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?

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?