But here’s the catch: By default, the SNCF website (the official French railway website, which is the only place you should be booking your train tickets) shows you second-class ticket prices. They’re making the “cheapo deal” a bit difficult to spot, unless you know where to look.

Second-class search

Here was our first search, which brought up second-class seats:

A few things to notice here:

1. Second-class was selected by default.
2. All of the cheapest “non modifiable” (refundable) tickets had already been purchased, leaving only the more expensive refundable seats.
3. Little green tabs on the right do show you first-class seats available for the same journey, but they’re sort of hidden in the background and easy to miss.

First-class search

Now, here were the results when we did the same search for first-class tickets:

You’ll notice that cheaper non-refundable seats are now available for these same trains, but in First Class.

Our Cheapo advice

When searching on the SNCF site, first search for second class tickets — it’s the default search setting. However, don’t just assume these are the cheapest rates. Do a follow-up search for first-class tickets. You might be surprised to find cheaper prices!

Have advice to add? Please add it in the comments section below!

Related:

How to book tickets on the TGV

How to book slower train tickets in Europe

The post 1st Class train tickets in France can be cheaper than 2nd Class (if you know where to look) appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

It pays to think about saving on your ground transportation costs before you even arrive in Germany. In this article, we’ll show you four simple ways to cut the cost of your rail travel dramatically.

1. Book early on the Bahn website.

The only sure-fire method of saving money on German trains is to book your travel as early as possible directly through the website of the German railway, Deutsche Bahn (bahn.de).

You can score deals as low as €19 on long-distance or international connections, if you are among the first to make reservations. When you are certain of your travel dates, there is nothing to be gained by waiting. As time passes and the cheapest tickets sell out, each further contingent costs €10 more for the exact same trip.

If you allow a certain amount of flexibility in your travel times, you may find, for example, an early morning connection that is available at a lower price, so it is worthwhile to search various times of day before booking. The downside to this method: you are stuck with a specific train time and route and these tickets are generally non-refundable.

Related: Why you should book your own train tickets, rather than using an agent.

If you will be traveling by train frequently, consider a BahnCard 25. Photo: Namics

2. Research a BahnCard

If you plan to make at least two full-price train trips within Germany, purchasing a BahnCard 25 may well save you money, as it gives you a 25% discount on every trip you book.

However, before buying a card, consider these points:

1. Do the math yourself. Do the savings on your tickets outweigh the cost of the BahnCard at all? A trial BahnCard 25 (valid for three months) is currently available for €15. If there is no trial card available, an annual card costs €62. For the former, you save once your total ticket purchases per person have surpassed €60, but for the latter, you must spend over €248 to see any savings.

2. Be prepared to cancel. The BahnCard is a subscription service, meaning that it automatically renews and is billed to you if you do not cancel it in time (typically six weeks before it is due to expire). At the time you purchase your BahnCard, you should also submit a cancellation notice through the online customer service forms of the DB website. You can find a detailed German description of the process here, including the cancellation request text in German, which you can simply copy and paste into your message. Be sure to include your BahnCard number and use the email address associated with your DB registration.

Related: Is Germany’s “Rail & Fly” a good deal?

3. Buy “group tickets” and save.

Groups of travelers will have their savings amplified by traveling on group ticket offers which utilize regional trains rather than high-speed (ICE) trains. This method is most profitable and least tedious for travel within one German state or region—such as a group day trip from Munich to Salzburg, Austria (€43 for 5 people) on the Bayern-Ticket or from Berlin to Szeczin, Poland (€29 for 5 people) on the Berlin-Brandenburg-Ticket. You can find full details of the regional ticket offers for the states you’ll be visiting here.

If your travel includes more than one state, you’ll likely have to buy a Quer-durchs-Land-Ticket for weekday travel or a Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket for weekend travel. These tickets are valid from 9 am to 3 am the following day for any regional train in the entire country. The QdL ticket starts at €44 for one traveler, but less than double that for up to five people—a five-person group spends around €15 per person to ride the rails. The weekend ticket has better conditions for less money: The price starts at €40 for a single traveler, but five people pay just €12 euros each for travel from midnight of the day of travel until 3 am the following morning.

