Eurostar prices vs Interrail pass family workaround

[Thebaz]

Why are Eurostar prices so ridiculous?

I thought we were supposed to be being encouraged not to take short haul flights. I really can't wait for them to have some open access (OA) competition!

I was just looking at a short break for the family (2 & 2) in Cologne and it's going to be around £1100 for return tickets 17-20 Feb and less than a third of that if we fly.

I have however worked out that if you book 4 Interrail passes for 4 days it works out at around £740 (£30 supplement on each ticket each way), which is a bit of a cheeky get-round (and a waste of two days' Interrailing), but makes it nearly £400 cheaper. Still what a load of hassle. Even this option won't be viable once my eldest reaches 12, as he'll have to have an adult Interrail pass (next year, sadly)

 

[rvdborgt]

Book your pass reservations on raileurope.com (no extra booking fee) and pay in euros, then it's €30 (prices in £ are up to 5% higher there). Also, book the reservations ASAP because availability on Eurostar is limited.

 

[Thebaz]

The last time I booked Interrail passes via the European website it took them a month to issue the passes!

 

[rvdborgt]

The last time I booked Interrail passes via the European website it took them a month to issue the passes!

If you want paper passes fast, then get them from the UK site. For mobile passes, just check where it's cheapest: prices in other currencies than euro can vary.
If refundability is important, then look at https://allaboard.eu/interrail

 

[Thebaz]

Noted

 

[nwales58]

A 180-200 seat aircraft, as long as it can be filled, point to point will always be cheaper than rail as well as faster beyond 300-400 miles.

For those of us not travelling exactly from and to where Ryan or Wizz fly, rail is more comparable with flying anywhere-anywhere via Amsterdam/Paris/Frankfurt/Munich/Zürich/Vienna on KL/AF/LH etc which is typically around 200 quid return with a cabin bag. For me, add in the legs to/from airports, subtract elderly discount and an Interrail 4 day often wins but takes a day longer to get to much of Europe.

For those living around London or Manchester, enjoy your choice of modes and prices! I can't catch a cheap 0600 flight without an expensive hotel stay.

For moderate levels of flexibility rail is often comparable with air, but very much depends on the carrier. When I was working I used both.

 

[Bald Rick]

I was just looking at a short break for the family (2 & 2) in Cologne and it's going to be around £1100 for return tickets 17-20 Feb and less than a third of that if we fly.

Don’t forget to include the time and cost of getting to and from the airports both ends, bag charges, seat selection charges, and what will indoubtedlybe a less comfortable seat and journey.

Why are Eurostar prices so ridiculous?

Well, they charge waht the market is prepared to pay, and for most people it is a much more comfortable and quicker form of travelling central London to central Paris and vice versa, so they are prepared to pay a price that is higher than the plane.

 

[Alfonso]

This is half term week for many people, which means eye watering air fares from London to anywhere with mountains and snow. The eurostar is also popular with skiers as you can take lots of bulky luggage, so this will affect eurostar prices but won't affect London to Cologne air fares much.

 

[Bald Rick]

This is half term week for many people, which means eye watering air fares from London to anywhere with mountains and snow.

Indeed. A quick look at Easyjet fares London to Geneva that weekend is eyewatering. Up to £700 one way without bags / seat selection / etc.

 

[30907]

This is half term week for many people, which means eye watering air fares from London to anywhere with mountains and snow. The eurostar is also popular with skiers as you can take lots of bulky luggage, so this will affect eurostar prices but won't affect London to Cologne air fares much.

In fact, there is probably less demand for flights to Cologne, Duesseldorf, etc during holiday periods.

Back to the OP: my starting price for travel from anywhere outside London to anywhere in Germany would be a 4-day Interrail plus 2 Eurostar supplements plus an overnight hotel if need be.
Unless you book way in advance you'd be lucky to beat that.

 

[Trainbike46]

Why are Eurostar prices so ridiculous?

I thought we were supposed to be being encouraged not to take short haul flights. I really can't wait for them to have some open access (OA) competition!

Of course, Eurostar is already an Open Access Operator....

Though more services will be good!

I was just looking at a short break for the family (2 & 2) in Cologne and it's going to be around £1100 for return tickets 17-20 Feb and less than a third of that if we fly.

I have however worked out that if you book 4 Interrail passes for 4 days it works out at around £740 (£30 supplement on each ticket each way), which is a bit of a cheeky get-round (and a waste of two days' Interrailing), but makes it nearly £400 cheaper. Still what a load of hassle. Even this option won't be viable once my eldest reaches 12, as he'll have to have an adult Interrail pass (next year, sadly)

There are youth passes for people under 26 as well

 

[rvdborgt]

There are youth passes for people under 26 as well

Under 28 even.

