TGV train from Paris to Avignon
Sep 12th, 2012, 08:18 PM
#2
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You can book up to 90 days ahead of when you plan to travel, and that is when the fares are the least expensive. The low price fares sell out quickly so depending upon your time frame, it would seem to make sense to do it before you get to France.
www.voyages-sncf.com
www.voyages-sncf.com
Sep 12th, 2012, 08:48 PM
#4
You should always book yourself online -- for one thing, the site will often propose an earlier or later train to help you save money. That is sort of question that a conciege cannot answer in your place.
Sep 13th, 2012, 03:14 AM
#5
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Book in English at www.tgv-europe.com, if you're from the States select 'United KIngdom' to avoid being bumped to Rail Europe, and read any popups carefully and click to stay with TGV-Europe, not get diverted.
Fares start at €25 if you pre-book online direct with tgv-europe.com
Fares start at €25 if you pre-book online direct with tgv-europe.com
Sep 13th, 2012, 05:04 AM
#6
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iDTGV fares start at 19€ which are available at any of the SNCF websites and can be booked up to 5 months in advance (depending upon when schedules are released):
www.voyages-sncf.com
www.tgv-europe.com
www.idtgv.com
www.voyages-sncf.com
www.tgv-europe.com
www.idtgv.com
Sep 14th, 2012, 02:02 AM
#10
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" It is the trip on Sept. 30th and when I booked there were only six seats left on the train I wanted."
That's really, really hard to believe, unless you were looking at Rail Europe, which is a rip-off. You need to use the sites Sarastro listed above.
That's really, really hard to believe, unless you were looking at Rail Europe, which is a rip-off. You need to use the sites Sarastro listed above.
Sep 14th, 2012, 03:57 AM
#11
Looks like all of the trains on the 30th are still available, with 2nd class fare starting at 39.90 (but 42.00 for most trains) or 45.00 for 1st class.
That's on www.voyages-sncf.com
That's on www.voyages-sncf.com
Sep 14th, 2012, 01:15 PM
#12
Great now tell me this:
I go to the site as Seat61 suggests and I say I am from the UK. Then the site asks me if I want the tickets mailed and asks me for a UK address which I do not have....and no, when I tried to do this I did not get any print it out at home or pick it up at the station choices or am I missing something here?????
I go to the site as Seat61 suggests and I say I am from the UK. Then the site asks me if I want the tickets mailed and asks me for a UK address which I do not have....and no, when I tried to do this I did not get any print it out at home or pick it up at the station choices or am I missing something here?????
Sep 14th, 2012, 01:18 PM
#13
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You choose the option to pick up at a gare or an SNCF boutique. They won't mail them to the USA. Saying you're from the UK or wherever simply lets you BUY the tickets at the good prices, not get them delivered to you. You have to do that once in France.
Sep 14th, 2012, 02:09 PM
#14
Thank you, St. Cirque.
Well, I was using the TGV site and not the SNCF site and since I had said, as suggested, that my residence is in the UK ("so you won't get pushed over to RailEurope") th site naturally assumed I wanted the tickets mailed to the UK.
Sigh...I liked it better when I could go to the SNCF site and it had an English version BUT I know enough French that I can actually get by there.
My question was as much as anything a response top the "just say you are a UK resident" suggestion which if you aren't doesn't really work.
Well, I was using the TGV site and not the SNCF site and since I had said, as suggested, that my residence is in the UK ("so you won't get pushed over to RailEurope") th site naturally assumed I wanted the tickets mailed to the UK.
Sigh...I liked it better when I could go to the SNCF site and it had an English version BUT I know enough French that I can actually get by there.
My question was as much as anything a response top the "just say you are a UK resident" suggestion which if you aren't doesn't really work.
Sep 14th, 2012, 05:08 PM
#15
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Well, I certainly may have misunderstood the number of seats. The only site I understood was the Eurorail. I guess I should have tried harder with all your good suggestions. Are you quoting in Euros because it came to about $100. This seems to vary on the time and day. Also, the Fodors guide said about $100 so I thought it was OK. Hope I didn't overpay. I think I'm booking so late I was willing to pay a premium to get it done so I can have things settled. I was even able to print my tickets on my home computer. i think that I just need to plan further ahead next time to save money!
Sep 14th, 2012, 11:51 PM
#16
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thorspecken, to get an idea of just how low the fare could have been, Paris to Avignon on 12/8 starts from 25€=$33. So, if your "next time" trip has a firm schedule, you do want to book way ahead of the departure. So I can help others better, would you mind telling us whether you just realized you needed to book the train ticket or you just recently decided to go to Provence?
Sep 15th, 2012, 01:06 AM
#17
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"about $100" is meaningless. Prices vary enormously, with the cheapest being 19 euros and the maximum being about 80. It all depends on how far in advance you book and the deals being offered at the time. I've never paid anything close to $100, but frankly, compared to Amtrak, for example, that's not such a bad deal.
Sep 18th, 2012, 07:23 PM
#18
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Greg, There may have been a few factors in the price I paid. I don't think I followed the directions to get to a cheaper site option. Most of this trip to France was planned late and it wasn't even until about two weeks before that we decided to spend our second week in Provence. I think I was nervous about getting everything done for my trip so I allowed myself to be pushed to the Eurorail site. Out of curiosity I looked at fares today and they seemed higher. So I think how far I booked in advance was a factor. Like airfares? I know this is not on topic but getting a hotel took hours even on the internet. Everything in our price range $200-$300 was booked. So finally we had to split the time between two hotels as I couldn't get seven consecutive nights anywhere! I am wondering if the fact it is fashion week when we are there had anything to do with it.
Sep 18th, 2012, 07:34 PM
#19
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Greg, did I answer the question? Yes, just recently decided to go to Provence. Also, a friend had said don't bother booking in advance so I was even going to wait until I got to Paris to book, not realizing I had to book in advance. Then, when I started doing my posts on the Forum I realized I had better get going and I made the reservation. I was grateful for all the advice.
Sep 18th, 2012, 08:17 PM
#20
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Another "friendly" advice, sigh. Is this a trend? I just commented on another backfired friendly advice: http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-to-geneva.cfm
