London international (CIV) - Cheaper Advance fares?

chromoweb

Hi all,

I've got a pair of Eurostar tickets booked for Feb (had to book these already to make sure I got the best fare as there's a specific train we want). Does anyone know if there's an equivalent cheap set of Advance prices for tickets to London International (CIV) as per the normal Advance tickets?

The online prices for the week prior look to be £9pp for the GWR advance from OXF, and £34ish pp for the CIV protected equivalent. The CIV one is the flexible ticket, which we wouldn't need - seems a huge difference for the same train - £50 in total for 2 of us?

Thanks for any knowledge!

dzug1

There are no CIV advance fares - from Oxford anyway.

Voyager2002

No, the CIV is a lot cheaper than an ordinary flexible ticket but does not get as cheap as a non-flexible advance purchase one. If you go for the cheaper option and lose the flexibility then be sure to leave plenty of spare time.

chromoweb

Great - thanks for the confirmation - saves a fruitless trip to the station then!

Have 2.5hrs to get from PAD to STP, hoping that should be enough to cope with most issues...

martindow

I would phone Eurostar and ask them for CIV prices - I've been quoted incorrect fares in the past at (then) First Great Western stations. From Reading the fare was around £18 return I think about a year ago booked by phone with Eurostar - a bargain with no peak train limitations.

The peace of mind by having no problem if the outgoing Eurostar or your pre-booked return from Paddington are missed has some value for me. If anything goes wrong the cost will be far greater than the saving on an OXF- PAD fare.

Voyager2002

chromoweb wrote: »

Great - thanks for the confirmation - saves a fruitless trip to the station then!

Have 2.5hrs to get from PAD to STP, hoping that should be enough to cope with most issues...

Yes, but major disruption to the service to PAD is possible. Would your insurance cover this?

lejog2003

Voyager2002 wrote: »

No, the CIV is a lot cheaper than an ordinary flexible ticket but does not get as cheap as a non-flexible advance purchase one. If you go for the cheaper option and lose the flexibility then be sure to leave plenty of spare time.

Fares to London St Pancreas International CIV may be booked online at https://loco2.com/

I've booked several advance CIV tickets in the past departing from my local station in West Yorkshire and have just booked one in January for £13, a few pounds cheaper than the non CIV Advance fare.

BRFares doesn't show any advance fares to London CIV from Oxford though.

JezR

Eurostar telesales should be able to sell you a CIV ticket for this journey for £8.90 single, valid on any train. (Although as a separate purchase not sure if they add anything on top.)

There are two separate kinds of CIV ticket to St Pancras - those from Eurostar that are to LONDON EUROSTAR CIV and those from others are to LONDON INTL(CIV). In the case of Oxford the former are much cheaper.