Eurostar and Bad weather

[Vicki_26]

Hi Everyone

I am still having a trauma trying to book travel to DLP my husband wants to fly but flights are just soooo expensive at the moment and the closer we get to leaving for DLP the more expensive it gets!

I have managed to get a good price with eurostar and a stay in the ashford travel lodge for far cheaper but my husband is saying how bad the drive down to ashford good be at that time of year from the north west as the south does get hit with the bad weather i.e snow etc and after the bad few years we have had weather wise im starting to think he could be right so i dont really know what to do!! Also it is a 5 and a 1/2 hour drive on a clear run!!! so if we get stuck in traffic this could be a nightmare.

Im starting to lose all options now as everything is selling up fast and he also doesnt want to self drive with euro tunnel

I carnt look forward to our trip till this is sorted

 

[TheMoonman]

As a keen winter weather watcher (try saying that quickly!), nobody can tell you what the weather will be like that far in advance. What I can tell you though, is that until recently, disruptive snow is not that common in the south east, if anything I'd say that being in the north west, you'd be at greater risk of your flights being affected by adverse weather.

If you're staying at the hotel in Ashford the night before you leave, you can take your time driving down.

 

[dlpSteve]

While the journey may be more arduous at this end, nothing can beat rolling into Disneyland Paris on the train and getting off so close to the magic. Whether you have booked the Disney Express service and go straight to the park or you drop your luggage off at the hotel - you are a mere minutes away from entering Disneyland Park and your dreams coming true

As for the weather, like TheMoonman said, if it's that bad then it's more than likely the airports will be affected too - both the flights and the roads approaching the airports.

 

[Vicki_26]

Thanks guys i have said all this to him but he thinks he knows best coz he used to live in Kent so will just have to keep plugging awqay or just book it and then he can deal with it lol

 

[aj2703]

Thanks guys i have said all this to him but he thinks he knows best coz he used to live in Kent so will just have to keep plugging awqay or just book it and then he can deal with it lol

I was thinking the same with regards to the snow. I know earlier this year the Eurostars did break down, but i am sure the problem was rectified. This was a major factor in me going via eurostar because if the weather is as bad again as it was last Jan, i am hoping where the airports could be closed the euro stars will still run...

 

[tennisfan]

I was thinking the same with regards to the snow. I know earlier this year the Eurostars did break down, but i am sure the problem was rectified. This was a major factor in me going via eurostar because if the weather is as bad again as it was last Jan, i am hoping where the airports could be closed the euro stars will still run...

Eurostar had a problem a couple of years ago due to the overhead cable connection, they have rectified this since then.

Some parts of Kent does tend to get cut off with snow as a lot of its countryside, providing the M20 stays open it should be a straightforward run.

I'm fortunate for the past 2 & a bit years since joining the ambulance service I can deal with driving in the snow, if I can do it in a 5.5 tonne vehicle I can do it in my car

 

[Jonjo]

Have you thought about geting the train from where you live into London and geting the Eurostar from St. Pancras International.

Eurostar does offer through trickets, so if any part of your journey is disruped within the UK or France they will put you on the next avaible train.

 

[Vicki_26]

I have booked today doing eurostar from ashford international with a change at Lille Europe (bit worries about this though!!) staying in a premier inn at ashford central the night before and parking the car in the stations NCP car park. This is all a fraction of the cost of what it would have been to fly!! We have also now cut out the cost of the VEA shuttle service saving us ££££'s there as we can walk round to the cheyanne and drop of the luggage

Does anyone know if you pay the parking before or when you come back??

I can now get excited and the boys still dont know which is going to be better to keep the surprise now as they would have got suspicious going on a plane but now we can tell them we are going to see there nan in Kent which we will do on the sunday when we arrive at ashford

 

[aj2703]

Does anyone know if you pay the parking before or when you come back??

I am pretty sure you pay when you get back. At least that is how i remember it.

 

[smallpig]

I have booked today doing eurostar from ashford international with a change at Lille Europe (bit worries about this though!!) staying in a premier inn at ashford central the night before and parking the car in the stations NCP car park. This is all a fraction of the cost of what it would have been to fly!! We have also now cut out the cost of the VEA shuttle service saving us ££££'s there as we can walk round to the cheyanne and drop of the luggage

Does anyone know if you pay the parking before or when you come back??

I can now get excited and the boys still dont know which is going to be better to keep the surprise now as they would have got suspicious going on a plane but now we can tell them we are going to see there nan in Kent which we will do on the sunday when we arrive at ashford

Good choice - and changing at Lille is very easy, no need to worry - Eurostar got such a bashing when everything shut down in the snow a couple of years ago that I'm sure they'll be making sure it doesn't happen again!

 

[poppie123]

Great choice, and as has already been said, changing at Lille is dead easy.

I was stuck at CDG for 27 hours the other winter when my flight was cancelled. NOT an experience i would ever want to repeat. It's the Eurostar for me from now on.

 

[zinderella]

You have totally made the right decision. We were stranded for 2 1/2 days in France when we flew over in the snow...but all the trains were running!!!!!! It really is a much safer option.

Also, when we finally got back to the UK (after a taxi ride, a train journey and a ferry!!!) despite the heavy snow, all of the motorways in Kent were clear.