In October we will be traveling from Amboise to Mont St. Michel where friends will be meeting us with a car. I have used loco2 for my other needed train tickets, but can't get it to work for this part of the trip. When I go on bahn.com I can find the route I need. It would go through LeMans and use the TGV to Renne and then a bus. So.....should I wait to buy the tickets when I get to Paris the week before? Or do I need to book the TGV part early? Is it easy and quick to buy the bus ticket on the day of travel. Thanks for your help.
Posted by
Paris
7260 posts
Have you tried Oui.SNCF? It's the official French railways, it might work better than Loco2 (which is generally very good, but might struggle with the bus).
If you have, try booking to Rennes only, and see what happens.
I would argue against booking the Le Mans-Rennes TGV separately because if you do so, you won't be covered if the TER from Tours is late and you miss the TGV.
Posted by
OP
9 posts
I read that the French train line doesn't let you print boarding passes until 4 days before travel. I will already be in France and we are not staying at major hotels. Printing sounds confusing in France. I guess being older I like paper tickets espcially since I am not sure I will have internet access on my phone. I will be in Paris a week before this part of the trip. Do you think that is too late to book a TGV?
Posted by
Loire Valley
815 posts
I think you need to read somewhere else :) I printed my tickets for my train trip in 2 weeks on the 7th June.
I would do it this way.
Amboise(St-Pierre) dep 08:11 TER16805
St-Pierre-des-Corps arr 08:27
St-Pierre-des-Corps dep 08:33 IC 13030
Caen arr 11:31
Caen dep 12:14 TER52818
Pontorson-Mont-St-Michel arr 14:40
Posted by
OP
9 posts
Thanks! Your suggested route is longer, but less stress than what I was planning. Also, it stops in Avranches where we will be staying. Maybe I don't even need to buy the tickets until I get to St. Pierre Corps? Could I buy this route from a machine the day before? I feel the stress melting away as I write this! Thanks again.
Posted by
Loire Valley
815 posts
You could, but the IC tickets will get more expensive the closer to the date. You could buy the tickets at Amboise - the ticket office there is pretty good dealing with people with limited French - print the route you want and take it when you buy tickets