Chunnel from London to Paris
 

Looking to take train from London to Paris. Is the Chunnel the quickest way to go?
We arrive back in Southhampton. Does anyone know how far away the port is from where the train terminal
is.
Thank you!!

The Chunnel is the English Channel - the train is the Eurostar. If you are taking the train from London to Paris, the Eurostar is the only way to go. You could take the train to a port city (ie. Dover) and take a ferry or hovercraft from there (to Calais or somewhere) and then pick up a train from there to Paris, but that is significantly (!) longer than the Eurostar.

I'm confused... you are taking the train from London to Paris, but arrive back in Southampton ? How do you get from Paris to Southampton ?

The Eurostar departs from St. Pancras in London.

good luck

Agree - don't see how Southampton comes into it - nowhere near the tunnel the Eurostar uses.

I think the OP means he or she is taking a cruise that ends in Southhampton and wants to get to Paris from there...I would go back to London for a day and take Eurostar the next day from London to Paris.....

xyz123 - yes, I read it that way, too.
OP - According to the info at http://tinyurl.com/2ftfxud you can get from Southampton to London in 2 hours via car or train and 3 hours via bus. Allow a bit more for transfer to your hotel if staying overnight or to St Pancras station if proceeding right to Paris.

Sorry,
we will be arriving back to Southhampton on a cruise.
I was then told to take the Chunnel to Paris irbid quicker..??
then the regular Eurostar? Is there a difference?
Where do we pick it up? The ship will take us to the airport or I imagine we can have
a car service pick us up
and take us to the train station we need to go to. We arrive back to
S hampt. 6 am & need to leave that day.
Is it doable?
Thanks!!

The "Chunnel" is the tunnel under the English Channel that the train (the Eurostar) travels through (the term isn't really used much any more). The "chunnel" is not a train.

There is no other route for a train to take from England to France, since they are separated by water (the English Channel). If you are taking a train from England to France directly, you must go under the English Channel. As mentioned by a previous poster, you could take a ferry to a port in France and then train from there to Paris, but it would take much longer than the Eurostar from London to Paris. Or you could fly over the English Channel.

I doubt the ship will take you to the airport. I imagine it will take you to a dock in Southampton.

OK - twin98, I am getting a bit confused

"<i>we will be arriving back to Southhampton on a cruise. I was then told to take the Chunnel to Paris irbid quicker..?? then the regular Eurostar? Is there a difference? The ship will take us to the airport or I imagine we can have a car service pick us up and take us to the train station we need to go to. We arrive back to S hampt. 6 am & need to leave that day.</i>"

Does this mean you have to go to Paris on the day you arrive at Southampton?

If so -- and if the cruise line provides a transfer to Heathrow, then forget about the Eurostar. Just go to LHR and fly to Paris CDG.

To take the Eurostar you'd have to go from Southampton to London by train, cross all of London by tube or taxi, and then take the Eurostar from St Pancras Station. This trip would take most of a day.

The Eurostar is normally the best way to travel from London to Paris -- BUT -- you will not be in London. You will be in Southampton.

(BTW - there is no "Chunnel" and 'regular' Eurostar - there is just the one train line between the UK and France -- it is called the <u>Eurostar</u>)

You can fly to Paris from Southampton Airport - http://tinyurl.com/lf3hro

Oh - yes - you're right. I keep forgetting about FlyBe -- they do serve the SOU/CDG route. That would be their best bet by far . . . .

In fact, two airlines fly direct from Southampton to Paris: FlyBe and Air France. I don't entirely understand the routing the OP is trying to get to grips with, but if you need to get from Paris to Southampton in the shortest possible time with the minimum of connections, then forget the Eurostar train - the direct flights I mentioned are the best way to go.

Southampton airport by the way is small, stress-free and very efficient - it also happens to be collocated with a main line railway station (which is more than can be said for the likes of LHR).

