Originally Posted by
pedanticus
I'm taking the family to Europe this summer and I'm looking at taking the Eurostar from Paris to London on the 6th of July, one-way. When looking for tickets on the Eurostar website it's quoting me EUR 245.00 each.
Indeed. It seems every Paris-London train that day is pretty much booked out, so there are no 'Standard - Non-flexible' tickets left, and even the semi-flexible fares are at pretty much their top rate.
Originally Posted by
OverThereTooMuch
With as expensive as these tickets are, you should do the math to see if changing the travel date just by a day to get a cheaper fare would be worth it.
Travelling last thing on Saturday 5th brings it down to €183 per person, or first thing on Monday 7th down to €90 per person (both for non-flexible fares). Which, IMHO, is still pretty expensive for a 2hr train journey - but
Palal has explained the reasons for that...
Alternatively, you can get from Paris to Lille for as little as €25 on 6th July on the TGV (book at
www.voyages-sncf.com - or check the
Seat61 page if voyages-sncf tries to redirect to an expensive North American site...), and you can then get Lille - London (which is operated by the Brussels - London Eurostar, which appears to be less busy that day) for €105 or €133.
This will take longer, but is cheaper than than the direct Paris - London option. Bear in mind that if you're on two separate tickets, you're not covered in the event of any delay to the TGV, so make sure you allow plenty of time for the connection in Lille (remembering there's a 30 (?) minute check-in deadline for the Eurostar). Also be aware there are two separate stations in Lille. You want 'Lille Europe' for the Eurostar. I think most TGVs from Paris run there, but a few may go to 'Lille Flandres' (which is closer to the centre of town, and a ~500m walk from 'Lille Europe').
Alternatively, take an early Thalys to Brussels (available from €40), visit Brussels for a few hours, and then take the Eurostar to London from there (also for €105 or €133 that day).
As others have indicated, all these trains are yield-managed, so prices will likely continue to go up. So, it's best to book as soon as your plans are fixed.
Although changing in Lille (or Brussels) may seem like a hassle, it's actually pretty straightforward. When comparing with flying, bear in mind that you'd have to trek out to CDG, check-in etc, and then make your way from whichever London airport use, back into London. The train is city centre to city centre, and personally I think changing at Lille is a more pleasant than getting out to CDG...