EuroStar

 

Step by Step Guide to Buying Train Tickets for EuroStar high-speed trains (London to/from Paris & Brussels)

 

1) As a first step you'll need to make sure that you're using legit & official EuroStar website (and not some kind of reseller or agency (like Rail Europe). The is absolutely no point to overpay by feeding the middle man -buy directly from EuroStar

a) choose from & to destinations, then b) pick a date you want to travel or tick "Flexible with my dates" when you don't have fixcd schedule (NB, remember that in case you travel there & back, it's always cheaper to purchase return tickets instead of two separate one-way Eurostar tickets), afterwards  c) enter the number of passengers (note that EuroStar has a number of discounts for children, youth & seniors passengers, so make sure you take advantage of that) and finally hit "Get Trains" button

 

2) Next you should be redirected to the page showing all the available connections for the date you've selected

On your left there will be the list of all the available connections (note the time difference between UK and France/Belgium), next to it there will be price table for each class. Remember that EuroStar trains offers three different classes: a) Standard (=basic & cheapest option with minimum services, corresponds to European 2nd class); b) Standard Premier (better & wider seats, corresponds to European 1st class) and c) Business Premier (highest class with all the possible services). Comparison chart for all three classes can be found here

NB: Cheapest available fares for EuroStar trains are always marked by yellow star (however remember that cheapest discounted tickets for Standard & Standard Premier classes are not exchangeable or refundable)

 

3) Once you've decided which connection suits you best - make your choice by selecting the fare corresponding to departure time & class

 

On your right should appear a summary of your journey along with price of the ticket you've selected. Next just click on one of the three "Continue" buttons

 

4) On the next step EuroStar website will ask you for any Travel Extras (like various types of insurance)

Insurance is not compulsory, so if don't feel like paying extra money, just tick "No thanks" and push "Continue" button

 

5) Further you'll be redirected to log-in/register page

To registr or not is totally your choice (usually registration, thus having your EuroStar website account makes sense in cases when passenger travels often).For a single ticket purchase registration is a waist of time, so in such cases it makes sense just to tick "Continue as a Guest" and proceed further. EuroStar website will allow ticket purchase ticket without registration, no problems here

 

6) Finally you'll arrive to Passenger(s) Details page

Make sure you've correctly entered your First & Last names (a), then once again recheck all the journey details (b) and if everything is ok - hit "Continue" button (c)

 

7) Next you'll see the "Payment" page

First you will need to enter all the bank card details (a), then fill in info regarding cardholder details (b), your email & phone contacts (c) and finally go through Terms & Conditions (d). Once you rechecked everything and ready to proceed - push "Make Payment" button and wait for a few moments while your payment is being processed

Payment shouldn't take long and once it is done, you'll get confirmation from EuroStar (booking reference number along with details of the journey will also be sent to the email you've entered)

 

8) EuroStar tickets can be either mobile, printed at the station from ticket machine or self-printed at home on a regular A4 piece of paper, the later is usually most convenient. Self-printed ticket will look somewhat similar to this

Enjoy your journey :)

p.s. Seating Plan for EuroStar trains can be found here (pdf)