Thank you.. Yes we are arriving back from a 14 day cruise in SH. We can take transfers and they WILL tak eus back to LHR. I looked into SH airport there are two flights 7:30 am & 7:30 pm not going to really work as far as getting off ship early. We figured w ewould take Eurostar once w egot into LOndon. Now we are considering going straight to LHR and catching a flight to CDG.
Thank you very much for all of your help!
So any train from SH is out of the question I suppose??

Thanks again.

There are no trains to LHR from Southampton. You would have to change to the Rail-Air bus at Woking.

National Express coaches run direct to Heathrow from Southampton.

In both cases you'd need a taxi to get to the train / coach station from the cruise terminal.

BUT I can't understand the comment about the only flights being at 7:30am & 7:30pm. The summer timetable for Southampton shows flights at 08:45, 14:45 and 19:00 on weekdays to Orly and 17

and 07:15, 18:10 to CDG.

Even if you a flight immediately from CDG there is an easy bus service between Orly and CDG.

Perhaps you could tell us why you need to be specifically at CDG.

We arrive on a Sat morning. I suppose the flight schedule at SH is limited. Whatever the quickest route is.. Bus to train. Bus to airport.. We just want to get to Paris that day.
WE do not want to stay over in SH or London and leave the next day.
We do not need to be at CDG just in Paris.
WE already have our flight back from CDG to the states 4 days or so later just need to get to Paris that day (a Saturday)
Thanks everyone for trying to help.

I just checked Orly on Sat one flight 9:30 am one way 230E.
I am not sure if 9:30 flight would work.. getting off ship by 6;30 -7 am I do not think they would let us off that early. I think it is a weekend schedule thing.
Same with AFrance. A very early am flight and then evening flight in to CDG.

Not to be argumentative (well maybe I am)...what is the objection, just out of curiosity, of staying overnight in London and catching an early Eurostar train the next morning? You probably won't get into Paris until late in the day. rush rush rush to do whatever you can do in Paris...instead a nice leisurly bus ride to London on National Express....and unwind from the cruise with a pre-theatre dinner and see a show in London...I can't think of a better way to relax...again it really seems to be the most convenient way to handle the situation unless you have big plans for Paris (you know a birthday celebration, an anniversary, whatever on that arrival day)....

Yes that does make sense - I guess we just figured we will be packed up.. we rather just go and get to our next place if that makes sense..
RAther then go to another hotel check in check out .. Rather just go straight thru then have an early start the next day in Paris.
I saw a 12:50 flight out of LHR which puts us in to CDg at 3:00
I imagine we can be off the ship by 8. or 7.
Take the transfer straight thru to LHR.
Will be a long day. I hear you...
Thanks

Listen to me...flying is a hassle.....you get to the airport, have to check bags (many airlines charge)..go through security, take your shoes off the whole bit, wait in the departure lounge....get on the flight, pakced in like sardines...a relatively short flight true but you're not really in Paris...then arranging some sort of transport to Paris after waiting for your bags yada yada yada....by far, the most convenient way London to Paris is Eurostar...downtown to downtown (St. Pancreas to Gare du nord), you keep your bags, put them in the luggage racks and when you arrive, off they come with you (some people might find this more difficult but I prefer it)...you clear Schengen immigration at St. Pancreas so when the train arrives at Gare du nord, you gather your belongings and walk off the train...time downtown to downtown 2 hrs. and 15 minujtes...one of the things I've noticed is Eurostar has begun offering advanced purchase one way tickets at very reason able rates (it used to be you would have to buy a return and eat the return ticket, I guess too many people were doing that and they really had no way to control it and lots of empty seats on the lasttrains out)...by staying overnight in London, there's simply no hassle...you get to Lodon when you get there...you don't have to completely unpack...you can put the one change in clothes for the next day at the top of your luggage...like I said, a pleasant pre theatre dinner and a nice show...what could be more relaxing? And the next day, you don't have to get up at the break of dawn...catch a 9 AM train or thereabouts, you're in Paris by 12:30 downtown, taxi to your hotel and you will be quite refreshed and ready to enjoy Paris. I wouldn't think, unless again you have something really neat planned in Paris for that night, it is anything but a no brainer (but of course it's your call!)

