I am currently travelling in France & need to buy a train ticket from Toulouse to Marseille. I'd appreciate any advice as to if I should just buy it at the Toulouse train station when I arrive on June 23 (4 days before I leave again) or if I'm risking a higher fare if I don't buy it in advance online. Best price I've found so far online is E62 (plus about E4 fees) at RailEurope....
Thanks!
This close to the date it's probable that all of the cheap tickets have sold out. However, for future reference Rail Europe is NOT a good place to look for tickets, as they often leave out the cheapest fares. Try www.voyages-sncf.com or www.capitainetrain.com, as some people have reported problems using US credit cards on the former site. If you can plan your travel in advance, the cheap fares go on sale 90 days before the travel date.
62 Euro seems to be the going rate at SNCF this late (which means you don't have the Raileurope surcharge). But they do show one train at 31 Euro, the direct train at 16:53, Internet only.
Lynne,
I agree with the others that Rail Europe is not usually the best source to buy tickets, as they may only offer limited routes and charge more than the rail networks.
As mentioned the cheap tickets are probably already sold out, so buying at Toulouse when you arrive there is the easiest method. However, if you do want to buy online try the www.capitainetrain.com website. They don't charge any additional fees, so you'll pay the same as if buying from the SNCF website.
You can also buy the ticket at any other train station or SNCF ticket boutique that may be handy before you get to Toulouse.
We found that buying the ticket the day before works well. We feel unrushed and can scope out the station and platforms and schedule board a head of time and not feel frantic when we are departing. we felt the trains in France were reasonably priced. Hank Novato, CA
