Hello,
We will be traveling to France for 4.5 weeks in August & September. We will have a rental car the entire time, except for when we drop it off in Reims on our way to Paris. I just looked up the one-way fare on raileurope.com, and it quoted $54 for two adults. Would it be wise to buy this now or is it possible that the fare might drop and I should wait to buy it closer to the actual day of travel (9/25/09)?
Thanks for any help!
Jennifer
Hi Jennifer. Many people say that raileurope is more expensive than on the sncf website. I've just checked your date and found a 1st class ticket for 17€ (which would make about 48$ for 2)and also 2nde class at 15€. Try http://www.voyages-sncf.com
Don't wait too long, they go fast! Good luck. coco.
This is a good illustration of Rail Europe's markup on point-to-point tickets.
Rail Europe is mostly in the rail pass business, and the markup makes the passes look like a good value by comparison. (Of course, if anyone actually buys the tickets at those prices, it's gravy for the company.)
People might still reasonably buy passes or tickets from RE, for convenience or other reasons, but travelers should understand the price of those amenities.
Jennifer,
The fare will not drop. The standard fare is the same whether you book it in advance or buy a ticket a few minutes before departure.
If you wish to get a discount fare as described by Coco but can't handle French, go to www.tgv-europe.com. To keep the site in English and to avoid being bumped to the Rail Europe site, choose Great Britain as both your country of residence and the country in which you will retrieve your tickets. If you get a Prem's fare, you print the tickets yourself and take them with you. For any other fare you can pick up the tickets at any SNCF station or boutique in France, even though you originally chose Great Britain.
Even waiting to buy tickets at any station in France will be cheaper than buying them through Rail Europe because you won't have to pay RE's fee to have them mailed to your home.
