In terms of comfort, Ouigo is nowhere near as bad as a budget or any airline, though the experience is a bit more cramped than a standard high speed train ride. Here then is a look at the advantages and disadvantages of the system, how to book tickets including as a foreigner , and what to expect from the ride.
This article was first published on May 10, It was updated with boarding procedures on Sept. It was overhauled with completely updated information, including on Spain, on Jan 25, Updated info and photos added on April 21, It has been offering rides between major cities in France since The exception is the few Ouigo Classic train routes, which began in , and run on regular non-high-speed routes in France and hit smaller towns and suburbs. Ouigo is not effectively marketed to those living outside of these countries the French Ouigo site, for example, is French-only , but we detail how to take advantage of these cheap tickets, whatever your language and your home country, in the next section.
Note that Ouigo tickets are not available from physical train station ticketing windows and shops. For Spain, note also that Ouigo is no longer the only budget high speed train option; there is also Avlo and Iryo. The standard high-speed trains Ave, Avant, and Alvia can also be cheaper in some cases. I tend to just take whatever is cheapest in my Trainline search for the day I want to travel.
Chairs are four to a row. There are some groups of four facing each other. On a recent trip in Spain I was barely able to connect and it was really only fast enough to send messages, not to load web pages nor certainly not to watch videos. These are the options in France when booking a Ouigo ticket on Trainline :.
There is no dining car or bar car on Ouigo in France; bring your own cold snacks and drinks. Each child ticket also includes its own luggage, with the same size restrictions as adult fares. These are the extras on offer when you book Ouigo via Trainline in Spain:.
