??? for uksaint!!

[Diva of Dragons]

Hi!
DH and I will be in the U.K. before we head to DLP. I'm wondering what my transportation options are for getting to France from Southampton. Do you have any suggestions? We will actually be in Glastonbury, just before France, but may need to return our rental car to Southampton.
Thanks in advance!!

...... Lisa

 

[MinnieYC]

I'm obviously not uksaint but maybe I can help a little bit.
Check out http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/fares_schedules/
While there isn't a train directly from Southampton to Paris, you can take a train from Southampton to London, and then take the Eurostar from London either into Paris or into DLP directly. Depending on timing, it might be worth it to consider travelling into Paris and then taking the RER into DLP.

 

[Miffy2003]

I think you can fly to CDG (Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, near to DLP) from Southampton.

 

[uksaint]

Hi Lisa

By rail, London Waterloo is about 1 hour, then straight onto the Eurostar 3hrs to DLP. Total journey time approx 4hrs although you need to allow time to make the connection at Waterloo. Check-in for the Eurostar can be slow sometimes and the Southampton-Waterloo train could be late so I would always aim to get to Waterloo with an hour to spare to allow for delays in arriving.

By air, Air France flies from Southampton Airport to Paris CDG. The upside is that Southampton is a great, no hassle airport to fly out of. THe downside is that cost can be anything from £75 - £300 more expensive than flying out of Heathrow. Still, well worth checking out as deals are occasionally available and the convenience is excellent. Flight time to CDG is about 50 mins. It would probably be cost effective for you to return your rental car to Heathrow if possible and pay the premium on that rather than paying the flight costs out of Southampton.

Andy

 

[Diva of Dragons]

Thanks Everyone!

One more.......Do you know anything about the most convenient way to get from the UK to France by boat or Ferry? Just feeling out the options!!

Thanks again!!
Lisa

 

[uksaint]

If you think that you may be in the Southampton area, then the Portsmouth - Le Havre crossing with PO ferries might be the most convenient. Takes 5 hrs or so. The quickest crossing is Dover to Calais, but when you consider the time taken to drive to Dover, and then the extra distance to Paris it probably won't be any quicker overall.

See www.directferries.co.uk for more info.

www.directferries.co.uk

Andy