dawnnoelm

Okay - I have shared I hate to fly (big time).

I have been reading many threads on the train/flying from London to Paris.

If we were going into London itself to enjoy it I would train with pleasure!

Our situation:

Arrive from LAX at 3:00 pm on Airfrance into Heathrow.

Need to get to London that day (23 of Decmeber)

Traveling with 5 people maybe 6.

British Airways flies direct for about 100.00 USD.

I cannot, I repeat cannot change my Airfrance flight at all.

It appears (and I could be wrong?) that it is an hour or so to get from the airport to the Eurostar?

Question? How much time between flights would you recommend? 4 hours?

Would you fly?

Thanks in advance as always,

Christina

I'm confused, as you say you are flying into Heathrow but need to get to London that day. I think you mean Paris?

It depends how you intend to travel between the airport and Waterloo, but allowing only 60 minutes is too optimistic, I think. Are you planning on taking a private car hire, or not? I think you can get to Paddington quickly by express, but then need to take the underground to Waterloo, and you'd need to transfer if you take the underground the whole way, also. I presume you aren't counting in that hour any time within the airport (immigration, etc.).

I'm not a London expert, so see what others suggest, but four hours sounds good to me, so as not to worry. In reality, 3 should be okay, I think.

GregPCM

Dawn,

And the answer is "It all depends". When do you need to be in Paris? How much lugguage do you have? How much can you spend on the train ride(s)?

I would plan on at least 4 hours between flights to be safe. It may take you about 4 hours (assuming you do land at 3:00) to get from the train to the Eurostar station. It will cost at least $100 pp to make the trip from Heathrow to Paris. Assuming all goes well you won't be in Paris until about 10:00 PM. (or maybe 11:00 since Paris is one hour ahead of London)

If all this works for you and your group, take the train. If not, a short flight across the channel would be easier.

Happy travels,

Greg

alanRow

<<< Waterloo >>>

St Pancras

dawnnoelm

Christina,

Sorry to be confusing. Yes, I meant Paris.

No, I was not taking in the time to through immigration/luggage etc. I meant how long the actual train takes?

I was not going to do a private car - rather public transit if possible.

I am starting to think to spend the night in London on the 23 and take the train to Paris on the 24th.

Greg,

I do not need to be in Paris at any special time. I will have been traveling from LAX way across the pond though - with a large family - 11, 15, 18 and 51 ;-)

It seems that just taking the luggage - going to the British Airway part of Heathrow and getting a flight might be easier then the train in this case?

As I said, I am still toying with going into London on the 23 and crashing and getting up on the 24 and heading to Paris....

dawnnoelm

I should add - I get lost easily and do not live in a city where we rely on public transportation. I am a little nervous about "getting from point A to point B" on trains/tubes and the like.

highflyer

I'd fly. You might be able to check your luggage all the way through. You can rest for a while at LHR rather than trekking across to St. Pancras for Eurostar. The train plus transport across London will cost more than flights @$100 each.
Rationally, you probably know flying is the best way but your fear is affecting your judgement....?

dawnnoelm

highflyer - you must like to fly by your screenmane ;-)

I had in my head that taking a flight from London to Paris was silly - do the chunnel. Well, that is most likely only if you are IN London not already AT the airport!

I looked and the last flight of the day is at 18:35. which is 6:35 pm on British Airways.

I am concerned about only 3.5 hours between flights when they are on seperate bookings.

wombat7

I think there is a later flight. Kayak shows a 7:50 BA and a 8:15 AF

Momof3sons

dawn,

My family and I did somewhat the same trip leg last summer. There were 5 of us including 3 teenagers and my 75 yr. old mother. We travelled from Cincinnati into Gatwick, rode the train into London and transferred by bus to Waterloo (this was before Eurostar moved to St. Pancras). We then rode the Eurostar on to Paris.

Our flight arrived in London in the morning (9:00 am) and finally arrived in Paris around 6:30pm as I recall.

In hindsight, I wish that we would've just gotten on a flight to Paris from Gatwick. We all slept on the train ride, so it wasn't really the "cool" adventure that I was hoping for. We only had carryon luggage with us, but we were all pretty tired out with all the moving around from one form of transportation to the next.

Unless the connections are really bad, you should get to Paris sooner and less tired on a plane than if you choose the train. At least this was our experience.

flanneruk

I doubt full schedules for December are available yet.

But there are loads of Air France flights from LHR to Paris after your 1500 arrival. Book one of them and your bags get checked through to Paris from LAX. On arrival at LHR you just go to the next flight, without faffing about with immigration.

Why make it hard for yourself? However much you hate flying, going
into town and getting the train's a great deal worse.

PatrickLondon

The train journey from London to Paris is an anti-climax, if that makes any difference. There's about 15-20 minutes of tolerable countryside to look at on the English side, and about 40 minutes of rather flat French fields. The rest is urban hinterland (and 20 minutes in the tunnel itself).

It's a bit shorter now, and the tube runs direct to St Pancras, so you don't have to worry about changing. But it still seems a roundabout way of getting to Paris if there's a convenient flight available.

dawnnoelm

Mom of 3 sons I feel your pain!!

You all have me convinced - fly...

regarding the airfrance - the flight is a lot more as I am showing it then B.A.

I will look again - I do feel better if I can book my luggage straight through...

highflyer

If you're flying direct then 3+ hours between flights sounds OK. What's AirFrance's track record on this route? If they're usually on time you should be fine.

I would try to get onward flights with AirFrance for peace of mind regarding luggage and connections. Call AirFrance and ask what they recommend.

I'd also mention that the BA flight costs $100 and that there are 5/6 of you. You said that you couldn't change your original Air France tickets but have you asked about onward travel with them?

Sheepie87

Hi there,

I don't think anyone got your ? about the train length: if you get a Eurostar with no stops, they cut the time down to 2 hours 15 minutes.

Although I love the convenience of the Eurostar, I agree that flying would probably make more sense since you're already at the airport. I recently made that flight on Thursday, actually, and it was quite short and painless! I flew BA and they were lovely. The longest part is the taxing about at CDG and such

Have a great time!!!