Purchasing train tickets/cost of tickets

[Kathryn_H]

Hi all
Does anyone know how the trains work in Europe? I'm a little confused. It seems the train I wanted to book suddenly 'booked out' and then I went back on and the price had gone up $200 AUD but still the exact same trains. So obviously it wasn't booked out at all!. Does it do this if there's sudden high demand? Or is there low demand now due to people perhaps travelling less and the price is going up as a consequence? This is for May this year. Do I risk it and wait to book closer and hope the price goes back down to a more reasonable price or is it likely to sell out completely?

I hear all these great things about European trains and how cheap it is but I am yet to see this myself!

 

[Tincatinker]

Where, as in which website, were you trying to book on? Which route & when would be useful information too.

You might find this guy useful: https://www.seat61.com/

 

[Molly Cassidy]

Hi all
Does anyone know how the trains work in Europe? I'm a little confused. It seems the train I wanted to book suddenly 'booked out' and then I went back on and the price had gone up $200 AUD but still the exact same trains. So obviously it wasn't booked out at all!. Does it do this if there's sudden high demand? Or is there low demand now due to people perhaps travelling less and the price is going up as a consequence? This is for May this year. Do I risk it and wait to book closer and hope the price goes back down to a more reasonable price or is it likely to sell out completely?

I hear all these great things about European trains and how cheap it is but I am yet to see this myself!

Where do you want to travel to and from? Perhaps we could help if you tell us. It's always best to book directly with the train company for the best prices.

 

[Kathryn_H]

Where, as in which website, were you trying to book on? Which route & when would be useful information too.

You might find this guy useful: https://www.seat61.com/

I will check out the link, thanks. I’m Travelling on 21st of May from Amsterdam to SJPDP. The whole trip was about $770 for 2. Then it came up with an error saying it was sold out. Tried again and it is now priced at $899! This seems a ridiculous amount! This was through thetrainline.com. Same issue with Europe Trains. The silly thing is that the day before and the day after are still around $700, so I’m not sure what is so special about the 21st

 

[Molly Cassidy]

I will check out the link, thanks. I’m Travelling on 21st of May from Amsterdam to SJPDP. The whole trip was about $770 for 2. Then it came up with an error saying it was sold out. Tried again and it is now priced at $899! This seems a ridiculous amount! This was through thetrainline.com. Same issue with Europe Trains. The silly thing is that the day before and the day after are still around $700, so I’m not sure what is so special about the 21st

I wouldn't use the Trainline to book European train tickets. Find out the company running the trains, look up their website and try again. And yes, that seems like an awful lot!
You may need to make more than one booking with different companies to get the best price.

 

[henrythedog]

Hi all
Does anyone know how the trains work in Europe? I'm a little confused. It seems the train I wanted to book suddenly 'booked out' and then I went back on and the price had gone up $200 AUD but still the exact same trains. So obviously it wasn't booked out at all!. Does it do this if there's sudden high demand? Or is there low demand now due to people perhaps travelling less and the price is going up as a consequence? This is for May this year. Do I risk it and wait to book closer and hope the price goes back down to a more reasonable price or is it likely to sell out completely?

I hear all these great things about European trains and how cheap it is but I am yet to see this myself!

The seat61 site is excellent.

I always book using ‘rail Europe’ which used to be Loco2

There is no great logic to ticket pricing or availability. Unless there is a public holiday around your intended travel date it would be unusual to not be able to get a ticket for a specific day (not necessarily a specific train) with a few days notice.

On the day it is not unusual for specific medium and long distance trains to be sold out.

 

[Kathryn_H]

Where do you want to travel to and from? Perhaps we could help if you tell us. It's always best to book directly with the train company for the best prices.

I'm travelling from Amsterdam to SJPDP. I have just input all the same dates into the Thalys website for Amsterdam to Paris and then into Oui.sncf for Paris-Bayonne-SJPDP and it seems to be pretty much the same price as using Trainline. For some reason the 21st of May might be booking out

 

[trecile]

I'm finding tickets on RailEurope.com for 2 people for $518 USD. I think that works out to about $785 Australian dollars.

