Just wanted to clarify that the $660 that I’ve been quoted from www.raileurope.com is for the two of us, round-trip. So about $330/person? Would it be cheaper to buy directly in Amsterdam from the train station??? That is my question. Thanks.

~Kara

This ticket will be significantly cheaper if you buy it at the station in Europe or from the actual rail company.  Try the French rail site (www.sncf.com), the Netherlands rail site, or www.thalys.com  Prices for point to point tickets from the sites that sell railpasses are often nearly twice as much as you’d pay at the station.

I have tried the Thalys.com site, but it is so hard to understand. I chose the Netherlands as my point of pick-up of the tickets (since I will be arriving in Amsterdam from the USA on 11/16/07, and departing from Amsterdam CS to Paris Nord that very same night). When I try to get any further than just picking the dates (i.e. seeing the rates for youths, etc.) all I can get is stuff in Dutch. I don’t know how to access the rest in English (this is even with selecting the website language in English on the very first page). that’s why I cannot figure out Thalys.com

I will try the other sites you mentioned, thx!! I did not know it’d be that much cheaper to buy it @ the station.

Also, could you give me the site for the Netherlands rail system? Thanks

Kara

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edited: Sorry, I found the Netherlands rail site:
agename=www.ns.nl%2FPage%2FSuperHomepageEnglish” title=“http://www.ns.nl/servlet/Satellite?cid=1075985690180&ampagename=www.ns.nl%2FPage%2FSuperHomepageEnglish”>http://www.ns.nl/ser…

http://www.nsinterna…

Is there any way to view this site in English??? Thx

Try going to www.ns.nl and clicking on “english” at the top of the page.  The actual link seems to be too long to post.

Your problem with the Thalys site may be that you can’t pick up the ticket in Amsterdam.  If the Thalys site shows availability for the date you want, I’d wait until you get to Amsterdam to buy it.  There’s a train station in the Airport — near baggage claim.  Buy the ticket as soon as you arrive.

Well, it seems that the actual problem is that the Thalys site is, as yet, poorly developed, and English booking engine does not seem to exist. But IMHO even without knowing Dutch (or is it Flemish?) you can read off the schedules and see prices. I’m not sure I’d be willing to go ahead and book, but at least you can tell that $330 is marked up by about 50%.

Other then waiting till you get to Amsterdam, you can try to call their reservation line. Very likely an operator will be able to converse in English, and quite likely will be able to book tickets for you. I’m not saying it is strictly necessary or that it will definitely work. However given that long-distance is now almost free, it won’t hurt to try.

I’ve checked for you, returnfare for 2 persons leaving on the 16th, returning a week later (just to get fare) is €304. Single trip for 2 is €202. Me experience is that booking online doesn’t always give you the best deal. It can be worth waiting a while at a NS international desk.
 
PS. The language on the Thalys website is Dutch, Flemish is more of a dialect of Dutch, but don’t tell the Flemish