Taking cat to London via Paris

She takes eurolines, but Google says Megabus does it as well.  I think the journey is long, like 8 hours or something but the MIL likes it because she can get out during the ferry ride

Seriously though, when all is said and done this will only save you a few quid and turn a 8 hour flight into a 24 hour hellish ordeal. 

The migrants aren't your only problem (btw, I love and support migrants, including the ones at Calais.  I'm a migrant to.  They are not to be blamed .  We should make Tony Blair and David Camerron walk through the channel tunnel to flee Isis if there was any justice in this world). At best, you'll just have to deal with incompetent transportation, they cancelled two trains last month because the sun was in the drivers eyes...




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Are you absolutely certain that you can bring a cat from Paris to London without some complicated arrangements?  I'm not a pet owner , but there is a border and they always ask me about pets whenever I cross it.  Maybe there's a reason the Eurostar  won't allow It


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Are you absolutely certain that you can bring a cat from Paris to London without some complicated arrangements?

Once she's approved to enter France, she's free to move throughout the EU for four months. They'd just have to check her paperwork at the Eurotunnel Pet Reception.

Normally I'm not averse to spending a bit more for the sake of convenience, but when I was doing the research for coordinating a cargo shipping to the UK, it was really confusing. The websites were incredibly opaque when it comes to costs/logistics. And there's always a chance that a pet booking can get cancelled. Even when we arrive in London they will have control over my cat the entire time, and I will have to travel to the Heathrow Pet Holding Area to collect her. That process itself can take hours. I also like the idea of having her with me at all times because it will be less stress for her if I'm with her. I decided to go this route after reading other threads in this forum about those who went to London via Paris with pets and said the process was so much smoother than going directly to the UK.

The pet moving process is hellish no matter what. I guess it's just a matter of which sort of hell is more tolerable.

Just checked the bus websites. They're really cheap, but no word whatsoever on whether they allow pets (so I'm thinking that's a no), and 8 hours is a *very* long ride.

OK then, I wouldn't give up on the various bus companies, they are going to be more relaxed by nature than a train or airline.  However, I think the real solution is for your husband to organise a friend with a car to pick you up at the Calais TGV station.  I've done this before with the MIL and it's an easy day trip from London.  If you pay for the tunnel and some wine, somebody should be willing to do it for him.  Expecting somebody to drive all the way to Paris is a big ask, but Calais should be ok. 





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If you are a confident and adventurous driver, you could rent a car at the Calais train station and drive it through the tunnel and up to London.  That would avoid Paris which is a huge deal.  You could even park the car at a tube station outside of London if you are scared to drive in central London.  When you are ready, pick up the car and drive back to Calais and give it back.  Spend a Romantic time in Bolougne Sur Mer, then catch the Eurostar back to London


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The TGV terminal for Calais is a tiny place in the middle of nowhere with nothing but a cafe and a car rental desk.  It's easy highway through the tunnel and all the way to London


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I certainly could look into hiring a car myself. I lived in Japan for four years where they also drive on the left. I was a kid and always a passenger, but it wasn't *horribly* disorienting. I still think I'd rather just take the National Rail to London, though.

The TGV train has a station right at the airport in Paris that will go to Calais with one change. I can always by a flexible/exchangeable ticket in case things get delayed.

Yes, you certainly want to take the train to London if you can.  Driving from Paris will be impossible, driving from Calais might be OK.

All those earlier suggestions were assuming that you can't rent a car in France and return it in London as was suggested earlier.  I'd think you can't do that but I could be wrong.

Actually, you probably will want to sleep in Paris immediately after landing, then plan the trip to London for the next day


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I'll be offline for a bit, good luck!


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I will be flying from Montreal to Paris which is a 6 hour flight and usually red eye. Will be landing about 8 or 9 in the morning so we'll have the full day ahead of us. Will take train from Paris to Calais and then try and find a ride to Folkestone via channel. Then take train again. I think this is the quickest way going this route and hopefully gets us to London by dinnertime.

You should check the train schedule from Folkstone, that might be a problem.  I know there is good service from ash ford so that might be a possibility


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Actually, ignore that last post, there are plenty of trains from Folkstone to London, takes about an hour.

The only red flag I see with your plan is the bit from Calais to Folkstone.  If you can't take the ferry and you don't have a car, you are screwed.  That route is really geared towards driving and there will be limited options by foot.  Not impossible if you plan it carefully though


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Yes, I was planning on using the taxi service if we don't find a friend who would be willing to help. They charge about £100 to shuttle a person and cat from Calais to Folkestone, plus the regular £78 crossing fee. So pretty pricey, but necessary when there's no other option.

We found out there is a ferry that will go from Dieppe to Newhaven that will take pets with foot passengers, but it's about a 4 hour crossing with only two crossings a day--very early and very late--and that might extend the journey a bit too long.

That taxi option sounds Ok.  The price they are quoting for the ferry crossing sounds reasonable as well.  It can be much  more expensive during busy times , like £200 during the school holidays so you may want to watch that.

I've taken the Newhaven Dieppe ferry a few times as well and that might be a decent option for you if the taxi doesn't work out for some reason.  Dieppe is far from Paris so it might take a while to get there, but Newhaven is next to Brighton and will be decently connected to London.  You are correct that this option will extend your journey significantly.

So far, the taxi sounds best.   Perhaps you could find a firm in the UK that does it so there isn't a language issue.  Otherwise, If you need my French wife to call them to check on the details just let me know.


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