Berlin to Biarritz

[jaffa]

I am travelling from Berlin to Biarritz this summer. Could anyone advise of the best way to book the tickets for this route and the best route to take? I was going to go Berlin - Paris (although the Thalys part of the journey doesn't seem to be available as part of a London Spezial) and then Paris - Biarritz. This seems to take around 15 hours, or longer if I take a sleeper train.

Alternatively I think I could probably fly if significantly cheaper but I do not ideally want to do this.

Many thanks

 

[gordonthemoron]

Berlin-Frankfurt-Paris on ICE+ICE/Thalys with a Europ-Spezial
Paris-Biarritz

 

[jaffa]

Great, thanks for the info. What is the policy if I book separate non flexible tickets on the ICE and Thalys - will I be allowed on a later train without charge if my ICE is delayed?

 

[30907]

Both DB and SNCF are part of Railteam so in theory there should be no problem, provided you leave enough time to cross Paris. Given the length of journey you might opt for an overnight stop anyway.

Berlin- Frankfurt-Paris will either be 2 ICE or an ICE and TGV (not Thalys BTW), but the DB site will do you a through fare. Berlin - Karlsruhe -Paris is also bookable.

Another possible route, for variety rather than speed, is Berlin - Frankfurt - Lyon or Avignon, and next day by conventional train across the whole of Southern France.

 

[DEE-DE]

DB is able to combine Global Fares with Europa Spezial. Only bother might be when it comes to delay repay but you will definitely get a hotel and onward travel the next day. Delay repay might be refused at first but when you escalate things it will get resolved. You just have to phone them up. They might now have the cheapest offers though, they should cost you somewhere between 80 and 120 euros from Paris to Biarritz each way. Am not entirely sure though as to which fares you will get. You'd have to check with DB on the phone/in the ticket office.

 

[pne]

(although the Thalys part of the journey doesn't seem to be available as part of a London Spezial)

London Spezial requires an ICE train between Cologne and Brussels. You can't use it on Thalys between those two points.

 

[maxiboy]

Certain fares to/from Germany such as Berlin-London including Thalys might be available from the Eurostar booking centre.

They are from a different quota, more expensive though, but worth a try if London-Spezial is sold out. However they can only be booked by phone.

 

[30907]

I thought the OP was travelling to Paris not London?

I've not checked recently, but I think it is possible to book Berlin - Köln -Paris with SNCF. However, the German sector was priced at full fare or something not far short, so splitting in Köln was cheaper.

 

[NicholasNCE]

You can book it in one transaction with capitainetrain.com , they are official DB and SNCF vendors and usually combine DB spezial fares quite well with longer journeys. And, they don't charge any more than the official SNCF and DB websites.
It won't come cheap however and I doubt rail will be competitive over air, particularly if you don't have any railcard.