Eurostar fares start from around £39/$52, but only if you know when and what to know before you travel. Here are the insider tips.
This is the single most important rule. Eurostar opens bookings 120–180 days before travel. The cheapest fares are available the moment booking opens and sell out gradually. A London–Paris ticket bought 4 months ahead might cost £39. The same seat bought a week before could be £150–£250.
Fridays and Sundays are peak days — business travellers going to and from Paris, and leisure travellers heading for weekends away. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday services are consistently cheaper and less crowded.
Early morning trains (before 7am) and mid-afternoon trains tend to be cheaper than the popular 8–10am and 5–7pm departures. If your schedule is flexible, check prices for trains outside peak hours.
A one-day shift can make a significant price difference. If you can travel on Thursday instead of Friday, or return on Monday instead of Sunday, you'll often save £30–£50 per ticket.
Eurostar occasionally offers "Snap" fares — ultra-cheap last-minute tickets sold at a fixed low price. The catch: you don't get to choose your exact train time until closer to departure. Great if you're flexible.
Eurostar prices each direction independently. Sometimes two one-way tickets on different days are cheaper than a return. Always check both options.
London–Brussels is often cheaper than London–Paris, especially for last-minute bookings. If your ultimate destination is flexible, Brussels fares can be a bargain.
Eurostar runs seasonal sales — typically in January, around Easter, and in autumn. Sign up for our newsletter and we'll let you know when prices drop.
London–Paris: from £39/$52 (advance) to £250+ (last minute). London–Brussels: from £35/$46 (advance) to £200+ (last minute). London–Amsterdam: from £43/$58 (advance) to £280+ (last minute).
For the lowest advance fares on any Channel Tunnel or European rail route, Trainline is one of the most useful places to start — it aggregates fares across operators, shows flexible-date searches, and surfaces combinations (e.g. split ticketing) that can beat the direct operator site. For the absolute cheapest fares, always also check the operator's own website — sometimes they have promotional fares that aggregators don't show.
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