I'm with xyz.

Agree with xyz about the hassle of flying and the superior convenience of Eurostar. Even if you do decide to head to Paris the same day, it would be overall easier to just go to St. Pancras and hop on the train than to go to LHR and fly to Paris. If you have more bags than you want to wrangle you can check bags for a fee of 15GBP each.
The easiest - though not least expensive - would be to hire a private car to take you from Southampton to St. Pancras. Also, since you noted that the cruise line offers transport to the airport, you might ask them if they also offer transport to St. Pancras station.

xyz123 offers sage advice.

tC

1. The process for boarding a plane or Eurostar are roughly the same. You also go through a security checkpoint at St Pancras, and you also wait in a lounge before you can board the train.
Nevertheless, I find the whole procedure much less hassle and speedier at St Pancras than at Heathrow airport.

2. There are 15 flights from Heathrow to CDG on saturdays, BA and AF combined. You get a times and quotes at consolidator websites like amadeus.net .
Nevertheless, you need to allow for some transfer time at Heathrow, and be at check-in/security at least x hrs before departure.

3. nationalrail.co.uk shows one direct connection per hour to London Waterloo Station where you'd have to change to the Tube to go to St Pancras. Getting from the docks in Southampton to the station, and having to change to the Tube once you get to London probably eats up a lot of that "convenience" that Eurostar offers over a direct bus transfer from the ship to LHR, flight LHR-CDG, and the rail transfer from CDG to downtown Paris.

Eventually, I'd say there is no one option that beats the other hands down.
Spending the night in London and taking a morning Eurostar train to Paris sounds like the wisest idea.
If going to Paris the same day is mandatory, the cruise line transfer bus/flight to CDG/RER into Paris looks like the most comfortable alternative with regard to hauling luggage.
The fastest same day connection might be by train/tube to St Pancras, Eurostar to Paris, though.

"The fastest same day connection might be by train/tube to St Pancras, Eurostar to Paris, though"

How can it possibly be quicker than a 10 min cab ride from ship to Soton airport - probably the most user-friendly international transport base in Europe - a 60 min flight and a 20 min cab ride from Orly to wherever? Answer: because the poster's apparently incapable of reading an airline timetable and somehow has convinced him or hersedl;f that there aren't azny flights (just go to the Soton airport website and see for yourself).

This thread is making the creation of mountains from molehills look measured and sensible.

xyz123 has given good advice, but has misspelled Pancras as Pancreas. I'm not trying to be the spelling police, I just don't want the original poster to be searching for St Pancreas.

Have a great holiday, hope you love Paris!

cowboy1968...differences in training vs flying....

1. No baggage to check (admitedly you might prefer checking your bags but I don't)...you take your baggage with you most of the time....(you can check if you want but it's not mandatory)

2. You clear Schengen immigration at St. Pancras (I never looked closely all these years...my fault). On arrival, if you haven't checked baggage you get off the train and go. No waiting for baggage, no clearing immigration in Paris.

3. Upon arrival in Paris, you're in well Paris....not a small town 20 miles away....

Train wins hands down.

Checking the summer 2010 timetable at SOU's website show exactly TWO flights on SATURDAYS
One AF flight at 9.30 am, and one flyBE flight at 7.15am.

If OP could make the 9.30 flight to Orly that would obviuosly be the most convenient and fastest connection. All that ballyhoo started from the fact that OP thinks she cannot leave early enough from that ship to catch that 9.30 flight.


xyz.. If you think that passport control at St Pancras outweighs shlepping your luggage from a ship to a taxi, from taxi to the train in Southampton, in London across Waterloo station down to the tube, onto a probably full tube car, and further shlepping from St Pancras tube station to the Eurostar check-in, you are perfectly fine to judge it that way. But I would not call it "wins hands down" option.

You can check your luggage if you desire, right? So you have a choice there...you have to check your luggage on a plane. When you arrive on the train, you're in Paris, right. Where are you when you arrive at CDG?

