We are considering buying the France Rail'n Drive Pass through Rail Europe. I have seen many posts that Rail Europe is way overpriced, but Rick's guidebook says this is the way to go if you are doing both car rental and trains. We have 3 days of travel planned from Paris-Bordeaux-Arles-Paris and will rent cars in Bordeaux in Arles.
Posted by
OP
Hobe Sound, FL, USA
9 posts
Thanks for the tip. I will check out that site. We are renting for 2 days in each location.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
You're welcome. To keep the tgv-europe site in English and to avoid being bumped to Rail Europe, 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. For all other fares you can pick up your tickets at any SNCF station or boutique (ticket shop) in France, even though you originally chose Great Britain.
Posted by
Boston
4132 posts
These once were a tremendous value. But are they still available in second class? If not, perhaps you'd be better off making separate arrangements.
As for Rail Europe: I've never bought from them, but I always thought their prices for passes were competitive. They jack up their ticket prices to make the passes seem like a better deal. You can shop around and compare on passes.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
If you compare full fare train tickets plus the cost of car rental to the cost of Rail'n Drive passes, then you might come out ahead buying passes. However, if you book train tickets far enough in advance (up to three months allowed) online at www.tgv-europe.com, you can get discount fares as low as €22 for Paris-Bordeaux, €30.70 for Bordeaux-Arles, and €22 for Arles-Paris.
How many days will you need a rental car in Bordeaux? And how many days will you need one in Arles?