SNCF Tickets...Buy Now or Wait Until We Get to Paris??
 

I am so confused. I need tickets for an overnight trip on April 29th from Paris Austerlitz station to Amboise. Since I don't translate French very well, I am not sure if I should purchase the tickets online ahead of time or just wait until we get to Paris?

I have a price of 98.7E for my senior mom and myself roundtrip. Does the price change if you wait until the day of travel? Or should it be the same price? Any advantages to getting them now or waiting to purchase? I know when I went to Venice I got a great deal purchasing them ahead of time. But it seems to me the price for these tickets has remained pretty steady over the past few months that I have been looking.

Any comments will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I could be SO wrong about this, but I think since Paris to Amboise is not a Grande Ligne, but rather a regular train, the prices aren't going to be much different if you buy them in Paris from if you buy them now.

Others may chime in.

The SNCF has something called PREM fares that are an advanced discounted fare. In this case they are all gone.

The fare the SNCF website is giving you is the same price that you would pay if you wait until you get to Paris to buy the tickets.

An aside, are you sure it is an overnight trip? That train if I recall is only about 2 hours long. The latest train I get leaves Paris at 8:47 and arrives at Amboise it 10:51.

MrNuke...Yes, I am sure. We are taking an early orning tour and thought it would be nice to enjoy Amboise the evening before.

PREM tickets are offered for other than TGV trains (I got one going from Brive to Paris). The earlier you book, the better the chances of getting a PREM ticket, but it is non-refundable, non-exchangeable and non-transferable.

I understand, when you said "need tickets for overnight trip" I assumed train. My mistake. You'll be fine waiting to be your tickets in Paris though. Have a nice trip.

That is correct Michael, but it doesn't apply in this instance. I only mentioned prem's because Dejais mentioned getting a lower fair for booking early in Venice. With a trip less than a month away the prem fares are gone for the trip in question.

MrNuke...HA HA I get it now. You thought I might an overnight train? I guess my wording left something to be desired. Thanks for the first laugh of the day.

<i>&quot;You thought I might an overnight trip&quot;</i>

Obviously it is early in the morning. Might=meant Second laugh of the day accomplished.
DUH..........:)

Hi D,

www.voyages-sncf.com shows no PREMS tickets on the 29th to Amboise, or on the return on the 30th.

Fare is 26.50E pp each way.

You can save a few E buying your tickets for 98.70E.

Enjoy your visit.

((I))

Ira...Thanks. Second question...if I purchase them online then am I able to get them at a booth or machine at the train terminal? This seemed so easy in Italy but I am unsure about Paris. Je ne comprends pas le francais.

And also, what would happen if I prepurchased the tickets and missed the 7:01pm train and had to take the later train. The schedule says it is the same price so would the ticket still be useable?

My experience has been to buy them on-line (and then you know you have a seat). If you are American, your credit card will not work at the machines to get your ticket. (ours do not have the &quot;magic&quot; chip) You must go to a window (allow a 1/2 hour to be safe). Bring the same credit card you used on-line and ID. By the way you can get the ticket any time. So if you are in the station area earlier in your trip, pick up your tickets and then on the day you travel it is one less thing to worry about.

Thank you seafox. This would work for us since we have to pick up other train tickets for later in the trip anyway. We have allowed our first day to organize for the remainder of the trip (ie. jetlag recovery, getting tickets, shopping for food). But if our credit cards do not work in the machine, how do you pick up your ticket? At a booth?

Seafox advised to pick up your train tickets at a station ticket window. Also, you can stop into any SNCF 'boutique' (agency) around Paris and get them. You must present the same C.C. you used for the online purchase, and the email confirmation.

For some reason the ticket agent's tools are OK with the card and the automated machine is not. I watched him swipe it (to retrieve the reservation) and thought hmmmm.... what's up with that....

Dejas,
That is exactly what I thought.

Ira,
That isn't my experience. Dejas' mother can get a Decouverte Senior ticket online or at the station. The Tarif normal for Dejais is the same price that he/she would pay at the station.

Travelnut...Obviously I can not process information in the morning without my tea.

Still wondering though if tickets purchased for a specific train can be used for the next train if the price/destination/route is the same. The tour ends at apprx. 6:15 which should leave enough time to catch the 7:01. Just want to be sure before I spend so much money.

yes, generally a regular fare ticket is good for the same route for a long time - 60 days normally, I believe -- if it's just a ticket with no reservation (like TGVs have). It tells you on the ticket at the top left (e.g., &quot;utilisable du 29/04 au 28/06/2008&quot; is perhaps what yours would say. There are some rare exceptions, I encountered one once that was some test SNCF was doing where it was only good for the same day, and then it said so on the ticket. But that would be good enough for you, anyway.

That's the whole reason that you have to compost (punch in a machine) such tickets, to show they are used. Obviously you wouldn't have to do that if they were only good for one particular train and time, anyway.

I personally wouldn't bother buying tickets for such a route ahead of time (Paris-Amboise), if it's the direct Corail run at regular fare. I don't think there are any reserved seats for those trains, so I don't see the point. However, if you are sure you want those tickets for a particular day and route, might as well I guess, as you'd have to wait in line to get them at the train station, anyway.

Hi De,

&gt;if I purchase them online then am I able to get them at a booth or machine at the train terminal?

You can pick them up at any train station ticket agent or SNCF Boutique.

I don't think that your US CC will work in the French ticket machines

&gt;... what would happen if I prepurchased the tickets and missed the 7:01pm train and had to take the later train.

If you are buying a full fare ticket, it is good on any train that doesn't require reservations.

If you buy a seat reservation online, you will lose the reservation, but the ticket is still good.

((I))