 

[Thebaz]

Of course, Eurostar is already an Open Access Operator....

Though more services will be good!

There are youth passes for people under 26 as well

Didn't know about the youth passes!

 

[styles]

This is why I booked a bunch of Interrail passes during their Black Friday sale before Christmas. 25% off.

I live near Edinburgh, so when I head to Switzerland in May, it works out far cheaper getting the Interrail pass as it covers me all the way from Edinburgh to Frutigen, and the way back, for around £180 (plus reservation fees for Eurostar). There's no way I could do that cheaper entirely by train. In fact, given I'll be carrying winter walking gear, I doubt I could even do it cheaper by flying. It takes longer but the journey is part of the fun and I can work on the trains.

 

[roadie]

Don’t forget to include the time and cost of getting to and from the airports both ends, bag charges, seat selection charges, and what will undoubtedly a less comfortable seat and journey.

For Eurostar this point always rankles as it assumes we all live next to St Pancras which very few people do. The only part with a guaranteed seat is on the Eurostar or plane, and an hour on squeezy jet is no worse than a couple on the Eurostar. In the UK a seat reservation on long distance rail is no guarantee of seat and in Europe you often have to pay for a seat reservation. The time taken to get to an airport for many will be no different and often better than St Pancras since you pass the airport on the way.

 

[Bald Rick]

In the UK a seat reservation on long distance rail is no guarantee of seat

Err, it kind of is! That’s the point.

For Eurostar this point always rankles as it assumes we all live next to St Pancras which very few people do.

St Pancras is far better connected by public transport than any of the London airports; as such I’m reasonably certain that there will be far more people within each isochrone for St Pancras than any of the London airports.

 

[Route115?]

Every journey is different. From East & West Sussex you actually have to pass an airport to get to St. Pancras. (A hub at Ashford would help but thats another matter.)

For much of East Anglia Stansted is closer and so on.

For most inbound tourist flows Eurostar will win. For outbound and inbound visiting friends & relations its more nuanced.

 

[nwales58]

Every journey is different (which is why you need a route choice model as well as demand data to evaluate things like this).

5h to Birmingham airport, 5-6 to Manchester by public transport from my area.

*Frequency* of the onward link then matters. For routes, maybe a dozen from Manchester but fewer from Birmingham, with several flights a day air probably wins. But if you want to get to somewhere insignificant such as Lyon, Strasbourg or Hannover carrying on to Eurostar with hourly or 2-hourly departures can be much more convenient despite passing BHX on the way. Unless there is a cheap late afternoon outbound flight and cheap morning return on the air route my journeys need a night stop so whether it's a hotel at Manchester airport or Köln/Frankfurt Hbf comes down to overall cost.

 

[RT4038]

Err, it kind of is! That’s the point.

But it is not.

1. the reservation system on the booked train set is not working and someone is sat in your seat, resulting in confrontation
2. a different train set turns up which doesn't have the same seat configuration and someone is sat in your seat, resulting in confrontation
3. passengers already sat in your seat because they haven't looked, or don't care, resulting in confrontation
4. a surge of passengers, or a short formed set, previous train cancelled etc resulting in you can't get to your seat, or if you can, there is a passenger sitting there and nowhere for them to go, resulting in confrontation
5. Your train is cancelled and there is no reservation for you on subsequent trains.

Confrontation being to a greater or lesser degree, depending on the circumstances

Only (3) may happen on an aeroplane, and is swiftly dealt with by a member of the cabin crew. (5) may well happen too, but you'll get a reserved seat on a later flight.

 

[DanielB]

(2) may also happen, plane types may also change to one having less seats.
And (4) also sort of: planes may be overbooked with your seat sold twice.

 

[RT4038]

(2) may also happen, plane types may also change to one having less seats.
And (4) also sort of: planes may be overbooked with your seat sold twice.

Neither of which are left to the passenger to argue out with the other passengers, and the passenger will still have a reserved seat when they do travel. Flight overbooking rarely happens to each individual (and when it does the passenger is usually generously rewarded). I have travelled a lot by plane and have never been denied boarding for either (2) or (4). On one occasion my wife was travelling alone and was approached by airline staff with an extremely generous package if she would stay behind one day, for reason (2). I live between two major cities in the UK; on London bound trains they have stopped at two major intermediate stations before getting to mine. It is unusual for there not to be someone sitting in my reserved seat when I board.

 

[DeverseSam]

Strasbourg or Hannover carrying on to Eurostar

If only Thalys wasn’t reservation-obligatory, the Brussels to Aachen segment would be much less stressful in case of disruption

 

[TravelDream]

Don’t forget to include the time and cost of getting to and from the airports both ends, bag charges, seat selection charges, and what will indoubtedlybe a less comfortable seat and journey.

