I'm researching for a trip next May and looking to get an idea of a cost for a one way ticket from Paris to Lausanne. I've gone to the French rail site and go thru the process like i'm booking a ticket to see what pricing will be but it always shoots me eventually to the rail europe site.
Does that site handle advance online tickets for them? The price on their site seems pretty good I guess, $46 apiece for the early train @ 7:45 out of Paris but was just curious about finding possible good deals down the line on that route on France's site as opposed to a 3rd party site.
Thank you!
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
Officially, SNCF doesn't mail tickets to the US or Canada. If you changed the default country of choice for retrieving your tickets from France to the US, that is the most likely reason you were diverted to the RailEurope site.
Yes, you can do better booking at SNCF. Leave France as the default country. Do not choose cancellation insurance. If you book well in advance (up to 90 days allowed), you can get a Piccolo fare of €25.
Posted by
OP
Charlotte, NC, USA
95 posts
Awesome, thanks Tim. I'll try that.
We aren't going until next May but I was going ahead and checking things out as if booking 3-4 months in advance to see what kind of deals i can expect to hopefully find next spring.
Posted by
Napa, CA
3580 posts
Something I haven't used and can't understand are those blue days schedules you can pick up in French train stations. It is supposed to save money by traveling at non-rush times or on certain days. If anybody has this info, it may help answer Michael's (and my) question. I don't think Rick has tackled this one.