The whgole thesis, though, is not just train vs. plane....the whole thing is based on why hassle and worry about meeting a schedule on the day of arrival back at Southhampton (I might agree, incidentally, that if there are convenient flights from Southampton, that might be the way to go)....I have done both (plane and train) and to me the train still wins hands down but you're entitled to your opinion and yes I would suppose it's a function of just how much luggage you are totaing around....

i completely agree with cowboy ....and i regularly commute from london to paris for work.

i'm not saying that flying wins...only that the train is certainly not the clear winner. i would fly from soton on the next available flight...even if it is the following morning. i can't imagine going all the way up to london with a cruise worths of luggage from the soton docks, across to st pancras with bags and then doing a 'relaxing' dinner and show in london down in the west end only to rise and be off to paris on what is a HALF DAY journey with all those bags. of course it can be done but to say that this is a relaxing process is pure fantasy.

the 'convenience' of the eurostar is something that is often exaggerated here with transfer/tube time and waiting time ignored. like going to the airport, you also need to leave enough extra time in case things go wrong on the way to the station (e.g. the route from the tube to st pancras int'l is very poorly marked). i'm not saying that the eurostar is inconvenient...only that the delta between flying and eurostar is closer than usually portrayed here.

If you were already in central London, the train is a great option, but given your schedule, I would consider flying.

pros/cons of flying:
+ already get transfer to LHR, so no 'in transit' with bags
- security is a bit time hassle
- arrive in Paris and need to shuttle in

pros/cons of Eurostar:
+ security is easier
- need to get into central London
+ relaxing sitting on the train
+ arrive into central Paris

If you lay out your schedule, which makes more sense ?
LHR-CDG
- depart Southampton at 9am (guessing here?)
- arrive LHR 10.30 am (allowing for bus and traffic)
- book 12noon flight
- arrive Paris 2.00pm (1 hour flight, 1 hour time change)
- security/customs - 1 hr
- transport to central Paris - 45 min (?)
arriving Paris about 4pm and what cost ?

St. Pancras - Paris
- depart Southampton at 9am (guessing here?)
- arrive LHR 10.30 am (allowing for bus and traffic)
- take transportation into central London (1 hr.)
- book Eurostar (I wouldn't book before 1.00pm to allow for wiggle room)
- arrive Paris 4.15pm (2h15min + 1 hr time change)
same time, what cost ?

If it were me, I would just go to the Southhampton airport, drop off my bags, spend a leisurely day in Southhampton and take the late flight to Paris. Then, you still arrive in Paris that night, but eliminate the stress of trains, planes and automobiles. Have a leisurely lunch, walk around, enjoy the day in Southhampton.

OK -- all this >>the Eurostar is sooooo much easier<< stuff is absolutely correct -- <B><u>IF</u></B> you were starting off in London. But you aren't. You are starting off a taxi, 2 hour train ride, and another probably £20 cab ride away from St Pancras - schlepping bags along the way.

You can catch the 9:30 flight from Southampton and have lunch in Paris -- OR you can be arriving in London around lunch time and not yet be 1/2 way through your journey.

(or if the 0930 time scares you off, you can fly just about any time from LHR - and still be in Paris in time for a late lunch. I personally think the 0930 is easily doable)

Thank you all of you so so much!! I never thought there were so many trains & so much work to get to the Eurostar but after traveling thru Italy last summer Florence to Rome was a breeze!!
I know those trains, steps.. Let alone the walking.. My Mom & I are going to have let's just say our fare share of luggage for 3 weeks!! Whatever is the easiestt is the best!! She cannot help me carry any luggage and I cannot carry all of it.
The SH option whether it's the 9:30 am or 7:30 pm flight might be the best Unless the ship can provide transportation to this pancrais ( spell?) station or to catch the Eurostar since everyone thinks it's more direct.. I know I spent one day in Paris last summer and the cab rude from CDG was quite far!! I understand what all of you ate saying. Though.. If we wind up at a train station in Paris after taking the Eurostar.. We will probably need a cab to our hotel with all of our luggage. I suppose that is why I was thinking air was better..
I will place a call to the cruise line to ask what the earliest we can depart the ship is & report back!!
Thank you so so much again!!!!!!

