We are going to be staying in Paris for 4 nights. On the 5th day we are going to Normandy for the weekend. What is the best way/site to get from Paris to Caen by train? I looked at Rail Europe, is that a reputable site? Also what if we buy train tickets and miss our train? Can we make a transfer if need be? I heard rental car companies in Caen have odd hours of operation. Has anybody heard the same?
Posted by
Colorado Mountains, USA
7328 posts
Chris-the official French rail Website is SNCF (www.sncf.com), although sometimes it's been frustrating to use. The upper right-hand corner of the screen has a drop-down icon allowing you to choose between French, English and German versions of the Site.
Europcar has generally been our best car rental company for France, although we've used Sixt, too. Not sure about Caen, but rental offices can vary depending on whether you're using a "downtown" location or one at an airport or train station. Haven't personally had to do a missed-train transfer, but others should be able to offer ideas.
Posted by
London, United Kingdom
4684 posts
The best site for an American to buy French rail tickets nowadays is www.capitainetrain.com - it's a reseller, but it doesn't charge a booking fee to the buyer and it's more American-friendly than the official site.
If you buy an advance discount train ticket, it will be strictly limited to a specific train, and if you miss it you will have to pay full fare. The only time that SNCF will be flexible on that is if you were delayed on a previous SNCF train, if you miss it for any other reason there will probably not be any mercy.
Posted by
Chicago
8035 posts
We got tickets to Caen 3 mos ahead and they were 15 Euros and printed at home. If you are already in Paris there is no reason to worry about missing trains with a restricted ticket.
Note that the Caen rental offices by the station take long lunch breaks so be sure you time your arrival when their offices are open or you will be cooling your heels in an ugly area of town with nothing to do.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16893 posts
Rail Europe is a reputable site, and closely tied to the French railway, and does sell these as print-at-home tickets, so you can choose whichever site has the better price. The only reason to book ahead is to get a discount, and the discounts come with refund/exchange restrictions. Otherwise, you can buy the ticket in the station, no reservation necessary.
When I have booked cars through Auto Europe, a specific rental office's open hours were pretty easy to see both during the booking and on the printed voucher, and I'd expect the same info to be provided by any car rental agency, although you may have to click open some links.
Posted by
Chicago
8035 posts
Raileurope is the 'we hose American ' site where often the tickets cost more and fewer routes are listed.
I would not wait to buy at St. Lazare the day of as American credit cards don't work in the machines and the lines to buy tickets can take over an hour. We missed the train to Vernon while waiting over an hour to buy tickets; we just went the next day, but in a tightly planned trip that could really mess you up. You can buy the tickets at any train station or SNCF boutique in Paris ahead of time and not have to worry about lines. (because most Europeans buy their tickets from the machines, the line is filled with people with complicated problems and goes slow; the day we wanted to go to Vernon, it was two blocks lone and even with about a dozen windows open and selling, it took over an hour.
Posted by
Chicago
8035 posts
driving from Paris is fine but not after a transatlantic flight -- so if you have a few days in Paris first, that is also a good option. remember though that gas and tolls are huge in Europe and add to the rental cost as well of course as being a more tiring option particularly if you are not used to driving a stick.