Advice on flying between Paris, London, Italy
 

Hello! I will appreciate any help you guys can give me on how to save money and time.

I am flying into Paris from Los Angeles although my first destination is London. I found a really cheap ticket from LAX to CDG for $880!

1. So first, I need to fly from Paris to London on a Saturday night. I found a flight via British Airways for $122. Is this cheap? What about trains?

2. After London, I'm planning to go to Italy. How long exactly will the Eurostar take from London to Italy? From reading sites online, it looks like a whole day, but I'm not sure sure. And I think it's around $200 but I'm not so sure. I'm having the hardest time finding train ticket prices (yeah, I'm THAT bad)! So how much is it exactly??

But planes take 2 hours so I looked on kayak.com and found flights on a Thursday ranging from $144-$200. Is train cheaper? I prefer to go on a Friday but it's $500!

Option 2: Go to Rome first. Flights to Rome from London are much cheaper (over $100). I want to end my Italian experience with Rome but I guess ending it with Venice won't be so bad.

3. After Italy, I will head back to Paris and I found a flight via Kuwait Air for $122. How much is the train?

Option 2: If I fly to London (ORY) from Venice (that is I visit Rome first), easyjet flights are cheaper (around $100). It doesn't really matter if I fly to ORY instead of CDG, right? Since the airports are close to each other. I am booking hotels last, so I can't tell you if I my hotel will be close to ORY or CDG.

Thank you for all your help and for reading this. It's my first time to Europe so I'm a total newbie. :-)

There is no eurostar from London to "Italy". Plus there's no direct train service. Fly.

Great, so now I can cross that off my list. When I meant "Italy, I actually meant Rome/Venice.

Back to number 1. Should I fly or take the train from Paris to London? I found a Eurostar fare for around $110 on a Saturday night vs. taking the plane from CDG to LHR for $122.

IS there an edit button for my original post?

edit: 2. After London, I plan to go to Venice.

If you're basically flying to Paris and thinking of train to London on the day of your arrival, that's daft. You'd have to clear customs at CDG and go to Paris to catch the Eurostar to London and the train ride to Gare du Nord from CDG will wipe out that paltry "savings."

LOL. so should I fly instead?

so here's the situation, I booked my flight to paris already, and let's say I have to go to London that same night. so flying is my best option, right?

thanks for your help.

Yes and $122 is a good price, I would book that.

From London fly to Venice - check out cheap airlines www.easyjet.com (www.ryanair.com also flies but they fly into an airport that is a long way from Venice so I'd not do that). Also compare prices with www.ba.com as once you add in all the extra charges for easyjet (luggage, credit card usage charge) they may not be much more.

For the cheap airlines be VERY careful about luggage restrictions. They take them VERY seriously and the extra weight charges are huge!

From Venice, take point to point tickets. www.trenitalia.com or book them at the railstation.

As for Rome - Paris also check out the cheap airlines, but be sure you book for hte day before your flight - you dont want to miss your flight home due to delays!

thanks jamikins!

just a point that might change the balance to weight toward train. between arriving in Paris and leaving to london, I want to tour Paris and I think I have a good 8 hours to do that. I arrive in Paris at 8:30 AM and will leave for London around 8 PM.

posters from another site say take train since I have to go to the center of the city anyways and I can drop my bags at the train station.

Yes... if you will be in Paris anyway there is no reason to go back to the airport to fly to London. In this case the train is the best bet and it will leave you in central London rather than out at one of the airports.

There is baggage storage at Gare du Nord. That is convenient for
you as both the RER train from the airport (8.70 euros) and the Eurostar use that station. Although you only need to be back at the station 30 minutes before departure you should allow extra time to retrieve your luggage.

Definitely agree - take the eurostar for sure if you are going to be in central Paris. www.eurostar.com book as soon as possible to get the best price!

You should return to Gare du Nord for the Eurostar more than 30 minutes before your departure. You must clear customs again for the train. I'd allow an hour at least.

Thank

Thanks guys.

At which terminal station should I leave if I want to be closest to LHR as possible?

I dont understand your question. Your terminal will depend on what airline you are flying out with. Or you may not fly out of Heathrow at all - there are 5 airports in London. If you are there are tube stations at Terminal 1, 2, 3 and 4 and 5.

As a reference for airfares, We've booked one way tickets on British Air from Venice to London in Oct for 85E each.

I t seems to me that you are bouncing all over the landscape like aping pong ball to save $27 - never how much time you waste, how much you spend getting from one airport to another or from airports to city. You time is worth something - and you need to figure out how much you are really saving by doing this instead of a straight forwad itinerary.