Varying prices for train from Basel to Paris

Short summary – read this first

Deshani is planning a family trip from Basel to Paris on September 13 and is confused about train ticket prices. She noticed a significant price difference between the SBB site and other retailers, and wonders if she's booking too early or missing something.

Key takeaways:
  • Check prices across different retailers for the best deal, as they can vary significantly.
  • Book tickets for the entire family at the same time to avoid confusion.
  • Use the Lyria page for specific family deals like the Hi Five offer, which can provide better rates for groups.
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InfoAI-generated summary
  • Anonymous
    Inactive
    83503 posts
    19 July 2019 at 15:11:03 #822935

    Hi,

    Just a quick question to clear up some confusion. I was trying to check prices for the train from Basel SBB to Paris for 13th Sep. The SBB site quoted CHF 199.00 for 1 adult on 2nd class. But on trainline eu and loco2.com, it shows approx. EUR 165 for the entire family (2 adults & 2 kids, 5y and 22m) on 2nd class and EUR 199.00 on first class!

    It seems like I’m doing something wrong. What am I missing?

    Also, is now too early to book train tickets?

    TIA!

    Deshani

  • rockoyster
    Participant
    8872 posts
    Reply 1 of 6 • 19 July 2019 at 22:53:42 #918185

    SBB is not a discount shop. Compare retailers at http://www.myswissalps.com/tr aintickets/france/pric e. Make sure you are comparing TGV prices. See also http://www.tgv-lyria.com/en.

    You can generally book the TGV up to 4 months in advance.

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    Annika
    Moderator
    7328 posts
    Reply 2 of 6 • 20 July 2019 at 9:37:08 #918186

    Hi Deshani! I don’t think you’re doing anything wrong. Prices can vary per retailer, and you can just look for the best deal. Any of the retailers listed on the page mentioned by Rockoyster would be fine.

    User
    Inactive
    83503 posts
    Reply 3 of 6 • 20 July 2019 at 17:46:27 #918187

    Thankyou much Rockoyster and Annika!

    User
    Inactive
    83503 posts
    Reply 4 of 6 • 22 July 2019 at 14:52:25 #918188

    Make sure you are comparing like with like.

    The trains from Basel to Paris are operated by a joint venture of SBB and SNCF. As such the authority sites to by tickets for them are SBB and oui.sncf.

    And in my experience the prices are usually the same on both. SBB and SNCF both sell the same range of discounted and full price tickets.

    Oui.sncf will also offer tickets via Strasbourg, and so will Loco2 or Trainline. They will also often advertise cheap tickets that in reality already have sold out, which you will only find out once you start booking…

    Gingy500
    Participant
    10 posts
    Reply 5 of 6 • 22 July 2019 at 21:22:41 #918189

    For your family, make sure you book the whole family at the same time. The sncf web page for these fares are very confusing. Start at the Lyria page. They have something called a Hi Five deal, where you get a much better deal for small groups (3+5). I ended up paying 135 € for 3 people from Paris to Basel. Link:

    http://www.tgv-lyria.com/en/booking/s pecial-offers/lyria-promotions/hi-five-offer

    User
    Inactive
    83503 posts
    Reply 6 of 6 • 23 July 2019 at 13:19:28 #918190

    Thankyou Krist and Gingy500. I will check it out.. Appreciate the feedback.

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