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You can buy special tickets to London to connect with Eurostar.... |
We don't all live in London...
Most of us start our journeys at our local station. On this page I'll explain the best ways to add UK train travel to your Eurostar journey, or to by-pass London completely on a ferry from the north of England, East Anglia, the West Country or south coast...
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Option 1, use Raileurope.com to book from any British station.
Raileurope.com can book journeys from any station in Britain to mainland Europe, if you're booking less than 3 months in advance. It simply combines a National Rail ticket to London with a Eurostar ticket.
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Option 2, buy a separate train ticket to London International CIV.
There are special fares from most stations in Britain to a destination called London International (CIV), for use with onward Eurostar tickets. Read all about them here. They are usually a similar price to a regular off-peak ticket to London, but with more generous peak restrictions if you need to leave early on a Monday-Friday and with CIV protection for missed connections with Eurostar if your UK train runs late.
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Option 3, board Eurostar in Ebbsfleet or Ashford if you live in Kent or East Sussex. Unfortunately, Eurostar is not stopping at either station in 2022, 2023 or (probably) 2024.
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Option 4, take a ferry from Portsmouth, Poole, Plymouth, Dover or Newhaven if you live on the south coast or west country. Take a train from the French port to Paris then onward trains to Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Germany & beyond.
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Option 5, take a ferry from Harwich to Hoek van Holland, ideal if you live in East Anglia. Stena Line sell inclusive RailSail fares from any Greater Anglia station (including London , Cambridge, Ely, Kings Lynn, Ipswich, Norwich) to Hoek van Holland, for onward trains to Amsterdam, Paris, Brussels, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, central & eastern Europe & Scandinavia.
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Option 6, take a ferry from Newcastle or Hull direct to the Netherlands by-passing London, then take the train onwards into mainland Europe, a wonderful way from the North of England or Scotland without negotiating London.
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Option 7, Belfast & Northern Ireland to mainland Europe: Buy a SailRail ticket from Belfast to London, see the Northern Ireland page.
Option 1, book at Raileurope.com
Any station in Britain to Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam & beyond
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www.raileurope.com can sell train tickets from any station in Britain to Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and other mainland Europe destinations as a single transaction, with everything worked out for you. It's not a through ticket, it simply sell a regular ticket to London and a Eurostar ticket (plus, if required, an onward European ticket), as one easy transaction.
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Important: I recommend adjusting the connection time in London... By default, www.raileurope.com includes the bare minimum connection time in London, in fact possibly less than the bare minimum. There's no safety-margin for the British train to be late, nor any allowance for longer Eurostar check-ins post-Brexit. I strongly recommend clicking More options and entering London (any station) as a via station, with a stopover duration of at least 1 hour (or longer if you want more time, for example if going beyond Paris or Brussels where more is at stake).
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Booking only opens 3 months in advance... Eurostar bookings open 6 months ahead, sometimes longer, but British trains can only be booked 3 months ahead, sometimes less. This method only works when booking for British trains has opened. If you want to book more than 3 months ahead, book your Eurostar ticket first, then wait until booking for British trains opens and buy the British ticket separately as shown in option 2 below.
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Be realistic about how far you can get in a day... If you ask it for (say) Bristol to Naples, it either won't work or you'll get a silly answer. In this case you'd book Bristol to Paris, add to basket, then book Paris to Naples for the following day, add to basket and check out. Use the information on this site to see what the journey options from London look like and therefore how & where to break the journey, if necessary.
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A London International CIV fare may get you a better deal on the UK element, see option 2 below. Raileurope.com can't sell these. In the middle of the day it usually makes no difference, but if you need to travel up to London in the morning peak hours, the easier (or no) time restrictions on these London International CIV tickets can make it a lot more affordable.
Option 2, buy a separate ticket to London
These days, you usually end up buying a separate ticket for the British domestic part of a journey to mainland Europe, and you'll certainly need to buy it separately if you want to book Eurostar more than 3 months ahead, before UK National Rail bookings open. You have two options:
...either a regular train ticket to London
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Just buy a normal ticket to London, at whatever the cheapest fare happens to be. You can check fares & buy online as shown on the UK page.
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Allow plenty of time to connect with Eurostar, including time for the transfer from the London terminus where you arrive to London St Pancras, for the minimum 30 minute Eurostar check-in (ideally 60-90 minutes these days) and with some wiggle room in case your train is delayed.
