Tips for cheap Eurostar tickets

THE high-speed rail service from Eurostar has revolutionised travel to France, but how can you pick up a cheap ticket?

There are a wide range of fares on offer so you should take your time on the Eurostar website to make sure you get exactly what you are after.

If you can book well in advance, 60 to 90 days is best, then this will help you get a cheap priced ticket.

However, if this is not possible then the early morning trains that leave before 7.00am are a useful place to start.

And for the return leg try and come back after 7.00pm to get a cheap ticket.

It is also possible to book a cheaper ticket if you are classed as a senior citizen or a youth, but not all tickets provide this option.

So make sure you check first which Eurostar services are available if you are eligible and you will need to provide proof of age when checking in.

To check-in all you need to do is turn up at the gate with your ticket and pop it into the machine.

Wait for it to be returned to you, if it doesn’t staff are on hand to help, then proceed through the gate with your baggage.

Your baggage allowance is a lot more generous than on an airline, and there is no need to check it in as long as you only have two cases and a piece of hand luggage.

If you have something out of the ordinary, like a bicycle, large trunk or skies make sure you mention this when booking.

Then before you know it you will off on your journey, safe in the knowledge that you have got your cheap Eurostar ticket in your pocket.

Enjoy Eurostar high-speed travel to France and Belgium from only £65 return. Take the Eurostar from London or Ashford International to Paris, Lille, Marne la Vallee (Disneyland) and Brussels.

Comments

[Colin]

One way tickets are very expensive. If you only want to go one way, buy a return ticket, with the return dated at least a week after your trip (must include a Saturday away) then throw away the return ticket. You will save a hundred pounds.

[mike J.P. Czetyrbok]

What age is considered a Senior Citizen?

[Paul]

Senior is 60, and makes quite a difference. If you buy a ticket covering a weekend, it will normally be changeable (provided it still includes the weekend of course). You are not generally asked for proof of age, but perhaps I look my 63! On the other hand, SNCF will require the Carte Senior, well worth the money at about €50. It guarantees 25% off, and often gives 50%. First Class for the price of Second, in fact.

[Gina J]

You can also convert Tesco Clubcard vouchers to Eurostar vouchers (Clubcard deals £25 in vouchers gives one standard return), but I haven't tried this so check first for any conditions.

[Craig McGinty]

Hi Gina

Many thanks for that pointer on using Tesco Clubcard points to track down cheaper tickets on Eurostar.

All the best

Craig

[Salvador]

1) Single tickets are available at a reasonable (under 40 euro) price on certain trains (Monday to Thursday, very early in the morning or around the middle of the day) on the Eurostar web site. These prices are offered in both directions but only on the French version of the web site. So you have claim to be in France when you log in. However, the tickets can be sent to an address in either France or the UK.
2) There are always lots of Eurostar tickets on the French E-Bay, sold by people who have had to change their travel plans. For some reason the UK E-Bay site does not allow the sale of Eurostar tickets.

[libby anderson]

anyone know of a reasonably priced hotel when visiting London on the Eurostar please

[Craig McGinty]

Hi Libby

I think a good place to start would be TripAdvisor:

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/

All the best

Craig

[Paul and Pamela Dearing]

Hi Libby

When my friends come to stay in London i book them in Novotel hotels as they have an excellent 'hot deals' range of offers. Sharing a room (twin beds) on these hot deals and offers can bring your personal budget to a comfortable £35 - £45 per person per night. With most hotels it's best to book well in advance. Try it out!

Best wishes Pamela.

[Eurostar scam]

Here is a useful tip if you want to book a ticket FROM London.
- Go to eurostar.com, enter "UK" as country of residence, check the fares
- close the Eurostar page
- now erase your cookies in Internet Explorer (in the "options" menu)
- go back to eurostar.com, select "Spain" as your country of reisdence. Compare the fares.

You will notice that Eurostar fares depend on your country of residence, and you'd better not say it is the UK/France/Belgium or you could be charged up to 30% more on a return ticket. There is no way for Eurostar to check your country of residence so you should not have any worries doing this.

[Eunice]

I'm trying to find tickets for november this year. I was told it was cheaper to book tickets well in advance. However can't seem to find any for these dates. Is it possible to book tickets over 3 months in advance?

Many thanks

[Craig McGinty]

Hi Eunice, I don't think it is possible to book tickets more than 90 days in advance. I'd sign up for the Eurostar newsletter as this will provide up to date info on when tickets are released.
All the best, Craig

[Rhod]

Hi there.

Great tip on changing the location you are in. It is so annoying we get ripped off in the UK! I was quoted £210 for 2 one-way tickets on the UK site, and £52 when I nominated my location as Spain. Even then, the site was in English and I changed my address to a UK address.

