I%26#39;ll be travelling from Aix-en-Provence to Paris on a Tuesday afternoon this summer. Would anyone recommend that I purchase tickets in advance on the internet and bring them with me?
The problem is that I am not absolutely certain which train we%26#39;ll be taking. Also, they charge $18 to deliver them to me.
Do these trains sell out? Am I asking for trouble by planning to buy them at the station when I%26#39;m ready to leave?
|||
Yes, and yes. The good news is, you can go through the sncf web site (there%26#39;s a link for English, go to voyages-sncf.com) and do it on line, and then pick up the tickets at one of those yellow machines in the station (but it warns that you need the same credit card you used to buy the ticket). I%26#39;m told that often you will get a much less expensive quote (be sure to check %26quot;delivery in France%26quot;). You also can print tickets (a friend did this last year) but they are very particular about the paper -- among other things, it has to be that European size they use for letters (smaller than 8 x 11) so you would have to get paper at a stationer before printing.
I will admit I%26#39;m trying that for the first time on this next trip, but don%26#39;t see why it wouldn%26#39;t work (I%26#39;m printing and taking the confirmation in case there is a problem and I have to try to get help from a real live person).
|||
Wow, good call, Berkeley, looks like I can get this ticket for Euro 118 through the sncf site, rather than $198 with raileurope. A $40 savings!
Now to decide if I%26#39;m going to get A4 paper, print from the machine, or have the tickets mailed to my hotel in Aix (this seems riskiest).
-Dan
|||
Here%26#39;s a good guide to purchasing tickets online
tripadvisor.com/Travel-g187147-c3019/Paris:F…
This individual thinks nothing of using standard 8.5x11 paper instead of A4. He laughs in the face of authority, this one.
I%26#39;ll probably skip the trip to Staples and use regular paper as well. How unreasonable can French train agents be???
|||
Well, now -- we ARE talking about the people who basically invented redundant levels of bureaucracy with little to do except say %26quot;non%26quot; and I wouldn%26#39;t want to be trying to argue while my train pulls out . . . .
I%26#39;m going with the machines, rather than bother with printing.
|||
Now have checked out the thread above - important as to using machines, since it says that you can%26#39;t use them except with a FRENCH credit card, but still can collect at the station counter (presumably, still needing the same credit card). So, having already made my decision I will take a printout of the confirmation with me!
|||
I don%26#39;t think the voyages-sncf.com site is intended for use by U.S. residents--check out their %26quot;general conditions of sale and use%26quot;; you%26#39;ll see that the U.S. is not listed among the countries in the three %26quot;appendices.%26quot; I suspect that there%26#39;s a deal that authorizes only RailEurope to sell these tickets in the U.S. Maybe it would work via the sncf website, but I%26#39;m not sure I%26#39;d want to chance it.
|||
A friend who accompanied me on a trip last year printed her own tickets inthis way -- she paid a fraction of what I did by going through Rail Europe. SNCF doesn%26#39;t care whether you are in the US when you purchase, they just restrict where the tickets are delivered (check out the thread above about how it all works).
|||
I understand how to use the sncf website, I just wanted to point out that according to the legal fine print, %26quot;Voyages-Sncf.com%26#39;s services and Terms and Conditions of Use exclusively apply to clients who are residents of the countries listed in appendices 1, 2 and 3%26quot;--which do not include North America. (The thread above implies that you could have the tickets mailed to the U.S. but shouldn%26#39;t risk it, when in fact that%26#39;s not an option at all.)
As you say, it%26#39;s probably no problem to pick up and use these tickets, and I%26#39;m sure many have done it, but it%26#39;s good to be aware of the stated geographical jurisdiction for the sncf website.
In response to the initial question about whether reservations are needed--I haven%26#39;t traveled in France in 7 years, but I used to go about every other year for 20 years, mostly in the summer, and I never had problems getting reservations on trains while there (and yes, you are required to reserve for the TGV). I would make my reservation a day or two in advance, once I%26#39;d decided where I wanted to go next. Unless things have changed dramatically, this would probably still work fine, except during the major travel periods at the beginning and end of August (and to a lesser extent the beginning and end of July). The only thing is that the tickets themselves (which are separate from the reservation) are much cheaper when bought well in advance.
|||
%26gt;%26gt; The only thing is that the tickets themselves (which are separate from the reservation) %26lt;%26lt;
Reservations separated from tickets have been phased out some 10 years ago !
On some very rare cases you can/have to buy a separate reservation for 1.5€ :
- if you are travelling over a railwayman%26#39;s free warrant,
- if you bought a ticket without a reservation for a non-TGV, non-Teoz Corail train and want a reservation afterwards.
|||
Do a search for MorganB%26#39;s SCNF Booking Guide - invaluable!
Learn when to shop for %26quot;prem%26quot; fares.
With her guide, I was able to purchase tickets from Paris to Lyon at a significant savings.
(Thanks again MorganB!)
They printed just fine with my inkjet on 8-1/2 x 11 paper.
No comments:
Post a Comment