I know they mark up prices for the eurorail pass but if i am buying point to point since i only need to get from paris to chamonix is it still better to buy once in Paris or in advance off the rail europe site?
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19100 posts
For one ticket from Paris to Chamonix, I doubt that you could do better than point to point in France. There might be some specials available from SNCF (French Rail) but you have to be careful that they don't reroute you to RailEurope, which is more expensive for point to point than from the counter over there.
As for Rail Passes, there are other Eurail resellers besides RailEurope, like railpass.com and Eurail itself (www.eurail.com). I compared some of prices between RailEurope and Eurail, and they seemed close with either outlet being less for some passes, so comparison shop. Eurail has free shipping.
Rick does get his railpasses from RailEurope, and seems to sell for a few dollars more, but he includes extras like the travel map, Travel Skills DVD, and most importantly, 20% off other items in his store. If you also need a travel bag, getting both from Rick makes sense.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
As Steve said, Rail Europe doesn't sell point-to-point tickets for all possible routes and times. For example, RE only sells tickets for Paris-Chamonix that involve traveling overnight.
If you buy the tickets in Paris, the standard 2nd class fare for the night train from Paris to St-Gervais-les-Bains plus a regional train from there to Chamonix is 102.10 euro. If you book in advance at tgv-europe.com, you can get a fare as low as 72.10 euro.
For daytime routes the standard 2nd class fare you would pay if you buy tickets in Paris ranges from 86.50 to 92.00 euro. If you book well in advance at tgv-europe.com, you can get a fare as low as 43.90 euro.
Posted by
Boston
4132 posts
For advance tickets, buy online from national rail companies.
For other tickets, buy in Europe.
For rail passes, buy from Rick Steves or, if there's something he doesn't sell, Rail Europe
Those are my current three rules of thumb, anybody want to improve on them?
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19100 posts
Adam, just a little fine tuning :).
For advance tickets, buy online from national rail companies' websites (German Rail - the Bahn) etc. That's where you get the great advance purchase deals.
As for rail passes, comparison shop. Look at Railpass.com and Eurail.com, as well as RailEurope.
Other than those comments, I agree entirely.