francophile03

Has anyone purchased a Smilys ticket online from www.sncb.be, the Belgian rail site? If so, where is the option for printing the tickets online--after you enter your credit card information or somewhere else?



Thanks.

ira

Hi F,

From whence to where are you training?

Travelnut

francophile03, Ira says you can book Thalys tickets on SNCF.com, <u>even if not originating in France</u>. So if you see a Smilys fare, then you can print it out.

francophile03

Thanks. It's roundtrip Paris to Brugge. I will check further.

ira

Hi f,

You can purchase a 2cl Paris/Brugges via Lille Flandres (my preferred route) PREMS ticket for 33.7 E at http://www.voyages-sncf.com

You can print your ticket at home.

francophile03

Thanks Ira. Would you believe (I bet) that a Belgian rail agent advised me that Smilys tickets cannot be printed at home?

ira

Hi f,

I made a boo boo.

Since the ticket is Paris/Lille Flandres-Lille Flandres/Bruges

You can't print the ticketS at home.

You can have them mailed to your hotel in Paris.

OR

You can purchase a ticket for Paris/Lille Flandres and print it at home.

Purchase a ticket from Lille Flandres to Bruges in France.

martytravels

Pardon my ignorance, but what's a Smilys ticket?

francophile03

Thanks again Ira. I found journeys that are on Thalys trains (via the Thalys site) which seem okay. They make two stops along the way though, but that is fine with me (2+ hrs. total travel time). These are the same journeys that sncb.be show on their site as well of course. If I can purchase the Smilys fares-whether or not they're purchased via the Thalys or Belgian rail sites-it would be better since it seems as though it's allright to do this unless I'm not understanding something.



Smilys tickets are non-refundable, non-changeable tickets that you can purchase for Thalys trains and due to the type of tickets they are they're cheaper than the refundable tickets.

martytravels

Je comprends. Merci beaucoup, francophile.

francophile03

De rien, martytravels. Well, I checked with a Brugge hotel that I'm considering. They were kind enough to verify for me that it is possible to print out the Smilys tickets online if you purchase from the Belgian rail site. Apparently the rail site's representatives are as confused as I was.

Travelnut

I don't understand why you want to order from the Belgian site for a ticket that begins in Paris. I know that you can print Smilys tickets from the French site.

francophile03

I did try the SNCF site. I chose the English selection and entered my proposed journey dates. I got only one choice and that was via a Corail train taking over 5 hours. So that's why I went to the Belgian rail site and the Thalys site shows the same information as the Belgian site.

ira

Hi franc,

If you use the French language SNCF site, it gives you the TGV to Lille Flandres and the local to Bruges.

You can also take the TGV to Brussels and pick up the local to Bruges.

Trains to Brugge leave Brussels Midi at xx:10 and xx:37.

You don't have to buy your tickets in advance.

francophile03

I prefer not to connect onto another train, but thanks again.