Train tickets

I was wondering if it%26#39;s cheaper to buy a rail pass before leaving Canada or should I just wait until I get to Europe? I only need 4 train rides (2 in France and 2 in Italy) for 2 people but the price seems higher on rail europe than to just buy them from the actual website such as Trenitalia or SFCN directly. Does anyone have any advice?

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I%26#39;m wondering if you just need to buy %26#39;point-to-point%26#39; tickets rather than passes.

Put your itinerary into this calculator and see if %26quot;it will save money%26quot;.

www.railsaver.com

Generally, non-Europeans cannot buy rail passes in Europe. Lots of info about rail use and passes on www.ricksteves.com (rail page)

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Only those having too much money buy from raileurope.com :)

Unless you plan on getting ono the train immediately after arrival and you HAVE to take a specific train at a specific time, just buy the tickets at the airport train station when you arrive in Paris.

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Also there are often special fares only available at the respective official rail websites.

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Thanks for your advice. I guess I%26#39;ll just wait and buy my tickets at the train station directly.

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No what bibimbob was saying is that you are better off taking advantage of the special fares on the respective websites. But good deals, as always, are for the early bird: so book NOW, because at the last minute you%26#39;ll only get the full fare.

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I think it%26#39;s too soon to book my tickets cuz my dates are at the end of May and in June, and on trenitalia, they won%26#39;t let me buy anything that far in advance, while the french website requires me to be a resident of Europe.

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Tamaradm, Re. having to be a resident of Europe to buy on sncf: I got that impression, too. But I think anyone can buy the tickets online and that it%26#39;s just that the process of receiving/picking up your tickets works differently if you%26#39;re not a resident of Europe. In fact, I%26#39;m hoping to order some tickets later today for a trip in May.

Do I understand how this works correctly, dear Paris experts?

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If you want to purcahse a EURAIL train pass, you must do so BEFORE you arrive in Europe. These passes are great if you are planning on making several one-way or round-trip train trips within a fairly brief span of time.

You do not have to be a local resident to purchase SNCF train tickets on-line. Technically, RailEurope is the exclusive Eurail agent for North America. But...the %26#39;loophole%26#39; in this agreement is that when you purchase tickets directly through the various national railways web sites, the transactions are actually taking place within those railways%26#39; computers OVER THERE and your credit card will be billed in the local currency.

The various national railways have different time limits on ordering tickets on-line. As an example SNCF will not allow you to make on-line reservations more than sixty(6) days prior to your intended travel dates (including the return date if a round-trip). EUROSTAR and THALYS allow ninety(90) days. But for the most part, you will seldom have difficulty getting the lowest fares for your intended dates of travel ordering sixty days or less from your dates. Most SNCF and TGV fare categories (except FULL FARE) will allow you to print out your %26#39;paper tickets%26#39; directly on your home compuiter...or...you can collect them from ANY SNCF train station, anywhere in France once you arrive.

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Actually SNCF is now 90 days and iDTGV tickets are 120 days advanced purchase. Its a recent change so you might want to update your info.

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I was quite disappointed by the price of rail travel in Europe. I looked at taking the Elipsos Trainhotel from Paris to Madrid.

Due to difficulties in booking - I couldn%26#39;t seem to find how to book over the internet as a NZer (only European, UK, and N. American seem to be able to do this) and price (I would have had to pay an expensive agent%26#39;s fee in NZ) I have ended up having an extra night in Paris and then flying the next day!