Eurostar: London to Paris, how to get the best deal??
Feb 11th, 2003, 06:51 PM
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Eurostar: London to Paris, how to get the best deal??
Does anyone have any secrets they can share about getting a good fare on the Eurostar, channel to Paris from London? It is pretty darn pricey right now.<BR><BR>Thanks!<BR>Lisa
Feb 11th, 2003, 08:22 PM
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hi littletraveler,<BR><BR>if you are in the states the best way to get the best deal is to call eurostar directly in london. do not purchase online. unless this has changed in the last couple of months eurostar contracts with a middle man in the states for ONLINE BOOKING and they charge a higher fee for the services. you cannot get the lower rate by waiting to purchase in london unless you have a london address. <BR><BR>our last trip in 2001 we also were trying to find a better price. i noticed when we used a usa mailing address that we were diverted to another site where the rates were higher online than if we selected a uk address.<BR><BR>we asked someone on this site about that and they told us that if you were purchasing in the uk with a uk address that you got a better rate. if you were purchasing from usa onlne you were diverted to that middle man.<BR><BR>do a search on this site for eurostar and you should find the telephone number.<BR><BR>we tried it and it worked. we saved about 30% and paid for our tickets by phone direct to eurostar. the difference for us was significant because we were 5 travelers. by doing this we were able to purchase roundtrip london to paris first class for about $160 vs the online price of $250.<BR><BR>now as to the best ticket to buy it will just depend on what you are doing. one way tickets london to paris are always much more expensive. they sell what is called a 14 day advance leisure return ticket that is the best deal. it is non refundable and non transferrable. you must purchased at least 14 days in advance. you can't purchase them more than 90 days in advance of your return date.<BR><BR>try searching on this site under "eurostar".<BR><BR>hope this helps!<BR><BR>
Feb 11th, 2003, 08:52 PM
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hi again,<BR><BR>One more mention. The 14 day ticket you must stay over in paris at least one or two days. if you purchsed by phone have them set your seat reservations right then on the phone and mail your tickets direct to you in the states. <BR><BR>although they say it is not transferable or refundable, we actually missed our train on the return because of a mix up. the eurostar booth in paris just worked us in on the next train. (we were scared to death that we would have to pay again).<BR><BR>I did a search and came up with these two posts. on both the phone number is the same:<BR><BR>Author: Annette<BR>Date: 11/05/2002, 12:03 pm <BR>Message: Pat-<BR><BR>I took the Eurostar in Oct, paid £70 r/t weekend return (2nd class). I booked directly, by calling Eurostar at 0870 5186 186. (If calling from the U.S. dial 011-44-870-5186-186). <BR><BR>I had a pleasant experience all around (except for missing my train, but that was totally my fault).<BR><BR>Do a search here, you'll find plenty of information. (Also, if I recall correctly, the London-Paris route had been disrupted, you might want to check on that for the latest info). <BR><BR>Author: sandy ([email protected]) <BR>Date: 6/24/2001, 8:49 pm ET <BR><BR>Message: hi smccallum, <BR><BR>i know this one! yeah one i can answer! <BR><BR>we are taking the eurostar in october and had heard the same thing but couldn't find it on the net. <BR><BR>the reason is that the raileurope site is the franchise that sells eurostar in the states and apparently there is quite a markup online. you can't purchase direct online from euorstar with an american address because of this. you notice it always asks for your country of origin. <BR><BR>another poster here gave us the phone number you can call for eurostar direct and you can purchase from them with a us address and have tickets mailed to you in about 5-7 days. <BR><BR>the number he gave was: <BR><BR>011448705186186 <BR><BR>you can purchase via phone via credit: <BR><BR>in both standard and 1st class the tickets must be purchased at least 14 days in advance and have either 2 nights away or over saturday stay. NO REFUND OR EXCHANGE. <BR><BR>the fares are : <BR><BR>standard 14 day apex return: 70 pds <BR>first class 14 day apex return: 120 pds <BR><BR>
Feb 11th, 2003, 09:01 PM
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Erin - Super helpful info. here! Thank you so much! We are going one way, we are staying in Lodon for 5 nights and then going to Paris for 5 nights, then back to Los Angeles. I will call Eurostar in London and see what the best deal is. 
Feb 12th, 2003, 07:28 AM
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Remember that roundtrip fares are sometimes cheaper than oneway, so be sure to check those. It's also an interesting quirk that roundtrips don't have to be booked in the same class, so you can throw away a cheaper return. We found a "deal" from Paris that had to be bought there, so we asked our hotel to get the tickets before we arrived. No problem.
