train journey

[cathyb]

We are thinking of nipping back home for a wedding in August - in the middle of our 4 week stay.  couldn't face a long drive/ferry crossing for sake of a couple of days home and was wondering if it was worth looking at trying the journey by train.  We would go from Carentan to Paris and then Eurostar to London.  Has anyone any experience of this route - how to get best deals, how reliable etc?

 

[Russethouse]

I did my first Eurostar journey last year, very easy, book as early as possible for best price.

Luggage racks are limited, I would take a much smaller case next time.

Also allow plenty of time to get between the stations in Paris, I did it by taxi and it took about 45 minutes, around lunchtime.

[Tourangelle]

If you can get to Lille rather than Paris then the whole journey is much easier as you just have to change platforms.

Jane

[cathyb]

thanks, Jane, we were trying to avoid a long drive and I don't think the train line from Carentan and Caen goes through Lille but if you think of any more alternatives, let me know. Do you know much about SCNF ticket pricing/booking procedures - do they family tickets or discounts for advance booking or travelling at certain times?

cathy

[BJSLIV]

Having looked at their site www.sncf.fr it seems to take about 7 hours overall changing in Paris. The fare if you book in advance and can fix your journey times is about 120 euros per person return. If you need a flexible ticket they cost about 480 euros per person. From memory I think you can book about 90 days ahead.

[GRT17]

Yes, study the sncf website. I believe they do have family fares but I am not sure what the upper age limit is for youngest child.

Friends of mine booked trains (U.K. then  French ) all the way to a ski resort and were very pleased, especially as they got a family discount. I think their youngest child was under 12 years old.

I have so far had good experiences on French train journeys but I have never used the Carentan to Paris line. Allow enough time for a taxi across Paris but for 4 people this would be well worth doing. On the return journey use the designated taxi queue outside gare du nord, even if the queue is long it does seem to move quickly.

 

all the best

 

Gill

[Alcazar]

Two years ago, my wife did Valence TGV>Lille, then Lille>Waterloo, returning a week later except picking up the Eurostar at Ashford (long story, but an English bank holiday was involved )

Everything went perfectly, but the strange thing for us, was finding that the TGV fare, return, for about 900km each way, was LESS than the single from Kings Cross to home, about 300km !!!

Tickets were booked via the sncf shop in London, over the phone, very helpful if you can put up with the wait for a reply.

Alcazar

PS: just looked again at your post. DO be careful if your arrival in, or return from the UK coincides with bank holiday weekend. Engineering works caused us no end of probs, we couldn't book UK tickets as they refused to say what trains were running, and couldn't even confirm if Rosie could get to London on time for an early afternoon Eurostar! She ended up DRIVING to Ashford and leaving the car in the long stay there, picking it up on our return to the UK after the holiday

Alcazar

[cathyb]

thanks, again, very useful tips.  If anyone has used the Carentan-Caen-Paris line, I would be very interested to hear about it.

cathy