Train Paris to Bayeux

I am trying to get a price on roundtrip tickets from Paris to Bayeux in Normandy. Want an early morning train Paris to Bayeux and a late afternoon train back the same day from Bayeux to Paris.

I have tried logging onto the SCNF website, but it won%26#39;t give me schedules. I tried %26quot;Rail Europe%26quot; which is a travel service, but their prices were very high (23 GBP each direction or 46 GBP roundtrip).

At this point, I don%26#39;t need to make a reservation. I just need to know the cost. We are 2 adults and 5 students (each student under age 25).

Can anyone help me on the cost?

Thanks.

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You might try www.seat61.com and use the links there. If any site asks for coutnry of origin select England, not the US, for much cheaper tickets. Or try www.ehow.com and choose how to buy French rail tickets online, step by step.

oprah44

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Go to the TGV page. If you do a Google search, select %26quot;translate this page.%26quot; This page is primarily blue tones, and you will be asked to select your community. Select Great Britain. If you select USA, you will go to RailEurope with its higher fares.

Enter your travel information and make sure that your departure hours are earlier than the time you want to travel. Continue and you should stay on the TVG site. This time, it%26#39;s a burgundy page. There is an itinerary box on the left side of this page, and your travel request should have been retained. It may ask you to select various destinations around Bayeaux for an arrival station, and you can request the Bayeux station by clicking %26quot;Help.%26quot;

At the bottom of this itinerary frame is a scroll menu that is not labeled. Scroll and click %26quot;Great Britain.%26quot; By clicking the GB label, you stay on TVG. Clicking %26quot;USA%26quot; will send you to RailEurope,%26quot; and I%26#39;ve never been able to back out of that site once I%26#39;m there. If you are sent to RailEurope, start over.

You%26#39;ll see your schedule options for outward and inward travel, and you select these routes separately. Your fare will be quoted in Euros. You will be given your choice of first or second class fares, and %26quot;Flexi,%26quot; which can be changed, and regular, that can not.

Hope this works for you. Many travelers have been frustrated by these rail sites. As an American navigating this site through Great Britain, I haven%26#39;t tried to purchase on this site. I don%26#39;t know if that part will work, but you will be able to see schedules and fares this way.

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What SNCF site were you using? I can get this information from www.voyages-sncf.com

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I did a Google search for TGV. I don%26#39;t know why or what the relationship is between the TGV site and SNCF, but the information that came up seemed to be what JCM1949 was looking for. When I looked at the fares quoted on the TGV and the fare posted on our ticket from October, purchased at Paris St. Lazare, the amounts were a reasonable match.

From what I could discern from my visit to the TGV site, the key for Americans is to use Great Britain as our country of origin, and to click %26quot;Great Britain%26quot; on the third page (the burgundy one) on the scroll at the bottom of the itinerary request. We get our English translation, but are not sent to RailEurope as we are when we click USA. However, I don%26#39;t know how purchasing a ticket in advance and the currency exchange is going to work on the British connection.

What I learned when I visited the TGV site was that we paid too much for our first class ticket on our October trip. We paid the Flexi (higher) fare, and as we were at the station, ready to go, we did not need that fare. My understanding of the Flexi fare is that it can be changed if a ticket holder does not make their train, and we did not need that fare. There may be conditions for changing a Flexi ticket, and I hope someone can offer more info.

My reading on the Flexi fare is that it should be chosen by travelers purchasing a ticket in advance of their travel. Planes can be late, and transportation time to a train station may not be as expected. I would, however, recommend pre-purchaing to travelers visiting the D Day sites this summer as this is the 65th anniversary of the operation. Demand will be high. Travelers should allow themselves a reasonable time (not the earliest train!) for their travel to Normandy. Pre-purchase appears to be available 90 days from the date of travel.

SydneyNick: It is a pleasure to read your input when planning our trips and what I have read in your replies to other travelers. Your responses have always been courteous, respectful and helpful.

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I think I%26#39;m getting the confusion between US travelers and international posters, such as yourself: When US travelers click USA on these sites, we are sent to RailEurope. From Australia and other countries, you stay on the SNCF/TGV site. We stay on the SNCF and TGV sites for lower fare quotes if we click %26quot;Great Britain%26quot; for our translation.

Making sense? JCM1949%26#39;s frustrations are not limited to a few posters from the US looking for info.

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If you use the SNCF site I suggested, you are not asked about your country unless you click on the UK flag to get English, in which case you get taken to the TGV site.

Don%26#39;t try to switch to English. You should be able to follow that %26quot;Depart%26quot; is the place you are leaving from and %26quot;Arrivee%26quot; is the place you want to go to. Setting the date and time of travel should be obvious; then click %26quot;Continuer%26quot;.

Send me a PM if you still have problems.

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Dear All,

Thank you for your responses. I used the voyages-sncf.com site per the helpful instructions of sidneynick.

I went step-by-step through the instructions. I still need a little help.

1: Most of those on my trip are 20 years old. Do they need some special kind of card (other than their passport which shows their age) to get the under age 25 rate? Is there some kind of official train card that you need?

2: I found a fare at approximately 20 euros for the %26quot;under age 25%26quot; for May 8. When I followed the steps to the end, it appeared that it was 20 euros round trip, although I am not certain. Could someone help me?

3: If I reserve from the U.S., how do I get my tickets?

Thank you and best wishes!

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