After travelling from London to Paris with Eurolines coaches last week, I’ve written a short review here of my experience with them:
Who are Eurolines? Are you sure you don’t mean the Eurostar?
Eurostar is the high-speed train connecting Britain to Europe, and Eurolines is a low-cost coach service (an international version of Megabus) that you can use to travel between the UK and Europe.
If you’re looking for other ways of travelling to Paris at reasonable prices, have a look at Ryanair and EasyJet’s websites, or the Eurostar (they offer fairly low fares if you book your journey around three months in advance).
The comparison websites Skyscanner and EDreams are also useful starting points for checking the prices of different flights.
How long is the journey?
It took just over ten hours – I left Victoria coach station in London at 8pm, and arrived at Gallieni coach station in Paris just after six o’clock the next morning.
How much does it cost?
I paid £74 for a return ticket. If you book early enough (around two weeks in advance), you can pay £12 for a single ticket between London and Paris, and £24 for a return fare.
Is it comfortable?
Eurolines says that all of its coaches are fitted with air conditioning, and come with reclining seats and legroom.
As I went to Paris in midwinter, I got the full treatment of the coach’s heating system and (possibly also because it was midwinter?) had the lovely privilege of having two seats to myself.
This also solved the legroom issue – although I’m quite short anyway, so didn’t worry too much about having enough space to stretch my legs out.
There was also Wifi available on the coach, which was really helpful, although the plug sockets above the seats didn’t work to charge my phone unfortunately.
Where do Eurolines travel to?
They go to twenty-nine European countries, from Belgium and the Netherlands to Norway and Sweden (and even Romania, if you fancy a 48-hour jaunt on the bus). Check their destinations here.
What else do I need to know?
Passengers are asked to check in an hour before their coach leaves, if they’re going on an international trip. I travelled from Victoria Station, where there are clear signs for ‘European check-in’ to take you from the station entrance to the check-in desk.
Make sure you bring your passport with you, and give yourself plenty of time to print out your bus ticket before arriving at the check in desk.
Keep your travel documents in an easily accessible place to show the check in staff before boarding the bus and to show at border control.
Passengers can also take up to two pieces of luggage with them onto the bus (one bag to store in the hold, and the other to be brought onto the bus).
The best thing about the journey:
The energetic bus driver, who played mariachi music, much like in the YouTube clip below, to welcome the passengers onto the coach.
The worst thing about the journey:
Waiting in the freezing cold for passport control at a ridiculous time in the early morning 😦
But…. it all turned out to be worth it for the views and photos of Paris below!!
How about you? Have you ever taken the Eurolines coach to France or other countries in Europe?
Are you planning on visiting Europe by coach? As always, I’d love to hear about your travel experiences on here, or on Instagram and Twitter 🙂
If you’ve liked reading this, why not find out about the best hot chocolate in Paris, or my favourite songs about Paris here?
French Affliction 