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| How Passes Work Plan Your Rail Trip Compare Ticket Costs Using Your Pass Choose and Order |
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The Eurostar zips you from downtown London through the "Chunnel" to downtown Paris (15+/day) or Brussels (10/day) in 2.5 hours, faster and easier than flying. Main stations are London St. Pancras, Paris Nord, and Brussels Midi/Zuid. Some departures also stop at Ebbsfleet, Ashford, Calais, or Lille. Unlike most trains in Western Europe, Eurostar is not covered by any railpass and always requires a separate, reserved ticket.
Map Notes: For the fastest London—Amsterdam route, connect in Brussels or consider flying (see www.easyjet.com). The Paris—Brussels route is served by another fast train (Thalys), not Eurostar.
Tickets between London and Brussels include travel to/from any Belgian city at no additional cost within 24 hours of the Brussels Eurostar arrival or departure (but not on Thalys express trains). Just show the Eurostar ticket when boarding the other train(s). You can also connect free to/from Ebbsfleet and Ashford on the Southeastern Railway network (around Kent) and on Fastrack bus links between Ebbsfleet and local stations nearby.
Security check in is required 30 minutes before departure. Carry-on luggage is limited to two large bags and a small day bag per person. Bags must be tagged with your name and address. Smoking, pets, lab rats, other animals except guide dogs, and dangerous materials are not allowed. Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. Kids under 4 are free when they share your seat.
I choose standard class to save money and have shown only standard class fares in the chart below. First class (also called Leisure Select) gets you a little more leg and elbow room, a newspaper, a classy meal, and power plugs at seats. Business Premier class is only for serious business travelers willing to spend $425 one way.
All Eurostar tickets include a seat reservation for a particular departure (no "open" tickets). If you're ready to commit to a travel date and time, you can sometimes buy tickets up to 9 months in advance, but more commonly starting 6 months out. There's no deadline to purchase, but the number of seats available at each fare is limited (just like with the airlines) and the lowest fares sell out first. Prices can be lower for roundtrip travel; child, youth or senior travelers; and travelers with a valid railpass. Within any one of these categories, multiple fares are listed and the early bird gets the best price. There is no difference in seat or service among these standard class fares. Within any one category (e.g., within the Leisure category or within the Passholder category), roundtrip fares can be mixed and matched so that you get the best available fare for each direction of travel.
Unless you pay full fare (starting at $291 one way), tickets are not refundable. (Just a few are 25% refundable.) Some fares allow you to exchange your ticket once before departure, but others do not. You'll pay the difference between the original ticket price and the fares still available on the date of exchange. Be sure of your plans before you reserve.
The chart below reflects the range of fares for standard (second) class travel between London and Paris or Brussels. Most online ordering systems will show a more limited selection of fares and departures currently available for sale. We recommend ordering the lowest fares offered on your day(s) and time(s) of travel.
European Fares: Fares sold in Europe are similar to U.S. rates but not necessarily the same. You can order them at www.eurostar.com and print tickets at home or pick them up at your departure station. You can also order by phone with a European agent: London 011-44-8705-186-186, Paris 011-33-8-92-35-35-39, Brussels 011-32-2-528-28-28.
