Easy Jet or Train - from Paris to Nice

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

I will be traveling with DD to Paris and Nice this June.

I will probably book an early morning return flight from Paris at the end of our trip so will fly on Easy Jet at 8:30 pm the night before from Nice to Paris and stay at an airport hotel.

My dilemma is traveling from Paris to Nice - is it 'scenic' to travel by train?
I also believe it is a long trip - 6 hours??? But the train station is a few blocks away from our hotel which make it extremely easy.

I would not mind the time if it were a nice ride but if it is not, I would rather fly - flight time is 1 hour 35 minutes (add to that the time to get to the airport, check-in, wait....) and costs $68. AirFrance also does this route for about $85

The train can not be booked until a few months before but the fares seem to be $200+

Has anyone done this trip and what are your thoughts.

[bellesgirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bellesgirl]

We were there in 2003 and took the train from Paris to Nice with a stopover in Leon. It was a very pleasant journey and Leon was lovely. Then our problem occurred - there was a train strike and our train from to Leon was canceled. I understand there are a lot of train strikes in France. You might want to keep that in mind. We wound up having to take a plane from Leon to Nice. Another consideration - we flew into Paris but out of Nice to return home. I am curious why you are flying back to Paris simply to fly home.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

We were there in 2003 and took the train from Paris to Nice with a stopover in Leon. It was a very pleasant journey and Leon was lovely. Then our problem occurred - there was a train strike and our train from to Leon was canceled. I understand there are a lot of train strikes in France. You might want to keep that in mind. We wound up having to take a plane from Leon to Nice. Another consideration - we flew into Paris but out of Nice to return home. I am curious why you are flying back to Paris simply to fly home.

Non-stop NYC to Paris, Nice to NYC is $1383 per person
1 stop NYC to Paris, Nice to NYC is $1161
1 stop RT NYC to Paris and back is $819

That would REALLY stink to get stuck during a train strike.

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

France is notorious for one day strikes, and you can have your flights cancelled as well. I have been caught twice in one day strikes that cancelled my flights. The first time was on a return to the US, when I was living there. The TATL segment was cancelled, although usually they try to keep those operating. It was Air France employees on the one day strike, so the airline gave me a hotel room, meal vouchers, and taxi fare for an extra day in Paris, which was not so bad. The second time, it was the air traffic controllers out on a one day strike. I had an AF connecting flight beyond Paris on a Delta ticket (this was at the time that DL was my airline of choice), and I had checked with DL by phone to see if that connecting flight was still operating before I left home, and they told me it was. Connecting through Atlanta, I asked again at the Delta desk. They called Air France and confirmed that, yes, my connecting fligtht was scheduled to operate. When I got off the plane at CDG in Paris, there were two boards posted, a short list of flights operating that day and a much longer one of ones that were not. My flight was on the second list! There were long lines (2 hours) to get to a handful of airline employees who were rebooking passengers. When my turn finally arrived, I was told since it was not AF employees on strike, I got nothing except a rebooking for the next day. I noticed that one of the flights still operating went to a city close to my destination and with good rail connections which would minimally disrupt my trip if I could get on that. I asked and they said they could not substitute that flight, that I would have to pay full last minute walkup one way fare, which turned out to be very steep. I asked for a supervisor which annoyed the person I was talking to, but after another 20 minutes or so, I got to talk to one, and she finally agreed to give me the flight that would be useful if I paid the lowest normal fare class for that flight, which I did. By that time, I really had to rush to get to that flight and out of Paris.

You are just as vulnerable to strikes on a plane as on a train, perhaps more so as there are more categories of workers who can decide to strike. And one maybe not so odd coincidence is that most one day strikes seem to be scheduled either on a Friday or a Monday.

[bellesgirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bellesgirl]

Non-stop NYC to Paris, Nice to NYC is $1383 per person
1 stop NYC to Paris, Nice to NYC is $1161
1 stop RT NYC to Paris and back is $819

That would REALLY stink to get stuck during a train strike.

That would certainly make a difference. We paid a higher price to fly out of Nice as well, but when we factored in the cost of flying back to Paris, an overnight hotel and the extra time(we were still working then) it was easier to fly out of Nice. But I know it was not a $350pp premium.

I want to clarify that I still like the train as an option. It is much more relaxing than running to and from airports. But make sure you know your options if there are problems. We had no idea what to do and did not speak the language. We had to go to the train station to get our tickets canceled so we could get a refund (a major issue since we had bought them through a travel agent and it took months) then get to the airport for our flight. It was not relaxing.

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

Is that $200+ per ticket? That seems high to me. but it may reflect a substantial premium for buying through a third party site like Rail Europe, which I would avoid like the plague on point to point tickets. They once quoted me a huge price on a point to point ticket in the Baltics, so I waited until I got there and bought the same ticket at the station for less than a third of what they wanted.

