Do we need to book trains in France?
 

Hi all
We will be traveling in France in late April and May. We have several trains to catch on the intercity lines not TGV, it would appear. We are doing the following:
* Montparnasse to Ste Malo (Tuesday)
* Rouen to Paris (Sunday after Thursday 1st May)
* Paris to Clamecy (Friday)
* Nevers to Lyon (Saturday Morning)
Do we need to book any of these trips?
Would a train pass be worthwhile?
What class of ticket do we need as we will have luggage with us?
If it was here in Sydney we would just buy a ticket 10 minutes before the train.
I'm lead to believe a pre booked ticket would not ensure a seat on these trains.
Thanks so much as we have not caught inter city trains in France before.
Cheers
Rosie

The longer the trip, the more money you can save by booking ahead of time. You should definitely book Paris-Saint Malo ahead, for example.

Thanks Kerouac
Where is the best place to do that?

For all TGV trains and most Intercités trains you need to book 3 months in advance for the cheapest prices. The local TER trains have fixed prices and don't accept reservations anyway so you can buy those before boarding. Use www.capitainetrain.com for schedules and prices and to buy tickets. Schedules aren't available more than 3 months in advance. You can always do dummy bookings and check prices for the next day and then 3 months out and compare to see if a certain Intercités train needs to be booked in advance for the cheapest prices.

If you are doing any other trips than the 4 indicated a France Railpass may come into play, especially if you do not want to pre-book in stone weeks before to get the limited in number discounted tickets which I believe are train-specific, non-chnageable ad non-refundable - the pass can be used on any train and none of the trains you are taking are likely to not have passholder places - usually for a 3 euros seat reservation if required like on Paris Montparnasse to St-Malo but probably not on the other mainly regional or Corail trains you are taking (if a Corail TEOZ train then yes but again always available at 3 euros. So if you want flexibility the pass mau indeed be something to look into - for lots of great info on French trains, besides the official sites like www.voyages-sncf.com or www.capitainetrain.com - pretty much identical sites with many saying capitaine is easier to use and actually book (lots of flummoxed complaints about the sncf.com site, especially for foreigners - anyway check out these fine sources as well: www.seat61.com - good info on discounted tickets and capitaine.com - www.budgteteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com. You will always IME of travelling on zillions of French trains on those routes so there is no need to book early unless you want a discounted ticket. First class has many benefits as well and for passes anyway first class is not all that much more than 2nd class and in first class you will nearly always have several empty seats if not IME on regional trains a whole car full - for example I often go Les Aubrais-Orleans to Paris with a first-class pass and usually first class cars are half full but 2nd class are often SRO - these are basically commuter trains so those types of trains going into Paris and out of Paris at rush hours can be very busy in 2nd class vs 1st class - not always the case however.

A lot of people panic and think they absolutely must book trains 3 months in advance or the prices change a lot. This isn't really true, I never book trains that far in advance, and I still get plenty of low PREM fares. IN fact, sometimes the fares can even drop later on, although I don't know if that is common. But my caveat is just that people on Fodors are often camping out at the computer to buy a ticket exactly 3 months in advance as if this were absolutely necessary to get a good fare or all is over if you wait until 2.5 months in advance, and it isn't that important.

I always mention 3 months because that is when the tickets go on sale but I have often seen low fares only a month in advance but it depends on how popular the route is. This is unlikely to be the case on the most popular routes. I have never seen a fare drop but I suppose it could happen if the train is not getting booked and they would like to sell all the seats. It is far more likely that fares will increase rather than drop so if you know your travel dates why not just get the tickets when they go on sale? There's nothing panicky about that.

Hi R,

I book via the official rail site www.voyages-sncf.com

((I))

^^ This is true but people from certain countries get redirected to RailEurope using that website or have problems with their credit cards not getting accepted, which is why I've stopped recommending the SNCF site.

I booked my Rouen-Paris return tickets on sncf three months in advance.. not exactly but roughly. I got a rate of 25 euros for a return ticket. At the train station I had to exchange my voucher for a ticket.. the lady behind the desk commented on what a deal I had gotten as return walk up tickets for that day were going for 45 euros. I realize this is all chump change.. but it does add up when doing several trips.

On our Paris-Nice train tickets two summers ago.. cost us 40 euros.. for first class on iDTGV. On the train that day we started chatting with a couple who had purchased their tickets only 2 weeks earlier.
Their tickets cost 200 euros. They couldn't believe what we paid until I showed them my confirmation.

I have never seen a price drop . I don't think you need to be exactly three months out for every route in every season. but for popular routes in popular seasons I think you do get best deals that way.

Thanks everyone I've got the TGV tickets, a good price on Rail Europe Australia and I've been told not to book Rouen to Paris until when we arrive on the day before we travel.
Any thoughts? I didn't think you could book intercity trains but it looks like you can and there is a first class area.
R

Can I ask how much you paid on RailEurope Australia and for what date? As has been mentioned, RailEurope usually has higher prices than SNCF or Capitainetrain.com. Why didn't you use www.capitainetrain.com to buy your tickets?

A last minute one-way ticket to Rouen will cost 23.50€ whereas a one way ticket from Paris to Rouen purchased up to 3 months in advance will cost 10€. And these are Intercités trains that do that route. These are second class fares I'm quoting but there's no need for first class tickets (IMO) for a journey that only takes between 1 and 1-1/2 hours.

It's true that the prices can drop, depending on the destination. There are now late Prem's fares that are offered one week before the departure date if the train is not close to filling up.

Of course tourists often tend to go to destinations that are more popular and which therefore do not need to drop the prices at the last minute.

Yes I paid 10 euros for one way and 15 for the other way.. totalling 25 euros on a Prem fare. Waiting till you get there saves you no money.. even if there was a price drop ( which I doubt going to Rouen in the summer!) then it wouldn't drop to less then what they cost now.. and I think the price drop is highly unlikely on that route. Mind you I realize some like to keep their options open and 50 euros is not likely to make or break anyones trip budget.