help with crossing the Channel

Have a look at flights to and from London City Airport. Sample fares

Air France £79 pp London to Paris (CDG)on 30/7/09

Amsterdam (AMS) to London £72pp with KLM/Air France on 25/7

http://www.londoncityairport.com/

PS I keep putting in the wrong dates so will leave it to you. Must need my dinner!

hmm, thank you for looking those up for me, Linda. Unfortunately our budget doesn't allow for the major airlines like Air France--we're more of the EasyJet/Ryanair class ;-) At Air France/Luxair's prices, we'd be better off just sticking with Eurostar :-)

cheap=time + hassle

If you want to save money, more than likely you're going to inconvenienced.

If you want to take the cheap flights, then you'll have to sit down, do some research and figure out the exact cost from city center to city center. All that information is available on the web.

If you buy enough in advance, Eurostar has some good deals. Remember, this drops you off mid-city so you don't have to wory about transportation to and from the airport.

If you want to fly Ryanair or Easyjet, then your best bet is to look at their websites rather than skyscanner.

Completely true, Frank. That's why I'm wary of these "cheap flights." EasyJet would be $128 for these tickets, NOT including local transit costs and time. Even if shuttles are cheap, given the time and hassle involved, I'm leaning towards "splurging" for the Eurostar. Currently the best Eurostar price I can find is $180.

"If you buy enough in advance, Eurostar has some good deals." Yes, this I have heard before, but how far in advance...and is this from Eurostar.com, or is there a better place I don't know about? 2-3 months in advance has only given me $90 each way, which, imho, is not really a "good deal," especially for travel on a Tuesday and Thursday (as prices seem to go up on weekends).

Also a consideration is Eurostar London-Paris and then EasyJet Amsterdam-London (1-2h) for $50 plus 4 euro to transit to Amst. airport and 10 euro to get from Gatwick to Heathrow. Which...is $72. Hm, only an $18 savings there.

So as you can see, I'm more than capable of doing my own research, but I am really bad at making decisions based on my research :-) what I am really looking for is insider advice from travellers who have experience with these routes...anyone? Should I put up with air hassle or just put out the extra $50 and sit back on the Eurostar? Thanks in advance...

" Should I put up with air hassle or just put out the extra $50 and sit back on the Eurostar? "

Yes

lol Bob, "yes" to which option?

Clear the cookies from your Web browser and register at eurostar.com as a resident of the UK. If you act quickly, you can get a fare of £51 for London-Paris.

VLM flies Amsterdam-London City. Fares for 25 August are as low as €11 (plus taxes and fees).

Thanks Tim, actually, just before you replied I found the UK London-Paris round trip deal for 59 pounds and was wondering if Canadian citizens could book through this...it seems to be working...

These deals, however, only apply to Adult tickets. If I am under age 26, can I still travel on an Adult ticket??

You're welcome, Stacey.

I would have mentioned the £59 return--it's a great deal--but you said you didn't want to backtrack.

Yes, anyone can buy an adult ticket and anyone can claim to be a resident of the UK.

do the eurostar you will be glad you did.
book far enough in advance adn the prices are pretty decent!!!