Train to Paris (More expensive than flying)

Alias_Omega

Cheap Tickets in August? Not a chance..

Looking to go from Chester to Paris, maybe travelling Monday 20th August, returning Friday 25th August. Can travel and stay overnight in London if needed to catch early morning train.

The plan was to travel to Paris, stay in the centre. Visit disneyland/tower etc.

2x Non-Flexible tickets come up at just under £300 which is pretty crasy as i can catch the train to Manchester, and fly to CDG for less return.

I did try split ticketing from London to Paris, though it does not really help that much as the Eurostar is coming up at £69-70 each way.

Any tips?

Can catch the P&O ferry for £100 return, throw in £80 for fuel then its just Toll's/Snack's/500miles of driving.

dacouch

Not an expert but did find when I went a few times, that the Euro Tunnel prices drop dramtically when demand drops eg leaving or returning at unpopular times.

We used to find we could take the car over on Sat after 1pm and return Sunday before 4pm or very late for a fraction of the normal prices as everyone wanted to have times that maximised their weekend in France.

It could be that your picking the days and times that people who work in Paris but live in London commute down to Paris and then return back to London. Have you tried the prices for leaving UK Sunday afternoon and returning Thursday mid afternoon?

Maybe look at prices from Ebbsfleet or Ashford and driving to these locations (Both Kent) to catch the train.

If you need to go Monday and return Friday look at times that will exclude commuters.

If you're off to France this website has some good info http://day-tripper.net/

newfoundglory

Not surprising.

Train travel and the way in which discounts now work on the network, has become such a rip off for the consumer in my experience that I always tend to find flying is cheaper.

Unless you are seeking out the train offers regularly and booking very far in advance, I would say going to the airport can often be cheapest.

Even worse are the on-the-day tickets, the train is now so expensive for this that anyone would think you were booking in first class!

Its a shame that people still have the misconception that air travel is expensive, as its actually good value (especially compared to the taking the train!)

Andy_L

Manchester airport is about 40 miles, Waterloo about 200. Its not that surprising that it would be more expensive, I mean you wouldn't expect travelling to Heathrow & flying to be cheaper than going via Manchester

Do watch out the the flight price is the typical low internet fare & excludes tax, booking fee, luggage etc

How much is the transfer from CDG to the Hotel compared to Gar du Nord

spiro

The Eurostar is about £35ew but you need to book 4 months in advance as they sell out quickly and the price keeps increasing.

johnmcga

Are you booking a hotel at the same time?

It's a couple of years since I've booked Eurostar at the same time as a hotel, so things might have changed, but back then it was possible to save quite a bit by booking hotel and train together through the Eurostar site. (I think the booking engine is run by Expedia, so you could try there too.)

My theory was that there's a separate batch of cheap Eurostar tickets reserved for people who buy with hotels. I've nothing other than my own experience to back this up though.