We are scheduled to arrive at CDG on May 10, 2016 and leave on May 27,2016 from
CDG. I carefully counted out the 90 day period in which to purchase at least the first set of
train tickets at the best price which would be in mid-February from Captain train.

This morning I got a surprise message from sncf that summer tickets were now on sale.
for popular routes. After much confusion I did manage to snare 2 tickets from CDG to
Avignon CDG for a good price. However, return tickets from Lyon to CDG on the day before our flight
are showing up as very expensive even though it is closer to CDG than Avignon is..

Does this mean that the tickets will always be very expensive from Lyon to CDG or that
they just have not gone on bargain- sale yet? Do any experienced travelers know the answer?

You just encountered the now-annual SNCF spring sale, which usually involves train tickets originating in Paris, not heading to Paris. There may also be iDTGV sales, but those are limited and I don't know if there are any from Lyon to Paris.

And it's not 90 days, it's 92 days, or 3 months. And there are now some 120-day tickets available through the end of summer. Just keep checking. You can sign up with either SNCF or Capitainetrain.com to get alerts on sales and price reductions.

Have you tried www.idTGV.com?

The only fare I see for Lyon-CDG for 5/27 now at www.voyages-sncf.com is Ouigo TGV 7:34-9:40 for 10eu.

Distance isn't the sole criterion for train ticket prices. Some routes are always more expensive or not discounted as much as others, and it also depends on the dates and time of day. I don't ever panic about buying train tickets exactly 90 days or whatever before a date, they aren't that scarce.

I'm with Greg, I see a fare from Lyon to CDG on 5/26 for 10 euro which doesn't seem expensive to me, I can't imagine what you want. they won't show all fares available this far in advance, anyway, those are Ouigo fares and they show up early, I think.

Thank you all for your advice. I will keep searching.
The fares that I saw was 140 Euros for the two of us,
except for the TGV at 7:40 am which was 20 Euros for
the two of us. The really cheap fare would leave us at the IBIS at the airport for the whole day-a grim thought.

Anyway, I just did a test for an April date and there are several trains in the afternoon that would be in our price rang so I will just keep trying until my May date comes
up.

I will also be tackling the Avignon to Lyon portion of my
trip. By the time I master all of this, I will have been there and back.

Pat

I hope you're using SNCF or CapitaineTrain and not Rail Europe. The prices you're quoting sound like Rail Europe, which is always a rip-off. I see the 10-euro fares from Lyon as well. Why aren't you buying those?

Ouigo trains are all 2nd class, low cost, high speed trains with a limited route network between the Paris region and the south. There are baggage allowances. For more information:

http://www.sncf.com/en/trains/ouigo

http://ventes.ouigo.com/search.aspx?culture=en-GB

If you can chose your seats many TGV trains are Dupleix trains - double-deckers and the view from the upper level is vastly superior to that of the lower level from which you often see little more than rail bed embankments or guard rails or wind blocks - chose the upper level to see France from a much better vantage point.

Thank you all. I will be going to the captain train site
every morning after breakfast to check on prices. It only
takes a few minutes once you are familiar with the site.
In the past few years I have saved hundreds of dollars as
a result of advice given through this forum.I so appreciate
it.