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I've heard rumors that there are various ways to get cheap tickets for the TGV. Like if you buy them just an hour in advance, or something, or maybe it's the opposite--if you buy them weeks in advance.

Can someone explain to be the general principle at work here, and how I might get the cheapest tickets from Paris to London and back?

― amateur!st (amateurist), Saturday, 1 November 2003 15:23 (twenty-one years ago)

Ah, Paris-London is not TGV it's eurostar and it has a very unfair and crap pricing system (the worst aspects of the british and french systems, plus a few airline style nasties load management). Broadly speaking the further in advance the better, stay a saturday night, and all that kind of bollocks applies.

You'll get a discount if you are under 26 but none of the UK or french railcards apply. Check the budget airlines they may be cheaper (don't forget getting into the centre of cities)

Shout to Eurostar (and the UK rail industry as well) : It's a fucking train, price it like a train and it will not be half empty all the fucking time

― Ed (dali), Saturday, 1 November 2003 16:11 (twenty-one years ago)

really so maybe i should try ez jet or something??

― amateur!st (amateurist), Saturday, 1 November 2003 16:13 (twenty-one years ago)

depends, it will cost at least a tenner to get from Luton, Stanstead or Gatwick to London.

Look at Easy jet, ryanair, British European, Bmi, Bmi baby, even airfrance can have some good student deals.

You'll have to check the web booking systems of them all.

The cheapest way may be Paris-Lille, Lille Ashford, Ashford-London. For the french section there are the Prems on the sncf website, which also last minute deals up to 50% off every tuesday. Don't for get there are various discount cards for sncf whatever age you are and you'll probably work off the cost in a very short time.

― Ed (dali), Saturday, 1 November 2003 16:25 (twenty-one years ago)

ed otm. i have never figured the magic combination of purchase time, travel dates, travel times, etc. that get you a reasonably priced ticket. last time i checked (about a month ago), it was cheaper for me to fly on british airways even figuring in transport.

― lauren (laurenp), Saturday, 1 November 2003 16:37 (twenty-one years ago)

also, in my experience buying eurostar tickets an hour in advance = heartbreak/staggering expense.

― lauren (laurenp), Saturday, 1 November 2003 16:42 (twenty-one years ago)

If it was 20-25 quid each way, any train, turn up and go or book in advance, people would be knocking back and forth from london to paris and vv all the time, instead you have to book months in advance to get a good deal. (I know there are mitigating circumstances; per passenger tunnel access charges etc. but they are coming to an end so this ought to be sorted out, but probably won't be as no one running the railways has any grasp of how to run a railway)

― Ed (dali), Saturday, 1 November 2003 16:54 (twenty-one years ago)

I got a day return for 75 pounds which I figure is cheaper than a return ticket between NYC and DC.

― tokyo rosemary (rosemary), Saturday, 1 November 2003 17:15 (twenty-one years ago)

but compare it to say Paris -Lyon or even Paris-Brussels and its about twice what it ought to be

― Ed (dali), Saturday, 1 November 2003 17:27 (twenty-one years ago)

day return means same day to-fro?

i'll probably be staying a few nights.

i'll check out the airplanes. i hate dealing with travel stuff, makes me want to stay put.

― amateur!st (amateurist), Saturday, 1 November 2003 17:35 (twenty-one years ago)

where is the ezjet web site??

― amateur!st (amateurist), Saturday, 1 November 2003 17:38 (twenty-one years ago)

www.easyjet.com

― joni, Saturday, 1 November 2003 17:43 (twenty-one years ago)

where is london luton? is it hard to get to central london from there?

the easyjet fares are incredible. is there a catch??

― amateur!st (amateurist), Saturday, 1 November 2003 17:44 (twenty-one years ago)

with taxes it'd be like 55 euro round trip. i can't imagine getting a better deal on the trains...

― amateur!st (amateurist), Saturday, 1 November 2003 17:46 (twenty-one years ago)

Luton: airport has a railway station on the thameslink, direct trains, to West Hampstead, kentish town, Kings cross, Farringdon, Blackfriars London Bridge.

Stanstead: has trainst to Tottenham Hale and Liverpool St

Heathrow: tube to town, or Train to Paddington

Gatwick: Train to Vitoria or the Thameslink stations

London city, bus then tube, overground or DLR

Birmingham international: Trians direct to Euston

― Ed (dali), Saturday, 1 November 2003 17:48 (twenty-one years ago)

"London" Luton is in Bedfordshire, but connected to Central London via Thameslink train services, and cheaper buses. Should be £10 or thereabouts each way to/from Luton.

