Hello everyone. I’m pretty new here and I was hoping for some advice.
I’m going to take my first trip to Europe at the end of April. I’m staying with a friend of a friend in Paris and I’ve been dying to go to London for as long as I can remember. Since he’ll be working most of the the time I’m there, I thought I’d spend at least a day in London.
I’ve done a little checking online about the train service, and being an inexperienced traveler, it’s a bit overwhelming at first blush. I’m not going alone, a friend will be with me, but since the side trip to London is something I’ve been obsessed over for weeks, she’s given me the task of doing the research and I really don’t want to screw this up. If I’m understanding the information I just skimmed on Eurotunnel and RailEurope’s web sites, we may qualify for a discount or two since we’ll be travelling together.
I was hoping someone here has taken a similar trip and might be willing to share a few tips. We’ll be in Paris from 4/20 - 4/28 and really don’t have any specific plans set yet, so our travel dates are flexible. Is it cheaper to go on a weekday? Will spending the night in London save a few bucks on train fare [although from what I’ve heard, what we save on train tickets we’ll only spend three times over eating and drinking in London]. Any guidance you can give me will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
For an obscure reason the key to landing a cheaper Eurostar fare is to stay over the weekend. For example Friday to Tuesday.
That weekend stay is key.
The other factors are secondary, being: booking early and traveling on a low demand time, ie a weekday. I was told it was possible using a shrewd combination of the above to arrange a return Waterloo - Gare du Nord fare for less than 50 and possibly less that 40 pounds per person.
You are however correct. Unless you stay outside London the cost in fare saved for an extra day will be more than eaten up in accommodation etc.
Likewise, although it isn’t peak season, you’d do well to book a place in Paris in advance.
Like Sevastopol says, the cheapest way to do Paris to London return is to go by Eurostar and stay over the weekend. ISTR that if you book early enough (see www.eurostar.com) you can get tickets for ~£29/person/leg of journey, but you do have to book early enough in advance, be flexible re when you travel and be prepared to travel at odd times.
Sometimes the plane can be equally cheap, but IIRC, Air France appear to have a monopoly on Paris -> London, and getting to CdG, whilst not a pain, takes about 45 mins from Gare du Nord, and then getting into London from Heathrow takes about the same time on the Piccadilly Line, whilst Eurostar is Central Paris (Gare du Nord) to Central London (Waterloo).
I’d definitely go for the Eurostar option if I were you. I do Paris -> London fairly regularly and its really convenient.