Also, while I would always buy first class in most of eastern Europe, second class is not that much different in western Europe in coach. Sleepers are, of course, a different matter.

In some countries, one can buy a ticket over the internet and print it off for the same price you would get at the train station. I have done that a number of times for Switzerland.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

Is that $200+ per ticket? That seems high to me. but it may reflect a substantial premium for buying through a third party site like Rail Europe, which I would avoid like the plague on point to point tickets. They once quoted me a huge price on a point to point ticket in the Baltics, so I waited until I got there and bought the same ticket at the station for less than a third of what they wanted.

Also, while I would always buy first class in most of eastern Europe, second class is not that much different in western Europe in coach. Sleepers are, of course, a different matter.

In some countries, one can buy a ticket over the internet and print it off for the same price you would get at the train station. I have done that a number of times for Switzerland.

Yes, that s Rail Europe....I did not realize that was a 'third party'
How does one buy directly from the train company? What is the train company called in France? any idea???
I would be happy to pay around $100-$125 for the direct train from Paris to Nice but the other prices seemed WAY too high.

This is getting more complicated for sure.
The cheapest direct I could find thru them was $240ish and that was for a date in February....I think IreneLF has also had some train experience, I will ask her to post.

I am in no hurry to book my airfare - I will continue to watch to see if there are changes. I can use my 'free' marriott cat 5 cert I get every year for using their CC to book the airport hotel for the return flight home.... and if easy jet is $65...that is okay, too. I would love to fly from Nice but the price difference is just too great at this time to ignore.

Thank you both for posting, I appreciate your experiences and suggestions.

[IreneLF Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close IreneLF]

Pat,
I sent you an email.
Much of my train experience in france/europe is long time ago.
I'd still prefer train over plane in this situation.

I went to the French National RR site, SNCF : Voyage, Transports et Logistique, and found reasonable prices of 19 or 34 euros depending on the time of day, second class (which is just fine).
Also got directed from there to iDTGV - Billet de train sur iDTGV which is a new site for these high speed train cheap tickets.
Tickets are nonrefundable and must be bought online. I"m assuming an American in the USA can buy them - ?
Hope this helps!

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

Thanks to all you great advice, I was able to book First Class tickets thru iDTGV on the morning direct train for 39 euro with assigned seats facing each other with a table in between on the upper level of the train, second class was 35 euro and if I wanted the afternoon train, second class was 19 euro!

I did not pay the luggage fee of 35 euro....
Could one of u translate this?

Plus de 2 bagages ou bagage encoumbrant? Translation - More than 2 bags or luggage encoumbrant
Supplement bagage obligatoire ! achat sur idtgv.com

It seems to say that I can have 2 pieces of luggage, is that right?
So I don't think I will need to pay for extra luggage.

I am so pleased this has worked out - we can walk from our hotel to the train station - they say to be there 20 minutes before departure - a whole lot easier then the airport. I have to see how far the train station is from our Nice TS, Residencia Massena.

I had no idea that the company I looked at was a third party broker...shame on them for charging 3-4X more then the face value of the ticket,

[IreneLF Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close IreneLF]

Based on what I know, You're fine and I'm SO glad that this worked out!

The train station near your Paris hotel is Gare de Lyon, right?

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

Based on what I know, You're fine and I'm SO glad that this worked out!

The train station near your Paris hotel is Gare de Lyon, right?

Yup!

[Bill4728 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Bill4728]

Pat,

Have a great trip

As far as taking the train or flight, I figure if I can get there faster than 6 hours, I alway avoid flying. Not that I don't like flying, it just such a pain to have to get to the airport 2 hours early, wait to board, wait to take off, fly, then wait to get off, wait for your bags and your still 1/2 hour from the city you're going to.

With a super high speed train, direct from Paris to Nice that under 6 hours, I too would choose the train.

[Laurie Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Laurie]

Pat, what are your Paris dates? We'll be there too, in early June.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

Pat, what are your Paris dates? We'll be there too, in early June.

Sent u a PM....I hope we can meet.

[SteveChapin Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close SteveChapin]

Also got directed from there to iDTGV - Billet de train sur iDTGV which is a new site for these high speed train cheap tickets.
Tickets are nonrefundable and must be bought online. I"m assuming an American in the USA can buy them - ?
Hope this helps!

I bought TGV tickets from Paris to Dijon a few years ago over the Internet through SNCF. I can verify that they mean what they say as far as no refunds. My flight was delayed, and by the time I got a taxi from CDG to Gare de Lyon, I was a few minutes late for my train. I had to buy a ticket on the next one.

That was ok with me; I really wanted to ride the TGV. I highly recommend it.