Eurostar

Avoiding airport hassles is the main reason!
The train is almost always more pleasant... just takes longer.

Hum, Easyjet is cheaper than Eurostar for Paris as well. Any reason to  use eurostar over Easyjet except avoiding airport stuff?

It's gentler on the environment too.

Before you assume that EasyJet will be cheaper, I would first have a look at the train timetable and prices and see how much it will be to get to the airport. It can often be a false economy with EasyJet when you factor in the travel time and prices to get to the airports that they fly out of.

You also have to factor in the time/expense of getting into Paris from the airport.

Plus, the new Eurstar station at St. Pancras is really nice! Worth a look even if you end up flying.

Another big plus about taking the Eurostar to Paris is that it goes directly into central Paris.  Traffic from the airport into Paris can be awful.

False economy indeed!  If EasyJet is anything like Jet2 (based here in Leeds-Bradford) and I think it is - they charge you for every little extra thing!  In the instance of Jet2, although they advertised one price on the website that you thought you were getting, they tacked on more miscellaneous charges when we went to pay.  They charged us for the privilege of paying (wtf?!) using our credit/debit card - but of course there's no other option.  They charged us for any bags we checked.  They charge if you want to pre-select a seat (of course this is completely optional but saved us waiting in an endless check-in queue at the airport that literally snaked out & around the parking lot here at LBI).  And there ain't no free peanuts or soft drinks on the flight either.  Plus the hassle of the airports.  We flew Jet2 in May to Cyprus - and the experience was just beyond awful!

Conversely, one of the best, most relaxing (though lengthy) trips we took was when we traveled rail all the way from Leeds to London, London to Paris, Paris to Madrid (had a sleeper car for that leg).  This was before the new Eurostar/St Pancras station - so we had to get across from Kings Cross to Waterloo in London at the time.  I've over the moon about the St Pancras thing & can't wait to try it - so easy to come into Kings Cross & there's St Pancras, etc.  I am definitely sold on European rail travel & will try to do that - rather than fly - as much as possible in the future.  I am so put off flying anymore anyway - between the abysmal airline service, security hassles, etc.  And rail is better for the environment too!

Good to know! We'll stick to Eurostar for Paris and we'll have to figure out what's best for Amsterdam.

Flying into Amsterdam is a different proposition - as long as your research indicates that Easyjet would definitely be the most inexpensive deal.  IMO, Schiphol is one of the best airports around & it's a dawdle to get from Schiphol to Centraal Station-Amsterdam - only about 3-4 euro on the train, 20 minute journey - trains run about 6 times an hour, etc.  Like London to Paris, London to Amsterdam would be a quick flight.  By rail would be much longer - I think you'd go to Brussels and then change up to Amsterdam.

Even so, next time we go to Amsterdam (from Leeds), we'll probably go the long way - taking the ferry from Hull, and then traveling up through the Netherlands on the train.

(I simply do not want to give Jet2 any more of my business!)

If you are going to Amsterdam in a seperate trip, you can either go by Eurostar (I think I changed at Brussels when I did this a couple of years ago) or by ferry.  You will probably find that if you book the eurostar plus train to Amsterdam that it is not much more expensive than a simple return to Brussels, and the trains are great!

The ferry isn't too bad either.  Get the train from Liverpool Street to Harwich, then straight on the ferry to The Hook of Holland (you can do this overnight or during the day) and then a train up to Amsterdam.  This is probably a pretty cheap route - I did it years ago, before there was a Eurostar!


Vicky

Thanks a bunch for all the info. That's weird because when I do a US search for the exact same dates/times as x2 adult it says $247.00 for just one way. For the UK site it's 59.99 GBP for 2 adults for one way, or $120.00. You searched the same way?

That's strange, I did a quick US search last night and it came up with $123.50, but now when I do it, it says $247 each way - the same as you got. I'm not sure what's going on with it (although if you click 'earlier trains' or 'later trains' you can find cheaper journeys for $165 (the 5.25am train, for example)).

I'm also not sure why it should be so much more expensive for the US search than the UK search, since it's for the same seats and the same class - they ought be the same price wherever you book it.

They ought be the same price wherever you book it.

Tell me about it  .

So Victoria, let me make sure I got that right. We'd Eurostar into Brussels and then take a train from there to Amsterdam?

We might have to just do our Paris and Amsterdam trip at once to save money. What do you guys think, would it be a decent save? We'd Eurostar into Paris and then be on the right continent and could just take a train from Paris to Amsterdam or from Paris to Brussels to Amsterdam and not worry about crossing continents again. We'd be away from London for 4 days which would kind of suck and be a little difficult but it would save some cash and convenience and frankly I really want to go on a few train rides, preferably scenic ones. I've never been on a train yet always loved them!

The ferry isn't too bad either.  Get the train from Liverpool Street to Harwich, then straight on the ferry to The Hook of Holland (you can do this overnight or during the day) and then a train up to Amsterdam.  This is probably a pretty cheap route - I did it years ago, before there was a Eurostar!
Vicky

They no longer have the express ferry from Harwich to the Hook of Holland, they stopped that service a couple of years ago which is a shame as that is the way we used to go as well.

That's strange, I did a quick US search last night and it came up with $123.50, but now when I do it, it says $247 each way - the same as you got. I'm not sure what's going on with it (although if you click 'earlier trains' or 'later trains' you can find cheaper journeys for $165 (the 5.25am train, for example)).
/quote]

The Eurostar is constantly changing their fares as their fare structure is based on several criteria, such as number of days in advance of travel the tickets are booked.  This may be why the fare went up over night.

Is there a reason we shouldn't try to save £15 by booking Eurostar extremely early (4:00-5:30am.)? Will we not be able to find a bus or tube that early and end up losing more money from a cab?

What's the cheapest or best overall train service for long journeys in Europe? I did some searches, but you guys always know best! We're tickling our curiosity at the cost/time of taking a train from Amsterdam to Rome or from Paris to Rome.

The Eurostar is constantly changing their fares as their fare structure is based on several criteria, such as number of days in advance of travel the tickets are booked.  This may be why the fare went up over night.

Sure, I get that the prices might change overnight, but the issue I don't understand is that the prices in dollars have changed but the prices in pounds haven't.

If you log in as a US resident, 2 adult tickets cost $493 return (so about £250). If you log in as a UK resident, the same tickets cost £118 - this is what's causing us most of the confusion. I don't think they ought to be charging you more than double the amount for the same tickets just because you live in the US.

So Victoria, let me make sure I got that right. We'd Eurostar into Brussels and then take a train from there to Amsterdam?

I *think* it changed at Brussels, but you can check the route ont he Eurostar website.

Vicky

About time you start thinking and getting excited about the travel opportunities outside of the UK! 

I'd suggest flying to Rome first then rail through Italy. Costs are reasonable even without advance booking like you need to with Eurostar or airlines although you may need to make a reservation on some mainlines or sleeper trains.

Italy to Paris is an overnighter. I've done it from Venice. Do Paris and then train to Amsterdam (most likely a change in Brussels) and take the overnight ferry back to Hull, England and train to London.

http://www.stenaline.co.uk/ferry/rail-and-sail/holland/

I like travel planning.