Train travel in France

Old Jul 13th, 2011, 12:04 PM
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Train travel in France

Traveling by train from Paris to Rennes, Rennes to Strasbourg, and Avignon to Paris, have decided to purchase French Rail Pass thru Raileurope (on line) How much should I expect to pay for reservation fees?
I have not purchased pass yet, any thoughts on purchasing pass from Raileurope as opposed to Eurorailways?
Thanks
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Old Jul 13th, 2011, 12:26 PM
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You may want to search for a very recent post about Eurorailways awful treatment of a Fodorite - being unavailable by phone when some snafu happened so I would rather say Raileurope, which IME is at least reputable - though again actually talking to anyone at a place like that who knows anything in case something goes amiss is problematic - that is why for any RailEurope product I always recommend calling Byron at www.budgeteuropetravel.com - a RE agent who will be accessible and always IME of buying railpasses from his outfit for years know all the answers to questions like you post.

With a pass you will pay 3 or perhaps now 4 euros for a seat reservation per person for each TGV high-speed train traveled on - meaning in your case one to Rennes to back to Paris - a different one to Strasbourgh and then one to Avignon though there may be regular Corail TEOZ trains running that route but still the same 3-4 euro reservation fee. (and on Paris to Strasbourg there seems to be two tiers of reservation fees one being about $10 or so higher than the usual $3-4 fee if the regular allotment of seats for passholders on that train at that level is exhausted. (you do not indicate how you are going between Strasbourh and Avignon so if not by train scracth that and then the 3-4 euros fee Avignon TGV back to Paris.

Now for the latter train there is a snafu in that on this line in particular there seems to be a problem not uncommon for all passholder alloted seats to be exhausted so once in France you may have trouble getting the passholder place for the 3-4 euro fare - this is not a difficulty IME on the other TGV trains you are taking and I have often made those passholder seat reservations a few days before the train once in France. But for the Avignon to Paris TGV I would indeed encourage you to make that one when you buy your railpass - paying a little extra but at least being sure of being on the train.

and comes up the topic of a railpass at all - for fully flexible tickets - full fare the pass will probably stack up well but if you go to www.voyages-sncf.com you will or may find so-called PREM fares - deep discounts but which are train-specific and unchanageable nor refundable. So for flexibility to decide which train to take when after arrival (except the noted TGV Avignon to Paris) then the pass may be the best option. Anyway the fares are all at www.voyages-sncf.com or also www.idTGV.com.
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Old Jul 13th, 2011, 01:40 PM
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Before you buy a pass of any kind from anyone, go to www.voyages-sncf.com and see what you would pay for point-to-point tickets. Don't click on the English flag or it will automatically redirect you to RailEurope. Just for example, you can often snag a Paris-Rennes or Avignon-Paris TGV PREM ticket for 25-35 euros. Something tells me the railpass, plus whatever they'll extort from you for a TGV reservation, will add up to a lot more than that. But check it out yourself before you buy.
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Old Jul 14th, 2011, 05:30 AM
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plus whatever they'll extort from you for a TGV reservation, will add up to a lot more than that>

3 or 4 euros for a TGV reservation does not seem to rate the word extortion - but this sadly IMO is typical of those who at all costs try to malign any idea that a railpass could be viable - especfially for folks who do not want to lock themselves into some non-changeable specific train weeks in advance - so the efficacy of a railpass depends on whether you want flexibility or not to decide once there what trains to take - and after riding French trains for decades I wholeheartedly advice the average tourist to pay extra for the benefits of first class - especially if you are hauling luggage around - and lots of empty seats often in first class so making the needed reservations are easier - so IMO compare first class fares at www.voyages-sncf.com to first class railpass price. The cheapest way to go is not always the best deal IMO.
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Old Jul 14th, 2011, 11:38 AM
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Thank all of you for your input, it was very helpful.
Au revoir
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Old Jul 14th, 2011, 01:00 PM
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complaint about euro railways in Europe
15 responses; most recent on Jul 14, 11 at 4:12pm

this is the title of the post I just topped to bring up for you to read about euro railways complaint.
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Old Jul 15th, 2011, 08:53 AM
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and in that other thread when someone claimed that Euro Railways and Rail Europe were one and then same that is simply NOT true - two very different entities.
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Old Jul 19th, 2011, 10:36 AM
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$316
$259

A 4-day France Railpass, a flexipass for four unlimited train travel days within a one-month period costs:

In first class $316 or about $80 a day or about 60 euros a day for fully flexible train travel

2nd class costs $259 p.p. or about $65/day or about 43 euros a day - this is not much more than 39 euros a day - typically the cheapest that is often available on the discounts it seems and this is for fully flexible travel and not train-specific non-changeable non-refundable tickets or yeh I forgot to add in the 3 or 4 euros per train for the mandatory seat reservations but you can see the pass price is not much more than the discount tickets for 4 days of travel and could be better if the 39 euro tickets were not available for the exact trains you want to take and you can wait until France to decide which trains to hop.
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Old Jul 19th, 2011, 10:36 AM
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$316
$259

A 4-day France Railpass, a flexipass for four unlimited train travel days within a one-month period costs:

In first class $316 or about $80 a day or about 60 euros a day for fully flexible train travel

2nd class costs $259 p.p. or about $65/day or about 43 euros a day - this is not much more than 39 euros a day - typically the cheapest that is often available on the discounts it seems and this is for fully flexible travel and not train-specific non-changeable non-refundable tickets or yeh I forgot to add in the 3 or 4 euros per train for the mandatory seat reservations but you can see the pass price is not much more than the discount tickets for 4 days of travel and could be better if the 39 euro tickets were not available for the exact trains you want to take and you can wait until France to decide which trains to hop.
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Old Jul 26th, 2011, 06:04 AM
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Seating reservation is compulsory, and can cost between €3-8 depending on destination.
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Old Jul 26th, 2011, 07:58 AM
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Seat reservations are complusory on TGV trains but not nearly all the trains travelers will take in France. I travel yearly with a pass in France and on many non-TGV routes I can just hop on the train - like when going between my home base in the Loire Valley and Paris - just hop on and in first class always, in zillions of rides, lots of empty seats but in 2nd class it is often SRO - so in 2nd class I may make an optional seat reservation for 3 euros.\

Trainride2011 - which trains cost 8 euros - curious as I though the 3 or possible 4 euros now was standard throughout France but on the TGV-Est line to Strasbourg I understand they could cost more - but I just took that trip and only paid 3 euros a ride.

8 euros? where? thanks - just for my info to keep current!
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Old Jul 26th, 2011, 08:15 AM
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TGVs require a reservation (as do Téoz, iDTGV, and Lunéa trains). Not having a reservation means not having a ticket regardless of what kind of pass you may have in your possession.

For travel from Paris to Nice on August 6th, the cheapest fare available today is 84.90€ on the iDTGV train departing Gare de Lyon at 17h42. As the departure date nears, this price will increase.

www.voyages-sncf.com
www.tgv-europe.com
www.idtgv.com

iDTGV fares start at 19€ which is what you would have paid for this seat had you purchased it several months ago.
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