That said, you should be clear that regional trains have neither the speed nor the service standard of IC/EC or ICE trains. For example, compare the following travel times:

Berlin-Hamburg
ICE: 1:45 hrs. on ICE with o transfers
Regional: 3-4 hrs. with up to 3 transfers

Berlin-Munich
ICE: 6 hrs. with 0-1 transfers
Regional: 9:30-11 hrs. with 3-6 transfers

Berlin-Frankfurt
ICE: 4:15 hrs. with 0-1 transfers
Regional: 8:15-9:15 hrs. with 3-5 transfers

You should consider carefully whether the price difference alone justifies losing most of a valuable travel day to slower trains. If you go for it, don’t forget to pack yourself and your crew enough reading material, food, and drink for the entire length of your journey!

4. Get a refund if you arrive late.

Consumer protection laws in Germany require the Deutsche Bahn to refund part of your ticket costs if your train is delayed over an hour. For any train arriving more than 60 minutes late, you are entitled to a refund of 25% of your ticket price; for trains over 120 minutes late, you are entitled to 50% of your ticket price.

When you arrive at your destination, have your late arrival “verified” (i.e., stamped on your ticket) by the train station service personnel. If it’s not too late, fill out the required refund form (available from train service personnel or at train station service counters), and turn in your ticket for an immediate cash refund.

If you need your ticket for return travel, turn everything in at any other train station service counter later in your trip. While you officially have six months to request your refund, getting your money back becomes more complicated once you’ve left the country, so take care of it prior to your departure back home.

Travel alternative: Hit the road

If train travel is still too expensive, consider hopping on Germany’s newest travel trend: long-distance buses. See how you can travel across the country for just a few euros in our article on riding the budget bus lines in Germany with fares from €5.

The post 4 easy ways to save on train tickets in Germany appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Transiting around Turkey is a relatively stress-free and economical experience. For all the money I spent on travel, I could probably have bought myself only a one-way train ticket in France!

In order to get around, you have several options:

Turkey by air

Domestic flights in Turkey are generally very budget-friendly due to competition between various Turkish airlines. There are several airports that serve the country, and you can fly with:

Atlasjet: www.atlastjet.com
Onur Air: www.onurair.com.tr
Pegasus Airlines: www.pegasusairlines.com
Sun Express Airlines: www.sunexpress.com.tr
Turkish Airlines: www.thy.com

Prices can range from as low as €30 to around €100… not bad!

Turkey by rail

The Turkish railway system is generally considered to be outdated, but things are slowly improving. Take the train if you’re after a more calming, scenic travel experience, because the railway is certainly not the most direct way between Turkish destinations, but it sure can be beautiful. The high speed train between Istanbul and Ankara is becoming quite popular, taking only 3.5 hours and costing around €33.

For more information, I recommend visiting Seat 61’s page on Turkish trains.

Related: Turkey’s rail revolution

Turkey by bus

Traveling by bus is the most popular and developed form of travel in Turkey. A bus trip in Turkey will most likely be a highly enjoyable experience! I was extremely impressed with the efficiency of all parts of my bus trips, from the planning and purchasing of the tickets to journey itself. Here’s the low-down: almost every Turkish town and city will have a bus station, called an “otogar”. You can buy your bus ticket (“bilet“) there either in advance or just before your trip, depending on the popularity of the route. Here are some of the major bus companies you will find at the otogar:

Kamil Koç: www.kamilkoc.com.tr
Ulusoy: www.ulusoy.com.tr
Varan: www.varan.com.tr

For more information on bus routes, visit Turkey Travel Planner, an amazing source of information.

I purchased a one-way ticket from Fethiye, a small city on the southwestern coast, to Istanbul for €33 with Varan, which was comparatively expensive, due to the fact that I was traveling during a major Turkish holiday. I arrived for the journey 10 minutes early and had plenty of time to spare. By 7 PM, the bus was on its way, right on time.

