A Travel and vacations forum. TravelBanter

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » TravelBanter forum » Travel Regions » Europe
Site Map Home Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

So Eurostar is better for Paris-London?



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old February 26th, 2005, 07:44 PM
poldy
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default So Eurostar is better for Paris-London?

That's the rumor, that when you factor in the time to go from each city
to the airport, you end up in town at approximately the same time as a
1-hour flight.

Of course, you have to factor in the time to go to the train stations,
if you're not going to be near the stations in each city. (where are
the stations?)

Price-wise, checking on the Eurostar.com site, I notice that they go up
to $450. And it's not clear if this is a round-trip fare or one-way.

The other irritation about that site is that any search more than a
couple of months out returns,

" There are no trains running close to your desired outward and return
departure dates and times. You may wish to amend your journey details
and search again. If you need help with train times please refer to our
timetables located in our services section of this website."

April/May returns results but June/July and July/August doesn't. Is it
that all those times are booked or it won't return results that far out?

Raileurope.com site shows results for those dates but of course, they
stack on ridiculous handling fees of all kinds.
  #2  
Old February 26th, 2005, 07:59 PM
jcoulter
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

poldy wrote in newsoldy-3CB056.10441426022005
@comcast.dca.giganews.com:



Of course, you have to factor in the time to go to the train stations,
if you're not going to be near the stations in each city. (where are
the stations?)

Paris Gare du Nord

Price-wise, checking on the Eurostar.com site, I notice that they go up
to $450. And it's not clear if this is a round-trip fare or one-way.


The train schedules don't change much and the fares are similar, look for
the best prices on advance purchase round trip _often cheaper than a one
way. You should know the drill. and yes stay away from Rail Europe.
  #3  
Old February 26th, 2005, 08:49 PM
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

The Paris-London Eurostar service operates between the Gare du Nord
http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.c...t.x=8&out.y=12
and London Waterloo
http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.c...&multimap.y=69
..

The fastest journey time is currently 2 hours 35 minutes platform to
platform. You should also factor in several minutes for security
checks at the departing station (IIRC the minimum check-in time is 30
minutes) and also on arrival. The queues for passport control in
London can add 15-20 minutes to your journey; Paris only has sporadic
checks.

I find the Eurostar website a right pain and usually book via the SNCF
site. They have a very easy-to-use English version at
http://www.voyages-sncf.com/dynamic/...ravel?_LANG=UK .

You will definitly get the best price on this official site and also
can pay with VISA or Mastercard and collect your ticket from any SNCF
ticket window in the whole of France.

If you're planning to travel in July or August, watch out for a couple
of things:

1) virtually the whole of France, and this is not an exaggeration, goes
on vacation in August. If you choose to travel late July / early
August you will struggle to buy a ticket and the price will be
astronomical

2) if you can be a bit flexible, adjusting dates and departure times on
the SNCF site can bring the Eurostar ticket cost right down (as low as
EUR 70 round-trip).

For further information, please see my detailed post
http://groups.google.co.uk/groups?q=...gle.com&rnum=1
..

Nick
















poldy wrote:
That's the rumor, that when you factor in the time to go from each

city
to the airport, you end up in town at approximately the same time as

a
1-hour flight.

Of course, you have to factor in the time to go to the train

stations,
if you're not going to be near the stations in each city. (where are


the stations?)

Price-wise, checking on the Eurostar.com site, I notice that they go

up
to $450. And it's not clear if this is a round-trip fare or one-way.

The other irritation about that site is that any search more than a
couple of months out returns,

" There are no trains running close to your desired outward and

return
departure dates and times. You may wish to amend your journey details


and search again. If you need help with train times please refer to

our
timetables located in our services section of this website."

April/May returns results but June/July and July/August doesn't. Is

it
that all those times are booked or it won't return results that far

out?

Raileurope.com site shows results for those dates but of course, they


stack on ridiculous handling fees of all kinds.


  #4  
Old February 26th, 2005, 09:40 PM
chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

poldy wrote:

That's the rumor, that when you factor in the time to go from each city
to the airport, you end up in town at approximately the same time as a
1-hour flight.

Of course, you have to factor in the time to go to the train stations,
if you're not going to be near the stations in each city. (where are
the stations?)

