Regular Eurostar trips

theburningcat

I would like to travel from Lancaster -> Deauville frequently to see family. The aim would be to try to get a full weekend there, roughly every month, without taking time off work.

The option that doesn't look too complicated is the Eurostar but it's expensive. I know that there is a loyalty programme but it looks pretty poor (most are). I have an Amex that I can transfer points to Eurostar with, but again, the offer does not seem very good. I can also get very occasional free tickets with them via Amex points.

I found some good car parking deals on justpark.com that enable me to get off-peak tickets by leaving early on Saturday morning.

Other options that I have seen tend to involve a lot of travelling time that would deteriorate the time I get there significantly.

I would like to know if anyone can suggest a way of travelling, with or without Eurostar, without too much hassle that is cheaper than my estimation:

Eurostar standard class return: approx. ~£120
Petrol Lancaster -> London -> Lancaster: ~£50 (joys of a small car)
Parking via justpark.com: ~£10
Hotel: £45
Total: £225

I'm conscious that this will likely become a monthly occurrence so the cost is concerning.

callum9999

theburningcat wrote: »

I would like to travel from Lancaster -> Deauville frequently to see family. The aim would be to try to get a full weekend there, roughly every month, without taking time off work.

The option that doesn't look too complicated is the Eurostar but it's expensive. I know that there is a loyalty programme but it looks pretty poor (most are). I have an Amex that I can transfer points to Eurostar with, but again, the offer does not seem very good. I can also get very occasional free tickets with them via Amex points.

I found some good car parking deals on justpark.com that enable me to get off-peak tickets by leaving early on Saturday morning.

Other options that I have seen tend to involve a lot of travelling time that would deteriorate the time I get there significantly.

I would like to know if anyone can suggest a way of travelling, with or without Eurostar, without too much hassle that is cheaper than my estimation:

Eurostar standard class return: approx. ~£120
Petrol Lancaster -> London -> Lancaster: ~£50 (joys of a small car)
Parking via justpark.com: ~£10
Hotel: £45
Total: £225

I'm conscious that this will likely become a monthly occurrence so the cost is concerning.

How are you getting from whichever Eurostar terminal to Deauville for free? Your family will pick you up?

richardw

Ryanair starts Manchester to Beauvais flights 23rd March.

Kernow666

megabus Lancaster to London


2 buses a day


picked a random date in march and it was £4 single


takes 5hrs but hey for £4 I could live with that

callum9999

richardw wrote: »

Ryanair starts Manchester to Beauvais flights 23rd March.

No good if the OP works Mondays and Fridays (which I assume they do otherwise they surely would have mentioned it!).

theburningcat

callum9999 wrote: »

How are you getting from whichever Eurostar terminal to Deauville for free? Your family will pick you up?

I forgot to mention that in my post - that would be a train too at about another £60

richardw wrote: »

Ryanair starts Manchester to Beauvais flights 23rd March.

I hadn't seen this - thanks!

Kernow666 wrote: »

megabus Lancaster to London


2 buses a day


picked a random date in march and it was £4 single


takes 5hrs but hey for £4 I could live with that

A 5 hour journey isn't necessarily a problem but I've known Megabus and National Express times to be really odd, so I could have to wait in London for another few hours to get a sensible Eurostar train.

richardw

callum9999 wrote: »

No good if the OP works Mondays and Fridays (which I assume they do otherwise they surely would have mentioned it!).

We don't know that, so your 'no good' could be irrelevant.

theburningcat

I can't seem to edit my post above but I wanted to say the Megabus option actually looks good. The middle-of-the-night coach travel in the early hours of Saturday and Monday would get me a full weekend at £12.60 each way. Thanks for this!

Yes, I work M-F so I want to use Friday night / early Saturday morning to travel and late Sunday night / early Monday morning to travel.

Are there are tricks for Eurostar itself? It's by far the largest cost.

richardw

theburningcat wrote: »

I hadn't seen this - thanks!

That's ok, looks like there may be more Ryanair MAN-BVA flights in April/May.

richardw

Btw Flybe fly London Southend to Caen on Saturday mornings.

theburningcat

I went for the MegaBus+Eurostar combo which gets me a full weekend for about £100 + accommodation with a bit of planning. I also noticed that one of the few good Amex points offers is Eurostar, so every so often I can get a free return trip, at any time, for £75 worth of points.