The seats were big and comfy and relined back to an almost horizontal state. Other perks included the air conditioning, which was a huge comfort in the 100-degree weather, the service of tea, coffee, soda and snacks every few hours, and the mini-TV with Turkish-dubbed films. My bus did not have Wi-Fi, but many do.

As we drove north, the bus stopped twice at rest stops, where it seemed there were thousands of other buses and travelers mid-journey. At the stops you can get out, walk around, purchase some snacks (there are, of course, kebab restaurants) or stay in the bus snoozing. With no appetite at either 11 PM or 3 AM, I stayed in my comfy seat. When I opened my eyes again, it was 7 AM, and we were nearly at our destination. By 8:30 AM, I had arrived at Istanbul’s main bus terminal, Büyük Otogar.

Related: Istanbul budget tips from transit tickets to nightlife

From there, I wearily searched for a Varan mini-bus (“dolmus”) with the words “Taksim” on the window to bring me to my final destination. Sure enough, there was a bus waiting for me, and I enjoyed a free trip into central Istanbul.

Taking the overnight bus in Turkey was a great experience. I was comfortable, safe, well-fed and my wallet was happy. Sleeping on the bus meant not having to pay for another night in a hotel or hostel. If you’re considering visiting Turkey, don’t be thrown off by the idea of a long bus trip—you might just enjoy it!

The post Budget Travel in Turkey: A journey on the overnight bus appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

But for those in the know, there are some superb deals to be found. Book well in advance and there are great offers for many long-distance routes. And if you’re traveling over the weekend, know that you can upgrade on a whim for as little as £5.

First-class bargains for early bookers

Britain offers some particularly good deals on first-class rail travel. Those prepared to book a couple of months in advance and commit to traveling on a specific train may find, especially if traveling outside the main business periods, that a first-class advance ticket costs only a fraction more than regular standard-class travel on exactly the same train.

Upgrade on a whim over the weekend

During the weekends on many routes, travelers can upgrade to first-class on a whim. This tempting treat is available on many mainline rail services across Britain. Holders of many categories of standard-class ticket are permitted to move through the train and occupy seats in first-class cars for just a modest premium (which can usually be paid on the train).

The weekend upgrade deal, called “Weekend First”, is valid on Saturdays, Sundays and on most public holidays on several train lines.

The following 10 rail operators all regularly offer Weekend First deals:

East Midlands Trains
East Coast
First Great Western
Greater Anglia
London Midland
ScotRail
South West Trains
First TransPennine Express
Virgin Trains
CrossCountry

How much is that upgrade?

The exact amount you’ll pay for trading up to first-class comfort varies according to rail operator, and in many cases may depend on the length of the journey you are making. £5 or £10 is typical. On Sunday, we paid a tenner for a Weekend First upgrade on a Nottingham to London service with East Midlands Trains.

Other Weekend First deals we have used include an offer from South West Trains where £5 will buy an upgrade for any length of journey—not bad for a three and a half hour ride from London to Devon.

The most expensive Weekend First deals in Britain are on East Coast where it can cost as much as £25. But if you’re riding East Coast’s premium daytime train from London to Inverness, then it is still a pretty good deal. It’s an eight-hour ride, and on such long journeys the extra comfort of first-class service really comes in handy.

Complimentary extras

Many rail companies in Britain offer complimentary drinks and snacks, sometimes even full meals, to their first-class passengers—but that is generally limited to mainline services from Mondays to Fridays, so the first-class product over the weekend might not include the same range of freebies. That said, East Coast does offer complimentary drinks and sandwiches, even for weekends, so it’s no surprise that East Coast’s Weekend First upgrades may be a little pricier than those of other companies. On our recent ride aboard East Midlands Trains, we enjoyed free tea, coffee and cookies as part of the Weekend First offer.

On many routes, a Weekend First upgrade can also be reserved in advance. On most rail companies’ trains, holders of standard (or second) class BritRail and InterRail passes can also upgrade to Weekend First. Just check with the staff on board your train.

The post Cheapo tips for first-class upgrades on British Rail appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.