Eurostar, the chunnel train, is the fastest way between UK and Paris.  If you can take advantage of a leisure fare or a special youth fare Eurostar can be fairly cheap.  The cheapest option is usually flying.  Ferry + train takes the better part of a day and you can often find a flight that’s as cheap as the ferry.

I’ve taken the ferry from Oostend, Belgium to Dover.  It was an enjoyable trip, but the high speed ferries are pretty much like being inside a giant airplane with an onboard McDonalds.  It’s certainly not the kind of “fun” I’d waste time for.

Thanks for the help!

I think my best bet is to take British Airways, it’s only $85 and a 2 hour flight. Sounds like the trouble of getting to the ferry outweighs the fun!

– Clay

I’d look for a cheaper flight on ryanair or one of the budget carriers.  www.whichbudget.com will tell you which budget carriers fly this route.  $85 is actually pretty expensive for this flight.  Eurostar is 3 hours, Waterloo to Gare du Nord.  By the time you figure in getting to and from the airports and the extra check-in and security time it will be faster than flying.  If you’re traveling in the middle of the week or have a railpass that covers either France or UK you can probably find a Eurostar fare that’s as cheap as your British air flight — especially when you add the expense to get to and from the airports. Check Eurostar fares at www.eurostar.com

Thanks!

Your right about the Eurostar. I found a $94 one-way ticket to Paris. I could not find a section offering discounts. I am going to buy the Eurorail Globalpass, so hopefully it will offer some type of deal. Thanks again for the help!

– Clay

Edit: I found the railpass discount – $81 – great deal!

Wow, wish that I had read this 1 week ago. I am travelling with 3 classmates. We took a 2 day trip to Paris from London.
 
THEY bought their tickets in the US with a student discount for $150 round trip.
It cost me $500 (255#) for the same trip when I purchased the tix from the gate the day before.
 
DETAILS :
2.5 hrs    duration
21 miles   english channel width at closest point
    beautiful French countryside to see
    electrical outlets for charging phone and computer
    quiet, luxiourious ride
    wish that I would have flown
 
I’ll be in Nice for 2 wks from today (3/10-3/24), then a 4 day drive through Italy.
 
Steve
http://castellari.blogspot.com
 

testpilot:

Did you buy them last minute? One of my main concerns is that the prices are going to be much higher once I get to Europe than they would be if I bought the tickets here in the US.

Whether tickets will be more expensive later depends on lots of things, including the mode of transportation.   Regular pricing seldom changes so the issue is the specials and discounts available at any given time.

For regular train tickets, they’re usually much cheaper to buy after you get to Europe. 

For airline tickets and Eurostar, there are a wide variety of ticket prices with a wide variety of restrictions on refunds, changes, etc.  There are usually a limited number of seats available at the lowest price.  The cheapest tickets have the most restrictions and they usually sell out first.  So the upside to buying early is that you may get a cheaper price.  The downside is that you’re probably out the full price of the ticket if you change your plans.