I'm having problems at the moment booking tickets from La Rochelle to Biarritz on line. I've already used SNCF's facility to book and print my own tickets from Lille to Nantes, and from Nantes to La Rochelle, but when I tried to book from La Rochelle to Biarritz, it's only offered me the chance to collect the tickets from an SNCF office or have them sent by courier to the UK. Breaking the journey down into its component parts, I note I can buy and print out my own tickets from La Rochelle to Bordeaux (where I would have had to change anyway from a Corail to a TGV), but the TGV train from Bordeaux to Biarritz appears to be the dog in the manger, not offering the ability to print out my tickets.
So...anyone with experience of using SNCF's system
i) is there a booking horizon before which tickets can't be booked - I had kind of assumed 2-3 months?
ii) any other suggestions as to why I can print out my tickets from Lille to Nantes, and from Nantes to La Rochelle, and La Rochelle to
Bordeaux, but not Bordeaux to Biarritz ?
I posted this on usenet and have just received suggestions to collect the tickets when I am there or have them posted to me, which is not really the point.
Many thanks in advance of any advice you can offer me.
I am interested in saving money - the ordinary fare from Biarritz to Paris is over €100. A 'Prem' fare is €19. It's a no brainer.
I think you can book on line your prem's, pay on line and print your ticket from La Rochelle to Bordeaux;
I don't think there are prem's from Bordeaux to Biarritz (too busy all the year long); you can just book & pay at low cost on line then collect your ticket at a machine in any french station Lille, Nantes, etc. (introducing the bank card you used to pay for the ticket)... Easy, no?
I just did a dummy booking and can confirm what #3 says. Since only PREM'S are printable and there are no PREM'S for Bordeaux-Biarritz, when you get to the the booking step sncf.com won't let you print tickets for the La Rochelle-Biarritz route, even though initially it says you can. So book and print a PREM'S for La Rochelle-Bordeaux, book a regular ticket for Bordeaux-Biarritz and pick it up at any station, and book and print a PREM'S for Biarritz-Paris.
Bookings open 90 days ahead, although at present they've opened bookings until at least 24 October 2007.
Prems cheap deals are limited availability, and in any case must be booked at least 14 days in advance.
Prems fares can be printed out, other (higher, more flexible) fares can't.
However, voyages-sncf.com will send tickets free of charge to any European country, and to many non-US/Canada/Oz/NZ countries worldwide.
So if you're in the UK, what's the problem, tickets will be sent to you?
>So if you're in the UK, what's the problem, tickets will be sent to you?
Just a couple of stories recently in the press about SNCF sending out tickets, said tickets getting lost, and SNCF saying 'Bouf, not our problem, we posted them, that's where our contract ends'. Ok for a fare costing €20 or so, but a major loss if you're spending €200 on some tickets like we are.
Until Posters #3, and #4 and your good self told me that you couldn't print out non-Prem tickets (and indeed that Prems were only sold on certain TGV routes) I was none the wiser. Now I am.
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