• Option 3:  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.  On the downside, they're usually more expensive than the add-on rates used by Eurostar in option 1.

• Option 4:  Board Eurostar in Ebbsfleet or Ashford if you live in Kent, East Sussex or South London.

• Option 5:  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 to the heart of Europe without flying and without negotiating London...

• Option 6:  Take a ferry from the west of England or south coast to France then a train to Paris, by-passing London.

• Option 7:  Take a ferry from Harwich to Hoek van Holland, by-passing London, for trains to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Scandinavia...

• Option 8:  Belfast & Northern Ireland to mainland Europe:  Buy a SailRail ticket from Belfast to London, see the Northern Ireland page.

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Option 1:  Buy a Eurostar through ticket...

UPDATE 2021:  Through ticketing from UK towns & cities is temporarily not working.  It disappeared in March 2020 when Eurostar upgraded its ticketing system but was due to be reinstated soon afterwards.  However, the pandemic intervened.  UK through ticketing should eventually be restored after recovery from the pandemic. By all means go to www.eurostar.com (UK version) and see if it recognises station names such as Birmingham or Manchester or High Wycombe.  Let me know if the through tickets facility has been restored!

Through tickets from over 100 UK towns & cities to Paris or Brussels.

• You can buy a through ticket between over 100 UK towns & cities & cities and Paris, Lille or Brussels in either direction at www.eurostar.com.

  These special fares are only available at www.eurostar.com, not on any other ticket website or retailer.  Note that You must have the United Kingdom version of their site selected (so that payment is taken in pounds) to book to or from these 100+ UK locations, wherever you happen to live.

  Major cities such as Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, York, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham are all included, as are places like High Wycombe, Milton Keynes, Basingstoke & Reading.  But smaller towns or villages won't be included in this through booking arrangement.

• The advantages... 

  It's usually the cheapest way...  These through fares are generally cheaper than buying separate tickets, as Eurostar have negotiated special rates with the British train companies.  The rates negotiated by Eurostar tend to be cheaper than even the special fares to London International described in option 3 below.

  You're legally covered for missed connections:  Your whole journey will be covered by the international railway conditions of carriage, known as Convention Internationale pour le transport des Voyageurs or CIV.  Amongst other things, this means that if your UK train is late and you miss a Eurostar through no fault of your own, you're legally entitled to be re-booked on the next available departure even if you ticket is theoretically non-changeable.  A useful protection!  However, I'm pleased to say that in most cases Eurostar generously extend this protection to anyone making a through journey, whatever type of UK train ticket they have.

• The downsides...

  If you have a railcard, you can't use it on the UK part of a through ticket, although buying a through ticket may still save money.

  Booking opens only 3 months ahead for journeys with a UK domestic element, even though Eurostar itself opens for booking up to 6 months ahead.  More than 3 months ahead and you'll have to decide whether to wait (and risk the Eurostar fare going up, which it will) or book the UK journey separately using option 3 below, at a higher price than you'd get as part of a through journey at www.eurostar.com.  With 3½ months to go, I'd wait.  But with 5 months to go, I'd lock in the Eurostar fare and buy the UK part separately using option 3 below.

• Going beyond Paris or Brussels?

  If you're going from the UK to (for example) to Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Budapest, Prague or wherever - you simply split the booking.  First buy a ticket from a UK station to Paris at www.eurostar.com, then buy onward tickets from Paris to Switzerland, Italy, Spain or wherever at www.raileurope.com.  Obvious, really...

• How do these Eurostar through tickets work?

  After booking, you get a print-at-home ticket for the Eurostar itself and a reservation code to collect the UK ticket from the self-service ticket machines at your UK starting station.  For longer distance travel (for example, Manchester to Paris) they are only valid on the specific UK train which directly connects with your Eurostar, so if you want to stop off in London for any reason, you should buy separate tickets as shown in option 3 below.

• You MUST use the United Kingdom version of eurostar.com, irrespective or where you live... 

  You can buy these through tickets in either direction, so for example you can buy a one-way or return ticket from Paris to York or from Brussels to Bath.  But at www.eurostar.com you must select United Kingdom or change the site setting to UK English top right so that you make the booking in pounds sterling on the UK version of Eurostar's website.  These 130 UK regional destinations do not show up on the French, Belgian, Dutch, US, or Rest of World versions of their site because UK train companies won't accept euros or dollars and Eurostar won't speculate by taking euros but settling in pounds.  You'll have no problem booking on the United Kingdom version of Eurostar.com even if you live in France, Belgium or overseas.

• A comment about these through fares...

