buy point-to-point train tickets in europe or from raileurope?

taking a summer trip to france and italy (first time) where i'll be
traveling on trains. how much does raileurope gouge prices for point
to point tickets to major cities? i wonder if it might be better to
just buy them when i'm there.

i have some concerns with that though. i hear waiting in line at
stations is worse than disneyland, and worse if you speak no french or
italian, plus my dates are apparently when europeans are on the move
(mid august).

plan is to arrive in paris and spend the weekend there (for the jet
lag) before getting on a train for cannes at gare de lyon. after
cannes, its off to rome via nighttrain.

raileurope's prices are $105 and $72 for each trip (2nd class), but
with mandatory reservation, couchette, and their rediculous $15
delivery fee its $131 and $115. i could find AIRFARE in the US for
less than that (but covering similar distances). also i don't think
they show all that's avaiable. its hard to believe only one night
train goes to rome on a sunday. i'm used to lines, plus i heard
there's automatic machines at the station. only bought movie tickets
through machines before, but i guess it can't be too different. i
already have the train names and times i want from a guidebook.

still, i worry that they might sell out because the weekend of august
15 is like a major holiday in france and a lot of people will be
leaving paris. ending up ticketless is the worst case scenerio but i
don't want to stand in a train for 6 hours either if i can't get a
reservation.

if i end up buying direct, should i get the next ticket the moment i
enter a city, or is it pretty safe to buy it on the morning that i
leave? can first class sell out too? i don't mind paying for 1st class
for what raileurope charges for 2nd class.

a eurailpass doesn't save me any money because both my trains are high
speed (TGV, IC) ones where i have to pay a supplement and i wouldn't
be using any of my additional days.

oh, and the whole ticket validating thing. do i have to do this before
getting on or does the conductor stamp/rip it/whatever once im seated?

Kim <atkim122m> wrote:

> if i end up buying direct, should i get the next ticket the moment i
> enter a city, or is it pretty safe to buy it on the morning that i
> leave? can first class sell out too? i don't mind paying for 1st class
> for what raileurope charges for 2nd class.

Usually the most clever thing to do is buying a day or two in advance
(only the most crowded trains will be sold out). Buying the very same
day adds a thing to do when you have luggage with you so you move slowly
and you are already unconfortable.

In Italy, you can buy train tickets at no surcharge from almost all
travel agents. Very rarely travel agents have queues, so this solves the
problem. If you don't speak Italian, have a card with your final
destination, time you want to leave, day you are leaving (remember that
different trains may have different tickets at different prices, so if
you change your plans check carefully). In some cases you will be asked
if you want a reservation that isn't a bad idea (in other cases it is
compulsory).

There is no difference in buying tickets at the station or from travel
agents (the main difference is that agents cannot make refunds).

Most train tickets have to be stamped at yellow machines near the tracks
before leaving. Once you have stamped the ticket, it is quite difficult
to have a refund and you have a limited time to complete your travel
(the actual time depends on the distance).

--
Luca Logi - Firenze - Italy e-mail: llogi@dada.it

Kim wrote:
>
> taking a summer trip to france and italy (first time) where i'll be
> traveling on trains. how much does raileurope gouge prices for point
> to point tickets to major cities? i wonder if it might be better to
> just buy them when i'm there.
>
> i have some concerns with that though. i hear waiting in line at
> stations is worse than disneyland, and worse if you speak no french or
> italian, plus my dates are apparently when europeans are on the move
> (mid august).

[snip]

> still, i worry that they might sell out because the weekend of august
> 15 is like a major holiday in france and a lot of people will be
> leaving paris. ending up ticketless is the worst case scenerio but i
> don't want to stand in a train for 6 hours either if i can't get a
> reservation.

I have been travelling around with my sister in Italy this past week,
including Rome and Venice by train. We have been buying our tickets at
the last minute. On the nonreserved trains, we have always found seats,
even seats together (there are four of us.) On the reserved (Eurostar)
trains, we have always got our tickets at the last minute, but once we
had to upgrade to 1st class and once we had to sit apart.

To be absolutely safe, it's best to reserve at least a day ahead. We
used the ticket machines in Rome, absolutely no problem. All stations
take credit cards now, and the machines do as well.

Barbara