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Dreaming of a Euro summer?
If you fancy a getaway, now is the time to book, as Eurostar has launched a summer sale across all of its destinations.
Tickets to city-break favourites including Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Lille, and Rotterdam will be 20% off, with the discount automatically applied online.
But you’ll have to be quick, the sale is only on for five days, starting June 3 and ending June 7, at 10:59pm.
Which destinations can you book tickets to in the Eurostar flash sale?
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The sale offers discounted fares for travel to all the destinations across the Eurostar network, to and from London St Pancras. This is across both Eurostar and Eurostar Plus classes.
Popular cities of course include the likes of Paris and Lille, as well as those slightly further afield, such as Amsterdam, Cologne and Dusseldorf.
How cheap are tickets in the Eurostar flash sale?
Eurostar say there will be a 20% discount applied to fares.
Before the sale began, there were tickets available for a long weekend in Paris in July (leaving London on Friday July 18 and returning Monday July 21) for £170 return.
With a 20% discount, this fare would be dropped to just £136.
Prices mid-week are expected to be even cheaper. A ticket for travel to Paris (one-way) on Wednesday July 8 before the sale cost £57. With a 20% discount, this would be just £45.60.
What travel dates do the discounted fares apply to in the Eurostar flash sale?
The discount is applied automatically to fares for travel between 24 June and September 9.
There are some ‘blackout dates’ though, where passengers won’t be able to get a discount.
These are: June 27, 29. July 6, 7, 25, 26, 27, 28. August, 22, 25.
Due to engineering works, there are also no trains to Amsterdam on June 28 and 29, and no trains to Rotterdam on August 9 and 10.
Are there any other ways I can get cheap Eurostar tickets?
Eurostar Snap is a spur-of-the-moment service where you can bag leftover tickets based on whatever seats are available last-minute.
You pick travel dates and a time slot (either before or after 1pm to or from London, or 2pm for all other destinations), then Eurostar picks the specific train times, which are sent to you via email 48 hours before travel.
Eurostar you can get up to 50% discount, and you can even book tickets for up to three other people – although you’re unlikely to be sat together.
Bookings can only be made up to 14 days before travel on routes to and from London, or up to eight days before on all other routes. Routes in include are London and Paris, Brussels, Lille, Amsterdam and Paris and Brussels, Amsterdam and Cologne.
It’s worth bearing in mind though but if plans change, you’ll lose out on the cash. Snap tickets are non-exchangeable, non-refundable, non-transferable and non-cancellable.
A TikTok travel influencer also recently shared their hack for getting Eurostar tickets for free.
Competition for the Eurostar
For three decades, Eurostar has held a monopoly on passenger trains in the Channel Tunnel since it opened in 1994. But this year, new potential rivals have emerged, which could turn the game on its head.
Richard Branson’s Virgin Group announced said there are ‘no more major hurdles to overcome’ in its £700million rail project to operate cross-channel trains.
The company made the positive claim after the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) confirmed that Eurostar’s Temple Mills maintenance depot could be used by other train operators.
In March, Gemini Trains unveiled their own plans to connect London St Pancras with Paris and Brussels. The firm said it planned to offer seats at prices that would rival Eurostar, and would include services from Ebbsfleet in Kent. It’s also since announced a partnership with Uber, who would co-brand the trains.
And Italy’s national state-owned railway company, Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (FS Group) have also said it will launch a new high-speed rail service between London and Paris by 2029 that would compete with Eurostar.
The group, which is a co-owner of Avanti West Coast, could extend the route to Marseilles, Lyon and Milan, and is also looking at a possible reopening of Ashford International in Kent.
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