New look and feel | Rail Europe

New look and feel

www.raileurope.com

 

[Kathryn_H]

I'm finding tickets on RailEurope.com for 2 people for $518 USD. I think that works out to about $785 Australian dollars.

New look and feel | Rail Europe

New look and feel

www.raileurope.com

Yes that does seem to work, $776 AUD. However this is second class tickets. I was getting $700 tickets for premium class before it advised me that 'ticket cannot be confirmed' The second class tickets were only about $500 when I first looked today. So they have jumped up about $200 as well. Worst case scenario, I will pay this for the second class. The exact same train on the 22nd of May for second class is currently $460 for 2! I am trying to work out why the 22nd is way cheaper than the 21st

 

[Vacajoe]

Tickets are often demand-based, which means they can go up or down at any time on any day. All it takes is one segment of your route to suddenly have high demand and your entire ticket price can go up.

 

[Thornley]

I'm travelling from Amsterdam to SJPDP. I have just input all the same dates into the Thalys website for Amsterdam to Paris and then into Oui.sncf for Paris-Bayonne-SJPDP and it seems to be pretty much the same price as using Trainline. For some reason the 21st of May might be booking out

Lady K , treat yourself to this little holiday before you get the blisters etc
Fly Easy Jet from Amsterdam to Bordeaux on a Friday or Sunday [ currently ] @ 9.00am or 1pm
90 minutes flight.
We love Bordeaux for a stop over however if you wish you can get the train there to Bayonne , 90 minutes .
We always stay there 2 nights , it's a great town.
The next morning or whenever get the early train to STJPP , 1 hour
The flight should be less than $100 AU , book business ...thats the front row and its great.
Air France will be $260 each for the flight to Biarritz if you wish , and that's daily.
Have a great trip

 

[Kathryn_H]

Lady K , treat yourself to this little holiday before you get the blisters etc
Fly Easy Jet from Amsterdam to Bordeaux on a Friday or Sunday [ currently ] @ 9.00am or 1pm
90 minutes flight.
We love Bordeaux for a stop over however if you wish you can get the train there to Bayonne , 90 minutes .
We always stay there 2 nights , it's a great town.
The next morning or whenever get the early train to STJPP , 1 hour
The flight should be less than $100 AU , book business ...thats the front row and its great.
Air France will be $260 each for the flight to Biarritz if you wish , and that's daily.
Have a great trip

Thank you for the suggestion, however I'm already locked into starting the walk on Saturday, so have allowed Thursday and Friday for travel. The easy jet flight from Amsterdam to Bordeaux is an option, but I'd need to do it on the Thursday and that is currently $300AUD per person. Even the train from Amsterdam to Bordeaux is $869.28 for 2. Airfrance seems to be anything from 585 euro to 1000 euro to fly Amsterdam to Biarritz on the thursday. Absolutely crazy!

Wow, the Easy Jet flight from Amsterdam to Bordeaux on the Thursday takes 6 hours 20 minutes and stops in Bristol! What the. I feel like I am missing something here! I thought Easy Jet was supposed to be Easy

 

[Juspassinthru]

No offense intended, but with most things in life, there’s cheap, good and fast. You rarely get all three but two are possible. Find the two that work for you. Also, delete all cookies from your computer/device and go back to the booking site and see if you get different fares. These sites are aware that you’re interested in that route and on that day. Finally, relax. Buen Camino.

 

[Thornley]

Thank you for the suggestion, however I'm already locked into starting the walk on Saturday, so have allowed Thursday and Friday for travel. The easy jet flight from Amsterdam to Bordeaux is an option, but I'd need to do it on the Thursday and that is currently $300AUD per person. Even the train from Amsterdam to Bordeaux is $869.28 for 2. Airfrance seems to be anything from 585 euro to 1000 euro to fly Amsterdam to Biarritz on the thursday. Absolutely crazy!

Wow, the Easy Jet flight from Amsterdam to Bordeaux on the Thursday takes 6 hours 20 minutes and stops in Bristol! What the. I feel like I am missing something here! I thought Easy Jet was supposed to be Easy

incorrect on a few points mate
Easy jet are only taking booking till the end of March , which is understandable at the moment
I put in Thurs 27/3 as an example
Flight @ 8.55 am arriving Bordeaux @ 10.40 am
Cost 42 euro plus 26 for front row = 68 euros or $120 max Au.
Front seat is a must if you have only the one backpack as you live up like the normal business access.

