Train From Monte Carlo To Nice

[Keith1010]

I have been to Monte Carlo many times and also to Nice by car transfer.

 

Can someone point me to the web site where I could purchase train tickets for R/T travel between Monte Carlo and Nice.

 

I know where the Monte Carlo train station is but can you please tell me the names of the Monte Carlo Train Station and the one I would want to use in Nice?

 

Thank you.

 

Keith

[kurgan]

I have been to Monte Carlo many times and also to Nice by car transfer.

 

Can someone point me to the web site where I could purchase train tickets for R/T travel between Monte Carlo and Nice.

 

I know where the Monte Carlo train station is but can you please tell me the names of the Monte Carlo Train Station and the one I would want to use in Nice?

 

Thank you.

 

Keith

 

 

 

Monaco Monte carlo to Nice Ville. You can have a find prices and schedule www.sncf.com

[Hlitner]

Keith, This is one of those cases where there is no reason to purchase tickets in advance (not even sure you can). The train line that runs along the coast (from Menton through Monte Carlo to Nice, Antibes, Cannes, etc) is a commuter-type train (you might even see some folks bringing their bicycles on the train) with no reserved seats. You can buy a ticket from the vending machines in any of the stations or at the ticket counter in the larger stations (such as Monte Carlo and Nice). The last time we checked they did not offer any true round trip tickets...so its just a matter of buying a ticket for each journey. We know you are often lurking on these boards so you might have seen my recent post about using the #100 bus (only 1 Euro) versus taking the train (they are both good options...but have different pros and cons).

 

Hank

[marazul]

Agree. These are commuter trains. You cannot get seat assignments. Just buy the ticket at the station.

[Keith1010]

Hank, thank you so very much for the detailed response and I have copied and pasted it and will now read your post about the bus.

 

kurgan and marazul, thank you too.

 

Keith

[Keith1010]

Hank, I just read your post on the bus and that was a big help as well.

 

Keith

[calvin81]

A potential problem buying a ticket from a machine is will it accept a US credit card without a chip/pin? We couldn't use our card, so had to wait in a long line to buy a ticket from an agent.

[Hlitner]

A potential problem buying a ticket from a machine is will it accept a US credit card without a chip/pin? We couldn't use our card, so had to wait in a long line to buy a ticket from an agent.

 

A great question with a not nice answer. As a general rule, ticket vending machines in France (and just about all of Europe) will not accept a US magnetic strip card. You need a Chip/PIN EMV card such as the free Visa Global Trek issued by Andrews Federal Credit Union (anyone can be eligible for this CU). Otherwise, some ticket vending machines will accept cash Euros...and with others you will be out of luck and have to buy your ticket from a ticket office. If there is no ticket office at your station you can sometimes find them for sale at a nearby news stand or shop. If there is a conductor on the train, you can purchase a ticket from him/her as a last resort. But, we have been on a few trains without conductors (they use an honor system) in which case you take your chances.

 

This post is important because it goes to the issue of US issued credit cards which are becoming more and more useless in much of the world. We personally owe a favor to -Lew- who is the CC poster that tipped us off to the Andrews FCU cards.

 

Hank

[buchhalm]

These train tickets for the commuter train are very cheap.

In July we tried to use several credit cards - issued by US, Australian and Omani banks. The Oman I MasterCard worked fine as dis Australian EFTPOS cards. The other cards were all declined.

Best thing is to have euro coins on hand. Machines that excepted bank notes were few and far. You can buy several tickets in one transaction, I.e. you do not have to punch in everything over and over again.

I THINK that most machines will only give information in French, but I am not sure about this as my French is good enough to work out such simple things.

[Hlitner]

These train tickets for the commuter train are very cheap.

In July we tried to use several credit cards - issued by US, Australian and Omani banks. The Oman I MasterCard worked fine as dis Australian EFTPOS cards. The other cards were all declined.

Best thing is to have euro coins on hand. Machines that excepted bank notes were few and far. You can buy several tickets in one transaction, I.e. you do not have to punch in everything over and over again.

I THINK that most machines will only give information in French, but I am not sure about this as my French is good enough to work out such simple things.

 

Not sure this was your problem, but most ticket vending machines in Europe will only accept Chip/PIN credit cards that are compatible with EMV (Europay/Visa/MasterCard) system. This is a huge problem for Americans since our country has yet to embrace that system and nearly all of our cards have no Chip/PIN capability.

 

Hank