We will be traveling from Marseille to Arles, Arles to Lyon, and Lyon to Colmar. We want to travel as cheaply as possibe. I checked SNCF for a ticket to Arles, just to see how much. I checked TER because I think that's the slow train which would be slower than the fast train. It came up with $36. Isn't that a bit much for that short distance on I guess a slow train. Would we be able to get all those tickets that day or a day in advance on a slower train? Do they even have slow trains on some routes like Lyon - Colmar? Are there some routes which I should reserve in advance? Should I get a discount card once we get to France? We will also need to but a ticket from Colmar-Strasbourg. I already reserved a ticket from Strasbourg - Paris. It was $100 each. A couple weeks later we changed our itinerary so we could spend more days in Paris so I changed the ticket. It was down to $40+ but we didn't get any back, and had to pay an extra $20
Posted by
OP
Denver, CO
303 posts
Sorry, my computer started typing the wrong letters. I had to restart it to get it working correctly again.
Anyhow, I know a different day made it cheaper, but I'm wondering if you always get it cheaper by doing it early.
Posted by
Florida (previously California)
3891 posts
Is we two people? If so, approximately $36 is the price. It's not really a slow train in the sense that the TER trip takes between 56 minutes and an hour and six minutes and the "fast" train takes 50 minutes. You can buy the TER tickets at any time and there is no seat reservation Here is a link that shows you when tickets will go on sale on the "fast" trains: https://www.sncf-connect.com/en-ch/help/ticket-sales-opening. I've seen that trip for 12€ on what you call a fast train but you have already seen that change fees apply when you change your mind. Arles to Lyon is one trip that will have cheaper tickets if purchased well in advance. And same for Lyon to Colmar. Colmar to Strasbourg is similar to Marseilles to Arles in that most trains are TER trains but there are occasional trains for which you will need a reservation and for those trains, the tickets will be cheaper if purchased early.