IdTGV

Chris I just went through booking a ticket on idTGV just a few weeks ago. Got a GREAT price on a Paris-Nice train,, but it was difficult. It all goes well, till you try to pay,, lol, then its the rounds of "payment refused" or something along that line. I phoned my bank, I phoned my credit card, I emailed back and forth with idTGV numerous times. Finally it worked. And, btw ,, after so many tries( 2 or 3 I think) you have to stop for 24 hrs ,, it will keep rejecting you after that.. I will say idTGV always responded to my emails, in english, usually 24-36 hours later. I think i paid 39 euros,, for FIRST CLASS( which is not needed, but at that price why not!) . I have printed out my ticket, well my confirmation, which has a bar code on it which apparently you scan at the station. I actcually used a friends printer as her quality is much better then mine and I had read that if the barcode doesn't scan well they can charge you 5 euros at the station..

Yep, just take the ticket with you onto the train, at your reserved seat, and the ticket collectors will come around and check your ticket and scan it. If you are unsure about which train car to get on, you can ask an SNCF employee there at the gate. Some TGV trains require you to show the ticket before boarding, some don't. It will be easy enough to tell when you attempt the board the train, though.

A test run on www.tgv-europe.com for June shows PREM tickets that are cheaper than idTGV tickets, and more choice of trains. But they aren't available for September yet and perhaps paying 10 or 15 € more is worth it for peace of mind.

Southam,, the tickets you will see on the dates now for june on idtGV may be more expensive now,, because the cheap ones sold out first, so then the TGV tickets become available later they are about even.. you have to get the idTGV tickets first,, 120 days out ,, as opposed to 90 days out which is only when you can get the TGV tickets.

iDTGV tickets can be booked up to 180 days in advance, not 120.

oops,yes, sorry 180 days in advance, but so my point still stands, when comparing prices , you have to look at what price WAS available180 days out and compare to a price now available at 90 days out.