We finished our time in Paris (it was too short!) and headed to our next stop in southern France – Aix en Provence. To get there, we had the dilemma every traveler faces: do we drive, fly, or take a train?
The drive is around eight hours in a tiny, cramped car (more on that later). Then we discovered the TGV high-speed train, which only took around three hours. Bingo! It was the perfect mix. We could see the countryside and make it to our next stop in record time.
And so came our next costly “learning experience.”
We thought that if we had a Eurail pass, we could just pay a few bucks and jump on a train. So we went to the TGV office the day before our trip to Aix en Provence to make sure we had a reservation. Boy, were we surprised when we were out 40 Euro each.
To explain, there are a few important things you should know about booking train tickets.
Booking High-Speed Train Tickets in France / Europe
- Train prices are not always the same. They change according to time of day and demand. So once the train inventory fills up, the prices go up.
- Even if you have an unlimited Eurail pass, you will still need to reserve a seat on some of the high speed trains.
- The reservation price goes up once the train fills up.
So we ended up paying about 40 Euro each for our reservation on top of the Eurail pass cost. Had we booked weeks before, it would have been much cheaper. But you know what? We didn’t know our plans that early, and we did the best we could.
High-Speed Train Money-Saving Tips:
- As soon as you know your travel plans for sure, book your reservation on high-speed trains. You can sometimes book on the TGV website. Otherwise, there are TGV offices in most major European cities.
- Travel on off-peak hours or days to get tickets at a much cheaper price
- Book second-class tickets (instead of first-class) for a better rate in an almost-identical train car
We finally got on the train and headed out. It was beautiful seeing the scenery. We loved that they had restaurant cars on the trains. It’s worth the extra dollar or two to enjoy a coffee in the dining car. Sipping tea and coffee on a train made us feel as if we had stepped into an old Hollywood movie!
In three short hours, we pulled into a station near Aix en Provence for our next adventure which, we must admit, may have involved a police officer and a panic attack or two.
Just joining the story? See all of our Europe 2014 Adventures!
Want to see all of our upcoming adventures? Sign up to get a personal email with the latest story.
If you purchase train tickets as soon as they go on sale, you can often buy them cheaper than by using a Eurail pass and purchasing a reservation.
Capitaine Train is a fabulous website for purchasing tickets! Efficient, streamlined, great customer service!
Check it out.
That’s great advice Lorri! Unfortunately we procrastinated a bit too long on this trip, as you see 😉 We will definitely check that site out as well.