print the tickets?

I too am a bit confused as I keep getting a french version of the site. I can get up through the search part, but when the search results always come in French. Is this normal? The directions say nothing about this so I wasn't clear if I did something wrong somewhere...?

I speak almost no french so I am really struggling to choose seats and follow the rest of the directions!

msinformation, I use a language translator which helps alot.

http://dictionary.reference.com/translate/

Thanks litefoot. I ended up using Babelfish and after a very long hour, I managed to translate enough to buy my tickets. Thanks!

If you use Firefox as a web browser, there are a couple of add-ons that will allow you to translate whole pages of text to/from English.

I use on called simply "translator" found here: http://www.google.com/search?q=firefox+translator&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

Works pretty good

The only thing I see that can be done to get the site in English now is to go to http://www.voyages-sncf.com , click on "train" at the top middle, then you got up to the URL and change LANG=FR to LANG=UK then refresh. After that it should all be the same as the old instructions.

Otherwise we are stuck with the french version

So, I got my 2 sets of tickets, but I didn't see any place to select seats when I made them. I do see "Voiture 11 Place 12 Assise," so I assume this is Car 11, Seat 12, and I'm all set.

Are seats automatically assigned if you don't select?

One more thing... I printed the PREM "tickets" -- do I take these to the ticket window along with my credit card and they give me a "real" ticket? Or is what I have all I need?

Thank you for this thread. It is very informative!!

Thats all you need. You can just head onto the train and you will show that as your ticket. You've got the car and seat right. If you dont choose the seat time it does indeed just assign one. Glad you found the post helpful.

Thanks Morgan.

The printed tickeds don't need to be validated? I printed my thalys tx I bought on the website. So I just get in the train with my tx and show it when they ask?

Correct, no validation needed.

MorganB, Thanks - I'm going to take your word for it, and by the way, what is your home phone number? -- in case I need it for the French rail police!

thank you MorganB!

Thank you MorganB for all your helpful tips. Re your point below, if I am finding the same fare options on both SNCF and Rail Europe (perhaps due to not booking way ahead), is there any reason not to book on Rail Europe? Thanks.


Question: Why would I want to go through all this trouble when I can just use Rail Europe?

Answer: Rail Europe does an excellent job providing train tickets to those in the US. They offer a service and their prices reflect that. There is nothing wrong with booking with them. However if you want to save money and dont mind doing it yourself, booking with the SNCF is much cheaper.

Not that I can think of..... Rail Europe being closer in price to the SNCF is fairly new. Seems that they haven't updated their prices to fully reflect the movement of the dollar.

The one advantage to Rail Europe is they are in the US so it might be easier to iron out any problems. I've never dealt with them but they are the "official" seller for the SNCF in the US. I believe they are partially owned by the SNCF.

Thanks. I ended up getting better fares on sncf after all, though the experience was very frustrating, not least of all because this special 40 euro "evasion en duo" (escape for two, I assume) fare kept appearing and disappearing (eventually disappearing entirely and being replaced by a 56 euro fare for two -- still not a bad fare, but they got my hopes up with the 40!). Also, I was unable to print the second leg of our tickets, but I emailed them and they replied in about a day and told me they had a computer glitch and that I can just print them out at the station.

MorganB-
Wondering if you still do not recommend that people choose to have tickets mailed to the US?

I have a month before my trip and it says on the SNCF site that tickets outside France will take 7 business days.
I don't have the option of printing-no PREMs available on my route/time/day.

hi Morgan,
You are so generous! Thank you!! My question is this: I leave Nice or Monaco on 7/11/2009 or for Camogli. How do I buy a ticket that starts in France and quickly becomes Italy?

dawnie, you can buy your ticket that starts in France on the French rail site - they will sell 'international' train tickets. You have to wait until 90 days from your departure, though, not sold any further in advance than that.

hi, my attempts to use the sncf site as given by MorganB are derailed(unintentional funny!) by TGV. As soon as I click on the Brit flag, I get moved to TGV. Help please!

dawnie, I gave you the tip on your other 'French train' thread:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2&tid=35155327

a tip to add to this helpful thread:
i needed to book TGV tickets from germany to france. i used bahn.de for booking, since it gives me the option to read in english and also have my tickets mailed to me in USA. i never had problems getting the tickets via mail in the past from them. i think this is the better way to go for anyone who books germany to france tickets well in advance, instead of using SNCF.

