????? about TGV reservations
 

I have some questions about purchasing TGV tickets from Paris (station at CDG) to Avignon 22 June next year and then Avignon to Gare Lyon on 30 June next year. Would PREM fares be available at that time of year? Would reservations at that time of year be imperative? I'm making the arrangements for my group of 7 other friends and would not want to "press my luck" at waiting to find a cheaper fare 90 days out, and then find no seats left at ANY price on the days/times we need them. I will be calling SCNF (SNCF?) from the US to make the reservations. Are PREM fares available when calling from US or just online? I don't want to make a mistake knowing 7 others are counting on me! Any advice/information would be greatly appreciated! Another question -- What about the return from Avignon? Could we just decide the time we wanted to leave on 30 June and just go the TGV station and buy a ticket? Or should I just bite the bullet, make reservations well in advance for both segments, and just pay the price?
Merci!

ttt - afraid this will get lost over the weekend!

It is my understanding that Prem tickets are only available 60 days before your departure -- possibly reservations, as well. I booked tickets from CDG to Dijon 60 days out, online, and printed them out with no problem. At that time, one could see the prices of other tickets (refundable/changeable) on the web site. I just followed the excellent advice on this thread.

My suggestion would be to go onto the site and "practice" making a reservation. Pick a date 60 days out and go through all of the steps short of paying just to see how the system works. When your calculations show you are 60 days away from the actual date, you will be ready to buy the appropriate ticket. Then wait a few days and purchase your return tickets. The tickets will have the car and seat numbers on them.

Really not that hard.

Have a great trip, I have my tickets in hand for my trip as we speak.

:-)

Hi luv,

Good advice from nuke.

PREMS fares, when ffered, are always available until they sell out.

There is no need to call SNCF.
Make your reservations at www.sncf.com.

You will get the lowest prices if you buy online. If you want to be "flexible" you will pay full fare.

((I))

ira, I beg to differ. There's a pretty compelling reason to call for these tickets rather than book them online, because she's buying tickets for 8 people. Online, you can only make reservations for up to 6 people at once, and if you split that up into two transactions you run the risks of a) not getting seats together or worse b) finding out after you've booked the first group that there aren't seats available for the second group, or only seats at much higher prices.

Calling is the best way to go in this circumstance. And yes, you can buy PREM tickets over the phone, but not until 60 days before the travel dates.

Hi StCirq,

Thanks for pointing out it was a group of 8. I missed that.

((I))

St. Cirq - Thanks for the information! Mine was a long, several part question -- Glad you picked up on the fact that I would be booking 8 tickets!

Not traveling to/from Paris on a regular basis --- what are the chances of getting PREM fares for June? (a busy vacation month in US) Or, once again, do I make early reservations and just pay full fare in order to insure that all 8 get on the same train together? Or, if I make reservations say in March of 2006 and then 60 days out from our June travel date call for available PREM fares, will the tickets be changed or will we be required to keep the full fare tickets?

Does anyone know what the round trip fare from Paris (CDG station) to Avignon and return from Avignon to Paris Gare Lyon is at the present time?

Merci!!

Joy

I suppose any full-fare ticket that you buy that's refundable could be turned in for a refund if PREMs became available, but I don't see any problem in waiting until 60 days out and hunting for PREMs fares. I've never had a problem finding one in the past few years since they've been available.

I think a full-fare RT ticket Paris>Avignon is around 120 euros.

Train reservations normally open two months in advance, but trains are rarely completely booked more than a few days in advance. The peak holiday season in France is July and August, but trains will always be busiest around weekends and quieter midweek. Next year 30 June is a Friday, so will be a busy day, with people starting their holidays, though more people will be heading from Paris to the south than travelling northwards.

I don't think you can make regular reservations more than 60 days in advance, then wait to see if there are PREMs at 60 days, as geoff says -- the time frame is the same for when you can reserve. I bought PREMs this year around that same time frame to/from Provence, I'm sure there will be some.

In fact, I went back to Paris on the equal day to june 30 friday -- this year on July 1st, which was a Friday, around 11 am (Valence to Paris). I was in a first class car which was about 1/3 full at most. I had bought a PREM for that train. I went from CDG to Montpellier about a week before and that train wasn't nearly full, either, although I think that was a Thursday.

I know this is an old post, but it's a new problem for me!! I am trying to make a reservation from Paris to Tours for May 4th...and I can get a PREM ticket from Paris to ST PIERRE DES CORPS but then have to take a "shuttle" to Tours. I get to the reservation page where it wants me to receive the tickets by mail, and I don't seem to have any other option! Does anyone have ideas on how I can print the tickets myself or just pick them up in Paris? Any help is appreciated...Thanks, Jane

Jane - I think your problems is due to the fact that you need two tickets for the departure time you've chosen, a PREM'S to St Pierre des Corps (which you could print yourself) and a regular ticket from there to Tours (which you can't print). I have two suggestions:
(1) Book Paris to St Pierre des Corps now and print your PREM'S ticket. Buy your ticket from St Pierre des Corps to Tours when you get to Paris.
(2) There is also direct TGV service from Paris to Tours. If the departure time fits your schedule, book one of those and print your PREM'S ticket.

Thanks for the suggestions, Tim! I know about the TGV to Tours, but I think it leaves Paris pretty early (like 7-ish) and we don't need to be in Tours until 1:00, so I didn't think that was our best option. Perhaps I should look into things to do in Tours for the morning? But I like the idea of splitting out the tickets, since the shuttle from St Pierre des Corps to Tours doesn't require a reservation anyway. Thanks again!

You're welcome. There is another direct TGV that leaves Paris at 12:25 and arrives in Tours at 13:35. Unless being in Tours no later than 13:00 is important, you could take that train.