 

[GettingThere]

Yes that does seem to work, $776 AUD. However this is second class tickets. I was getting $700 tickets for premium class before it advised me that 'ticket cannot be confirmed' The second class tickets were only about $500 when I first looked today. So they have jumped up about $200 as well. Worst case scenario, I will pay this for the second class. The exact same train on the 22nd of May for second class is currently $460 for 2! I am trying to work out why the 22nd is way cheaper than the 21st

May 21st is Ascension Day, a public holiday in France, so that will be the reason. Also being a Thursday, lots of people will take the Friday off and have a long weekend. An expensive time to travel however you do it, and likely to be a busy weekend in St Jean too. Hope you find the best option for you under the circumstances - and Buen Camino!!

 

[Thornley]

Why are you in Amsterdam before the Camino?
Holiday .....you can alter , l
Flight arrival from Oz ......can you change?

The scheduling on all airlines in Europe will be altering before you go and it could be for better or worse.
However I would await Easy jet ’s scheduling for Bordeaux or you can ;
Fly into Bilbao daily from Amsterdam on KLM For around $250 .
Bus from there is 2 hours and costs next to nothing and enjoy Bayonne before you get to SJPP

If you went to Amsterdam for a holiday before the Camino you picked the wrong city when locking dates in for commencement of the walk etc , France or Spain were the answers.

 

[SabsP]

@Kathryn_H

Just gave in your intinary for that day on the oui. sncf site. From A'dam to Saint Jean : 232 € . So not so bad imho?

Amsterdam Central 11.15
Paris Nord : 14.36
Then metro to Paris Montparnasse where train to Bayonne leaves at 15.47
Arriving in Bayonne at 19.47
Train to Saint Jean at 20.01
Arriving in Saint Jean at 21.03


The french high speed trains are extremely comfortable!

PS: Absolutely nothing wrong with second class quality in those trains.

 

[pjacobi]

Train ticket in Europe are increasing being priced similar to plane tickets, based on supply and demand. Prices can change in a fraction of a second! This is especially true for high speed trains.

-Paul

 

[Juspassinthru]

Hi all
Does anyone know how the trains work in Europe? I'm a little confused. It seems the train I wanted to book suddenly 'booked out' and then I went back on and the price had gone up $200 AUD but still the exact same trains. So obviously it wasn't booked out at all!. Does it do this if there's sudden high demand? Or is there low demand now due to people perhaps travelling less and the price is going up as a consequence? This is for May this year. Do I risk it and wait to book closer and hope the price goes back down to a more reasonable price or is it likely to sell out completely?

I hear all these great things about European trains and how cheap it is but I am yet to see this myself!

I just checked Expedia.com, AMS-BOD, $175 US on May 21. Spend the night, Train from Bordeaux to SJPP, €27.41 the next morning, in SJPP by 13:04. You’ll have to do the currency conversion. Good luck

 

[Thornley]

For anyone in Australia to convert the previous [ above] train data a just allow 60 cents in the dollar for a euro.
Simple method is to divide 27 euro by 6 = $45
For the US dollar allow 66c or 2/3
Thus $175 US = $260 AU
Total $300 AU
=================
Webjet;
Friday 21st May
Air France leaves Amsterdam @ 6.40am
Arrives in Biarritz @ 10.40am
$334 AU
or
Wait and see what Easy Jet does .

 

[Donjek]

Hi all
Does anyone know how the trains work in Europe? I'm a little confused. It seems the train I wanted to book suddenly 'booked out' and then I went back on and the price had gone up $200 AUD but still the exact same trains. So obviously it wasn't booked out at all!. Does it do this if there's sudden high demand? Or is there low demand now due to people perhaps travelling less and the price is going up as a consequence? This is for May this year. Do I risk it and wait to book closer and hope the price goes back down to a more reasonable price or is it likely to sell out completely?

I hear all these great things about European trains and how cheap it is but I am yet to see this myself!

There is a holiday in May. If your travel dates are in the holiday window you'll have trouble.

The other salient advice is to find the service provider and buy from them.