  The booking system seems to work best from stations close to London that have 'walk up' tickets to London such as Reading, Milton Keynes or High Wycombe, where the system can simply add a fixed-price add-on to whatever the Eurostar price is, without the need to check seat availability.  Stations further from London such as Leeds or Manchester require the system to check availability for the domestic leg to London, using a quota of advance tickets allocated specially for these European through journeys.  Sometimes this quota isn't very big and gets used up, particularly from stations like Edinburgh or Glasgow where they don't seem to allocate many tickets in the first place.  Instead of doing the sensible thing and automatically adding the price of a 'walk-up' always-available Off-Peak Edinburgh-London ticket to the Eurostar fare, the system simply says there are no trains which meet your requirements, when there certainly are.  If this happens, just buy a London-Paris ticket and buy a separate ticket to London International CIV as explained in option 3 below.

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Option 2:  Book at www.raileurope.com...

• www.raileurope.com can sell train tickets from any station in Britain to most western European destinations as a single transaction, with everything worked out for you.  Give it a try!

• For the British domestic part of the trip, Raileurope.com used to use a special ticket from British station to London International CIV - the type of ticket described in option 3 below.  However, I gather it no longer does so, and now just adds on a normal ticket to London at whatever the cheapest normal fare happens to be.

• Booking opens 3 months in advance...  Remember that you can only book through tickets from British stations 3 months or less before departure.  Although Eurostar opens for booking as much as 6 months ahead, tickets for British journeys can only be issued a maximum of 3 months ahead.  If you need to book further ahead than this, buy the UK leg separately as shown in option 3 below.

• The price of the normal British domestic fares used by Raileurope.com is usually not as good as the extra-cheap UK add-on fares used by Eurostar in option 1 above, so it is likely that booking (let's say) from Bristol to Paris at eurostar.com then Paris to Zurich at www.raileurope.com will be a bit cheaper than booking Bristol to Zurich at www.raileurope.com.  Raileurope.com also now charge a small booking fee.

  But using Raileurope.com saves having to co-ordinate two bookings on two sites, and if you're a newbie to international train travel, stick with www.raileurope.com.  And unlike Eurostar.com, Raileurope.com can apply a Railcard discount to the UK leg if you have a railcard.

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Option 3:  Buy a separate ticket...

You might want to book Eurostar more than 3 months ahead, which rules out options 1 & 2.  Or you might want to buy European tickets from a site which doesn't do through tickets from British stations north of London such as Dutch Railways nsinternational.com or Belgian Railways b-europe.com.  In this case you'll want to book the UK leg separately.  You have several options:

...either a regular train ticket to London.

• ...at whatever the cheapest fare happens to be.  You can check fares and buy online www.raileurope.com (no booking fee for British domestic tickets) or any train operator website such as www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk, or you can buy at the station.

• 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.

• Make sure you allow plenty of time to connect with Eurostar, allowing for the 30 minute Eurostar check-in and any delay to your UK train.

• From Scotland, you can combine the Caledonian Sleeper with a morning Eurostar to Paris or Brussels, see the Caledonian Sleeper page for details.

• From Cornwall, you can combine the Night Riviera sleeper with a morning Eurostar to Paris or Brussels, see the Night Riviera page for details.

...or a special ticket to London International CIV.

• 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).  Since 2010 tickets to London International no longer exist from every station in Britain, 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.

• Advantage 1:  Fewer time restrictions!  The flexible Euro Open/Saver fare to London International CIV generally 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, to connect with a Eurostar to Europe.  This can be very useful.  A handful of operators introduced time restrictions for these fares a few years ago, so please check, but you'll still find the time restrictions more generous than with normal Off-Peak fares.

• 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 normally honour this in the event of a delayed UK connection even if you only have a regular UK ticket, but it's good to have the actual legal entitlement.

• 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 for just one stop.

• To check if these special tickets exist from your local station, prices & what time restrictions apply...

  Go to www.brfares.com.  In the origin box, enter the name of your local station.  In the destination box, enter the code 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 special 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.

• How to buy these tickets online...

  London International CIV tickets cannot now be bought  online, you must go to a staffed station or perhaps call a train operator telesales.

• Buy them in person at your local station:  Help staff by quoting destination code LNE...

  You must 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.  Ticket office staff aren't always 100%  familiar with these London International 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".

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Option 4:  By Eurostar from Ebbsfleet or Ashford...

Ebbsfleet International (M25)...

• Many Eurostars call at Ebbsfleet in Kent, near Gravesend and not far from the M25.  There's plenty of car parking, around £11 a day.

• You can also travel to Ebbsfleet by train.  South Eastern Trains operate high-speed domestic trains from Dover, Folkestone, Canterbury & Ashford to Ebbsfleet International, or you can take regular trains to Gravesend, then take the FastTrack bus link from Gravesend station to Ebbsfleet International (the bus is no longer free, a small fare is now charged).