Price-wise, checking on the Eurostar.com site, I notice that they go up
to $450. And it's not clear if this is a round-trip fare or one-way.

The other irritation about that site is that any search more than a
couple of months out returns,


I'm not sure how far in advance you can purchase tickets, but buying at
a month's notice, I've always managed to get the cheapest tickets-
recently, I've paid around Ł60-70 for a return to either Paris or
Brussles.

From London, it is certainly the best way to go IMO. Admittedly, in the
unlikely event you are staying very close to London or Paris airports,
it just _might_ be quicker to fly- but I doubt it. While I've no problem
flying, for such a short distance, it just doesn't seem worth it, and
you'll usually find that the costs are around the same at the lowest
end.

--
David Horne- www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk
  #5  
Old February 26th, 2005, 10:22 PM
Go Fig
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Thanx for the helpful post.

I need a one-way on a Sunday morning in Sept. and there appears to be
no discounts for that. $150 US (2nd class) for 2:35hrs ain't cheap
(but mandatory for this train buff). But as I'll be staying at the
Travel Inn Waterloo, I'm hoping I can get the person I'm traveling with
to walk the 2 blocks and save ME the cab fare :-)

jay
Sat Feb 26, 2005









In article .com,
wrote:

The Paris-London Eurostar service operates between the Gare du Nord

http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.c...6222500&width=
700&height=400&gride=&gridn=&srec=0&coordsys=merca tor&db=FR&addr1=&addr2=&addr
3=&pc=&advanced=&local=&localinfosel=&kw=&inmap=&t able=&ovtype=&zm=0&scale=500
0&out.x=8&out.y=12
and London Waterloo

http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.c...179000&width=7
00&height=400&gride=&gridn=&srec=0&coordsys=gb&db= pc&addr1=&addr2=&addr3=&pc=S
E1&advanced=&local=&localinfosel=&kw=&inmap=&table =&ovtype=&zm=0&scale=25000&m
ultimap.x=58&multimap.y=69
.

The fastest journey time is currently 2 hours 35 minutes platform to
platform. You should also factor in several minutes for security
checks at the departing station (IIRC the minimum check-in time is 30
minutes) and also on arrival. The queues for passport control in
London can add 15-20 minutes to your journey; Paris only has sporadic
checks.

I find the Eurostar website a right pain and usually book via the SNCF
site. They have a very easy-to-use English version at
http://www.voyages-sncf.com/dynamic/...ravel?_LANG=UK .

You will definitly get the best price on this official site and also
can pay with VISA or Mastercard and collect your ticket from any SNCF
ticket window in the whole of France.

If you're planning to travel in July or August, watch out for a couple
of things:

1) virtually the whole of France, and this is not an exaggeration, goes
on vacation in August. If you choose to travel late July / early
August you will struggle to buy a ticket and the price will be
astronomical

2) if you can be a bit flexible, adjusting dates and departure times on
the SNCF site can bring the Eurostar ticket cost right down (as low as
EUR 70 round-trip).

For further information, please see my detailed post

http://groups.google.co.uk/groups?q=...40hotmail.c o
m&hl=en&lr=&selm=ada9429b.0402200742.555dfb8b%40po sting.google.com&rnum=1
.

Nick
















poldy wrote:
That's the rumor, that when you factor in the time to go from each

city
to the airport, you end up in town at approximately the same time as

a
1-hour flight.

Of course, you have to factor in the time to go to the train

stations,
if you're not going to be near the stations in each city. (where are


the stations?)

Price-wise, checking on the Eurostar.com site, I notice that they go

up
to $450. And it's not clear if this is a round-trip fare or one-way.

The other irritation about that site is that any search more than a
couple of months out returns,

" There are no trains running close to your desired outward and

return
departure dates and times. You may wish to amend your journey details


and search again. If you need help with train times please refer to

our
timetables located in our services section of this website."

April/May returns results but June/July and July/August doesn't. Is

it
that all those times are booked or it won't return results that far

out?

Raileurope.com site shows results for those dates but of course, they


stack on ridiculous handling fees of all kinds.


  #6  
Old February 26th, 2005, 10:53 PM
chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Hatunen wrote:

On Sat, 26 Feb 2005 10:44:15 -0800, poldy wrote:

That's the rumor, that when you factor in the time to go from each city
to the airport, you end up in town at approximately the same time as a
1-hour flight.