Don't forget the cost of getting to St Pancras...

I really hate when people make this point as it makes no sense.
More people live within walking distance/ free public transport distance to Heathrow, London City, Stansted, Luton, Gatwick and Southend than do St Pancras. And many millions will be within closer/ faster reach of one of those airports than St Pancras.
Yet, this argument, continually made, seems to think we all live on the St Pancras concourse and Heathrow is on the other side of the planet.

 

[johncrossley]

Being near St Pancras is a curse when it comes to going to Brussels affordably. You can fly with Ryanair to Charleroi from Manchester, Edinburgh or Glasgow but there are no low cost airlines flying London to anywhere in Belgium as Eurostar has killed the London to Brussels air market. The best you can do is Stansted to Eindhoven.

 

[kraiken]

Don't forget the cost of getting to St Pancras...

That's part of the reason Interrail tickets have been mentioned as the rail journey to and from St Pancras is included, and definitely worth it if you buy the pass when they have a sale on.

 

[Bald Rick]

But it is not.

1. the reservation system on the booked train set is not working and someone is sat in your seat, resulting in confrontation
2. a different train set turns up which doesn't have the same seat configuration and someone is sat in your seat, resulting in confrontation
3. passengers already sat in your seat because they haven't looked, or don't care, resulting in confrontation
4. a surge of passengers, or a short formed set, previous train cancelled etc resulting in you can't get to your seat, or if you can, there is a passenger sitting there and nowhere for them to go, resulting in confrontation
5. Your train is cancelled and there is no reservation for you on subsequent trains.

Confrontation being to a greater or lesser degree, depending on the circumstances

Only (3) may happen on an aeroplane, and is swiftly dealt with by a member of the cabin crew. (5) may well happen too, but you'll get a reserved seat on a later flight.

Ok, so it’s not a guarantee, however the principle is that it is intended to assure you of a seat, and generally it works. At least it does on my experience.

You did miss (6) you book and pay for your seat, turn up at the origin point, and find that they have allocated your seat to someone else even though you booked and paid for it in advance.

Except that’s BA. You don’t get that on the train. And the plane was nowhere near full.

Don't forget the cost of getting to St Pancras...

I really hate when people make this point as it makes no sense.

Hate is a strong word.

It does make sense, as I said St pancras is very well connected, more so than any London airport, and nowhere have I (or anyone else) suggested that everyone lives on St Pancras concourse

 

[styles]

That's part of the reason Interrail tickets have been mentioned as the rail journey to and from St Pancras is included, and definitely worth it if you buy the pass when they have a sale on.

Heck, for some journeys, it might be worth buying the Interrail pass just to get to London!

An adult 1st class 4 days in 1 month global pass is €356EUR (around £299GBP today). I live near Edinburgh - £299 1st class return is a pretty decent price.

(NB: I haven't checked the terms to know if there's really anything against the terms by taking your domestic journey then abandoning the rest of the day).

 

[Watershed]

NB: I haven't checked the terms to know if there's really anything against the terms by taking your domestic journey then abandoning the rest of the day

Theree isn't!

 

[30907]

Theree isn't!

The Country of Residence rules linked from MyInterrail state

-Outbound Journey is your first trip in the direction of the border or airport resulting in you leaving the country in which you live or you are a citizen of.
-Inbound Journey is the journey in the direction of your final destination in the country where you live or are a citizen of, from the border or an airport. This should be the final trip of your journey.

I wouldn't care to use the Inbound Journey day without any evidence of having left the country - at the very least a Passholder fare or a Dutchflyer booking - as I would risk being done for ticketless travel.
Whether that risk is real I don't know, but it has been discussed a few times over the years.

 

[A S Leib]

Being near St Pancras is a curse when it comes to going to Brussels affordably. You can fly with Ryanair to Charleroi from Manchester, Edinburgh or Glasgow but there are no low cost airlines flying London to anywhere in Belgium as Eurostar has killed the London to Brussels air market. The best you can do is Stansted to Eindhoven.

Ferries aren't particularly convenient for Belgium if you don't have a car either; I think the options from the southeast are a small number of P&O sailings which take foot passengers, Harwich–Hoek van Holland then south from Rotterdam or Newhaven–Dieppe then via Amiens, with each having large drawbacks in cost or time.

I know that Flixbus do London – Brussels as well; whether or not ~£28-£70 and eight hours is a good compromise should be, provided adequate alternatives, up to the passenger. (On a side note, there was also a Watford – Brussels route last summer, although that, not entirely incomprehensibly, isn't currently running.)