I have recently heard of the iDBUS which is now being run by the French national railway SNCF as a bus alternative between Paris and London, and London and Amsterdam at some fairly reasonable prices - starting at £24 ow pp London Paris, £21 ow pp London Amsterdam.
I guess that this is competition with the Eurobus and Polish bus options on the routes.
iDBus sounds like a take on the iDTGV that they run with the TGVs in France.
I've noticed that they take about 9 hours travel time, London to Paris (Bercy). I can't work out if they use the ferry or the Eurotunnel.
The fares vary during the day, but not by more than about £10, and on a random bus tomorrow they had 2/3 of the bus empty. Fares don't change as travel time approaches.
That could be a very good alternative for somebody who has more time than money, or who hasn't planned ahead.
It wouldn't obviously work for a day trip.
Megabus (www.megabus.com) also provide long distance bus services from London to Paris and other European cities such as Cologne. They are substantially cheaper than Eurostar, but at a cost of time and comfort.
Megabus run a lot of services between major U.K. cities and towns, and are a good alternative to National Express. There are also local companies running services between their home towns and London. For example, Berrys Superfast (www.berryscoaches.co.uk) run between Somerset and London.
Those are good alternatives if you have no other choice. But if you can plan ahead the Eurostar is the way to go. I'll be taking the Eurostar from London to Paris on Friday. My ticket was £39 and the trip only takes 2 hours and 15 minutes.
Andrea - I am so jealous. . . London and Paris. Have fun!
