But what about the train-ferry combination, the one many may recall fondly from their childhoods? It is still feasible, but these days it is not a streamlined option. You’ll need to purchase train and ferry tickets separately and finesse train station-port transportation on your own. The journey will also take 10 hours, so it’s best to leave that option to your memories. Instead, here are some more affordable ways to get from London to Paris and back again.

Related: 

• 50 Ways to save in Paris
• 21 Simple tips to save in London

Affordable Travel From London To Paris

Here are the most viable and cheapest ways to get between these two European centers.

Air: Fast but not so efficient

Though flying between London and Paris is by no means our recommended mode of transportation — the distance is simply too short to warrant the hassle, not to mention the carbon expenditure — there are a few ways to get between these two dynamic capital cities by air. These days the Paris-London route is used disproportionately for passengers connecting on to a long-haul destination, with the exception of business travelers flying in and out of London City Airport. That said, we did find one-way fares starting at $38 searching a few months in advance, but of course that doesn’t include all of the rail or taxi fares in between the airports and the city center.

• easyJet flies from London Gatwick to Paris-Charles de Gaulle.

• From London Luton, easyJet flies to Paris-Charles de Gaulle. You can find one-way fares three months in advance for as low as £30 (about $38).

• From London Heathrow, Air France flies to Paris-Charles de Gaulle with fares as low at £77 ($99), while British Airways flies to both Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly for as low as £47 ($60).

Rail: Comfortable and quick

The only direct train linkage from London to Paris these days is the Eurostar, which travels between London’s St. Pancras International and the Gare du Nord in Paris 15-17 times per weekday. The trip usually takes 2 hours and 15 minutes, with maximum speeds of up to 186 mph. However, Eurostar started rolling out brand new trains in late 2015 that can make the journey in only 2 hours at speeds of up to 200 mph.

The experience feels a bit like air travel, with its security checks and passport control in both directions. Because the UK is not part of the Schengen Area, passengers go through passport control prior to boarding their trains. Traveling from Paris to London, passengers first exit France through French passport control and then enter the UK via British passport control. In London, passengers will officially enter France in the station, submitting passports to French passport control before boarding their train to Paris.

From London, return Eurostar London to Paris fares begin at a very reasonable £41 round trip ($52) (between midday and midnight on a Monday; anytime on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday; and between midday and midnight on a Saturday). Booking nonrefundable tickets as far as possible in advance (up to 120 days) is your best bet for finding this low-cost fare. The cheapest tickets sell out first, so the earlier you book, the more you save.

Bus: Long but super cheap

The bus is usually the least expensive way to travel between Paris and London. It also takes much longer than a flight or the train. BlaBlaCar Bus and FlixBus are two major bus lines traveling between the two capitals. French BlaBlaCar Bus takes between 7.5 and 9 hours. The FlixBus journey takes between 9 and 10 hours. Both lines advertise free Wi-Fi and electrical outlets.

One-way FlixBus (formerly Eurolines) fares begin at £25 ($32). The FlixBus terminal in London is Victoria Coach Station; the Paris terminal is Bercy Seine.

BlaBlaCar Bus (formerly OUIBUS, and before that, iDBUS), a subsidiary of French train company SNCF, is a more comfortable option, with good legroom. Fares begin at around £25 for a one-way journey — promotional one-way fares and overnight trips can dip even lower. The BlaBlaCar Bus terminal in London is Victoria Coach Station; the BlaBlaCar Bus Paris terminal is Paris-Bercy.

What’s your preference?

How do you prefer to travel from London to Paris? Have any tips on ways to save on any of the transport options listed above? Share your tips with us in the comments section!

The post The cheapest way from London to Paris: Planes, trains & buses from £25 appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Flying the flag with Aer Lingus

Aer Lingus is by far the oldest of the airlines that fly the Irish flag. Dating back to 1936, it has struggled to shake off its image as an old-style legacy flag carrier. And struggled even more to shake off predatory take-over bids from upstart Ryanair. Thrice has Ryanair sought to gobble up Aer Lingus, and thrice has Aer Lingus repelled the advances of the suitor.

Aer Lingus is more than merely an airline of the Republic. It’s a big player in Northern Ireland too. In recent weeks, for example, the company has opened new routes from Belfast City Airport to Mallorca, Málaga and Faro. And you’ll find Aer Lingus popping up most unexpectedly in other markets too. Virgin Atlantic’s new UK domestic flights, branded “Little Red,” are more green than red: The routes from London Heathrow to Aberdeen, Manchester and Edinburgh are in fact operated by Aer Lingus under a wet-lease arrangement with Virgin Atlantic.

The tang of the isles with Aer Arann

Book a flight with Aer Lingus Regional and the chances are that your flight will not be operated by Aer Lingus at all, but by another Irish airline: Aer Arann. For more than a quarter of a century after its founding in 1970, Aer Arann’s corporate horizons were limited to the Aran Islands. They provided short-hop services from the mainland to the islands in Galway Bay. But in 1998, Aer Arann spread its wings to establish a dominance in the regional market, using its smaller aircraft to pioneer thinner secondary routes that were of no interest to Aer Lingus.

It has not always been clear skies for Aer Arann though. The carried has relied on government subsidies to maintain routes to remote rural airstrips. And when those subsidies were axed, the carrier had perforce to drop its services. Nowadays, almost all the carrier’s operations are under the wing of Aer Lingus, although you can still catch the flavor of the early days of Aer Arann on the carrier’s flights from Connemara Airport to the Aran Islands.

Ireland with a dash of France: CityJet

In our book, the most interesting of the trinity of Irish airlines is CityJet. The company took to the skies of Europe in 1994, with a route from Dublin to London City. Oddly, the carrier’s greatest visibility has never been in the Irish market at all, but at London City Airport where CityJet competes with British Airways to be the dominant carrier.

This summer CityJet is serving a score of destinations from London City. The company has greatly enhanced its services from the airport to Germany, with new routes to Paderborn and Dresden both starting in recent weeks. Despite having its headquarters just outside Dublin, CityJet relies fair and square on the London City market for the bulk of its revenue. The company’s principal shareholder is Air France, so no surprise perhaps that this Irish airline has a French CEO: Christine Ourmières.

The Air France link has been both an asset and a liability for CityJet. Just now, there is talk of the French carrier wanting to sell its Irish fledgling. But CityJet remains a carrier to watch. Those who feel that Ryanair has done nothing to promote the status of Ireland might like to try CityJet style and service. When it comes to aviation, Ireland comes in many flavors.

The post A Trio of Irish Airlines: Aer Lingus, Aer Arann and CityJet appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.