I was planning to travel with my child from the UK to Belgium, Germany, France using 7 day passes but every Eurostar I check is sold out of seat reservations and ferries seem to be very expensive.
Should I forget just forget travelling by train this July/August?
Is there an easier way to check which Eurostar trains do have seats available instead of clicking each individual train departure?
Our travel dates are flexible but we have to be able to get from and to the UK!
Thanks in advance!
Best answer by Al_G
It sounds like you are not looking at the right thing.
There are 2 services to book Eurostar passholder fares
https://www.b-europe.com/EN/Booking/Pass is probably the better one to find availability, select a date and search then keep clicking “Earlier Trains” and “Later Trains” and it will eventually show all available over multiple days.
That site adds booking fees so the cheapest place to book is https://www.raileurope.com
A Quirk with Eurostar is that passholder availability ends before the trains are full, regularly a few weeks before travel.
Availability will often re-appear close to the date of travel if the trains have not sold out so looking now there is lots of avilability for Today, 3 July until Monday 7 July then next to nothing for the next few weeks.
+1The best is to check at Rail Europe. For many trains the rail pass doesn’t apply anymore, but just now I checked for Londen St Pancras - Brussels South and found still enough trains that you can reserve for you and your child for £63.50 together, or € 70.00 (€ 35.00 each). The "man in seat 61” (this link) explains exactly how to check. Book your reservations there, not at interrail.
It sounds like you are not looking at the right thing.
There are 2 services to book Eurostar passholder fares
https://www.b-europe.com/EN/Booking/Pass is probably the better one to find availability, select a date and search then keep clicking “Earlier Trains” and “Later Trains” and it will eventually show all available over multiple days.
That site adds booking fees so the cheapest place to book is https://www.raileurope.com
A Quirk with Eurostar is that passholder availability ends before the trains are full, regularly a few weeks before travel.
Availability will often re-appear close to the date of travel if the trains have not sold out so looking now there is lots of avilability for Today, 3 July until Monday 7 July then next to nothing for the next few weeks.
It’s also worth a try to check London - Lille. It often has more passholder seats left than the other routes. You can continue to Brussels or Paris by other trains afterwards.
The best is to check at Rail Europe. For many trains the rail pass doesn’t apply anymore, but just now I checked for Londen St Pancras - Brussels South and found still enough trains that you can reserve for you and your child for £63.50 together, or € 70.00 (€ 35.00 each).
Rail Europe charges around 5% more in currencies other than euro, so it's usually better to pay in euro (€70 = £60.33).
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