London to Paris: 5 reasons why Eurostar is better than flying

First of all, I love flying. I’m not ashamed to admit that I am a bit of an anorak when it comes to aviation, and honestly I would quite happily take a flight to an airport somewhere and then just fly back home again and call it a good day out, especially if it’s on a type of aircraft I haven’t been on before.

But when booking a trip from London to Paris, I’d pick Eurostar over flying every time, for so many reasons.

Here are the top 5 reasons I think the train beats the plane when traveling from London to Paris.

1. Eurostar is quicker than flying overall

If you factor in the time it takes to travel to your departure airport, then from the airport in (or near!) Paris / London in to the centre, along with the time you need to arrive at the airport before your flight, the total travel time is usually longer than the time it would take to go by train.

The ‘extra bits’ involved with flying add up to make the overall trip much longer.

Most Eurostar trains traveling from London to Paris make the journey in 2hrs 16mins.

📍 As the crow flies, London is actually closer to Paris than it is to Newcastle or the Lake District.
Would you fly that?
Is spending all that time “doing airport faff” really worth it for such a short distance?

2. Eurostar can be cheaper than the true cost of flying

Eurostar tickets are generally more expensive than some low cost flights, however, depending on where you live, if you break it down and weigh-up all the extra costs involved when flying, that higher headline Eurostar ticket price will likely work out to be cheaper than what you end up paying in total if you opt for a cheaper flight.

Here are a few of the expenses you’d need to consider when taking Eurostar from London to Paris:

Eurostar	Easyjet
– Tickets ^{(with free seat selection & unlimited luggage)} – Getting to St Pancras Station / parking	– Tickets – Seat selection (Upcharge) – Getting to the airport and airport parking – Luggage (+ up to £42 per bag, per leg) – Transport from airport to Paris centre (+ around £15 each way by train)

Of course this all depends where you live! I’m from the South of England where Eurostar is an easy option, but it becomes pricier if you need to travel down to London from Scotland, Wales or the North, and also how you want to fly. If you’re not bothered about selecting a seat, snd you’re only traveling with a carry-on bag, flying may well be cheaper.

Eurostar have their own price comparison website if you would like to try it for yourself.

3. There’s less faff when arriving by Eurostar

For me, the most convenient advantage of taking Eurostar over the plane is that when you arrive, you have actually arrived, literally in the middle of the city centre.

You simply walk off the train, directly on to the streets of Paris or London. Easy.

With Eurostar, there are:

No border checks when arriving (because that’s all done before departure!)
No baggage claim, because you never left your bags anywhere in the first place
No train/metro/taxi faff trying to get in to Paris or London, because you’re already there!

4. Eurostar is a lot more comfortable than flying

The last Ryanair seat I sat in offered about as much comfort as a Moroccan prison, so there’s no denying that Eurostar is a lot more comfortable than flying.

You get a larger seat than you would on a plane, with more leg room, more privacy, and the option to bring more ‘stuff’ with you, with no restrictions on luggage at all.

There’s also something a bit boujee about Eurostar.
It’s definitely not ‘posh’, but the whole journey from start to finish offers a much nicer experience than you’d get traveling by air ^{(depending on what you’ve booked of course!)}.

5. Eurostar is better for the environment than flying

If those reasons aren’t enough to persuade you to travel by Eurostar instead of by plane to Paris, then consider how green it is.

🌳 According to Eurostar, their trains produce 93% less CO2 per passenger than planes, and 100% of their trains run on electricity, mostly generated by wind power.

Thanks for reading!

Do you have any more reasons for choosing the train instead of the plane, or do you disagree? Let me know in the comments!

🚝 Coming to the UK from abroad?

Because the UK is no longer in the EU, unfortunately data roaming (using your mobile from abroad) in the UK can be very expensive.

I would recommend buying a cheap pay-as-you-go SIM from Giffgaff and using that when you’re here if you’re coming over from abroad – just order and activate your free SIM, and then when you’re ready to come to the UK purchase a cheap £12 goody bag which will give you all the data you’ll need for a month.

📱 You can order a SIM using my referral link and get £5 free credit.