| Eurostar Standard Class Fares: London, Ebbsfleet, or Ashford to/from Paris or Brussels | ||||
| Fare Name | One Way | Roundtrip | Who Qualifies | Refund or Exchange |
| Full fare | $291 | $502 | Anyone | Exchanges allowed. Full refund up to 60 days after departure date. |
| Leisure Flexi 1 | $222 | $444 | Anyone | One exchange allowed before departure. 25% refund at place of purchase up to 3 days before departure. |
| Leisure Flexi 2 | $193 | $386 | Anyone | |
| Value 1 | $162 | $240 | Anyone | No refund or exchange. |
| Value 2 | $135 | $202 | ||
| Value 3 | $101 | $160 | ||
| Leisure Daytrip | NA | $107 | Anyone traveling roundtrip in one day. | No refund or exchange. |
| Passholder 1 | $154 | $308 | Traveler with valid, active railpass for England, France, or Belgium. | No refund. One exchange allowed before departure. |
| Passholder 2 | $134 | $268 | ||
| Passholder 3 | $86 | $172 | ||
| Senior 1 | $154 | $308 | Age 60 or over on date of travel. | No refund. One exchange allowed before departure. |
| Senior 2 | $134 | $268 | ||
| Senior 3 | $122 | $244 | ||
| Senior 4 | $100 | $200 | ||
| Youth 1 | $154 | $308 | Under age 26 on date of travel. | No refund. One exchange allowed before departure. |
| Youth 2 | $134 | $268 | ||
| Youth 3 | $122 | $244 | ||
| Youth 4 | $101 | $202 | ||
| Youth 5 | $80 | $160 | ||
| Youth 6 | $67 | $134 | Under age 26 on date of travel. | No refund or exchange. |
| Child | $54 | $108 | Ages 4–11 on date of travel. | Exchanges allowed. 50% refund at place of purchase up to 3 days before departure. |
| Wheelchair User or Companion | $49 | $98 | Wheelchair user and (maximum) one companion. | Reserved space is in first class. Exchanges allowed. Full refund up to 60 days after departure date. Companion fare also available for a companion to a blind traveler (who pays regular fares). Sorry, these fares can't be reserved on this web site. |
| Wheelchair User Child | $41 | $82 | Wheelchair user aged 4–11. | |
| Seats are limited at each rate. Fares are provided by Rail Europe and are subject to change. Prices lower to/from Calais or Lille. | ||||
Rick Steves' ETBD cannot issue Eurostar tickets for the remainder of 2009. See more important notes below. |
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Passholder fare: Travel with a Passholder ticket must take place during the validity period of a railpass that covers one end of that day's Eurostar route (Britain, France, or Belgium). This trip does not use one of your counted travel days on a flexipass. However, both flexi- and consecutive-type passes must be validated. For instance, if you have a Passholder ticket from London to Paris and a Eurailpass for use on the continent, then you must have the Eurailpass validated at the station in London before boarding the Eurostar train. Class of service for this trip (first or standard) need not match your railpass.
Passholder discount tickets for Eurostar are sold in the US through the same agents who book passholder Reservations. They are also available in local currency (starting about £50 or €75) at select European locations including Eurostar departure stations, the Eurostar office near London's Victoria station, Euraide offices (Munich Hbf and Berlin Hbf stations), and by phone to the European numbers above, but not at www.eurostar.com. The Passholder fare is often the best rate for adults age 26+ traveling one-way. Those traveling roundtrip, or who qualify for youth/senior/child discounts, should test different options to find the best rates before ordering a ticket.
Roundtrip vs. Open Jaws: Roundtrip discounts (the Same-Day Roundtrip fare and discounted roundtrip rates in the Value category) require travel between the same pair of cities in both directions (e.g., Paris-London-Paris). Open-jaw travel (e.g., Paris-London-Brussels) must be booked as two one-way tickets.
To take a car through the Chunnel, see www.eurotunnel.com.
English Channel by FerryThe old-fashioned way of crossing the Channel is cheaper than Eurostar, but twice as complicated and time-consuming.
Ferry only:
Dover–Calais is served by P&O Ferries (tel. 0870-600-0613, www.posl.com) for about £20 - £40 each way, travel time 70 – 90 minutes.
Travel Harwich–Hoek van Holland by Stena Line for about £25, 6 hours or overnight (tel. 0870-570-7070, www.stenaline.co.uk).
Brittany Ferries serve Poole–Cherbourg, Portsmouth-Cherbourg, and Portsmouth-Ouistreham, starting at about £40 one-way or roundtrip (tel. 0871-244-0744, www.brittanyferries.co.uk).
DFDS Seaways runs overnight services daily from Newcastle to Amsterdam (tel. 0871-522-9955, www.dfdsseaways.com).
All phone numbers in UK. Search and book these ferries and more at www.aferry.to. £1 = about $1.80.
Bus/ferry combo: from London to Paris, Brussels, or Amsterdam, full fare is £40 one-way, £55 roundtrip; special offers as low as £15; 8 hours to Paris or Brussels; 10-12 hours to Amsterdam on Eurolines (tel. 0871-781-8181, www.eurolines.co.uk).
