c1thom

This May, I'm traveling to London/Paris for 10 days. At the moment, the airfares are much cheaper to fly in and out of London, through the second leg of our trip will have us in Paris.
I'm wondering how much time is needed to get from Paris to Heathrow airport. Also, how difficult is that to even do? I'd like some input on connections, what exactly is involved, etc. Thanks for the help!

PatrickLondon

The train takes around 2.5 hours from Gare du Nord to St Pancras, and then I'd allow about an hour from St Pancras to Heathrow (direct tube on the Piccadilly Line). But that's assuming everything goes right on each leg. plus you have to allow whatever check-in time you need at Heathrow.

Are you sure the saving on flights in and out of London, as opposed to into one and out of the other, is worth the additional cost of the train (or a flight from Paris to Heathrow), plus the aggravation of moving your luggage around from mode to mode?

c1thom

This is the first time I'm traveling to two places in one trip - I go to Paris each year, but only visit Paris, so this hasn't been an issue for me.
There's about a $350 difference. What's anyone's opinion about the cost vs. aggravation factor? Two travelers, so we're talking an extra $700 to fly open jaw.

jamikins

check out prices of the eurostar for your dates (www.eurostar.com) and add that to your costs, as well as getting out to the airport on the tube (I assume).

we've done it and it was fine, however we also were delayed on the eurostar for over an hour on another trip to paris...so depends on how much stress you can take.

we always book open jaw now cause the time saved is worth it for us. I might shop around for a better price.

surfmom

I'm really surprised that it costs more... we are doing that exact trip in May and flying into London and out of Paris. Granted, we're on ff miles, but it wasn't any extra miles, I just had to talk to a person since we couldn't book it online.

I just checked USAir out of Philly for random dates in May and PHL-LHR and CDG- PHL was $1,624 and PHL-LHR and LHR-PHL was $1,535. So it looks like the LHR legs are cheaper, but only about $100 for two people.

Remember, you will lose an entire day (will have to leave Paris early to be at Heathrow 3 hours early for a noon-ish flight), you will have the hassle factor of lugging all the stuff you've purchased across metro, train, tube, to plane, and you will have the additional cost of Eurostar.

c1thom

Thanks for the input. I haven't booked flights yet, so maybe I'll keep watching for a few more weeks in the hopes that prices drop. Do people have drop-dead dates for booking tickets when traveling in May? My annual trip to Paris has always been in November. Thanks again.

flanneruk

The quickest way from central Paris to Heathrow is to fly.

Checkin before departure is needed for both Eurostar and planes, Heathrow's further from most of central London than CDG is from most of Paris, the RER's much faster than the tube from St Pancras or, alternatively, a cab to CDG's quicker and cheaper than a cab to LHR. Most importantly: choose the airline properly and you through-check your bags all the way.

Whether you can get similar prices to Eurostar depends on the airline. But detouring via St Pancras rarely makes thge best sense.

greg

This type of decision depends on a comparison of values. Each looks at value in a different way. If you look at value strictly in terms of cash spent, then be sure to add all the costs. A Eurostar trip is not cheap depending on when you are traveling.

For this decision, the return from Paris, if I postulate that the departure times are similar, reduces risks, adds minimum of 4.5hrs to my stay in Paris, eliminates one taxi ride, eliminates one train ride, ... and a chance to pick up a box of Laduree Macarons at CDG

jkbritt

One thing to consider is the Eurostar luggage allowances are large. Flying, the luggage allowances are small.

janisj

"<i>Eurostar luggage allowances are large. Flying, the luggage allowances are small.</i>"

Wouldn't seem to be an issue since they will be flying home . . . .

c1cthom: It isn't clear, have you actually looked for open jaw? ('multi-city' on most airtravel websites). Even IF it is $100 pp more (or $200 more for that matter) - it would be less than the extra money for the Eurostar and transport from St Pancras to LHR. And a heck of a lot less stressful.

jkbritt

He said: I'm wondering how much time is needed to get from Paris to Heathrow airport. Also, how difficult is that to even do? I'd like some input on connections, what exactly is involved, etc. Thanks for the help!

I was answering that part. I agree the open jaw probably would be better, but if he wants to fly from and to Heathrow, then I was suggesting using the train instead of flying because of the luggage allowances to get back to LHR.

flanneruk

"Flying, the luggage allowances are small."

