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-   -   stanstead to Paris via Eurostar (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/stanstead-to-paris-via-eurostar-633866/)

emtravel Jul 25th, 2006 11:16 AM

stanstead to Paris via Eurostar
 
We are considering to fly to Europe but the best fare I found to Stanstead (STN). I looked and there are no flights STN TO Paris. So we decided to take Eurostar.
There is Stanstead Express which gets us to central London.
Stansted Airport – London Liverpool St (via Tottenham Hale
How long does it take from Liverpool st to Waterloo?
Also my husband has difficulties walking up stairs. So we would like to avoid stairs. If stations to connect have escalators , it is fine.
If not, we will consider hiring a car from airport to Waterloo. But the issue is not the cost but time. With traffic, car will take longer then train.

Or should we take a shuttle to LHR and fly to cdg? I see BMI has flights for $80. Any suggestions.

Dukey Jul 25th, 2006 11:36 AM

Good question...how long would the shuttle to Heathrow take?

How does the flight for $80 compare with the cost of the Eurostar trip?

PalQ Jul 25th, 2006 11:36 AM

You can fly Raynair i believe Stansted to Beauvais, about 45 miles northwest of Paris and then get the Ryanair shuttle bus to central Paris - about $15...www.ryanair.com

Dukey Jul 25th, 2006 11:47 AM

Unfortunately, Ryanair does not fly STN to Beauvais.

PalQ Jul 25th, 2006 11:53 AM

Is it Easyjet or is there no Stansted-Beauvais flights? I thought i've read on here people doing Stansted-Beauvais? Looks like i'm wrong.

janisj Jul 25th, 2006 11:58 AM

How much are you saving flying into Stantead? It would have to be a LOT to make the schlepp from Stansted to Waterloo (and pay for the Eurostar on top of that) even close to worth it.

You are taking much more time/trouble and spending quite a bit to save how much??

Lori Jul 25th, 2006 12:04 PM

You may not care for what I am going to say - but sometimes the "best" fare is best because it is to an out of the way airport, i.e. not convenient for many travelers.

By the time you factor in additional costs to get from one place to another, plus the time element (and possible inconveniece to your husband who has some difficulty with stairs) it might be better to simply fly into Heathrow and connect to a flight to Paris .. or fly to Paris directly from your home city.

I enjoy saving money too, but many times I've opted for convenience over savings when we travel.

I have trouble understanding why someone would want to fly to London and then continue on to Paris via the Eurostar when they are already at an airport to start with. (In your case you can't get there from STN), but many people fly into LHR and then want to go into London and take the Eurostar to continue on to Paris.

alanRow Jul 25th, 2006 01:31 PM

There are no fligths from either Stansted or Gatwick to Paris (even Beauvais).

Easyjet fly to CDG from Luton, there are several companies flying London City & Heathrow to Paris. But transferring between London airports is an expensive & slow process.

If taking the Eurostar is so important - or the flight to Stansted is so cheap, I'd take the BUS - www.nationalexpress.co.uk - to Victoria & get a taxi to Waterloo from there. It shouldn't cost more than £30 in total

Robespierre Jul 25th, 2006 01:50 PM

SX open single to Liverpool Street: £15

#705 bus to Waterloo: £1.50, or taxi £5

All at ground level - and you arrive in downtown Paris, not 20 miles away.

emtravel Jul 25th, 2006 03:56 PM

Thank you for all suggestions.

Oh boy. I asked how to get from STN TO Waterloo and now I need to explain why I am flying to STN. :-)
Ok np.

We arte flying bus class and I am saving $2000 on flying to STN.
We fly Maxjet. DL flies to CDG and I hate to fly DL. Maxjet is a new airline and I want to experience it. Eurostar is also OK. This trip is 4 weeks so we are not in rush. Comfort is more important. We just been in London many times and this time we want to go to Paris and central Europe, back from Berlin.

I just wanted to get to Europe easy and then use internal cheap flights, car and train for inter-European travel.

Indeed, I already checked cheap internal flights and no flights from STN to any airport in Paris.
Only from LHR.

Thank you AlanRow and Robespierre - I will take a look at these options. We enjoy Eurostar so we will probably go this route rather than go through security.
thanks

janisj Jul 25th, 2006 04:51 PM

Have you tried your itinerary in reverse? There are flights from Stansted to Berlin and several places in central Europe. Would this work -- Stansted > Berlin > wherever > Paris and then back to London via Eurostar for a day or so before flying home from Stansted.


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