Hello. I live in a small village in France close to the border with Switzerland. My village has no train station. My primary train station is Geneva. I want to buy an Interrail Global Pass for a trip to the UK, going from Geneva via Paris to London. So while my resident country is France, my in- and outbound trips are to and from Geneva, Switzerland. And to get to the UK I travel from Switzerland to France on my way to and from the UK. Can someone assure me that this is not a problem, or, if it is, since my home country where I live is not my home travel base, what do you recommend me to do? Thanks
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If your home country is in France, you will be limited to two days travel in France.
Commencing your journey in Switzerland is fine, but this will count as one of your travel days, since you’ll be passing through France.
Some extra details:
The TGV from Geneva has a 29€ mandatory seat reservation fee (annoying). However if you board the same train in Bellegarde, it costs 10 or 20€*.
You could get any TER between Geneva and Bellegarde or use the Divonne-Bellegarde bus if you live in the pays de Gex. It is included in Interrail as it replaces an existing railway line (even if closed decades ago). Tell the driver that it's a valid SNCF ticket if they argue.
The Eurostar is a very popular service. There's a passholder quota (pretty much unique in Europe). You must book ahead of time. 30€ reservation.
*domestic TGVs cost 10€ at first but increase to 20€ at some point (when x tickets have been sold).
Thanks for the helpful answers. I realize, that since France is my home country I am allowed only two trips through France, outbound and inbound. So it seems that even if I start my journey from Geneva, my trip through France to London is my outbound journey. And the trip from Geneva to London via Paris is one day of my allotted travel time. Correct me if I’m wrong, but again, many thanks.
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