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The 30-second guide to British train tickets on the UK travel page will help you understand the 3 different types of UK train ticket.
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From Scotland, you can combine the Caledonian Sleeper with Eurostar to Paris or Brussels, see the Caledonian Sleeper page for details.
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From Cornwall, you can combine the Night Riviera sleeper with Eurostar to Paris or Brussels, see the Night Riviera page for details.
...or a ticket to London International CIV
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A closely guarded secret! There are special fares from most railway stations in Britain to a destination called London International CIV, for use with a Eurostar ticket or Stena Line Rail & Sail ticket to the Netherlands.
They come in two versions, Advance (must be booked in advance, the price varies, it's only valid on the specific train you book) and Euro Open/Euro Saver (flexible, usually valid on any train that day, can be bought on the day of travel, price doesn't vary).
Tickets to London International used to exist from every station in Britain, that's no longer the case, but they still exist from most stations and are well worth knowing about. If you have a railcard, it can be used with these fares.
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Advantage 1: Fewer time restrictions! The flexible Euro Open/Saver fare to London International CIV usually has no time restrictions at all. In other words, you can hop on any train you like, even in the expensive Monday-Friday business peaks when normal Off-Peak fares are not valid, if you're connecting with Eurostar. A very useful feature! A handful of operators introduced time restrictions for these fares a few years ago, but you'll still find the time restrictions more generous than with normal Off-Peak fares.
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Advantage 2: You're covered by the International Conditions of Carriage (CIV = Convention Internationale pour le transport des Voyageurs), rather than the normal domestic National Rail Conditions of Carriage, for your whole journey. So if the British train is late and you miss your Eurostar, the CIV conditions of carriage oblige Eurostar to put you on the next available Eurostar without additional charge, even if your ticket is a no-refunds no-changes one. Similarly, if your return Eurostar arrives late into London and you miss your onward connection, the UK train operator is obliged to let you take the next available train, even if you have a train-specific Advance ticket.
I'm glad to say that Eurostar and the National Rail train operators generally do this anyway if there's a delay & missed connection, even if you only have regular tickets. But it's always good to have the actual CIV legal entitlement.
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Advantage 3: They include the Underground to St Pancras: If you arrive at one of the other London terminal stations and need the Underground to reach St Pancras, tickets to London International include the Underground. Although from Euston, it's easier to walk 5 minutes along the main road than to try and take the Underground one stop.
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How to check if London International CIV tickets exist from your local station, prices & time restrictions...
Go to www.brfares.com. Enter your local station as origin. As destination, enter LNE and select (LNE) London International (CIV).
If any fare appears in the results with the word EURO in it (but without the letters ITX which is a special rate for tour operators) then you can indeed buy a ticket to London International with CIV conditions of carriage. If there are no restrictions shown, you can hop on any train. Green background = returns, orange background = one-ways.
Incidentally, just to manage your expectations, a Euro Saver or Euro Open fare to London International CIV is typically a similar price to a normal Off-Peak fare to London Zone 1, so it's not about saving money (at least in the off-peak), it's about applying the international conditions of carriage and being able to travel affordably in the peak hours when catching a Eurostar. For longer distance travel to London, you might find a normal Advance fare cheaper than one of these CIV fares, and if so, go for it.
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How to buy a ticket to London International CIV online
Most ticket websites don't sell these fares. In fact, only one currently does, trainsplit.com.
You should de-select Use Split Tickets and type LNE as your destination.
After selecting a fare, make sure the fare name includes 'euro' in some way, if it just says 'Advance Single' it could be an ordinary ticket to London. It's a good idea to look up what to expect using www.brfares.com as above, then use trainsplit.com to try and buy it.
If you find any other website that recognises the destination code LNE, check what fares it offers, does it say Euro or are these just regular fares to London? It'll be the latter! Avanti West Coast currently looks as if it sells LNE fares, but doesn't.
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Buy in person at your local station: Help staff by quoting destination code LNE...
You can buy these tickets at any staffed station, show your Eurostar ticket to qualify. The flexible Saver variety (but not the cheaper Advance type) can be bought on the day of travel if necessary as the price doesn't change, no advance reservation is necessary, and they are available in unlimited numbers.
Tip: Ticket office staff aren't always 100% familiar with these London International CIV fares, some even deny their existence, so if they feign ignorance, be prepared to be polite but firm and if they say they can't find it on their ticket machine say you want destination code "LNE".
