How much time should I allow for LHR - Eurostar connection?
 

Thanks to a BA award sale I booked a flight into LHR and out of CDG next June planning to do a little of both cities.

Lately though I've decided to just spend all 10 nights in Paris and so will need to get from LHR to Eurostar at St. Pancras and wanted to get some feedback as to how much time I should allow. MY BA flight lands at 13:25 and there is a 15:01, 16:01, 16:22 and 17:31 trains departures.

Should I opt for the 16:22 and have a leisurely and stress free transfer in from LHR or will I be subject to sitting around for a chunk of time? All I will have is a small messenger bag and a small carry on so won't be waiting around the luggage carousel.

Getting to Paris as quickly as possible is the goal as I may have an apartment rented and will have to meet someone from the rental agency at the apartment before 8 PM or else pay a small surcharge for appointments later.

Thanks for the input. :)

I'll take a shot..

If you need to be in Paris by 2000 then that equates to 1900 British time. I would assume you can just make it by taking the 1622 Eurostar.

Working back from a 1622 departure, you'll need to check in at St P 1552.

Including waiting and ticket time I would allow one hour for Heathrow Express to Paddington and then underground or taxi to St P. Taxi direct from Heathrow to St P would be about the same.

All this means that you need to be looking for a Heathrow Express ticket at Heathrow around 1445, which is about 80 mins after your scheduled landing.

Within that 80 mins is all your contingency so I'd say the 1622 Eurostar is the earliest I'd want to be taking.

16:22 is easily doable if your flight arrives on time, immigration queues are reasonable, etc.

17:31 would be safer, of course, if you want more contingency for delayed flights and such. St Pancras isn't the worst place to have some time to kill (at least, the pre-security part). Some decent shopping and eating options.

Depending on your destination in Paris, the most hassle-free option might be just to book a connecting BA LHR-CDG flight. It shouldn't cost much more than the Eurostar by the time you factor in the HEX ticket.

1622 gets in at 1947 (where is the apartment?), 1730 gets in at 2047. Have you considered flying?

Eurostar makes a lot of sense if your starting point is is Central London (or anywhere else in the South East that isn't right next to an airport with flights to Paris). In your case flying would make more sense.

Thanks :)

Was holding out for Eurostar as I'd been wanting to try it for years and never had a decent chance until now. I'll weigh the options of flying versus Eurostar as once I get to Paris I'll still have a ways to get across the city to get to the apartment. Maybe I'll just rail it and pay a late arrival surcharge of EUR for appointments from 8 to 10 PM.

Or, if you're going to have to pay the surcharge anyways, just spend a day in London and then make a leisurely trip to Paris the next day on the Eurostar.

Thanks Dude. :) I'd thought about doing that but it sort of burns one night on a 10 night trip so had hoped to get to Paris day of arrival to get the most out of my stay there.

I should've booked BA all the way to CDG in the first place but hindsight is always 20-20 and I booked it under somewhat of a time crunch and so just didn't have the time to think of some of these things have have come to mind months later as I start making some decisions about the details of the trip.

There's nothing really special about the Eurostar that you won't get by riding any high speed train in France (the train itself is the same as the older TGVs, and the tunnel is really just that-- a tunnel). Why not fly and do a day trip to Strasbourg (which goes much faster than the Eurostar) or something when you're in Paris?

I mean, you are traveling from an airport-- the quickest way to do that is by plane.

Eurostar is quite flexible about sob stories (late arriving flights, etc).

If you book the 16:22 and only make the 17:31, you'll probably be allowed on with no problems. This isn't Ryanair.

True, I would be at LHR though I'd have to allow at least 1-2 hours for a healthy connection at LHR on separate tickets and hope to arrive on time. Add the time in to the city from CDG and I still wouldn't arrive at the apartment until 7PM or thereabouts. If all goes well it'd be a tad quicker, though since I haven't done it that's only my best guess.

I see BA does have a 14:50 flight to CDG which would give me 85 minutes for a connection and it's a legal connection according to BA. Missing that would mean the next flight isn't until 1745 which wouldn't work as well.

Overall the costs wouldn't be very different so it just boils down to timing.

Like flying the A380 or new 787 there's just been a desire for years to experience the Eurostar. Sure it'll probably be like many other train trips I've taken and maybe I'll say it was no big deal afterward but it's the train itself that still hold appeal for me, if that makes sense.

I appreciate all the input and it'll help me make some decisions. :)

Doesn't the Picadilly line go direct from LHR to St Pancras?

When we left London last month, I just shoved the kids on the tube at Green Park and off they went to LHR. It was the same train we took from the Eurostar terminus (at St. Pancras) to Green Park.

Is it faster/cheaper to take the HEX to Paddington and then a taxi to St. Pancras? Or am I missing something?

HEX + cab is faster, but more expensive than the tube.

Yes, but it takes AGES as it is a subway line with gazzilion stops in the way.

Only takes 45-50 mins. HEX takes 15 mins + another 15 on the tube to St. Pancras, so the difference is 15-20 mins.

If you decide to go on Eurostar, I'd definitely recommend you just use the tube for LHR.

It's simpler and cheaper than messing around with changing modes of transport, and I'd say anything that involved using a taxi is likely to involve delays.