Eurostar-which station is best for parking?

Chippy

We are planning a trip to Paris in February. We were going to drive all the way to Paris but are now thinking of driving to one of the Eurostar terminals and getting the train from there. We will be travelling from South Wales so St Pancreas is the nearest, then Ebbsfleet and then Ashford, however we have to take central London and the M25 problems into account so it probably won't make much difference which one we use. Does anyone have any experience of parking their car at any of them? Any advice/suggestions much appreciated.

vikingaero

Ebbsfleet has plenty of parking. The car parks are rarely more than 1/3 full every time I drive past. Plus the station is modern and the car parks on one outside level. I think parking is £11.50 per day.

Trashford is just that. A bit grim. If you have mobility problems or have kids in buggies then you need to use the lifts which don't always work.

I think the clincher for you will be that Ebbsfleet has more trains stopping there and is closer to home by about 45 minutes. If you get to Ebbsfleet early you could pop into Bluewater for some retail therapy.

BernadetteN

You could perhaps buy a combined ticket with National Rail and Eurostar from South Wales which may work out cheaper than 2 separate tickets and may be cheaper than fuel and parking charges.

Ashford and Ebbsfleet parking is £11.50 a day. If you park on the right level at Ashford, there is no need to use the lift. If you have young kids, Ashford has a small play area, unlike Ebbsfleet. You can also get bacon butties from Ashford (I know a small point but it was a ritual for me when I travelled through there every week) and far greater catering facilities than Ebbsfleet. But then it is further from South Wales and probably not worth the drive.

bestpud

I've only been to Ashford but we found the parking fine tbh.

It is level five, if I remember rightly and you walk straight into the terminal. Well, not quite as you have to go through the covered bridge over the road, but it's as near as.

We certainly had no complaints and have not even considered using another station for our planned return to DLP next year, even though we are closer to London.

BTW, Eurostar is by far the easiest way to get there imo. I wouldn't travel to DLP any other way now I've tried it!

Chippy

Thanks everyone!
We have looked at the combined train tickets from South Wales but the biggest problem is that the Eurostar tickets for end of February are already on sale(and already going up!) whereas the national rail tickets dont go on sale for several more weeks by which time I fear the eurostar prices being out of our reach. There are 5 of us travelling in one car so it's probably worth the drive/parking costs.
Glad to say we won't have any buggies etc but we will have three young lads with us all keen to get to Paris to see Wales thrash the French in the rugby 6 nations!
I think we will definatley avoid St Pancreas but still undecided between Ebbsfleet and Ashford. Ebbsfleet seems to have more in it's favour except for the dreaded M25.

lawrenson

Hi,

the only time I've been to Ebbsfleet it was like a set from a zombie movie - completely deserted.

Loads of parking tho, and a modern terminal.

Cheers,
Karen

BernadetteN

Tickets from London, Ebbsfleet and Ashford to Paris are identical. You can buy a London St Pancras ticket and get on/off at Ebbsfleet or Ashford instead, if your train is due to stop at these stations.