Tip: On arrival at St Pancras by British train the automatic ticket gates will swallow your ticket. So if you've been delayed and need to show the CIV ticket to Eurostar to be rebooked on a later train, ask gateline staff to let you through the gates and keep hold of that ticket!
Option 3, board Eurostar in Ebbsfleet or Ashford
Ebbsfleet International (M25)
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Many Eurostars used to call at Ebbsfleet in Kent, near Gravesend, not far from the M25 with plenty of car parking.
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Unfortunately, Eurostar stopped calling at Ebbsfleet as an economy measure during the Covid-19 pandemic, didn't call there in 2022 and won't call there in 2023, and probably not in 2024. It's all to do with Brexit and lengthier border controls.
Ashford (Kent)
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A few Eurostars used to call at Ashford International in Kent, with good direct train connections from Brighton, Hastings, Canterbury, Maidstone, Dover.
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Unfortunately, Eurostar stopped calling at Ashford as an economy measure during the Covid-19 pandemic, didn't call there in 2022 and won't call there in 2023, possibly longer. It's all to do with Brexit and lengthier border controls.
Option 4, take a ferry from Portsmouth, Poole, Plymouth, Newhaven, Dover
 Brittany Ferries Bretagne waiting to sail from Portsmouth to Caen... |
If you live in the on the South Coast or in the West Country, you can of course buy a ticket to London and take Eurostar to mainland Europe. But also consider a ferry crossing from Portsmouth, Poole, Plymouth, Newhaven or Dover then a train to Paris.
Portsmouth to Paris
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Step 1, take a train to Portsmouth & Southsea station...
There are direct trains to Portsmouth from London, Brighton, Southampton, Salisbury, Bath, Bristol & Cardiff, check times at www.nationalrail.co.uk.
Transfer from Portsmouth & Southsea station to the Continental Ferry port by taxi. Allow at least 2 hours between train arrival and ferry departure, which includes the 60-minute check-in for the ferry.
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Step 2, sail overnight from Portsmouth Continental Ferry Port to Caen...
You sleep in a cosy private cabin with shower & toilet, check times & book the ferry at www.brittany-ferries.co.uk.
Next next morning, take a taxi or bus from Ouistreham ferry terminal to Caen station and a comfortable TER train to Paris St Lazare, usually arriving around 11:00.
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Step 3, take an onward train from Paris to other French cities or other European countries, see the Trains from Paris page for details.
You'll usually need to switch stations to one of the other Paris termini for onward trains to other European destinations, see advice on changing stations in Paris by taxi or metro. Allow at least 60 minutes between trains in Paris, ideally a bit more.
Plymouth to Paris
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Step 1, take a train to Plymouth, check times at www.nationalrail.co.uk. Transfer from Plymouth station to the ferry terminal by taxi. Allow at least 2 hours in Plymouth between train arrival and ferry departure, which includes the 60-minute check-in for the ferry.
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Step 2, sail from Plymouth to Roscoff with Brittany Ferries, check ferry times & sailing dates at www.brittany-ferries.co.uk.
Allow at least 90 minutes between ferry & train in Roscoff. Check train times & buy a ticket from Roscoff to Paris at either www.thetrainline.com (easy to use, in £, € or $, small booking fee) or www.sncf-connect.com (bit more fiddly, in €, no fee).
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Step 3, take an onward train from Paris to other French cities or other European countries, see the Trains from Paris page for details.
You'll usually need to switch stations to one of the other Paris termini for onward trains to other European destinations, see advice on changing stations in Paris by taxi or metro. Allow at least 60 minutes between trains in Paris, ideally a bit more.
Brighton & Newhaven to Paris
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Day 1, take a train to Newhaven Town, check times at www.nationalrail.co.uk. Direct trains run from Brighton & Lewes to Newhaven every half hour, Brighton to Newhaven takes 30 minutes. Allow at least 90 minutes between train arrival and ferry.
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Day 1, travel from Newhaven to Dieppe by ferry and Dieppe to Paris by train, as shown on the London to Paris by train+ferry page.
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If you use the daytime ferry, stay overnight in Paris, see suggested hotels near the Gare du Nord or Gare de Lyon.
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Day 2, take an onward train from Paris to other French cities or other European countries, see the Trains from Paris page for details.
