SNCF tickets

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Having read about problems with ticket reembursement in some travel article, I always write the reservation code for each ticket on several cards and keep those notations separate from the tickets. This measure saved me $100 recently when we took a trip out of Paris and I left our return tickets in the luggage we left at our Paris hotel. By having the reservation code for the return tickets, we were able to keep our reserved seats by rebuying the ticket. On our return to Paris, we submitted BOTH THE ORIGINAL UNUSED TICKET AND THE COMPOSTED REPLACEMENT TICKET at the SNCF office to get an immediate credit to our VISA account.

Had we not had the code for our reservation, we would have had to buy a completely new ticket, and hoped that SNCF could, at their convenience, trace our original ticket and make reembursement. Apparently, everything hinges on that reservation code, not your name or credit card number or train number.

[robert brown]

Margaret, welcome on board (again). How do you find the SNCF website to be? I tried to get information about trains from Nice to Gerona and it wouldn't let me do it. Too many changes of trains, as I recall. Have you or others often been stymied by it. It's not my favorite travel site.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Robert, thank you for your re-welcome. We probably use the SNCF website to create simpler itineraries than you. It tells me what I need to know without too much effort on my part. That conceded, I do have issues with the all-too-frequent site upgrades. Just when I have mastered one navigation, I have to re-learn how to extract that information. C'est normal.

[lamington]

One of the best and most reliable timetable systems for European trains (and other modes of transport sometimes) is at the German Railways site in English. Doesn't give price info for inter-country journeys though. It contains info for most train services in Europe, except many suburban (eg, metro, underground) services, and some regional trains are also missing, such as many Spanish RENFE regional services.

The SNCF site is very very touchy about the time periods entered and what sort of trains and how many connections. A real pain! Margaret, that's a great tip about res.codes!

[Bux]

Robert, Have you tried using the German railway site? Esilda is generally happy with the SNCF site, but agrees that it falls short when you have to make connections, especially if those connections are outside of France. For more complex routing in Europe, she likes the German site.

We just reserved and bought our tickets for a Paris-Biarritz trip on the French railway site. We paid by credit card and downloaded a PDF file which we printed. I'm not sure if this is what we have to show, or if we have to exchange it for a ticket in Paris, but after Margaret's advice, I think we'll print up several copies and put one in each pocket.

[robert brown]

Do Germans stand on the platform, peer down the tracks and say, The ICE train cometh"?

[Peter B Wolf]

Do Germans stand on the platform, peer down the tracks and say, The ICE train cometh"?

No Robert, but funny , the ICE is not a word per se, but three individual letters and pronounced "EE" "Tzeh" "A" like the first letter in the Eng. Alphabet (InterCityExpress)

And yes, the 'Deutsche Bahn' website ist besser.

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

If you want me to, I'll navigate for you.

[Peter B Wolf]

Robert, found something in my archives:

Girona,

Not far from Call Ros is Albereda, at Albereda 7, (22 60 02) an elegant and pricey restaurant

Cipresia at General Fournas 2 (21 56 62) has Catalan fare with a French accent.

Casa Marieta, on the Plaça de Independència at # 5, just across the river from the old town, has been serving home-style cuisine for over one hundred years.

Pastries at Puig, at Argenteria 8,

Can Roca at Abeuradores 4-6,

Castelló, Santa Clara 45.

Charcuterie is found at El Petit Paradís, Travessia del Carril 1,

Valimañas at Plaça Calvet i Rubalcaba 12,

Moriscot on Ciutadans 4.

Liquors at Agustí Ensesa Vins on Santa Eugènia 7.

Antiquities at Claret on Cort Reil 14.

Handicraft stores are concentrated on Carrer Ballesteries, La Carpa, at no. 37

[Bux]

Can Roca at Abeuradores 4-6,

I don't know about the rest, but if that's the same Can Roca we ate in, it's in the suburbs now and the address is carret. Taialà, 40. It's the one place in town worth going out of your way for a meal. I should imagine it's the target destination of Robert's trip, although there's easily a day's worth of sightseeing in the older part of Girona.

[peterpumkino]

Do Germans stand on the platform, peer down the tracks and say, The ICE train cometh"?

No, but my eleven year-old (then) American daughter stood on the platform at Berlin Zoo at 5:30 (AM) and sang 'Go West on the ICE, Go West on the ICE, Go West..........etc) which I found amusing particlarly as we were headed for the UK (i.e. West).

Ref the German Res System: I remember that I had to go from Munich to a Hungarian town to have my teeth done (very, very good incidentally, $1,500 for 6 crowns) so I went on the Hungarian rail site to get the connection from the Austrian border to where I wanted to go. I then went to Munch res. and bought my ticket only thing was they could give me no information on trains past Austria. I simply emailed the Hungary Rail site.

