Book summer Eurostar now or wait to June?
 

Hi everyone,

I need to take the Eurostar from Paris to London in August. Fridays are cheap; Saturdays are insanely expensive. If I book now, I can get the cheap Friday fare, but it'll mean cutting my Paris trip one day short.

If I wait until June, the great guy renting me my apartment has offered to pick up my Saturday ticket in Paris, where he says it will be cheaper than through the US site.

Will it really be cheaper to wait, or do I risk losing the cheap Friday fare? Some of the Eurostar fare options on that date are already sold out, so I'm kind of nervous.

Thanks!

Normally the earlier you book the cheaper the ticket you can buy.

HOWEVER not all nationalities are treated equal on the Eurostar website because they have different allocations for different nationalities.

Americans (or people pretending to be American) can book Eurostar tickets 9 months in advance whereas Europeans (or people pretending to be European) can only book 5 months in advance.

THEREFORE if you clear the Eurostar cookies from your computer & go to the Eurostar website 5 months before travel you can pretend to be French and book cheap tickets.

BUT what dates are you travelling as normally Friday tickets sell almost as well as Saturday tickets

Thanks for the insight alanRow! I'd like to travel on Saturday, the 15th of September, but the cheapest fare is like $200 from Paris to London, whereas if I travel on Friday the 14th, it's only about $94.

It's already less than 5 months until my travel date... why would he want to wait until June rather than just booking now?

Here's the reason why tickets are so expensivein SEPTEMBER

http://www.rugbyworldcup.com/EN/Home...inals+Matches/

I'd buy what you can NOW

Wow... I had no idea! Better get my local travel & touristy stuff over with in August so I can just watch the crowd in Sept.

Thanks, alanRow... I'll buy my ticket now! :-)

Hi CS,

Are you buying a 1-way ticket?

The cheapest fares are the one-day RT, about $100 whether you buy them from the French, UK or US sites. This includes Saturday.

Also check RailEurope. Sometimes they
have specials.

((I))

Yes you should book now if sure of your dates as cheapest tickets are generally non-changeable unless you're under 26 or 60 and over or have a railpass and non-refundable. Check www.eurostar.com for prices in pounds and as Ira says always check RailEurope as they at times can be cheaper - i always advise talking to someone who's an expert and to call BETS (800-441-2387), a RE agent but very knowledgeable staff and they won't charge Raileurope's $15-18 mailing fee for orders under $399. In any case cheapest tickets go quick especially on Fri, Sat and Suns. You can book Eurostar tickets, at least thru RailEurope up to nine months in advance usually. If you have a cheap Friday fare jump on it!