London to Paris. Fly or chunnel?
 

We are a family of five; kids are 16, 14 and 11. We will be in London for 2 weeks in August, but want to take a short (3 night) trip to Paris during that time. Are there advantages, in terms of time and/or money, between taking the chunnel or flying?

Compare all the costs and convenience issues. I suspect flying will be cheapest, but maybe you can find a special deal for the train. The two airlines to consider are BMI and EasyJet. Many here do not like to fly the route, but I found it easy and convenient. Once I arrived at CDG, I took the Air France bus to my hotel.

The main advantage to taking the Eurostar is that it takes you from the centre of London/Paris straight to the other city centre. No airport transfers, no train tickets to purchase. With five of you, it may be less hassle to catch the train. Also, sometimes special discounts are offered on the British Eurostar website that aren't offered on the French one, and vice versa, so check the website as well as the travel agency.

I think you might get youth discounts on the train, which you wouldn't get, or not so much at least, on the plane. Also the center to center thing and shorter check-in time for the train is a huge advantage. Third of all: I think this high speed train goin under a chunnel is a quite more unique experience than flying.

I just got back from a London/Paris jaunt and using the EuroStar train. My son got a great rate as a student on the train, and my rate wasn't bad---because I booked in advance. The train ride was nice---got to see the countryside in England and in France, and I think faster than flying. Also got to do some great people watching on the train. I think your children would love it---they can get some great snacks on the train which is fun for kids.

I would recommend the train...it'll save you time getting to/from the airport, and let you have a new experience of taking the Eurostar through the Chunnel, which is neat. It'll also probably be cheaper, especially if you buy before you go.

My husband and I have used Mele, an agent in Hawaii who will ship your tickets to you and get the best rate. You can buy up to 180 days in advance (it used to be 120 days, but they changed it -- I'm going in September and already have mine).

Check her out at http://www.meleterc.com/

Another upside is your kids will get to see a little bit of the French countryside from the ground.

Good luck!

Jules

From a standing start in downtown London, there is no question you can be in central Paris faster by train. With the student fares, it's also likely to be cheaper. And, as pointed out above, it's more fun and interesting.

You can check Eurostar fares for various countries by deleting any eurostar.com cookies you've accumulated, and then sign in as if you were from US, UK or France. Check the specials - some of them are remarkably cheap.

By the way, my husband and I booked RT tickets (Leisure Fare) 2nd class for $94 each. I'm sure it would be less for kids especially if you book in advance.

In our case, we're not going back to London -- but we booked RT anyway because it was $150 one way -- we just won't get on the return train.

Good luck.

Julie

Oh, I hate to be the language police on this... but I'm surprised that no one else yet has commented on the <u>distinctly</u> &quot;out-of-fashion&quot; use of the term &quot;chunnel&quot; - - presumbly created by newspaper headline writers to save space.

You don't <i>take</i> &quot;the chunnel&quot;; you take the train called the Eurostar.

And it travels by way of <i>the channel tunnel</i>.

Best wishes,

Rex

Thanks everyone for your input, practical as well as semantic. It seems to be unanimous that The Eurostar (!) is the way to go.