Is it better for us to get a rail pass or point to point tickets

Looking at your itinerary, it's all in France. I don't think that point-point ticket could be enough to warrant a rail pass

There is no substitute for doing you own homework. Check it out yourself. Just make sure you get the lowest prices for point-point tickets (i.e., don't use RailEurope prices or Rick's maps), use the French Rail site. Also consider that most trains in France will require a reservation (supplement) on top of the rail pass.

If you want it to go "as smoothly as possible", don't get a rail pass. See this recent post: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/first-class-france-rail-pass-no-first-class-reservations-available

A couple of your legs, Metz-Strasbourg, and Annecy-Chamonix, can be done with TER trains that give off-peak senior discounts. Buying advance purchase nonrefundable tickets almost always beats a railpass.

Thank you for the helpful replies.
I will do some more study and see which tickets I can purchase in advance.
Thank you again

Sue,
You may want to read this informative website to help you answer your question:
http://tinyurl.com/Seat-61-pass-vs-p-p-tickets

You may actually save money if you buy some of your point-to-point train tickets in advance (online up to 90 days in advance) by using the French Railway website:http://www.sncf.com/en/passengers

When booking your tickets through the SNCF website, it's best if you pay with your PayPal account.

You will be taking a combination of TGV & TER trains to travel among the cities on your itinerary.

• TGV trains are high speed trains that travel from city to city & require reservations.
• TER trains are local regional trains & ticket prices are fixed , so there is no advantage to buy in advance.

You may consider booking your TGV tickets in advance for traveling between these cities:

• Paris => Metz ( TGV)
• Strasbourg => Annecy (TGV & TER) -- May book in advance even though this leg of travel includes a TER train.
• Chamonix => Paris ( TER & TGV) -- Same as above--May book in advance.

You will be taking TER trains for the following:

• Metz => Strasbourg
• Annecy => Chamonix

Your longest days of travel will be when you travel from Strasbourg to Annecy, and Chamonix to Paris.

Hope this helps ;-)

EDIT: Since your trip won't be till November, you can check the SNCF website with a date 2 months from now, just to get an idea of the train schedules & travel times.

Hi Pricilla,
Thank you that is great info I have bookmarked the train sites.
most appreciated.
Regards Sue

Sue,

Have you visited Provence before?

We will be traveling to France next month & will also be visiting Annecy & Chamonix.
I originally considered traveling to Strasbourg & Colmar but opted to change our itinerary to avoid the
long trek from Strasbourg to Annecy. We will also be visiting Provence before heading to Paris (also to avoid the
long trek from Annecy to Paris)

Have you booked your flights already? If not, you may consider flying into Geneva then traveling this route:

Geneva >> Chamonix >> Annecy >> Strasbourg >> Metz >> Paris.

Rail passes rarely are a good idea; they are pretty much in the same category as traveler's checks i.e. once a good idea but now obsolete. You need reservations for the high speed trains and those cost on top of the pass; there are limited seats available for passes; buying tickets in advance you save dramatically on point to point tickets.

hi priscilla,
yes we have already brought our flights and booked all our accom.
I really want to do the train travel as my husband loves the trains. so thank you for your advice.
hi janet
thank you yes i see the point now that passes won't be the best I was just looking for the easy way of getting our tickets before we leave Australia.
Regards sue

I would recommend using www.captaintrain.com to purchase train tickets - especially if you will be using a US-issued credit card. This site has the same schedules and prices as the SNCF, without the issues of denying transactions made with non-French cards.

I use them for almost all of my train travel and have never had a any problems.

Hi Tripatty,
I just looked at that site and joined it looks like it will fill my needs thank you
Regards Sue