How to get cheap Eurostar First Class tickets
 

If this is old news, forgive me.

I have been booking advance train tickets for some travel that my daughter and I will be doing this summer. I've got to say the German rail site is the only one that seems to want any business. There are lots of advance purchase discounts.

Anyway, it's possible to buy Eurostar tickets through the German rail site if one's final destination is Germany. Most German destinations are eligible for heavily discounted advance-purchase fares. These are really only a "great" deal for the western part of Germany, all the way east to Stuttgart. And they are great deals, with the total ticket cost generally being little more than the base Eurostar ticket, and the first-class cost often being less.

For example, I am traveling with my daughter from London to Koblenz. The fare options I was given were 114 euros second class or 196 euros first class (the 2nd class fare would have been 136 euros with two adults). The price difference for the most heavily discounted ticket, London-to Brussels on the Eurostar site is $230. The price difference by buying on the German site is roughly $108, and includes first class all the way to Koblenz.

Everyone talks about how nice the regular Eurostar and ICE trains are, and that first class is a waste of money. But my daughter and I are going to on trains for almost nine hours to get to Koblenz. From there we will take another train for an hour to get to Trier. I find $54 each a small price to pay for first class. I am really not concerned about being served sub-standard food in the Leisure Select class. What I want is plenty of room to call my own. Same for the ICE train. There is certainly a limit to what I would pay for first class, but $54 isn't it for this trip.

One more comment. I really love the German rail site. It has some incredibly low fares on trips that are booked in advance. Children seem to be included for free in these fares, so for a parent with children the fares are absurdly low. The Dutch and Belgian train sites won't even quote me a ticket when I mix an adult with a child. So anyone planning a trip to Europe might consider a way to make a German city or cities a part of their trip. It can cut down on travel costs.

Which Dutch site? NS.nl or NSHispeed.nl?

Within the Netherlands children between 4 and 11 travel for €2,50 with a fare paying adult. Over that they pay the full fare.

On the NShispeed site you just add a child to the selection, no problem.

hetismij2,

"Youths" traveling alone get a lower fare than adults traveling alone on at least some advance purchase fares. For example, I just did a dummy price request, and for a 12- to 25-year-old the Brussels to Amsterdam price came out to 23.40 euros. For an adult on the exact same trip the cost is 36 euros. But the two CANNOT be booked together. So to get the lower fare I would have to book myself and then book my daughter and hope the seats worked out okay. Just a huge hassle.

From their website when you pick the passengers: "Combination youth / adult / senior citizen is currently not possible. If necessary, you can make separate bookings, but then it is possible that you may not be seated together."

This is on the NShispeed site. The Belgian site is equally bad.

FHurdle, thank you! Making a relatively late (3 weeks out) booking on Eurostar London-Frankfurt and you saved my family over $500 with this little tip. The Bahn site is great and you were 100% right about the deep discounts on the spendy Chunnel portion. Keep postin'...
TravFam