That is pretty surprising. Like the car rental companies-they do the same sort of thing..maybe check that out for the next piece..?

Posted By adrian on August 24, 2009, 11:55 AM

Great advice! Thanks!

Posted By Joan Rickettson on August 24, 2009, 12:51 PM

Good call, Meg!

I had noticed this on previous trips to France when I was trying to book train tickets in advance. So, this year, in planning a trip for 7 friends and family through France, I booked through the SNCF website 90 days in advance (the earliest they put tix up for sale online). Thanks to the French-speaking discount you reference *AND* the special pricing deals available for those purchasing early (Prem's fares and the like), we got 1st Class seats for our trip cheaper than the 2nd Class seats -- and far cheaper than they would have been through Rail Europe's site.

One caveat to my experience, though: Print-at-home wasn't an option for my itinerary, so I had to get physical tickets. However, SNCF will only let you ship to France (maybe nearby EU countries, too... I don't quite remember). So I instead had the tickets sent to a friend in France, then he sent them by post to me (which only cost 3€ or something like that). A bit circuitous, but a money-saving way to work around the language-preferential system!

Posted By mikey on August 24, 2009, 1:12 PM

Last year, when traveling from Andorra to Paris, we got a great rate on sleeping accommodations on an overnight train by booking at the SNCF website in French. I learned this trick through the website of "The Man in Seat Sixty-One", an incredibly thorough guide to European train travel.

At first, it was really frustrating trying to book, as the SNCF website kept diverting me to US- and UK-based websites with higher prices.

Finally, I found the best part of Seat61's website: the section that walked me step-by-step through booking tickets at the SNCF French website, even though I hardly know any French. It's at http://www.seat61.com/France-trains.htm#in%20French. I just printed out my tickets at home and had no problems using them in France.

Posted By Paul on August 24, 2009, 2:29 PM

Thanks for the tip on Babel Fish. I just checked it out and it works great. But it looks like you better already know the alphabet.

Posted By Tom B. on August 25, 2009, 2:44 PM

Great piece! This is 100% accurate, as I recently discovered when booking some tickets from Paris to Caen. The price quoted on Rail Europe was $200 more expensive than the price on the SNCF site. I actually discovered the workaround on Seat 61...very glad I did!

Posted By Jeremy K. on August 26, 2009, 10:24 AM

Nice tips...however, the author should really check their work. There's a typo in the third paragraph, i.e. "tranlsation", which I'm sure they meant "translation." Just something to think about before publishing an article, even if it's an online article.

Posted By hoang on August 27, 2009, 6:02 PM

Thanks for pointing out the typo. I've made the fix now. We regret the error.

Posted By Blog Editor on August 27, 2009, 6:13 PM

No problem like this with the DB English language page. I setup an account and can make train reservations/seat reservations (and just seat reservations if I have a Rail Pass). I pay in Euros on my credit card. I do pay the 3% foreign transaction fee on my credit cards though.

You have to watch the Rail Europe (RE) prices: Depending on the Euro/UK Pound/Swiss Franc conversion rate sometimes there isnt that much difference between their price and the DB/SNCF/SBB/BritRail direct price.

However, you need to read Rail Europe's fine print on Refunds. If you purchase say a 1st Class, full-fare point-to-point DB ticket from RE you cannot make changes or get a full refund from RE and you supposedly cannot make changes or get a refund once in Germany.

Posted By Rich on August 27, 2009, 6:39 PM

We use www.seat61.com to purchase TGV tickets from Paris to Avignon and back on the www.voyages-sncf.com site and it was great. Seat 61 tells you how to purchase in French. We saved tons of money. I also printed it out here at home in the US and took it with me. I understand that US citizens can also say they are from the UK to get good deals

Posted By Kathy Casey on August 27, 2009, 6:48 PM

Many of the European Rail websites have an English web page. I have used Deutsche Bahn and Slovenian Railways with little complication other than the 24 hour clock and the dating system...Day first then month. Avoid Rail Europe at all costs as they do not offer any discount fares just the standard rate. I decided to purchase my ticket from Amsterdam to Zurich when I was in The Netherlands. The ticket agent stated I qualified for a discount because I was taking an overnight train. The "standard" fare on Rail Europe was 62.00 dollars higher. I have received similar blessings booking my tickets directly from Deutsche Bahn, Slovenian Railways and Virgin Trains. Happy trails.

Dave

Posted By Dave on August 27, 2009, 7:33 PM

Rail Europe didn't give any of the discounts that you can get through the SNCF site. When we were travelling in France I picked the tickets up at the station at CDG airport. It was easy, a wait in line that was all. We also got the child's discount which gives everyone a discount. If you are doing a lot of train travel in France it is worth buying the child's discount card as a party of five will get the 50% discount. You get 25% just for having a child along, might be worth borrowing one if you don't have one of your own!!!

It is also cheaper to book in advance at least three weeks.

Posted By Kris on August 28, 2009, 5:05 AM

Just returned from france and had booked a train from paris-st.nazaire. was told at the website that i could get my ticket at a machine at the station. the machines only work if you have the european chip card but i was able to get my ticket from an agent at the ticket office-relatively painless. so, you don't need to have your tickets shipped to you ahead of time.

Posted By Tim on October 8, 2009, 1:42 PM

When I booked a train ticket from Frankfurt to Strasbourg about two years ago on the deutsche Bundesbahn website, I was able at the same time to also book a hotel in Frankfurt at a rate much lower than was otherwise possible.

Posted By George Merriman on March 15, 2010, 3:54 PM