NEED HELP ASAP!

[tiffany]

Hi,
For anyone out there who knows more than I do, I need some help ASAP!
I have lucked in on a seat sale and I am wondering which flight to book:
I planned to fly into London and then fly to Paris right away (as I plan to end my trip in London). I can either fly into London and pay $160 less than flying into Paris and then out of London at the end of my trip. Time and hassle wise: flying into Paris is more appealing to me as I will be spending 5 days in London at the end of my trip because I have tickets for a concert at that time.
I am thinking the difference of $160 will even out. If I fly into London and have to get a train from the airport into the city and pay for a hostel for that night and then back to the airport the next day and for the flight from London to Paris. Will this end up being about the same cost? How much does a train from the airport in London cost? I know London is an expensive city so I am thinking that it may be best to leave entering the city for the end of my trip?
Any info/suggestions anyone may have I would GREATLY appreciate it.
Cheers,
Tiffany

[WillTravel]

It will going to cost at least $100 to fly from London to Paris on BMI or EasyJet (the two low-cost carriers on this route) when you consider taxes and airport transfer costs. Plus you'd lose time. So I'd definitely suggest flying into Paris.

For the Eurostar, you get the cheapest price with a roundtrip train. But I was just looking at this and didn't see anything cheaper than 52 pounds - again about $100 USD.

[pointofnoreturn]

Hey Tiffany, where are you flying into London from?

[tiffany]

WillTravel: Thanks.....I was thinking the same thing. I doubt that I will save any money by flying into London. Less time/hassle is also a big thing here as I am only in Europe for 35 days.
pointofnoreturn: I am flying into London/Paris from St. John's via Halifax.

[pointofnoreturn]

I was going to suggest you fly into Paris and out of London using Zoom Airlines but checked with them and they only fly to Glasgow or London from Halifax. That sucks because it could have saved you enough money.

I would probably have fly London-Paris using easyJet. It's about 16-21 pounds not including taxes but you'd be flying from Luton Airport. As far as I know, easyJet operates a cheap shuttle from center of London to the airport in Luton for little as 2 pounds each way.

www.london-luton.co.uk/en/content.asp?area=2&id=942

It might be your best bet. Of course, that depends on what time you're flying in and as well factorig into the transpotation costs.

[madamtrashheap]

I'm with WT, fly direct to Paris at the start then out of London at the end. Factoring in the costs, both time and money, you'll be better off. And as you've already researched, the trek to the airport in London to fly to Paris, the time it takes, the cost of the hostel....take the easy option. Unless you want to ride on the Eurostar (which is a cool trip, but not an absolute necessity), you're better placed to get straight to Paris from Canada.

[Eagle]

I agree with MTH in that flying to Paris and home from London is probably the easiest solution. Of course this will depend on whether this will work with the seat sales that you're using?

You didn't indicate what time of year you'd be traveling? AFAIK the charters (Air Transat and Zoom) only operate from about March or April to the end of October, but this is somewhat specific by destination. Zoom flies to the U.K. year round I believe, but my flight out of Paris at the end of October was their last flight of the season.

As you'll be in Europe for about 35 days, what other cities were you planning to visit? This might have a bearing on which method you use to get to London towards the end of your trip.

Cheers!!!