If we land at 9:50am at Gatwick...
 

Just curious what you all thought about this...If we land at 9:50am at Gatwick (5 of us), go thru customs etc.. then we take the Thaimeslink train connecting through London Bridge to Waterloo..do you think we can easily make a 1:41pm Channel Tunnel train to Paris? If you think we'll be cutting it too close then I'll buy tickets for the next one at 3:11pm.

4 hours seems like plenty of time, but if you flight is delayed at all or if customs is backed up, it might be tight.

My thought would be to book the later train and if you arrive in time for the earlier one, see if they'll swap tickets (I've done similar).

How long does the train take?

My guess would be this is plenty of time. But bear in mind that the cheapest Eurostar tickets may not really be changeable. When I missed my train in July, I had to wait for a couple of hours for the next train because of the ticket I bought -- but I was grateful that they let me change the ticket for a small fee. Buying a ticket for the very next train would have been 150 pounds or something like that, if I recall.

You will easily make it if your plane lands on time and you disembark on time (or probably even an hour late). But what if your plane is delayed a couple hours, which is not that rare?

That settles it. I have checked and we can change the tickets one time with no penalties etc.. To be safe, I'll buy the 3pm tickets and try to change them if we happen to get there with plenty of time..and there are seats available. Thanks everyone.

BTW - to answer 111op, the train will take about an hour.

I read you are supposed to show up at least 30 minutes in advance for the Eurostar. So that means you should be there by 1:10 PM.

If you land right on time, you can probably get off the plane and through customs and collect your luggage by 11:00 AM. (Maybe sooner, but don't count on it.) Then you have to walk to get to the train platform, and wait for the train.

If you can change your tickets, you should be ok, I think -- my tickets were completely nonchangeable or refundable.

I think that checkin for the Eurostar train closes 10-15 minutes before the scheduled departure. I actually got to the station about when the train was scheduled to depart and printed off my tickets with a minute or two to spare -- but they wouldn't let me in.

Good points to consider. Last thing I want to do is buy 5 more tickets with parents, husband and child in tow! I will play it safe with the later tickets. That's what I was leaning towards anyway but wanted to get your thoughts on whether I was playing it too safe.

Just a thought... If you buy tickets for the earlier train, you will almost definitely have time to change it for the later train if necessary. The reverse may not be true. Why not increase your chances of getting the earlier train?

well the key words are "almost, definitely". The thing is that we're spending $135. each for these tickets and if I don't make it in time then I have to pay the price of the ticket again. I just would rather not start the trip off that way.

Well, if your ticket is changeable, then I guess that's ok -- of course, you want to make sure that it's really changeable.

A last-minute ticket will be much pricier.

they indicated we were allowed one change in the UK.

I think that ssachida's advice makes sense given the ticket is changeable -- but well, I opt for the tightest connections usually.

It sounds really cheap, actually. Is that one-way or round-trip?

And not to throw more wrinkles in, did you consider flying? I don't know what air connections from Gatwick are like though, but it seems worth looking into.

It's one way, and we have a railpass.
We origianlly were going to be spending a couple of days in London before moving on to Paris but changed our mind. The plane tickets have already been purchased and we land in London. We do not want to fly to Paris at this point. I was told, regarding the tickets for the channel tunnel, that if we do not make it to the station by the time we need to be boarded we cannot exchange our tickets for a later train.

So then your tickets are not really exchangeable anyway. Given that there're five tickets involved, I think that the later train is probably less stressful for you. I do think that you've probably enough time for the early train -- but, of course, there're always surprises.

If we miss the train, we have to buy new tickets. If we want to CHANGE the time to another train, (before the one we're booked on leaves) then we're allowed one change. I may not have made that clear.

I think you're right. If we're early and there's seats then we'll get on the earlier one. Case closed. Thanks for helping me think it through.

Actually, that was stupid of me. If you get tickets for the later train and actually arrive prior to the earlier train, then you can still change your tickets (because you've obviously arrived before the scheduled departure time).

So I guess the answer must be that you get tickets for the later train, and you switch to the early train if you arrive way too early.

Aren't there trains that connect from LGW to the Ashford International Eurostar station in Kent, thereby allowing you to skip going into London altogether?

Answer, yes I think so, with a 5-minute train change at Tonbridge. Look at http://nationalrail.co.uk. Around £15 one way for adults.

Also there are car companies that will take the 5 of you directly to Ashford for £100 or so, which sounds competitive with all the train yoga; proabably comfier and faster, too.

Unless you're desperate for the Joy of Waterloo. Not.