Hello Everyone,
I've been researching train travel from Amsterdam to Paris. On Thalys.com, I've found a Second Class fare for two people, one way at 50 euros. On Raileurope this fare is $86 USD. Even with the exchange rate, the tickets are way cheaper on Thalys.com. Am I missing something here? Is there any reason not to book through Thalys? Is there a "reservation" fee that I will still need to pay if I book on Thalys?
Thanks,
-Carlos
All seats on Thalys trains are reserved. Your reservation is included in the price of the ticket. The 25 euro Mini fare sells out very fast. When the allotted seats are gone, you'll pay much more. The standard 2nd class fare, called Librys, is 105€. So book at thalys.com ASAP (up to 90 days allowed) to get the best fare.
Rail Europe is always more expensive than using the "direct" websites; as your discovered. Go back to the Thalys website and try looking up up round trip fares even though your going one way. Sometimes if you throw away the return ticket it can be cheaper than the one way fare. Also, if the site asks you where you live and/or where you will be picking up your tickets, say "France".
No, there's nothing wrong with booking through Thalys.com....your reservation comes with the ticket. However, the 50 Euro charge actually works out to about $80 at today's exhange rate, so RailEurope in this case isn't much higher (you will have to pay for shipping and handling tho.) Even better, if you want to take the first train from Amsterdam (around 6:30 am), you can get a $43 ticket from RailEurope, or a 25 Euro ticket ($40) from Thalys.com...but watch the restrictions on refunds or changes.
Thanks all!
Thalys it is. I'm going to do the option where I print out my boarding pass at home, and save on the shipping.
-Carlos
