Training from Switzerland to Paris to the UK
Aug 26th, 2014, 09:20 AM
#1
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Training from Switzerland to Paris to the UK
Greetings,
I am returning for more advice . I am in the process of booking rail travel for our trip in late September. I need to book the following:
Zurich to Lucerne
Lucerne to wengen
Wengen to Paris
Paris to London... Further to oxford to rent a car for the Cotswolds
Cotswolds to London after returning the rental car
Is BETS my best bet to get it all done ?
Confused!
Help!!
I am returning for more advice . I am in the process of booking rail travel for our trip in late September. I need to book the following:
Zurich to Lucerne
Lucerne to wengen
Wengen to Paris
Paris to London... Further to oxford to rent a car for the Cotswolds
Cotswolds to London after returning the rental car
Is BETS my best bet to get it all done ?
Confused!
Help!!
Aug 26th, 2014, 09:43 AM
#2
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<<Is BETS my best bet to get it all done ?>>
almost certainly not
for Switzerland use http://www.sbb.ch/en/home.html
For Paris to the UK use http://www.eurostar.com/uk-en
(if you're going from Paris to Oxford then use the UK version of the site to buy one through ticket)
for train travel within the UK use http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/
almost certainly not
for Switzerland use http://www.sbb.ch/en/home.html
For Paris to the UK use http://www.eurostar.com/uk-en
(if you're going from Paris to Oxford then use the UK version of the site to buy one through ticket)
for train travel within the UK use http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/
Aug 26th, 2014, 09:52 AM
#3
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Is BETS my best bet to get it all done ?>
As much as I like that outfit (www.budgeteuropetravel.cm) and their very informative web site with tons of great info your best bet money-wise would be to book your own Switzerland to Paris ticket online - check www.voyages-sncf.com (French national railways) or www.sbb.ch - Swiss Federal Railways sites where you can get deep discounted tickets if you book far enough in advance (and won't want to change or refund) - BETS I believe works thru RailEurope which does not always offer the deep discounted tickets national railway web sites do (but at times they might - call Byron at BETS and see what is RE's best deal and do your own research at the sites I mention. (I've bought passes from him for years and he will IME answer any questions expertly even if not buying so a good resource if you want to talk to someone in the know.)
Then see what the price difference is and take the best one. It is relatively easy to book your own tickets on those national rail sites though the French site can at first glance flummox folks.
What are you going to do in Wengen - travel about for some days - if so then look into a Swiss Pass or Half-Fare Card which would also cover your Zurich-Lucerne-Wengen trains in full and many things in the Jungfrau Region - including lake boats, postal buses, 50% off gondolas to mountain tops, etc. (In Lucerne be sure to do a boat ride on lovely Lake Lucerne!)
A Swiss Pass also gives a good discount on full fares on Switzerland to France trains.
For great info on discounted online tickets check www.seat61.com - the most informative site for those that I've seen. www.ricksteves.com also has good info on Swiss trains.
As much as I like that outfit (www.budgeteuropetravel.cm) and their very informative web site with tons of great info your best bet money-wise would be to book your own Switzerland to Paris ticket online - check www.voyages-sncf.com (French national railways) or www.sbb.ch - Swiss Federal Railways sites where you can get deep discounted tickets if you book far enough in advance (and won't want to change or refund) - BETS I believe works thru RailEurope which does not always offer the deep discounted tickets national railway web sites do (but at times they might - call Byron at BETS and see what is RE's best deal and do your own research at the sites I mention. (I've bought passes from him for years and he will IME answer any questions expertly even if not buying so a good resource if you want to talk to someone in the know.)
Then see what the price difference is and take the best one. It is relatively easy to book your own tickets on those national rail sites though the French site can at first glance flummox folks.
What are you going to do in Wengen - travel about for some days - if so then look into a Swiss Pass or Half-Fare Card which would also cover your Zurich-Lucerne-Wengen trains in full and many things in the Jungfrau Region - including lake boats, postal buses, 50% off gondolas to mountain tops, etc. (In Lucerne be sure to do a boat ride on lovely Lake Lucerne!)
A Swiss Pass also gives a good discount on full fares on Switzerland to France trains.
For great info on discounted online tickets check www.seat61.com - the most informative site for those that I've seen. www.ricksteves.com also has good info on Swiss trains.
Aug 26th, 2014, 11:04 AM
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Thanks.
Palenq I remember Byron from the last trip we took on European trains , he helped me put. Spent oodles of time with me and walked me through the whole process. I will check out the sites .
Palenq I remember Byron from the last trip we took on European trains , he helped me put. Spent oodles of time with me and walked me through the whole process. I will check out the sites .
Aug 27th, 2014, 10:42 AM
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NE - If you want a full-fare and fully flexible ticket then RE or an agent like Byron - may be great - some folk do not want to wade thru the various online sites, some of which like the voyages-sncf.com one can be quite confusing and do not want to be locked into a non-refundable non-changeable ticket months in advance (these tickets are sold in limited numbers so must be booked ASAP to guarantee - but RE on full-fare tickets can be as cheap or even cheaper at times and they are starting to sell discounted ones to - so give him a call and do your own online research to see which is best price-wise and with conditions of use that suit you.
There is no need to book a Cotswolds to London ticket - just buy that at the station but do take a look at www.nationalraial.co.uk to see what regular one-way fares cost on a walk-up basis and see if there are any significant discounted fares available and see which is best - if not much difference just wait until you are in the Cotswolds to buy that ticket.
There is no need to book a Cotswolds to London ticket - just buy that at the station but do take a look at www.nationalraial.co.uk to see what regular one-way fares cost on a walk-up basis and see if there are any significant discounted fares available and see which is best - if not much difference just wait until you are in the Cotswolds to buy that ticket.
Aug 28th, 2014, 05:52 AM
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When checking for trains from Switzerland to Paris you may find that they leave from several Swiss cities - Bern - closest to Interlaken - Geneva, Lausane, Basel, Zurich, etc.
You may want to check on fares for all of them and take the cheapest and use a Swiss Pass, if you have one, to get to the departure city - there are more services from say Basel or Geneva than perhaps from Bern - direct trains that is - so search for all those departure cities.
You may want to check on fares for all of them and take the cheapest and use a Swiss Pass, if you have one, to get to the departure city - there are more services from say Basel or Geneva than perhaps from Bern - direct trains that is - so search for all those departure cities.
