Weekend to Paris; cheapest way?

[rainybol]

I haven't been to France for years, and never been to Paris before.

But, it is my son's 13th birthday at the end of the month and I would love to take him 31st jan to 2nd February.

Eurotunnel was around £400-500 which I cannot afford just on travel.

Would it be best to get a ferry? I know it'll be longest but maybe more affordable?

If not Paris, somewhere else in France would be good too; I am just unsure where!

The reasoning behind France is that my son is top in his whole year group for French and really excelling in the language. He loves it! He went to France last year with school for a week and he really enjoyed it.

Any advice to make it as cheap as possible would be fab thank you.

Would you consider flying? Depends on where you are but you can normally get flights under £100 from London airports.

Not as good for the environment but much cheaper to fly. If you search Skyscanner to ‘France’ it will give you options for different French airports

Yes I think I think would be okay. We are near to Southampton so could get to London airports.

Euro lines would be cheapest I would think

I wouldn’t take a car to Paris. Eurostar tickets start from £80 return each if you book far enough in advance. They’ve just had a flash sale but unfortunately it’s finished now.

I just saw I have missed the sale!

It was definitely around £4/500 for Eurostar which will be out of my budget just for travel.

Why didn’t you check and book the eurostar earlier? I just booked a weekend in Paris in May and return was £180 for one adult and one child.

check easyjet from Gatwick for cheap flights.

I didn't know there was a sale! Otherwise I'd of done so.

London Gatwick to Paris is coming in at around £130 per person - assuming you’re flying out Friday daytime and back Sunday night. There’s also later flights (6/8pm) on Friday if you need your son attending school that day.

These are without luggage though - would you be able to make do with a large backpack each or are you adding suitcases?

Other cheap options from London are Gatwick to Strasbourg - £60 return per person. Marseille - around the same from Stansted, or £80 from Gatwick.

I can recommend Strasbourg as a nice little city for a weekend. Haven’t been to Marseille so no idea there.

sure but his birthday is in 3 weeks and you are booking now? It’s a bit last minute

I’m sure OP knows that. Many of us book travel 2-3 weeks in advance only, it’s not the end of the world.

@SchoolDilemma17 yes I know that. But I've only just thought about this idea in the last few days

Oh bugger off with your telling off and lecturing. Sanctimonious much?

Op, there are cheap flights on Skyscanner.

And op, ignore @SchoolDilemma17.

To be honest OP,Paris can be bitingly cold at this time of year. I would suggest you organise a trip for the spring when it's warmer and book Eurostar ahead for a cheaper ticket price. It puts you into the middle of the city - it can be a faff to get from CDG airport (took us ages last time with passport control etc) - so you get maximum use from a weekend break. Look at Ibis/Ibis Styles (this one does a free breakfast) as these are reasonably priced in various locations and you can book a twin room.

I agree that Paris can be bitter in Jan/Feb. Either fly further south: just look for anywhere you can get a cheap flight to and plan around that, or book Eurostar for the Spring.

Ah I didn't think about how cold it could be! Thank you. Would love to surprise him with a little trip away somewhere still for the weekend