Rick Steves' Top Tips To Get The More Affordable Train Tickets In France

Trains are a popular, reliable, and relatively inexpensive option for travel in Europe, but how can you make sure you're getting the best deal on tickets? Travel expert Rick Steves has shared a lot of helpful advice from his travels that can save you money, like how to eat on a budget in Europe so that you can dine like a local in France without blowing all your trip money in one go. Fortunately, on his website Rick Steves' Europe, he also has a lot of advice for how to save money on train tickets in France, including booking early, choosing a discount train line, checking if you qualify for any reduced rates, and learning how to tell if a rail pass is the right fit for you.

For many, traveling to France is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but monetary concerns don't just go away because you're on your dream vacation. If you're planning to hop on a train and explore multiple cities in France, the price of all that transit can add up, so definitely do your research before heading out for your French adventure. As Steves shows on his website, if you follow the right itinerary, you can easily travel to Paris, Nice, Bordeaux, Lyon, and many more exciting stops primarily by train — all without breaking the bank.

When Steves was a young man taking his first trip through Europe, he used a rail pass as a way to save money. Although they aren't cheap, taking the train whenever you want can help your budget. Overnight trains can even double as a place to spend the night, saving you the price of a hotel room — something Steves himself did to sleep for free in Europe in his youth. When planning for your trip to France, however, you'll have to do some research on your exact itinerary and see if unlimited train trips for an upfront price from France Eurail Pass or Eurail Global Pass will save you money or not.

If you have a French address and are 27 or younger, you will qualify for a reduced rate. Otherwise, you'll have to do some math to see if you're getting a good deal. The easiest way to do this is to list all the locations you want to visit by train, write down the price of point-to-point tickets between them, and see if the total is higher or lower than the price of a pass that includes all those same trips. According to Steves' website, in general if you're planning to take the train many times, cross borders, or travel between cities with high point-to-point ticket prices, rail passes are likely to be a cheaper way to buy your tickets than paying for each trip individually.

While Steves has stated on his website that buying your tickets right at the station is the easiest way, buying them well in advance can save you a lot of money. Most notably, buying your tickets from SNCF 2-4 months early can help you score tickets that are as little as half the price of those bought the day of at the station. While there are many authorized sellers of these advance tickets for people overseas, you're going to get the best deal buying directly from the rail companies themselves. Choosing the right time for your train trip, like a Wednesday afternoon instead of a Monday morning, can also save you money, since off-peak trips tend to be cheaper in France.

If it happens to line up with your itinerary, Steves has also recommended that cost-conscious travelers check out OUIGO trains, and it's easy to see why. While travelers may find that they're not as fancy and relaxing as a lot of the trains you can take in France, they can be significantly cheaper. While they can't take you everywhere, and aren't covered by rail passes, you can find tickets that cost the equivalent of less than $11.