Hi,
I will be traveling in France the first two weeks of May and was thinking of applying a senior rail pass. Does anyone have experience with the rail pass for adults over 65. Is it worth it? Is it hard to apply for?
Could anyone share their experience with the senior rail pass?
Thank you,
Carol
Posted by
Washington DC
28081 posts
Are you referring to the Carte Avantage Senior? It's not a pass; it's a card that entitles you to a discount (30% on most trains, I think) when you buy individual tickets. I've used it twice and saved money on it, but it's an annual card and my trips were 85 days and 40 days, giving me a lot more opportunity to save money than you'll have on a 2-week trip. At a cost of 49 euros, it's not super-cheap. You'd need to look at the cost of the tickets you plan to buy to see whether 30% of that figure is more than 49 euros. Complicating that calculation is that the price you pay for tickets on the faster French trains (like the TGVs) varies by date and time (due to demand) and how early you buy the ticket (because the bargain-priced tickets tend to sell out very early).
What train trips do you plan to take in France?
Actually obtaining the Carte Avantage Senior wasn't difficult for me; it just took a few minutes at a train station. I don't know whether procedures have changed in any way since my last purchase in 2019. I think the price is higher now.
Posted by
OP
11 posts
This was very helpful. We are traveling from Paris to Dordogne region and then back to Paris for a few days. We thought we might take a day trip to Normandy from Paris and back. All in all, it seems it won’t be worth applying for the senior discount. Thank you very much. Carol