For onward trains from Paris to other European destinations you'll usually need to switch stations from Paris St Lazare to one of the other Paris termini, see advice on changing stations in Paris by taxi or metro.
Dover to Paris
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Day 1, travel from Dover to Calais by ferry and Calais to Paris by train, as shown on the London to Paris by train+ferry page.
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Stay overnight in Paris, see suggested hotels near the Gare du Nord or Gare de Lyon.
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Day 2, take an onward train from Paris to other French cities or other European countries, see the Trains from Paris page for details.
You'll usually need to switch stations from the Gare du Nord to one of the other Paris termini for onward trains to other European destinations, see advice on changing stations in Paris by taxi or metro.
Portsmouth or Plymouth to Spain
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Brittany Ferries sail several times each week direct from Plymouth & Portsmouth to Santander or Bilbao in northern Spain, see the Spain by ferry page. It's a superb way to get there, see www.brittany-ferries.co.uk.
Other routes
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Brittany Ferries also sail from Poole to Cherbourg, see www.brittany-ferries.co.uk. Condor Ferries also sail Poole to St Malo, see www.condorferries.co.uk. Brittany Ferries also sail from Portsmouth to St Malo, see the London & Portsmouth to St Malo information here.
The Stena Hollandica |
Option 5, take a ferry from Harwich
If you live in East Anglia, you can of course buy a ticket to London and take Eurostar to mainland Europe. But you can also buy a cheap Stena Line Rail & Sail train+ferry ticket from any Greater Anglia rail station (including Cambridge, Ipswich, Norwich, Kings Lynn, Ely, Bury St Edmunds, Great Yarmouth and London Liverpool Street) to either Hoek van Holland or any station in the Netherlands (for example, Amsterdam or Utrecht) using Stena Line's Harwich-Hoek van Holland ferry.
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There's a daytime sailing and an overnight sailing, on the overnight ferry all passengers travel in a private cabin with shower, toilet & satellite TV. See the Stena Line Rail & Sail page for full details.
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If you take the overnight ferry, there are then daytime trains from Amsterdam to Hannover & Berlin, and from Amsterdam or Utrecht to Cologne, Frankfurt & Switzerland, arriving in the evening. Use int.bahn.de to find train times & buy tickets from Amsterdam or Utrecht onwards, allowing plenty of time for connections.
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There are also Nightjet sleeper trains from Amsterdam to Basel, Zurich, Munich, Innsbruck, Vienna. You can take the overnight ferry from Harwich to Hoek van Holland with a cosy cabin, spend the day exploring Amsterdam, then leave by sleeper in the evening for Switzerland or Austria. Book these sleeper trains at www.thetrainline.com (easy to use, in €, £ or $, overseas credit cards no problem, small booking fee) or the Austrian Railways website www.oebb.at (in €).
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If you're heading for Paris & France, Brussels & Belgium, or Spain, buy a SailRail ticket from any Greater Anglia station to Hoek van Holland on the overnight ferry. Next morning, take the metro direct from Hoek van Holland to Eendrachtsplein in Rotterdam city centre, this runs every 20-30 minutes and only costs €4 or so, buy a ticket from the ticket machines at Hoek van Holland. It's then an 800m 10-minute walk to Rotterdam Centraal for trains south to Brussels & Paris, see walking map. From Rotterdam Centraal there are hourly Intercity (IC) trains to Antwerp & Brussels, book these at www.nsinternational.nl. On most days there's an 09:58 Thalys from Rotterdam Centraal which reaches Paris Gare du Nord at 12:35, book this at www.nsinternational.nl or www.thetrainline.com. Change in Paris for destinations all over France, and for Spain.
 DFDS ferry at Newcastle... |
Option 6, take a ferry from Hull or Newcastle
If you live in the north of England or Scotland, you can of course buy a ticket to London and take Eurostar to mainland Europe. As Kings Cross and St Pancras stations are adjacent, and Euston only 10 minutes walk away, interchange is really easy between Eurostar and domestic UK trains arriving at Euston, Kings Cross or St Pancras.
However, you can also by-pass London completely, taking a comfortable overnight ferry with cosy cabins direct from Newcastle to Amsterdam or Hull to Rotterdam, with onward train connections to Belgium, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, Poland, Czech Republic and so on.
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Newcastle-Amsterdam: See the Newcastle-Amsterdam page for details.
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Hull-Rotterdam: See the Hull-Rotterdam page for details.