― suzy (suzy), Saturday, 1 November 2003 17:48 (twenty-one years ago)

thanks everyone!!!

― amateur!st (amateurist), Saturday, 1 November 2003 17:50 (twenty-one years ago)

(x-post)
luton is not in london, its about half an hour away by train.
there is a dedicated train station for the airport though, and
they run free buses to and fro. last time i went (two years ago)they
had a pacman machine in the airport arcade!
the easyjet fares are really cheap but you do need to book well
in advance, the cheapest flights usually take off at 6am or 11pm,
and you have to pay for food/drink etc.

― joni, Saturday, 1 November 2003 17:53 (twenty-one years ago)

watch out for lack of trains late in the night or early in the morning.

― Ed (dali), Saturday, 1 November 2003 17:56 (twenty-one years ago)

it seems there are reasonable fares in the afternoon and evening so i needn't worry about that. unless easyjet fucks up and delays a flight. i can survive a 1 hr flight without food and drink, i think (or i can bring my own).

maybe it's just that late november isn't a particularly popular time to visit london (or paris), but i haven't had much trouble finding all kinds of times to fly cheaply, if their web site does not lie.

― amateur!st (amateurist), Saturday, 1 November 2003 17:58 (twenty-one years ago)

easy jet thameslink promo

― Ed (dali), Saturday, 1 November 2003 17:58 (twenty-one years ago)

It's a fucking disgrace that the plane is cheaper than the train. Airlines ought to pay tax on their fuel, everyone else does.

― Ed (dali), Saturday, 1 November 2003 17:59 (twenty-one years ago)

they say on that link that they'll mail the tickets first-class in the uk, but nothing about sending them elsewhere, like to france.

― amateur!st (amateurist), Saturday, 1 November 2003 18:00 (twenty-one years ago)

it is a disgrace, though honestly i'd prefer to fly than to spend an hour in the chunnel. looks scary.

― amateur!st (amateurist), Saturday, 1 November 2003 18:00 (twenty-one years ago)

the irony is first class mail will get them nowhere right now.

― Ed (dali), Saturday, 1 November 2003 18:39 (twenty-one years ago)

the chunnel bit is only about 25 minutes

― Ed (dali), Saturday, 1 November 2003 18:40 (twenty-one years ago)

i just realized i made a mistake with the scheduling of my london trip, but maybe it will work out anyhow.

a question: where in england is huddersfield? is it easy to get there from london? how would i do this?

― amateur!st (amateurist), Saturday, 1 November 2003 21:13 (twenty-one years ago)

Huddersfield is in Yorkshire, About 2:30 from London, change at Doncaster, Sheffield or Leeds. Why do you want to go there? just out of curiosity.

― Ed (dali), Saturday, 1 November 2003 21:17 (twenty-one years ago)

i have a friend doing an exhibition there. he's in london too, but it's in a week and i can't afford train or plane fare that soon in advance.

― amateur!st (amateurist), Saturday, 1 November 2003 21:18 (twenty-one years ago)

2:30?? i always figured england was the size of rhode island...

― amateur!st (amateurist), Saturday, 1 November 2003 21:20 (twenty-one years ago)

The UK is about as long as New York State.

― Ed (dali), Saturday, 1 November 2003 21:23 (twenty-one years ago)

i wonder if it's worth the trouble to get there...to huddersfield i mean...how much does something like that cost?

(thx again for your help, ed.)

― amateur!st (amateurist), Saturday, 1 November 2003 21:24 (twenty-one years ago)

when are you here?

― Ed (dali), Saturday, 1 November 2003 21:26 (twenty-one years ago)

some time around the 23rd probably...

― amateur!st (amateurist), Saturday, 1 November 2003 21:32 (twenty-one years ago)

cheapest I found was £29 Standard Off Peak 2 Return. Found Using Qjump.co.uk and some fiddling with times and dates. Avoid trains departing or arriving in London before 10:30, leaving between 4 and 7 friday evenings and sunday evening for the cheapest tickets.

― Ed (dali), Saturday, 1 November 2003 21:40 (twenty-one years ago)

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TGV question

Shout to Eurostar (and the UK rail industry as well) : It's a fucking train, price it like a train and it will not be half empty all the fucking time