Heathrow to North East & London & Paris

My sister might visit this summer in June.  The closest airport to us in NCL so it always gets pricey to make that connecting flight.  We are considering her going to Heathrow and maybe we meet there and we do London first maybe Eurostar to Paris then maybe head north to our village.  I know she would have to depart from Heathrow so it might not be an option if getting north is expensive anyhow.  Unless there is a way to depart out of NCL without needing a one way flight out of each airport given that one way tickets tend to be expensive.

Does anyone know how easy it is to do train from London up north or bus up and how long a ride or price.  It is it maybe cheaper hopping on an internal flight? I think train looked like 6 hours but not sure that is right.

Anyone know of any good air bnb rentals in London and Paris to recommend for 4 people?

Suggestions on how save $$ appreciated.  My US license is over in May and unlikely I will have UK license by then so public transport will be our only option.

Depending on where she is coming from in the US, she might be able to fly straight into Edinburgh, (missing out Heathrow altogether) then get the train down to you from there.

Have you tried booking as "multi-stop" ticket and seeing what the price of flying in to one and out of another is vs one-ways?

Have you tried booking as "multi-stop" ticket and seeing what the price of flying in to one and out of another is vs one-ways?

She would fly out of IAD Washington Dulles.  I will have to look at that, for some reason I thought multi stop flights were  essentially one way tickets, but I will see if it’s cheaper.  I had not thought about Edinburgh but looks like that is approx 3 hours from us, we are in County Durham.

Once you know what your dates and journeys will be, plan to book your train tickets in advance, you'll save a LOT over the regular fares!

She would fly out of IAD Washington Dulles.  I will have to look at that, for some reason I thought multi stop flights were  essentially one way tickets, but I will see if it’s cheaper.  I had not thought about Edinburgh but looks like that is approx 3 hours from us, we are in County Durham.

I think they are essentially one ways but it makes it easier I think having them all booked in under one trip. Not sure how it impacts pricing but I think it might be worth looking just to see. Could you do a day in London on each side of the trip if she ends up needing to fly in/out of LHR?

I do't know if this is any help but I found this news item:

United Airlines will operate the daily service between Edinburgh Airport and Dulles International Airport, Washington DC from 23 May next year.

That was posted in 2017.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-41254673

As said - don't know if that is any help.

There is a direct train from Edinburgh to Durham which takes 1 hour, 45 minutes.

Also, consider leaving from Edinburgh to go to Paris. The Eurostar is great, if you live in London, but getting to London can be a hassle. You can go on Flybe from Edinburgh to Paris in about 2 hours and if you book in advance it can be very cheap. And the rail links from Edinburgh Waverley to the airport are really easy and quick.

Anything from the US into a regional airport in the summer is going to be pricey, so you may want to make a triangle with open jaw tickets (returning from a different airport). United is running its seasonal non-stop to EDI this year, but those tickets are over £800.

Checking an open-jaw flight for two weeks - IAD-LHR and return CDG-IAD will run about £682 on a mixture of Virgin Atlantic and Air France (gotta call VA) or £750 through Delta (you may need to play with dates to find availability):

https://goo.gl/flights/GkbrE


You can then fly EDI to CDG on Air France for £37-60 each non-stop (note some of these are operated by Hop! which is the low cost AF option, or SqueezyJet):

https://goo.gl/flights/WtFmj

Also note that there are flights from Newcastle direct to Paris for about the same price (£70).

So that would get her to arrive into London on a nonstop flight (none of this stopping in Dublin on a cheaper Aer Lingus on a poorer airline), you can do London and then leave from KX on a proper train (i drop my buddy off on that train once a month - its a very nice Virgin train) without schlepping back out to an airport and she can see some sights on the way up to your town. Then you can fly to Paris and she can fly home from there (on a very nice A380 AF flight with extra legroom). All (for her) for about £850 or so. Not bad for June in two heavily touristed countries.

For you to get down to LHR to pick her up - check out Flybe for decent fares from EDI, otherwise there are internal BA flights direct. Don't be afraid to look for a one-way!

Also, I would suggest booking trains as soon as you know your dates - they can be heaving with Asian tourists going to York and Edinburgh, especially in summer.


One last thing - checking all DC airports to EDI direct in June is turning up WOW air (transfer through Iceland - they are fine but no frills, like flying Spirit longhaul, in a single aisle aircraft, from Baltimore), or Aer Lingus and Stobart Air via Dublin for about £500.

Also, don't forget to check going the other way: IAD-CDG, LHR-IAD - Here is one on United:

https://goo.gl/flights/wiiqA

for £582 that is bookable.  You may have to play around with dates on the drop-down calendar, but it is possible with some imagination! You pick her up in Paris, fly to your hometown, and then down to London where she catches her flight home.  BA is £64 one way to Newcastle from LHR - take the train down and fly home (it will probably work out cheaper that way anyway) so that you arent doubling back into LHR.

There is a direct train from Edinburgh to Durham which takes 1 hour, 45 minutes.

Ok need to look into this, thank you!

This site is handy for trains.

https://www.thetrainline.com

As everyone says, booked ahead saves a LOT of money.

We live in the NE and always avoid Heathrow or Gatwick these days. Edinburgh is a good idea but we usually fly into Manchester and get the Transpennine Express which has a terminal in the airport that one walks to.  For towns in Durham you would change in York.  I just did a quick check on trainline for getting to Darlington from Manchester Airport and there is a train every 30 minutes, it takes between 2 and 2.5 hours and an anytime day single costs £61.50