cathni

Hi there!
I recently purchased a 4 country Eurail with the intent of traveling to France and a few other countries. I went to the station 2 weeks ago and tried reserving a ticket to Paris for over a month in advance but there are no seats available while I am in Europe.....I would really like to go while I am here, and am wondering if it would be worth-while to take a train without a reservation.
I know you can grab an Italian train without one and pay an 18 Euro fee if you are caught...if it was a similar case for France, I would be more then willing to do so. I just don't want to get on and find out the fee is much higher or get kicked off the train! I have also heard stories about people getting on but not finding seats...this would be ok since it is only a 2 hour train from where I am....
Basically: if you happen to know how much the fee is for using a Eurail in France without a reservation, or if you know where I can find that information, that would be so fantastic! Thanks

Sarastro

In France, all TGVs, iDTGVs, Téoz, and Lunéa trains require reservations and these are offered to pass riders on a very limited basis. You can still use the Corail or Intercité trains but they may not be available when and where it is you might want to go.

As you have already purchased this pass, I can say that there is a standby ticket available to pass holders which might allow you some TGV access when reservations are not available. For details you´ll need to ask at an SNCF service window or boutique or the Seat61 website might have some information:

www.seat61.com/

Sorry I cannot be of more help but I always purchase tickets for train travel and tickets start at only 19€ when purchased in advance.

PatrickLondon

There's no such thing as "a Eurail in France". And where are you travelling from? Some trains need reservations, some don't.

kybourbon

>>>I know you can grab an Italian train without one and pay an 18 Euro fee if you are caught.<<<

With mandatory seat reservations on most Italian trains, I wonder where you will sit if you board without seats? I think the minimum fine is 50€, but can be three times.

Some French trains limit the number of travelers allowed with passes. Seat fees vary depending on type of train/country. In Italy, most are 10€.

greg

TGV definitely has a passholder quota. I don't bother with passes in France anymore when most travels involve TGVs and I usually know the exact travel dates to be able to buy PREM/iDTGV fares at a fraction of pass cost. An experience like this http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...eservation.cfm further discourages me from using a pass in France.

Man_in_seat_61

As I understand it, the situation in France changed last year.

TGV passholder reservaytions now cost 6 euros, limited by quota.

However, when that quota has sold out, passholders can make TGV reservations (assuming there's any seats left on the train) for 18 euros, NOT quota-controlled.

Haven't had any confirmation of this from travellers yet, but it seems the idea that passholders can't travel at all when a small quota has sold out (or never been input for a train in the first place) has thankfully been relegated to the past.

However, if you just get on without a reservation, I still don't know what you'd be charged, given you had a valid pass just no reservation. I'd certainly be interested to know!

kybourbon

>>>>I know you can grab an Italian train without one and pay an 18 Euro fee if you are caught.<<<
>>>TGV reservations (assuming there's any seats left on the train) for 18 euros, NOT quota-controlled.<<<

Does anyone have links for this info from TGV and Trenitalia?

Christina

I don't see how this 18 euro fee "if caught" would work as the conductor is required to check everyone's ticket. So you obviously would be caught and then you would not only have to pay a fine but for a ticket. A fine is different from paying a reservation fee for a seat, which apparently you can do anyway, you don't have to try to do something illegal and wait to be "caught." All TGVs have a seat reservation fee of about 6 euro, it's just that it is always rolled into the ticket price for people buying regular tickets without a Eurail or France pass. And those passes specifically don't include seat reservation fees, so paying for that is normal (although raileurope.com says they are $11 which isn't close to 6 euro but maybe they mark it up). But if you can get on any train by paying 18 euro instead for a reservation, it appears that SNCF is trying to get about 12 extra euro from passholders for some trains with seat quotas. That's around $16 right now. I'd pay it if I really wanted a long-distance train and had that pass.

I have never seen that mentioned in most normal places but there is mention of that 18 euro fee on the French website for the Interrail pass (same thing for Europeans), so I presume it might be the same deal. http://francais.interrailnet.com/enf.../trains-france

This is what it says about reservatons for French TGV trains: <<France TGV
Réservation obligatoire

1re et 2e classe : 6 € / 18 €Ces tarifs ne sont valables que pour les itinéraires à l'intérieur de la France.
Le nombre de sièges réservés aux détenteurs d'un InterRail Pass à 6 € est limité. Si le train que vous désirez est complet, vous pouvez voyager au prix maximum de 18 €, le billet ne pouvant être réservé qu'à la dernière minute.>>