Eurostar 94USD o/w Paris-London - is this a good price?

Hi all.

I%26#39;ve been checking out the US version of the Eurostar site whcih has a o/w fare from Paris to London in early Oct. I just want people%26#39;s opinion if this is a good price.

The downside is that it%26#39;s a very early train (approx 7.15am). This is doable (no partying the night before sadly) but if history shows there will be better/equivalent prices on the other versions of the Eurostar website, then I%26#39;ll wait until they come available and leave an hour or 2 later.

Decisions, decisions....

Thanks, Mez.

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The lowest one-way Eurostar fares were 59 € (approx. $77) this past winter...but I%26#39;m pretty sure those fares are over...so $94 US sounds pretty good for October.....but since you can%26#39;t book a Eurostar ticket on-line more than 90 (or is it 120) days in advance of travel...you%26#39;ll have to wait anyway...and continue to search forand lower %26#39;..specials..%26#39; and %26#39;..promotions..%26#39; through Eurostar, SNCF and anywhere else that comes to mind.

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Now I%26#39;m confused.

I thought that the US-version site allows you to book further in advance than the other versions. Is that not the case?

Looking at the US version, I can see dates and prices up to Jan 08. The other versions still don%26#39;t give me a look-in (because it%26#39;s not within the 90/120 day limit).

Thanks.

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That is way cheap. Mine costed like 400 dollars round trip. Only because I did not plan it in advance.

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%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;I thought that the US-version site allows you to book further in advance than the other versions. Is that not the case?%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;

hat I suspect you consider to be the %26quot;..US version..%26quot; is actually the RaileEurope web site, which is %26#39;technically%26#39; the exclusive US %26#39;..agent..%26#39; for Eurostar....but RailEurope is almost always more expensive (and adds its own handling fee) than booking directly and often doesn%26#39;t show you all of the fare and schedule options available.

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I%26#39;d say $94 is darn good, especially with weak dollar these days. I think I paid something like $130 the last time I used Eurostar. I%26#39;d book it right away unless I%26#39;m not sure about the dates.

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My understanding is that the cost goes up the longer you wait -- I don%26#39;t think there are last-minute discounts, though I could be wrong. I took the Eurostar from London to Paris in 2004 and paid over $100, I%26#39;m sure -- I think I booked about 2-3 weeks ahead of time. And the dollar is doing worse now than it was then against both the pound and the dollar. So I think $94 is a good price. That said, I would rather spend a little more and leave at a more reasonable hour! It would be worth checking out the cost if you were leaving in the near future (i.e., the highest rate) -- if it%26#39;s not much more perhaps you should wait.

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For some months now it has been known that the one case in which it is *usually* less expensive to use the N. American RailEurope site is when you are booking *one way* tickets (and only on way tickets) on the N. American Eurostar site.

Currently the cheapest RT tickets on the French site are 77€ (~$104). The lowest one way fares are a somewhat absurd 232€50. On the UK site the lowest RT fares are £59 (~$116) an d the lowest one way fares an equally absurd £155.

The lowest one way fare I can find on the US site is the same $94 that you found for October, Mez. Provided you have the option to pick up your ticket in Paris and do not have to pay shipping charges I think you should just go ahead and book it, though I don%26#39;t think you need to be in any rush about it. If you do have to pay shipping charges then booking the cheapest RT fare you can, presumably 77€, *exactly* 120 days before youur travel date will perhaps save you a few $$.

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Thanks for the info everyone.

I think the good price is only because it%26#39;s such an early departure. But what do you do? Leave Paris at a later time only to reduce the amount of time in London? Such a tough choice - lol.

I%26#39;ll take a look at the site again on Mon morning at work (that%26#39;s where the US site cookies are loaded) and but it if it%26#39;s still available.

Even if I hold out and buy a return ticket for 77 euro (assuming that%26#39;s the price), the USD ticket converts to a cheaper AUD amount.

And don%26#39;t worry - I%26#39;m not into paying shipping charges for nothing. I%26#39;ll be arriving in Paris from Brussels. As they both stop at Gare du Nord, I assume I can pick up the ticket then.

Mez.

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I%26#39;m a bit puzzled by your suggestion that the $94 fare is only available for an early departure. I just took a look at a few random weekday dates in early and mid-October and that one-way fare is showing up for every train on every day I looked. There are something like 15 daily departures from Paris to London and I found the same fare on all of them from about 07:00 to about 20:00. The same is true for other two or three dates I looked at between mid-July and mid-September. What date specifically are you interested in? Perhaps there is a problem on that specific date..?

You should have no problem picking up your ticket at GduN when you arrive from Brussels. Just be sure that you have the same credit card with you that you used to book the ticket.

BTW, whatever computer you are using if you go to your cookie cache you can delete the eurostar cookies and start fresh using whichever site you choose.

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Have you tried the Raileurope website? They have an american tollfree number that you can call and talk to someone who will help you find the best fare. I talked to someone who was extremely friendly and worked with me for about 1/2 and hour, plugging in every combination until we found a roundtrip ticket for $90 from London to Paris.