Train travel help (Brussels / Paris / London)
 

Hi guys,

First time posting here. I tried to dig through a bunch of posts to find an answer, but didn't find quite what I was looking for.

I'm looking to travel from Brussels to Paris to London, and then back to Brussels via train.

I am trying to book through tgv-europe.com, but I keep receiving some obscure error message. I get this message when I try to move on after inputting my contact info:

"There was a technical error when you changed the name of one or more passengers. Please chose another mode of withdrawal."

I think it has something to do with the Ticketless program. I read on this site to select Canada as my country of origin (not USA) to save money. Therefore, I cannot have the tickets sent to me or pick up the tickets there (both require addresses). I know this isn't the TGV tech support forum, but was curious as to if anyone else has heard of this problem. I also tried to contact them via phone, but could not find a number anywhere on the site.

I know I can use Eurostar for London to Brussels, but I'd like to be able to book the first leg of my trip before proceeding, in case I can't get this sorted out.

Open to any / all suggestions.

Thanks for reading.

Shane

You can take the Eurostar from Paris to London, too.

For Brussels to Paris, have you tried the Thalys website? I don't know, maybe it will work better (I haven't bought tickets myself from here). It doesn't seem to asking for country of origin.

http://www.thalys.com/be/en/

One possible area of confusion is on the Ticketless page of TGV-Europe. It requests an "address to which the tickets will be sent." It means an e-mail address, not a residence. You may have to fabricate a mobile phone number if you don't have one. When you get through to the credit-card payment, it will be nice if you can print the tickets out at home but you will at least get confirmation of your reservation which can be traded in at the departure station.
To follow the good advice above, see http://www.thalys.com/be/en/ for Brussels-Paris and www.eurostar.com to get to London and then back to Brussels (via Lille, not Paris, if that's what you want.) In my opinion it is reassuring to obtain tickets directly from the source rather than through an intermediary.
For deeper information, www.seat61.com

Southam is spot on..

1. As your journey is a Thalys journey starting in Brussels. book Brussels-Paris at www.thalys.com and select the 'Belgium - Englsh' option.

2. Book Eurostar direct with Eurostar at www.eurostar.com

Easy!

Great, thanks so much for the replies. Is it always better to book in advanced? Is there a chance at cheaper tickets by waiting until the day of? Or do most trains sell out?

Tickets for the eurostar are cheaper the sooner you book - once the cheap tickets are gone they are gone and prices go up!