TGV tickets France, when to buy?
 

I will be buying 3 or 4 tickets for August /September travelling within France. From what I recall the cheapest time to buy is 60 days from the departure date??

It is not that ticket prices fluctuate like the plane tickets. The discount tickets, such as PREM'S, go on sale about 90 days before the departure (I can already see Paris-Lyon PREM tickets on www.voyages-sncf.com for August 15th right now.) I think what happens is that people snatch up the PREM's first and what are left for the late comers are higher priced thickets.

The prems tickets Are available 3 months before the travel date, at midnight France time. Idtgv tickets are available farther in advance on certain routes.

I bought my June tickets in December (idTGV) and haven't seen better prices since. I'm glad I jumped then; but my second choice would have been the PREM fares 90 days out.

I just buy them when I know my schedule for sure (assuming they are available, of course). It sounds like you aren't familiar with PREMS, which is just the name for an advanced purchase discount ticket. But it is completely nonrefundable and is specific to a train and time, so you have to be sure you want that train and won't miss it.

The fares don't tick up by date so you aren't going to get a cheaper fare 59 days out compared to 57 days out. Fares can change based on sales, I guess, but I've actually gotten cheaper fares by accident when I bought my ticket several weeks or a month after I first started looking. No magical date, but if you wait too long, there may not be any discount fares, that's all.

It sounds like you don't have firm plans if you don't even know how many you want yet, so don't buy them until you do.

Fares only rise (with one exception and those are the last minute fares offered on the SNCF´s website only available in French www.voyages-sncf.com and these are very limited)

iDTGV fares go on sale 4-6 months in advance of any given travel date. These tickets are only sold on line, prices start at 19€:

www.idtgv.com

Otherwise the popular PREM fares go on sale 3 months before any given travel date. Prices generally start at 25€. The SNCF does have a free service to remind you when PREMs are available for the destinations of your choice. Called <i>Alert Résa</i>, you fill out the required information and receive an email at the appropiate time (in French only):

http://www.voyages-sncf.com/weblogic...0R%25C3%25A9sa

Thanks for the replies. I'm in the process of planning my itinery with Paris to Nice certain at this stage late August, and will book this one and others as I go. After reading replies, waiting for prems could be a missed opportunity!

Thanks again