I just hope I can pick up the tickets with my UK credit card when I get to Paris Nord!

[Craig McGinty]

Hi Rhod
Many thanks for your comment and I'm glad you were able to use one of the tips to track down a cheap Eurostar ticket.
All the best, Craig

[Richard Langham]

Just arrived back from 4 days in Paris. The seating on the Eurostar train is so uncomfortable, I have had better seats on an ecomony flight to New York. No catering on the train during the return trip to London, NO anouncement made in Paris prior to boarding. Crawled to London from Ashford, no appology on the train. Very distressing. I know now why they are moving the London terminal to St. Pancras from Waterloo in November 2007, the French don't like to keep being reminded of WATERLOO.

[Craig McGinty]

Hi Richard, many thanks for your comment, sounds as though it wasn't your best travel experience. And maybe the Eurostar service is moving because the staff are not Abba fans???
All the best, Craig

[John Armstrong]

Don't forget that the whole Eurostar operation moves from Waterloo to St Pancras International (next door to King's Cross Station) on 14th November 2007. There is also going to be a brand new station at Ebbsfleet in Kent (near Dartford - off Junction 2 of the M25 and close to the Bluewater Shopping Centre). The Ebbsfleet station operates from 19th November 2007

[Craig McGinty]

Hi John
Many thanks for that and it will be interesting to see what the changes to the Eurostar service mean for travel to France.
All the best, Craig

[alex]

Hi! I'm just wondering if anyone has changed country of residence on the Eurostar site and billed/picked up the tickets with a US (or any non-matching country) credit card? I'd hate to be stuck once I get there...

[Peter Rimmer]

Can anyone tell me how you can change the country of residence on the Eurostar site, so as to benefit form the cheaper Eurostar fares from Spain. If so has it proved OK to start your journey in the UK and to pay and pick up tickets.
Thanks Peter

[Craig McGinty]

Hi Peter
You need to delete the cookies from your web browser, which means going into your settings and clearing the saved data.

Then head to the Eurostar site and pick the correct location.

All the best, Craig

[ed209]

I booked some tickets in November. Previously, I had picked Switzerland or Spain as country of residence and had received cheaper prices however they seem to have stopped this practice for all Western European countries.
I was able to receive a 50 Euro discount on our tickets by choosing Russia instead.

[Craig McGinty]

Hi there, that is an interesting observation on booking Eurostar tickets by choosing Russia.
Many thanks, Craig

[steve]

Why is it so difficult to get a ticket from Manchester to Marseille without needing a degree in economics and politics? Why is it so prohibitive pricewise? What madness is it that makes us want to invent a 30% discount in inventing an address in Europe. The whole thing is so crazy and we all go along with it. I want to fly less and I love trains and yet I can go to Marseille for few quid but need a morgage to go by train. Is there anyone out there that can advise me as to how to reduce my carbon footprint without costing the earth. Cheers, Stevie

[June (from Australia)]

Thanks for all the tips re the cheap Eurostar Tickets. That site was much cheaper than the other one I looked at and I saved around 60Euros one way, so thanks heaps.
I'll make sure I pass it on to friends here in Australia.

[Craig McGinty]

Hi June, great to hear you were able to save some money on your Eurostar ticket.

And many thanks for telling your friends about the site, I hope they find plenty of interest.
All the best, Craig

[June]

Craig

Do you have a link to cheap TGV Tickets from Paris to Avignon? I have been searching for a couple of days and don't seem to be able to find anything. Appreciate if you could help out.

Thanks

June

[Craig McGinty]

Hi June, I'm afraid I don't have any specific tips for travel between Paris and Avignon, beyond keeping clear of busy booking periods.
I did notice that the TGV Europe website is featuring some deals at the moment, promising up to 60% off:
http://www.tgv-europe.com/en/home/
All the best
Craig

[Kellie]

I will be traveling to London in the fall. I hope to take a trip into Paris, to go to Disneyland. To get a jumpstart on things, I'm trying to obtain as much info as I can on ways to travel around and to determine how much money I will need. I want to get the cheapest price I can for the Eurostar. Two questions:

1.) Where on the Eurostar site does it request your country of residence? (I am in the United States.) Is it only when you are actually booking the ticket?
2.) Someone mentioned a Eurostar newsletter. Is that still available? I couldn't find it on the Eurostar site.

Any other sites you may know of that would be helpful for my trip (hotel, etc) would be appreciated. Thank you!!!

[Craig McGinty]

Hi Kellie,
If you head to eurostar.com then you should have the option of logging into the US site, one thing to consider is to delete the cookies from your browser if you've already visited the site.
I saw a newsletter subscribe form in the right hand column of the site, towards the bottom.
And it is possible to book a Eurostar + hotel deal that they claim will be cheaper than doing the same separately.
All the best
Craig