Of course, you have to factor in the time to go to the train stations,
if you're not going to be near the stations in each city. (where are
the stations?)


The paris station is Gare du Nord, which is a central city
station.

But it occurs to me that I haven't taken Eurostar for about seven
years now, back when the London terminus was Waterloo Station; is
CTRL complete to St Pancras now and is that now the terminus?


No, not for at least a couple of years I think. St. Pancras is a real
mess at the moment.

--
David Horne- www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk
  #7  
Old February 26th, 2005, 10:54 PM
Sandy Kemsley
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

I took the Eurostar London to Paris in October, and it departed from
Waterloo Station. Great trip, probably the same amount of time end-to-end
and much more relaxing than flying. No delay for passport control in London,
I was through in 2 minutes so ended up sitting in the lounge for extra time,
but that was pleasant enough.

"Hatunen" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 26 Feb 2005 10:44:15 -0800, poldy wrote:

That's the rumor, that when you factor in the time to go from each city
to the airport, you end up in town at approximately the same time as a
1-hour flight.

Of course, you have to factor in the time to go to the train stations,
if you're not going to be near the stations in each city. (where are
the stations?)


The paris station is Gare du Nord, which is a central city
station.

But it occurs to me that I haven't taken Eurostar for about seven
years now, back when the London terminus was Waterloo Station; is
CTRL complete to St Pancras now and is that now the terminus?


************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *



  #8  
Old February 26th, 2005, 11:06 PM
Keith W
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"poldy" wrote in message
news
That's the rumor, that when you factor in the time to go from each city
to the airport, you end up in town at approximately the same time as a
1-hour flight.

Of course, you have to factor in the time to go to the train stations,
if you're not going to be near the stations in each city. (where are
the stations?)


In the city centres with excellent metro/underground links.
Gare Du Nord and Waterloo International to be precise

Price-wise, checking on the Eurostar.com site, I notice that they go up
to $450. And it's not clear if this is a round-trip fare or one-way.


It was clear enough when I booked my last trip in January.
I paid around $360 round trip

The other irritation about that site is that any search more than a
couple of months out returns,

" There are no trains running close to your desired outward and return
departure dates and times. You may wish to amend your journey details
and search again. If you need help with train times please refer to our
timetables located in our services section of this website."

April/May returns results but June/July and July/August doesn't. Is it
that all those times are booked or it won't return results that far out?


The latter

Raileurope.com site shows results for those dates but of course, they
stack on ridiculous handling fees of all kinds.


Then dont use em.

Keith


  #9  
Old February 26th, 2005, 11:34 PM
chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Go Fig wrote:

Thanx for the helpful post.

I need a one-way on a Sunday morning in Sept. and there appears to be
no discounts for that. $150 US (2nd class) for 2:35hrs ain't cheap
(but mandatory for this train buff).


I didn't know you could book that far ahead. Just buy a return, and if
you book in advance you can get one for around $110. It's one of those
cases where flying might work out cheaper, as rail travel often favours
return trips, but you say you want to take the train, so the return is
the best option.

--
David Horne- www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk
  #10  
Old February 26th, 2005, 11:45 PM
Hatunen
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

On Sat, 26 Feb 2005 10:44:15 -0800, poldy wrote:

That's the rumor, that when you factor in the time to go from each city
to the airport, you end up in town at approximately the same time as a
1-hour flight.

Of course, you have to factor in the time to go to the train stations,
if you're not going to be near the stations in each city. (where are
the stations?)


The paris station is Gare du Nord, which is a central city
station.

But it occurs to me that I haven't taken Eurostar for about seven
years now, back when the London terminus was Waterloo Station; is
CTRL complete to St Pancras now and is that now the terminus?


************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *
 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
FT/Skapinker: Why London cabs donąt travel Tam Europe 18 December 10th, 2004 11:40 AM
Eurostar to London? Tom Europe 5 May 3rd, 2004 03:26 PM
London Trip Report Richard Europe 6 February 1st, 2004 05:08 PM
London to Paris Eurostar alternatives [email protected] Europe 20 November 13th, 2003 09:38 PM
LONDON guohongliu Asia 0 October 15th, 2003 11:53 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 04:48 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 TravelBanter.
The comments are property of their posters.