Edited September 17, 2003 by peterpumkino (log)

[menton1]

I have found that the sncf-voyages.com site to be useful only when going between major routes.

We found ourselves needing a ticket from Lyon to Tours 2 weeks ago, and when I tried the site back before I left, they insisted on sending me through Paris, going in to one Paris station, and then having to transfer to another Paris station to get our second train!! (Paris has about 8 railway stations)

The SNCF also only provides a "Numero Vert" which is the equivalent of our 800 numbers, and cannot be accessed from abroad. I finally found a route through Massy (A suburb of Paris) where I could take a train from Lyon to Massy, wait 40 minutes, and catch a train to Tours on the same platform!!

There is really no need to buy a ticket on the web site; it is easy enough at the station at a machine (billeterie), or if you have a car, pick a small town station and go to the ticket window and they will devote all their time to you-- you usually won't have to queue at these small stations.

One note: Train travel in France has become quite pricey nowadays-- this ticket cost 85 Euros! Easy Jet Airlines is advertising a Nice-Paris air ticket for 30 Euros!!!

[fresh_a]

I've always found the SNCF website to be helpful, and the telephone service good, if sometimes overloaded. Concerning the comparison with Easyjet, to get the 30 Euros r/t to Nice, I'm afraid you'll have to book VERY far in advance, whereas on the SNCF website, some very good deals indeed may be found.

[fresh_a]

Not that I'm the great defender of the SNCF or anything, but wouldn't you have lost out if you arrived to the airport, and forgot your airline tickets? You would have been obliged to pay another ticket as well, unless you have an e-ticket. Another thing is that the SNCF reservation system in not nominative, meaning that the reservation code they give you is the only way to identify a person with a reservation..

[menton1]

Not that I'm the great defender of the SNCF or anything, but wouldn't you have lost out if you arrived to the airport, and forgot your airline tickets? You would have been obliged to pay another ticket as well, unless you have an e-ticket. Another thing is that the SNCF reservation system in not nominative, meaning that the reservation code they give you is the only way to identify a person with a reservation..

Well, for we US residents, the site was very difficult. Try to find trains between Lyon-Tours and you will see our difficulty. Also, they do not publish a normal phone #, only an 0800 number, so if you are not in France you cannot call them.

Don't you think 85 Euros is a bit expensive for a 250 kilometer trip? (2nd class) I thought it was. As little as 6-7 years ago, the trains were 50% less expensive.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

I think it's been published on Eg before, but as a refresher, you can reach an English speaking SNCF representative at 33.(0)8.92.35.35.39. If calling within France, include the 0; if calling from outside France, omit it. It is not an inexpensive call, usually $10 to $15 to book a ticket, unless you happen to subscribe to an international calling plan.

(By the way, we do. We pay $2.95 per month for a plan that gives us $.14 a minute calls to France. If you book (phone or fax) a substantial number of hotels, restaurants or transportation in France, this surcharge pays for itself very quickly. )

[menton1]

Sorry, Margaret, but all of these 08 telephone #s can only be called from within France. They are Vert, Azur, and Indigo and are either free or at a reduced rate. Regular France phone #s begin with 01 through 05 and 06 for portable phones. (I tried for 2 weeks to call them)

By the way, the days of expensive calls to France are over-- at home we use a 7 digit access code (No Monthly fee) and pay 7.9 cents/minute for France-- at work or on the road, I use a CVS calling card for 12 cents/minute. But you can't call any of the 08 phone #s unless you are in France.

Edited September 24, 2003 by menton1 (log)

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Menton, I'd love to hear more about your access to international cheap rates, either by thread or pm. Just to muddy the water, I have called the SNCF 08 number I posted numerous times from the US, most recently last week. They go through with no problem, however they do cost from here.

[Mrs. B]

There is really no need to buy a ticket on the web site; it is easy enough at the station at a machine (billeterie),

If you want a TGV ticket, you should be aware that most require advance reservations and purchase of the ticket within a certain amount of time.

One note:  Train travel in France has become quite pricey nowadays-- this ticket cost 85 Euros!  Easy Jet Airlines is advertising a Nice-Paris air ticket for 30 Euros!!!

The advantages of being a senior citizen (the SNCF considers you one at age 60) is that you get tickets for 50% less than the normal rate.

[Bux]

The advantages of being a senior citizen (the SNCF considers you one at age 60) is that you get tickets for 50% less than the normal rate.

On the Internet, they all think I'm 29 and have wavy black hair--or at least they did.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

They still think that, Bux. They just think you like older ladies!

[Mrs. B]

They still think that, Bux.  They just think you like older ladies! 

Actually, he does not know that he could travel with a 22 year old and get the same discount for her, as his traveling companion