My wife and I are taking a train from Paris to Quimper and have 2 options – TGV or OIGO, which is about $80 cheaper for the 2 of us combined and arguably a better time. OIGO is 45 minutes longer - 4 hours 15 min.
Read different things about how bad OIGO is so interested in further feedback. The one additional caveat on my end is that I am inclined to motion sickness so am wondering if would be more likely to happen with OIGO. Thank you!
Be very careful with Ouigo booking conditions. Luggage, seat allocation, cost of wifi, cost of electric socket by seat, exchange conditions. Otherwise the ride should be pretty much the same but slightly slower in the older Ouigo trains. There was a point when they offered zero service on the ground, everything had to be done online even when stood next to a cancelled train, not sure whether they have improved on that.
If you are motion sickness prone, you should consider first class TGV only because I’ve found a lot of out-of-order toilets in OUIGOs. Recently our two-hour Paris-Strasbourg OUIGO ride was four hours late due to an incident on the tracks. No food or water to buy, broken toilet. The TGV got preference for the tracks once the line reopened. Our son had bought all our tickets and the schedule was better…until the incident.
You probably won’t get sick because trains are very smooth, but why put yourself in that situation no matter the difference in price.
I’ve only taken ouigo once, from Bordeaux to Gare Montparnasse . No problems boarding or on the train but I found the information about bags/seat assignments/etc. confusing. I think we finally did it correctly, at least we were not challenged. We did the enhanced version ( I can’t remember what it’s called) which seemed to give us the ability to bring on two full-size suitcases. Also seat assignments.
I was happy with the experience and very happy to save the money that it would’ve cost otherwise. I figure there are always uses for saved money, like a nice dinner perhaps. That said,I would strongly advise bringing a board water, sandwiches, and maybe even a bottle of wine (with opener) and paper cups. Very true that there are no services or conveniences on board.
I've taken a few OUIGO trains and never regretted it (nor have I regretted the money I saved!). I know some folks on the forum aren't fans but for me, they have been just fine. I would happily book one again. May I suggest booking the OUIGO PLUS fare, which gives you a greater luggage allowance (I always travel carry-on but not worrying about whether my bag will be a problem is worth it), and even more importantly, advance seat selection. Yes, you will need to bring your own food and drink, but that's half the fun in France! A baguette, some cheese, a sausage and some wine.......how could this not be better than whatever food they might sell you on the train? As a Canadian with little to no access to train service, my bar is pretty low so I am always delighted to travel by train (any train!) when in Europe. I imagine that Europeans likely have higher standards and expectations of their trains but for this Canadian, OUIGO is all good.