• To see an access map of Ebbsfleet and see a list of station facilities, see www.eurostar.com, click 'Travel Information', then 'Eurostar terminals' then 'Ebbsfleet International'.

• COVID-19 UPDATE:  Eurostars are currently not calling at Ebbsfleet and are unlikely to resume doing so until 2022.

Ashford (Kent)...

• A handful of Eurostars call at Ashford International, which has good direct train connections from Brighton, Hastings, Canterbury, Maidstone, Dover.

• COVID-19 UPDATE:  Eurostars are currently not calling at Ashford and are unlikely to resume doing so until 2022.

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Cruise overnight from Newcastle to Amsterdam with DFDS Seaways, then take onward trains to Munich, Zurich, Vienna, Milan, Copenhagen, Warsaw or Prague... Photo courtesy of DFDS See the video...

Option 5:  Take a ferry from Hull or Newcastle...

If you live in the north of England or Scotland, by all means buy a Eurostar through ticket or buy a ticket to London to connect with Eurostar.  As Kings Cross and St Pancras stations are adjacent, and Euston only a short walk away, interchange is really easy between Eurostar and domestic UK trains arriving at Euston, Kings Cross or St Pancras.  But depending on your final destination, also consider by-passing London & Eurostar, using an overnight cruise ferry direct from the North of England to mainland Europe.

• Newcastle-Amsterdam:  An overnight cruise ferry run by DFDS Seaways sails daily from Newcastle at 17:00 (North Shields ferry terminal, arriving in Amsterdam (IJmuiden ferry terminal) at 09:30 next morning.  Buses & taxis link IJmuiden with central Amsterdam.  Allow at least 2 hours between your train arriving at Newcastle Central Station and the ferry sailing from Newcastle's International Ferry Terminal, a bus links Newcastle station with the terminal, journey time 30 minutes or so.

• Hull-Rotterdam:  P&O ferries sail overnight from Hull to Rotterdam for trains to Amsterdam or Brussels, see www.ns.nl for times & prices.  Use www.bahn.de to check train times to destinations further into Europe.

• Then use daytime trains to places such as Berlin or Munich or Basel, arriving in the evening.  Simply use www.bahn.de to find train times & buy tickets, allowing plenty of time for connections.  Or book with German Railways English-speaking line on 00 49 (0)30 311 68 29 04, lines open 08:30-20:00 Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 weekends, 1.5% fee for phone bookings.

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Option 6:  Take a ferry from west of England or south coast...

Brittany Ferries Bretagne waiting to sail from Portsmouth to Caen...

If you live in the West Country or along the South Coast, by all means buy a Eurostar through ticket or buy a ticket to London to connect with Eurostar.  But also consider a ferry crossing direct to France then a train to Paris.  Once in Paris you can pick up the trains to Italy, Switzerland or Spain shown on the relevant country pages of this site.

For example, taking the 23:45 overnight Brittany Ferries ship from Portsmouth to Caen with a comfortable cabin reserved arriving 07:30, then taking the 09:24 train from Caen to Paris arriving 11:11, works well to catch an afternoon train to the South of France or Switzerland.

To check train times & fares from any of these French ports to Paris (and to book online) use either www.raileurope.com or www.thetrainline.com (both with a small booking fee) or en.oui.sncf (a bit more fiddly, but no booking fee).  Once in Paris you can pick up the trains to the South of France, Spain, Italy & Switzerland recommended on the other country pages of this site.  Remember to allow plenty of time (90 minutes+) for interchange between ferry and railway station at the French port.

Portsmouth to Paris...

The overnight ferry+train 'sleeper service' from London & Portsmouth to Le Havre & Paris is shown on the London to Paris by train+ferry page.

Dover to Paris...

The train + ferry journey from London & Dover to Calais & Paris is shown on the London to Paris by train+ferry page.

By direct ferry to Spain...

Don't forget that Brittany Ferries sail up to 5 times each week direct from Plymouth & Portsmouth to Santander & Bilbao in northern Spain, see the Spain by ferry page.  It's a superb way to get there.

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The Stena Hollandica

Option 7:  Take a ferry from Harwich...

If you live in East Anglia, you can 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 or even London) to any station in the Netherlands (for example, Amsterdam or Utrecht) via Stena Line's Harwich-Hoek van Holland superferries.  See the Stena Line Rail & Sail page for details.

There are daytime trains from the Netherlands to places such as Berlin or Basel, arriving in the evening.  Use www.bahn.de to find train times & buy tickets from Amsterdam or Utrecht onwards, allowing plenty of time for connections, or book by calling German Railways' English-speaking line on 00 49 (0)30 311 68 29 04, lines open 08:30-20:00 Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday UK time, 1.5% fee for phone bookings.

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