paris-amsterdam - help!
 

hi folks,

im trying to book paris to amsterdam train - finally found smileys round trip for 64E but how can i know if 6:55H departure means pm or am? im looking for a train leavin paris 15th/sept early morning and returning 16th night around 9pm-11pm....but i'm not sure how to read the am's/pm's. thanks!

Aren't the times posted in 'military' time? So 06:55 would be 6:55 a.m. and 18:55 would be 6:55 p.m.

FYI, travel 04, all continental Europe works on a 24 hour clock. So brace yourself to go to the movies at 14h00, have a business appointment at 15h45, and dinner at 21h00. Personnally, when I go to an Anglo-Saxon country, I am always a bit confused by this AM/PM business. And, yes, computer keyboards are also different in languages other than English (not as nightmarish as some of the posters here might lead you to think, though! )

Hi T,

That's a great price. Are you sure it is RT?

Where did you find it?

((I))

As mentioned above, all train and air schedules in Europe work on the 24 hour clock so >12 is AM and +12 is PM.

Along those lines, temps are in celcius not farenheit; it's just one of those little things that are different that you need to wrap your mind around.

Europe operates on military time - 24 clock -- no am or pm. 6:55 is in the morning. What you think is 6:55 in the evening would be 18:55.

Raileurope's smilys fare is $41 each way so 64 euros seems in ballpark
64x1.28 about $83
round trip required - but Smilys can be hard to book, very few seats on some trains. If want to book thru RailEurope I always recommend BETS (800-4412387) for their expertise and service. But RE charges a $15 booking fee so the 64 euro fare is better - but if you can't book it try RE or BETS, a RailEurope agent. RE thalys tickets can be booked up to 90 days in advance and to get these fares book as early as possible.

Regards the time snafu - yes train times always 24:00 type but my French in-laws invariable say deux heures for 2pm, trois hrs for 3pm, etc. so local parlance is often different.

thanks folks, Ira, i found it on sncf itself. it's round trip - but times are not that great, it leaves Paris early enough at 6:55 but returns next day way too early - that train leaves amsterdam at 10 or 11am. Maybe i will check out raileurope as the above post suggests. :(

thanks!

oh and guess what - while i was booking my round trip tickets, i entered in my email id,left the country as France and chose the option to buy the tickets in France when i decided to read the terms and conditions before I confirmed. After i read the T&C I hit confirm and it said the page had expired. So i went back to redo it and it told me that the 9:55am train was no longer available. I checked my email and i had a confirmation email saying i had my reservation for 9:55am except it said September 15, Wednesday. So not only have I not paid for it, it says i have until June 24 to pick up the tickets or else reservation will be cancelled, but the date i need the tickets for is 15th Thursday Sept and the tickets say Wednesday 15th. Any advice??? I tried to hit cancel reservation, so that I could redo it without having to pick it up at the station june 24 since obviously I won't be there in fRance in June to pick anything up but it doesn't seem to cancel the reservation. Perhaps I shld just wait until June 24rth when it will automatically cancel and repurchase?