Archive for the ‘Short Haul Travel’ Category
Crossing the United Kingdom has never been easier, with such choices on transport car, bus, train, plane and boat which is the best option? Comparing the most obvious choice for someone wishing to travel from Edinburgh to London, which would be plane and train. In the age of the internet buying such tickets have never been easier with options as, been able to buy in advance giving a good reduction on both air and rail travel. For a nice weekend away you would like to get the most out of your time and choosing to leave on a Friday, returning later on, on Sunday.
After checking ticket prices for both there really isn’t much comparison, however the main difference is in time, it can take anywhere in between 4 and 5 hours to travel to London Kings Cross by train from Edinburgh’s main station (Waverley), where as flights to London Heathrow from Edinburgh Airport only take 1 ½ hours, in comparison that quite a lot of time.
There will be some time lost however when you leave Heathrow and make your way into the centre of London on either the Heathrow Express which takes you to Paddington Station and takes 15 minutes, Heathrow Connect which also goes to Paddington Station but takes 25 minutes or if you use the underground on the Piccadilly line which takes up to an hour but does mean you generally get to you required stop easier. So if you prefer not to spend to the best part of you day travelling, going by plane is defiantly a better the option.
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Unfortunately there is no direct flight from Dover to Calais. The nearest airport to Dover on UK soil is Kent International from which there are no scheduled flights to northern France. Similarly, the nearest airport to Calais on French soil is Calais – Dunkerque Airport which is used for small aircraft only.
If you want to travel by air across the channel to visit Calais, the best and cheapest way is to take a plane from London to Paris and travel by rail from Paris to Dover.
The main airports in London and the South East that service regular flights to Paris are Heathrow Airport in west London and Gatwick Airport in Sussex, south of London. From both airports, flights to Paris arrive at Charles De Gaulle Airport which is 17 miles North East from the centre of Paris in Roissy-En-France. The flight takes about 2 hours.
On arrival at Charles De Gaulle you need to take a train on the TGV Interconnexion line to Lille Europe which takes about 1 hour. At Lille Europe you have to change trains and have two options.
The first option is to take a TGV Interconnexion train from Lille Europe to Calais Frethun which takes 30 minutes. The second option is to change stations to Lille Flandres and take a TER train to Calais Ville which takes 1 hour 30 minutes. It is worth bearing in the mind the second option in case of unexpected delays or cancellations. The total journey time is at least 4 hours.
Many travellers opt to take a plane from London to Paris, as many budget airline companies provide cheap ticket prices. But remember that these are what they say they are, budget airlines. Don’t expect any frills.
A lot of your time is taken up with getting to and from airports these days with the ever-increasing traffic levels. You will also be charged a hefty amount for parking your car whilst you are away. Check-in delays and security hassles also add to the travel time. These are just some of the drawbacks to flying. Nevertheless, taking the plane is a quick way to get between the two cities. Ryan Air and Easy Jet have attractive ticket prices for this trip. But remember that if you fly you are quite heavily restricted as to the amount of luggage that you can take. If your baggage is over the weight limit you will be charged a punitive extra amount of money. So if you are not in such a desperate hurry to get to Paris why not consider travelling via a more relaxed ferry ride across the channel.
Travellers who choose to fly are missing the enjoyable ferry ride experience. This includes the breathtaking view of the White Cliffs of Dover and the jagged panorama of the coastlines of France and England. They are also giving up the convenience of having their car with them when they reach the other side of the Channel. So if you have time to slow it down a bit, why not take the ferry?
Maresk Ferry