Prepare for summer train travel! Photo by hiddeneurope

By Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries in Berlin—It’s that time of year, Cheapos. The time when various European railway administrations launch a deluge of summer specials. So what’s making the top of the list this year? Read on for a list of rail companies that are slashing prices.

TGV

First up? Those deeply discounted offerings from the French Railways (SNCF) on their TGV services. Between now and August 23rd, first-class fares on many routes across France have been slashed to as little as €30 one way. Look for the TGV Prems Vente Flash fares on the dedicated SNCF website.

Thalys

Thalys is also offering regular summer first class specials, again on sale until August 23rd, for services linking Paris with Brussels, Amsterdam and Cologne. With August being a light month for business travel, there are often heaps of empty seats on TGV and Thalys first-class carriages, and so these summer deals give budget travelers the chance to trade up to a spot of unaccustomed luxury! For more info, visit Thalys’ web site.

Deutsche Bahn

Deutsche Bahn launches a new ticket this week that—for travelers in no great rush—looks like a superb deal. The Quer-durchs-Land Ticket (QdLT) is a weekday equivalent of the long standing Schönes-Wochenende Ticket (SWT), which allows unlimited travel in Germany on all but the fastest trains on either a Saturday or a Sunday. Now QdLT will offer a similar option from Monday through Friday. Stipulations include no travel before 9 AM, but for long hops on slower trains,  QdLT can be fantastic value. Okay, so you can’t use the slick express services, but the slower trains bring other benefits – a chance to enjoy the passing countryside at a less hectic pace.

Cologne to Heidelberg, for example, takes less than five hours by regional train on a route that includes the Rhine valley line from Bonn via Koblenz to Mainz, in our view hugely better than the route used by the fastest express trains. QdLT is utterly flexible. No need to state your destination, no need to pre-book. And the basic fare of €34 is good for solo travel, then add on €5 for each extra traveler up to a maximum of five in all (for €54).

Happy traveling, Cheapos.

About the authors: Susanne Kries and Nicky Gardner are regular contributors to EuroCheapo and together edit hidden europe magazine.

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photograph courtesy of Newtonxl at Flickr

We’re big fans of the French TGV rail system. These sleek trains zip throughout the country, transporting passengers comfortably at speeds up to 200 mph. The trains are such a success that short flights between most cities in France don’t make sense — the TGV is faster, and much less of a hassle.

Tickets, however, can be kind of expensive — if you simply show up at the train station and purchase one on the spot for that day. But happily, they can also be a complete steal, and cheaper, in fact, than low-cost flights!

For instance, consider these TGV rates, taken from the website of the SNCF, the French National Railway:

For travel today: A 2nd Class refundable ticket booked today (on their site) for travel today (January 3, 2008) from Paris to Marseille costs €96.

For travel tomorrow: Most of the fares remain the same for travel tomorrow, at €96. However, the TGV offers cheaper Internet-only discount rates on its iDTGV lines (TGV trains outfitted with specially-themed cars for different atmospheres, including a “zen” quiet car!). On the iDTGV line, we found one €69 rate, for a 2nd Class, non-refundable ticket.

For travel next week: Rates start falling, however, when you book a week in advance. For the same Paris to Marseille route, we saw many of the same €96 rates (it is, after all, a Friday), but found more of the cheapies, including several €44.90 tickets, both in 1st and 2nd class (non-refundable)!

For travel next month: If you book even further out, say one month in advance, and travel on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, you could find even cheaper fares. For the same route on February 12, we found €19 2nd class seats, and €24 seats in 1st class!

Please note that these rates were taken from the official website of the SNCF. We found these rates by clicking on the French flag to remain inside the French portion of the site. When you click the US flag, you’re taken to the RailEurope.com website, which is, of course, in English.

We appreciate the service that RailEurope provides and partner with them on Eurail passes in our rail pass guide. The prices quoted, however, on their website for the same trips mentioned above are more expensive than the prices you’ll find on the SNCF site, even after you consider exchange rates.

For example, the cheapest fare we found for the Paris-Marseille route next week was $153 2nd Class, $212 1st Class. Rates for next month are much cheaper, mostly $80, although we found some seats for $41 in 2nd class. We couldn’t find 1st class cheaper than $124.

Some tips for booking a cheap TGV ticket

1) Try booking directly through the SNCF on their website in French. At least give it a shot — you probably won’t have any trouble navigating the site.

2) Book as far in advance as possible.

3) Travel on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, and be flexible with your hours.

4) Consider trying out one of the new iDTGV trains. They’re just as fast, and they’re kind of fun.

5) Do plenty of searches and look at all the times available. You will probably find a wide range of ticket prices.

We hope these thoughts are helpful. Please send us your thoughts, tips, and advice for traveling cheaply by train!

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France’s new high-speed train link TGV Est was officially inaugurated last Thursday, though Cheapos will have to wait until June 10 for commercial service to begin. Travel time between Paris and Strasbourg will be cut to 2 hours and 20 minutes from the current 3 hours and 50 minutes. Links to Luxembourg, the Swiss cities of Basel and Zurich, and the German cities of Munich and Frankfurt, will also be much faster.

French-language weekly Le Nouvel Observateur reports this week on a great deal tied to the opening of the new line. Between June 10 and September 10, a total of 5000 tickets priced at €15 valid for any destination on the line will be put on sale every day.

Cheapos should consider some of the stops on the line before pressing on to Strasbourg and beyond. Reims, the capital of France’s champagne region, will be a mere 45 minutes from the Gare de l’Est. The local tourist office has an overnight deal priced at €54 per person including hotel, breakfast and three tasting visits to the cellars at one of the champagne houses (Taittinger, Veuve Clicquot, and Pommery.)

Also en route: Nancy, a lovely university town with Renaissance buildings, beautiful squares, parks and a tramway. Just one hour and 30 minutes from Paris, it’s a perfect weekend destination. And last but not least, Strasbourg, seat of the Council of Europe and the capital of Alsace, is a vibrant, cosmopolitan town with an amazing cathedral and dense, picturesque historic center.

France’s eastern realms have a culture and gastronomy all their own so take your time to soak it up.

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