lsmith31

Hello,

My husband and I are travelling from Barcelona to the South of France in May. I have checked the prices of flights ($129 USD for 2 tickets to Marseille, 1 hr), and the prices of trains ($114 USD for 2 tickets to Monpellier, 3 hrs). I was shocked to see that the prices are so comparable. I would be quite happy to take the train even though it takes a little longer, if it is a scenic route. If not, I would prefer to save the time. Does anyone have any recommendations? Is it worth taking the train?

Thanks,
Leah

Robert2533

I'd take the train just to avoid the time wasted at the airport and the taxi ride to and from. The 3-hour train ride is much better, city center to city center.

kappa1

I agree. The train would be faster all considered. It's been a long time since I did that train route ( did a few times about 20 years ago Geneva - Barcelona via Montpellier). I don't remember well but still think the view is quite scenic at least in parts. Also there is no limit of lugggage on the train, as much as you can carry. And you can bring on food and a bottle of wine for a nice lunch....

PalenQ

And the train is rather scenic if you have not been to France - all of France IMO is scenic - the ubiquitous small villages in the distance all lovingly puncuated by church steeples - on this route you skirt thru Burgundy and its bucolic vineyard-laced hills and thru the rather stark countryside of Provence.

And as for costs the $129 for two plane tickets to that must be added the cost of getting to and from the airport - and timwise trains are about the same - no long pre-check-in time and planes can always be late - TGV trains rarely.

$114 for two people is a great deal on the trains - those must be the limited in number tickets that should be booked as early as possible before they sell out (if you have not checked www.voyages-sncf.com or www.idTGV.com check those sites as well).
And for lots of great info on French trains check out these superb sites - www.seat61.com - great info on discounted tickets; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com.

Just curious as to where or how you found the $114 fare for two people - seems a great deal - normal fare is much much higher. You could obviously get off the Montpellier train at say Arles and spend less time on the train in case you just want to get to southern France - or at Avignon TGV station and pick up your car there.

greg

What is the destination in France? If it is Montpellier, then it is still quite a trek from Marseille. So are you saying:

train = taxi(?) to Barcelona Sants station + AVE to Figures + TGV to Montepellier + taxi(?) to your hotel in Montepellier

takes more time than:

airplane = taxi(?) to Barcelona El Prat airport + check-in then wait + fly + wait to retrieve luggage + train/drive from Marseille airport to Montpellier?

lsmith31

Thanks all for your feedback. The train is sounding like the preferred route.

PalenQ - As ticket sales don't appear to open for May this far in advance, I checked the ticket cost using a date in March (using www.voyages-sncf.com). I take it that this is a fair warning that I can expect the costs to be higher when I check the dates in May? Are you aware of any sites that let you book train travel between Spain and France earlier in advance?

Greg - Our destination is a country inn in Eyragues. So we are open to arriving in Montpellier, Arles, Avignon or Marseille - we would rent a car from any of these destinations to get to our inn. Montpellier seemed to be the easiest train connection but I am open to any other suggestions you may have...

Many thanks!

lsmith31

Correction - I found the $114 fare on raileurope.com

ribeirasacra

The new AVE train line is up and running in Spain.
http://slowtalk.com/groupee/forums/a...m/580000418001
Barcelona to Figueres in 55 minutes.
http://youtu.be/YnIAPRarQjc

Man_in_seat_61

You can book Barcelona to France at http://www.renfe.com/EN/viajeros/via...les/index.html

€20.20 for Barcelona to Figueres, from €19 for Figueres to Montpelier, one person.

Of course, that assumes it accepts your credit card at the end, it does mine.

PalenQ

$114 for 2 on raileurope.com and everyone here says RailEurope is a ripoff? If that is for 2 people it is a great great fare and you should hop on it as those discounted seats are in limited supply and can sell out quickly. For any RailEurope product I always use Byron at www.budgeteuropetravel.com because he's an expert you can talk to - I've bought railpasses from him for years - very helpful and works thru RailEurope - www.ricksteves.com also has good service and is a RailEurope agent - talking to anyone at RailEurope if you have questions is hard - but again if for two people and not per person that is a great fare.

PalenQ

Oh Man in Seat 61 who posts above his commercial site www.seat61.com also has a commercial link to RailEurope.

Christina

You obviously can't book that trip because it isn't for the period you want, it is in March. They may have fares around that for May, you can't tell as it really varies a lot based on time of day, day of week, whether a holiday, etc and obviously class of car and how far in advance. But that is a good fare, that's for sure.

The French railroad doesn't sell tickets that far in advance so nobody else can, either,, if they don't as anyone else is just selling you a ticket on their railroad.

Pvoyageuse

There is no need to change train in Figueres when there is a direct and fast train between Barcelona and Montpellier.
Departure Barcelona 4.42 pm
Arrival Montpellier 9.14 pm

PalenQ

That's the old Talgo train I think - the one with moveable wheels to accommodate narrower and wider tracks in France and Spain without changing at the border.

kappa1

Barcelona to Montpellier in 3hrs, which train is that? The direct train, as Pvoyageuse wrote above takes 4h32m....

lsmith31

Thanks for the advice everyone.

I have been checking March 1 for planning purposes since I can't book into May at the moment. The time table I'm given on rail Europe is:

9:05AM
Barcelona Sants, Spain
1 Mar

9:58AM
Figueres Vilafant, Spain
1 Mar

10:20AM
Figueres Vilafant, Spain
1 Mar

12:18PM
Montpellier St-Roch, France
1 Mar

$57 USD per person.

This has us in Montpellier in 3 hours with a connection. Based on the feedback I'm hearing here, the timing and price seem too good to be true...

kappa1

Hello Ismith, thanks for clarifying for the train time table. I see that train connection on voyage-sncf.com now. It does seem to me a very qucik trip and quite in expensive. I hope you can buy this train.

The post above by "seller" reported to Fodor's.

Alan_CT

We've taken the old train from Barcelona to Perpignan a couple of times and it's pretty scenic. It beats air travel for the hassle factor, although BCN is a pretty easy airport to deal with.

You should be able to get the best price for your trip at 90 days prior to travel date at www.voyages-sncf.com.