a good conservative rule of thumb is to allow about 5 hours central london to central paris travel time plus 1 hour time difference = 6 hours on the clock for the eurostar to paris. by air is roughly the same or a slightly more depending on your departure and arrival locations.

this assumes that you need to take a short tube/metro ride (with one transfer) on both ends of your journey. it also assumes little or no knowledge of the transport systems so a wise contingency is built in to minimise risk of missing the train and the penalties that this will incur. you probably should allow more if you think you'll need to consult maps to find your hotel in paris or the station in london.

In any case if taking the Chunnel train be sure to book early - very very early to snap the limited in number cheaper tickets. Just show up and you could literally pay hundreds of bucks more than in advance online - www.eurostar.com or thru an American agent like raileurope.com - usually eurostar.com is cheaper - prices in pounds but this is not always the case as fares in dollars for the same seat on the same train seem to have little correlation - so i always say check both sources and then be the early bird that gets the worm. In the U.S. i always advise calling someone at www.budgeteuropetravel.com as IME- long experience of buying railpasses from there they give great personal service - and check www.raileurope.com too and www.acprail.com

OK -- the trains are pretty much out since your mother can't help w/ the bags. On trains you roll/carry the bags on to the platform, on to the train and into the luggage racks.

Now, there IS a baggage service available at St Pancras -- but you'd still have to get your luggage to the office and there is no guarantee the bags would be on the same train.You might have to go back to Gare du Nord in Paris to collect your bags later. That would be a huge hassle.

(It is <u>St. Pancras</u> in London - that is the station where you would catch the Eurostar train to Paris)

So if it was me -- I'd take a taxi from the port to Southampton airport, use a luggage trolley, check your bags and be done w/ it. At CDG again use a luggage trolley out to the taxi rank and take a cab to your hotel.

This is BY FAR easier than schlepping across southern England/London and 3 train stations.

OR pack light and only use carry on sized luggage -- not likely :)

spoke to cruiseline.. can get off ship earliest 7 am.. They WILL only provide transfers to Gatwick or LHR no where else..
We are on our own for train stations and for SH airport. He had no idea how close by it was or wasn't.
So.. this leaves us with taking a cab or car service to SH airport.. (spend day in SH) not sure where our luggage will be..
Take transfer to LHR or gatwick and just fly to CDG.
Tell them early flight regardless and get off express early. Get out of SH..

http://www.visit-southampton.co.uk/site/faqs

According to this, a taxi from the docks to the airport is reasonable:
<i>Taxis waiting at the airport charge £ 15 - 16 to the city centre and £19 - 20 to the cruise terminals.

A pre-booked taxi will charge £10 - 11 to the city centre and £14 - 15 to the cruise terminals.</i>

I would just take a taxi to the aiport. Given that you have luggage constraints and a traveling partner that can't really help, I think it is your best option. I would be ready to get off the cruise as close to first as possible. Either catch a taxi or have one pre-booked and make hay for the airport.

"<i>spoke to cruiseline.. can get off ship earliest 7 am.. They WILL only provide transfers to Gatwick or LHR no where else..</i>"

No big deal IMO -- just take a taxi to the airport. Disembarking at 0700-0730 will give you plenty of time to get to the airport. It is less than 5 miles and take maybe 15 minutes at 0700.

<<< Take transfer to LHR or gatwick and just fly to CDG. >>>

There are no flights to Paris from Gatwick.

What Janis said. Now we have more info about your arrival time at Southampton docks, you'd EASILY catch the 09:25 flight to Paris Orly on Air France. As a local, I can tell you that the roads will be quiet that time on a Saturday morning and it's no distance at all from the dockyard to the airport. A piece of cake for a local taxi - no real problem if the cruise line won't organise this for you.