May not even be true.

Conventional airlines (the only kind that fly from Paris to LHR) do often have smaller free baggage allowances on intra-Europe flights than on transatlantic ones. But normally BA (if connecting at LHR with BA or AA) and AF (if connecting with DL) offer transatlantic allowances if connecting from intra-Europe to transatlantic.

uncjat

I think that taking the Eurostar to London will be cheaper, less stressful and almost as fast as flying from CDG. We took the Eurostar from London to Paris about 3 weeks ago. You can book up to 120 days in advance (I think, maybe it's 90). We paid 35 pounds one way (or about $55). The metro/RER to CDG from central Paris averages about 60-70 minutes, slightly more than going from St. Pancras to Heathrow. Although Heathrow can be hectic, CDG is probably the toughest airport I've ever tried to negotiate with really long walks and long lines.

griz_fan

c1thom - I feel your pain I'm planning a June trip and have found the same problem. Ideally, I'd fly into Shannon, then work my way East and fly out of CDG. But, flights in/out of Paris are really pricey compared to other cities. For me, I'm looking at $450 more to for a return flight from CDG vs. one from DUB. So, I'm looking at nearly $1000 more for the two of us. At this point, I still plan on flying open-jaw, just now the jaw will be barely open (in to SNN, out from DUB). because of that, I think I'll adjust my plans a bit. Originally, I was to visit Western Ireland, then Dublin, then London, then finish in Paris. Now, I'll save a couple of days in Dublin for the end of the trip, unless there's significant movement in airfare out of CDG.

Still, even for a trip in May, I think there's plenty of time to wait for a better price to come along. I've been keeping a spreadsheet (using Google docs so its available anywhere) of airfares. Basically, I check every day, then note the price, airline, and when I checked. This way, I can see trends in pricing. I'm also checking dates in April and May for my June trip, to see how those prices trend as the date gets nearer. This way, you can still hold out for the best-case scenario (flying out of CDG), but at the same time, develop a plan B and Plan C if airfares from CDG remain high. Another thought to consider; flying out of Amsterdam or Brussels, instead of returning to London. Finally, Eurostar tickets are now available for purchase for the Month of May, so if you want, you could book now to lock in a good price.

alanRow

<<< The quickest way from central Paris to Heathrow is to fly. >>>

Whilst that is true, the last thing I would want to do is to be sitting at CDG listening to an announcement saying my flight has been delayed.

Much more sensible is to return to London the previous day - in which case Eurostar makes moe sense

janisj

I totally agree w/ alanRow -- it is never a good idea to be crossing two countries and a body of water the morning of your flight home.

But, if that isn't an option, and you can't find an open jaw -- you really should fly.

"<i>I think that taking the Eurostar to London will be cheaper, less stressful and almost as fast as flying from CDG</i>"

really not true for the most part. Might be cheaper but certainly not less stressful nor would it be faster. Sure CDG can be a pit, but you can check your bags there and not touch them again until you land in the USA. And Gare do Nord to CDG is less than 30 minutes by RER.

c1thom

Thanks for everyone's responses and the insight into trying to get from Paris to LON for a flight. It certainly would wreck our final morning in Paris! Great to hear everyone's experiences-definitely sounds like too much rushing/commotion for my tastes.

janisj: yes, I've been regularly checking open-jaw fares. A RT into and out of London is $766. Flights from EWR-LON, CDG-EWR are over $1000/ticket. That fare has been dropping slightly over the last few weeks, so I'm hopeful that it will get down into the low $900s, at which point I'd be okay booking.

griz_fan: thanks for the empathy! I'll keep fare watching. My problem is that I become obsessed and spend entirely too much time on the computer checking!

alanRow

<<< It certainly would wreck our final morning in Paris! >>>

Missing your flight home would really wreck your wallet

c1thom

Good point - I've never actually missed a flight and wouldn't want the first time to come at the end of a great trip!

janisj

sheesh -- where did that Gare <u>do</u> Nord come from???

"<i>It certainly would wreck our final morning in Paris!</i>"

You really can't plan anything much in Paris the morning of your departure - no matter if you take the train or fly. You need to get to London as early as possible (or if you find an open jaw, you need to be a CDG 3 hours before flying to the States)