London Travel Forum

I've heard that buying train tickets online is more expensive because they are usually hidden fees and additional broker costs. Myself and a friend are planning to take the train one way from London to Paris on July 27th in the morning. We are both students (under 25). How much would this train ticket cost? (I would like a general figure from which I can assess online ticket prices) Will I have a problem buying a ticket for the train if I wait until a week before, and buy it in London (which is my preferred strategy), rather than online?
Thanks for your help.

our kids just did it - it was 187 euros one way - a rip off if you ask me - this was a walk up price, which was the same online

check easy jet and airfrance - perhaps cheaper

or perhaps a non-Chunnel trail

we found the plane is often cheaper

"I've heard that buying train tickets online is more expensive because they are usually hidden fees and additional broker costs."

This is true if you're buying from intermediate and broker sites, like www.raileurope.com . It is not true of most (if not all) sites run by the national railroads themselves.

"Myself and a friend are planning to take the train one way from London to Paris on July 27th in the morning."

London to Paris is not a normal train route, compared to most of Europe. The only passenger rail services through the Channel Tunnel are offered through Eurostar, a company owned by the national railway companies of France and Belguim, SNCF and SNCB, and by Eurostar (UK) Ltd (EUKL), a subsidiary of London and Continental Railways (LCR) ( see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurostar ).

The fares appear to be relatively high compared to airfares from discount carriers; however, the train has several things going for it: (1) speed - the train is faster city center to city center than flying, (2) comfort - I've never had the pleasure of being on a plane as comfortable as a train, and even (3) better carbon footprint than flying. The wikipedia article referred above says that the train currently has a 71% market share of London to Paris travelers, compared to the airlines...which means that a lot of people are choosing the train for what they think are good reasons.

I took the Eurostar several years ago, even before the high speed lines were ready, and I can tell you from personal experience that I can see why business people take it rather than flying.

"How much would this train ticket cost? (I would like a general figure from which I can assess online ticket prices)"

Now, as for pricing. The Eurostar company prices things somewhat like airlines. That is, if you wanted to go this coming Tuesday from London to Paris, the cheapest one way ticket is $187USD. But if you are willing to buy a nonrefundable ticket today for July 27th for the same trip, then the lowest fare is $119USD. If you push your trip out to early September, the cheapest fare drops to $98USD - or about half of the walk-up price for next week. I will leave you to experiment more.

"Will I have a problem buying a ticket for the train if I wait until a week before, and buy it in London (which is my preferred strategy), rather than online?"

From what I hear trains do sell out (but there are quite a number to choose from per day), but your bigger problem is that you will guarantee that you will pay the highest fare.

Sorry, but in the old days in Europe (decades ago), most trains were priced by the kilometer (regional train across Europe still are), so it really didn't matter when you bought the ticket nor were there many discount programs. Now all the premium trains (generally refers to any train that requires reservations) use "value pricing", i.e., they charge whatever the market will bear - just like the airlines.

Oh, well, at least you know, and can evaluate train versus airfare (note the restrictive rules on some discounters which can really jack the price up), or even the way we used to do it in the good old days: ferries...

Bill

time of day and day of week are also important in the pricing mix, cheapest I think after 10:00 and before 15:00. Also check out return prices..the return can sometime be cheaper than one way. I have been Eurostar twice London-Paris and have always bought the fares direct from the eurostar website...no problem. 2nd class is quite adequate fro a trip < 3 hours, and just take your own lunch / food / drink as its expensive on the train.

As Bill(McAlpin) notes, if you buy via a middleman e.g.Raileurope you will always pay more than if you buy directly.

www.eurostar.com is the official site for Eurostar (no other train goes from London to Paris). The booking 'window' is open 120 days in advance of travel, and the cheapest fares are both limited in availability and (obviously) very popular, so soon sell-out. You will not find cheaper fares anywhere else, whether with agents or on other sites.

One-way fare to Paris starts at 29.50GBP. But as you have left it late, this fare is no longer available for 27th July. The cheapest one-way fare for morning trains on that date is 72GBP on the 0655 and 0727, 86GBP for other morning departures.

If you buy the ticket when you are in London you are very, very unlikely to get a cheaper fare simply because they will most probably be sold-out for the train/s you want to take. You might have to pay 100+GBP...I am not sure if the 72GBP fares are limited in availability but they may well be.

Buying online is the best option in this case.

As usual, McAlpin and Leics have covered every angle and I completely concur. The Eurostar site is the cheapest but you have left it far too late to buy a good fare.

Just a comment about budget carriers v Eurostar.

First, you have to add in time and cost of transport to and from the airport. Then you have t6o add i time for check-in (closes at least 40 minutes before departure) and immigration/baggage recalim (allow about an hour before you get out of the airport). Getting to and from the airport will take around an hour each end. So the train is no slower, and may well be faster.

As for cost...you have left it too late to get the cheapest budget carrier fares. Fares rise the nearer you get to departure date. There are no last-minute cheap fares.

Using the ferry is not likely to be much cheaper, as you will have to pay train/bus fares to and from the ports.

www.nationalrail.co.uk will give you UK train times and fares,

www.nationalexpress.com will give you long-distance UK bus times and fares,

http://www.voyages-sncf.com/billet-train/horaires will give you French train times and fares (in French)

http://www.directferries.co.uk/dover_calais_ferry.htm

will give you information about ferry times and fares. I do not know if there is a bus from Calais to Paris.

you can also take a bus from London to Paris (obviously with a ferry crossing in between). This is a lengthy journey (8+ hours), costing from 76GBP. www.nationalexpress.com for times and fares. You should book in advance, preferably online.

they will be fine if buy online from Eurostar, do it often for business trips, and its a breeze. buy ahead of time fromt the official site ,its worth the price for the transport offered
www.eurostar.com

i just check for your aged in july cheapest is 76 euros, good deal. Hope it helps

Single fares are a lot dearer than half a return.

And you don't need to travel Eurostar - you could for instance take a regular train to Dover, then a ferry across to Calais, and an ordinary French train from there. I don't know what other ferry routes are still in existnce - Folkestone-Boulogne would be equally good and maybe cheaper. Newhaven-Dieppe also good and cheap, but probably not best for reaching Paris.

My wife and I just paid $129.00 for two at the end of August. Be careful on the student prices as they may make you buy a round trip. That happened to me for my senior fare which cost me more than my wife who just paid regular "Adult Fare"!

www.eurostar.com does not 'make' you buy returns. You have to select what type of ticket you want.....so always check what you have actually selected before you click for payment!

:-)

I recently got back from London and had taken the Eurostar from Paris to London. We bought tickets at the station a few hours before departure, and the attendant there informed us that booking online is much cheaper.

A one-way ticket at the station was something like 180 Euros, but she was kind enough to just give as a round-trip itinerary which was only 115. I'm pretty sure you can get online booking prices at around 80 or 90 Euros. ALmost positive theres no student discount unfortunately (Paris and London are cheapskates!)

Eurostar operates just like European budget carriers....the earlier you book the better your chances of getting a cheap fare.

Unlike budget carriers, however, Eurostar cheap fares are limited in availability per departure.

Not really 'cheapskates' though, imo...if you want really cheap fares you buy tickets well in advance or get a cheap flight (no student discounts for airfares). The service has to be paid for, and it's not a cheap serbice to run.