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Loire Valley Castles

I went to buy a castle package from their local site, not a tour guide site, but it said that the tickets were not printable and could not be sent to your mobile devise and only sent to your country if your country was listed. There was a flag for Britain so I could get the site in English but none for the US. Does that mean I need to wait to buy the ticket when I am there in early Sept?

Posted by
2466 posts

It would help if you could tell which tour you are thinking about taking. Please post à link.

Some websites "hide" information in French that could be important. It's possible that this is the problem, even though you chose the British flag.

Also possible that your bank suspects a fraudulent transaction. I would give the link, then call your bank if necessary.

Posted by
610 posts

We used http://www.tours-tourism.co.uk/destinations/chateaux-loire to book our tour of 4 castles from Tours. The tickets were sent to our email and we had no trouble. We really enjoyed the tour - even though it was quick, we got a nice overview of Chambord, Chenonceau, Ambois and Cheverny. There are different combos you can reserve. It is lovely there, you will have a great time!

Posted by
5337 posts

Will you have a car?

The reason I ask is that the TIs in the area will likely be able to sell you a chateaux package when you arrive. I know, for sure, that the TI in Amboise does this. It appears that the one in Blois does, too. Not sure that it's ever necessary to buy them in advance.

From looking at the TI website, it does seem that they will only mail within Europe. But, IMO, no big deal.

Posted by
1005 posts

If you have a car, just buy tickets when you arrive at your chateau. I wouldn't bother buying a pass in advance; the savings are minimal and the weather could change your plans.

Posted by
5 posts

I have not decided if we will rent a car when there, if so maybe one day.

We were not looking for a tour, just tickets to get in. We are staying in Amboise.
I will check out one of the websites suggested and see if that is what we are looking for. Thanks

Posted by
610 posts

I guess I should clarify. The "tour" we booked was just transportation and entry tickets to each chateau, there was no guided tour part. We did not rent a car, so this worked well for us.

Posted by
2069 posts

September is shoulder season and I don’t expect long lines at the entrances to get in. I visit France most of the time early June and never experience long lines, not that I feel the need to pre-book.

Posted by
5 posts

Thank you all so much. I think I have what I need now.