Does anyone know if the sncf site still does not allow printing from Safari? Also, can piccolo fares be printed? thanks!

Must I buy my ticket from Paris to Bordeaux in advance or can I get my TGV reservation when I arrive in Paris 4-5 days prior to my trip to Bordeaux? We arrive in Paris on the 25th of May, 2009 and leave for Bordeaux on the 29th. Thanks.

Been having trouble finding into. Does anyone know if the 2nd class cars on TGV have electrical outlets at the seats? I know the 1st class cars do.

bookmarking

Thanks very much for the info here!

I successfully got English by changing FR to EN in the URL on the second page. Then I did test bookings for my five train trips to compare the prices with a railpass - either Senior first class or Individual second class - at the current exchange rate and date it was significantly cheaper to book point-to-point.

Then I went through booking all five trips (Nice to Grenoble, Grenoble to Dijon, Dijon to Strasbourg, Strasbourg to Nancy and Nancy to Paris) for April. Everything was fine until I tried to pay. Does SNCF have something against Visa??? I have a Capital One Visa I use for foreign transactions (no fee), but SNCF wouldn't take it. I even had Cap One on the phone, while I input my data and tried again, three times, and the transaction never went through!

I called SNCF, but after a while on hold I gave up and tried my Citi Mastercard, and the transaction went through smooth as silk, but cost me a 3% conversion fee. Snarl!

BTW, am I right in thinking I can pick up all five tickets when I get to Nice?

My daughter is trying to get us tickets online for April 25, and the sncf site will not allow her to complete the transaction past a certain point. (She is fluent in French so the language is not the problem). However, she is using a Mac with Safari; could that be the issue? I decided to have her do this b/c I made a costly mistake a couple of years ago, and the SNCF is not forgiving.

Her daughter/my granddaughter, 6, will be with us, so we don't all have Prems (it was less expensive for a regular child's ticket) and know therefore that we can't print them here.

Merci!

Ok, one problem seems to be solved; using a pc now instead of Mac.

However, they are now saying that we must have a secret code to pick up the tickets in Paris? What is that?

Thank you very much!

I believe the "secret code" is the six alpha digit reference number. It should be on the confirmation order page and the confirmation email. Don't forget to take the credit card you used to pay for the tickets as well.

Thanks so much, Thursdaysd; that helps. And also for the reminder about the same credit card.

It has been reported many times that when booking online with a Capitol One and a vendor in a foreign country, you have to phone Capital One ahead of time or their security measures will prevent the transaction from being approved.

Their security measures must be very stringent. I booked a hotel room in Las Vegas with a Capital One card, then booked again for a few additional nights and received "invalid credit card" which I know was not due to my credit limit. When I used an alternate card, it went through just fine. I didn't bother to call Capital One, but I'm guessing some security measure was in place, because I used it an hour or two later to purchase show tickets.

"It has been reported many times that when booking online with a Capitol One and a vendor in a foreign country, you have to phone Capital One ahead of time or their security measures will prevent the transaction from being approved."

If you had read my post carefully, you would have seen that I had Capital One on the phone while I tried to put the SNCF transaction through. I had already told the automated line I was in France for three weeks while I put my hotel reservations through - all successfully. So the problem was with SNCF, NOT Cap One.

Hi,

I am planning on taking the Artesia train from Rome to Paris on May 3rd. What's the cheapest way to book the ticket while here in the USA (the EuroRail.com rates are pretty high)? How can I either get the tickets mailed to my address in USA or have it to be picked up at the station in Rome (or Venice/Florence/Pisa)? Also do these prices vary much (i.e., can I get there and buy the tickets or are they likely to go up as the travel date nears)?

Thanks.

My biggest problem using the SNCF site is the "station" names. Reading this, I've learned to put in "Roissy" if I want to depart from CDG.

But is there a list somewhere of all the stations and their proper names?