Eurostar fares -- too late?

Hi all,

I%26#39;ve been working on a trip to London %26amp; Paris with two older grand-daughters for July. I got crazy busy and just now got around to booking the Eurostar train to Paris... ouch. I guess all the good fares are sold out. The quote (haven%26#39;t book yet) is for $1264.00 for four RT tickets. That%26#39;s roughly $316 each.

Any suggestions for a cheaper way to get between London and Paris in July? Could I book a short flight from Gatwick or Heathrow for the same amount?

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I just ran a test on the SNCF website for 3 people leaving on Monday July 9th and came up with 270.00 € for 3 people or 90.00€ per person for a train leaving at 9:07 AM from London.

http://www.voyages-sncf.com

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Thanks, but since the site is in Fench, could you translate?

%26quot;Nous avons plusieurs propositions pour la ville de départ et/ou d%26#39;arrivée que vous avez saisie. Vous pouvez consulter nos propositions grâce au lien ou choisissez ici. Merci.%26quot;

I realize something is wrong with my request, but haven%26#39;t a clue.

;-(

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I can%26#39;t translate the site for you but you have run across the most annoying bug on the site. Next to each field for %26quot;Départ%26quot; %26amp; %26quot;Arrivée%26quot; is a button %26quot;ou choisissez ici%26quot;. Click this and confirm the departure and destination cities and you will be able to move forward.

Use Google Translate; http://translate.google.com/translate_t to cut and paste the French and translate it.

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Thanks again, that trick got me to the next step, but again it bombs.... it will shows several fares and upon selection then replies, %26quot; Aucun train ne circule au delà de l%26#39;horaire indiqué%26quot; or (according to the Google translation), %26quot;No train circulates beyond the schedule indicated.%26quot;

I give up on the sncf.com site.

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it has always been much cheaper for us to fly from London to Paris or the reverse -- the only problem is that intraeuropean flights have rather low luggage weight limits compared to the US international flights -- but if you are packing sensibly and can meet the weight requirements -- you will certainly do better than 316$ I would think

it seems odd that there would not be a train site for Eurostar with an English option for tickets that start in London --

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Yes, there is a english site and that%26#39;s where I began and where I got the first quote of $1264.00 for four passengers in July. The French site was a suggested alternative.

I can%26#39;t see most of the UK based flights since all the airlines seem to want you to book from your home country. I know when I%26#39;m in London, I usually see good air fares advertised... they%26#39;re just not available from the USA. ...or am I wrong?

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http://www.eurostar.com

The official eurostar site in English is still showing fares for a lot of days in July at around 30 to 40 UK pounds one way.

We have just booked for mid July at £59 per person return.

Neal

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Thanks, I%26#39;ve gotten the price down to $986, but I have very limited flexibility for days I can travel as we already have confirmed reservations for a house stay in London and an apartment in Paris.

I just screwed up, plain and simple (or so it seems so far)

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Well I really do understand Darryl_BMichigan. I still think you%26#39;ll save a lot of money if you use the MorganB guide and stick with it. As to Nealrover%26#39;s post, keep in mind that the exchange rate for British Sterling relative to the Euro is; 1£ is equal to 1.50€ at the moment. The rate for US dollars is; 1£ is equal to $2.

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I went ahead and booked for $960 with Eurostar for the four of us.

If there is a moral here, its:

-don%26#39;t travel during peak season

-don%26#39;t use frequent flyer miles and be forced to get flights booked so far in advance... before any trains or other bookings are available

-use a calendar more effectively ;-)

- and of course, visit Trip Advisor more often

thanks all.. back to the normal rat race