london to northeast france - cheapest method?

[shirt]

i am trying to work out the cheapest & easiest method of getting between london and metz on a regular basis.

i.e. i would be living in metz, my OH in london. we would want to see each other 3 weekends a month [fri-sun] so would need to keep costs down for it to be realistic.

i would've thought a low-cost carrier in and out of luxembourg would be ideal but it seems none of them fly there. london-paris/brussels is cheap on eurostar but the total journey is coming in at £170 booking a month in advance and takes forever.

am i missing obvious airports or is there a website i can get cheap european rail travel? are there frequent flyer programmes that would keep costs down?


have been presented with a possible work opportunity but the location is proving a dealbreaker in terms of maintaining a relationship that is too good to let go.

any advice from regular travellers appreciated.


cheers,
shirt.

[SplatSpeed]

drive 48 crossing on euro tunnel

or norflokline is cheap

also speed ferries

[cptsideways]

Car!!!!

Ferries are currently dirt cheap, like £25 return, Metz is only 2-3 hours'ish from Dover from memory, no traffic too!

Get a cheap Tdi it'd cost you sub £100 each way return & think of all the cheap beer/fags/wine/cheese you can bring each time.

[bored-of-coding]

speed ferries are no more.

you will probably have to drive, and get a book of off peak eurotunnel tickets to keep the time it takes and the cost down to an acceptable level

[nellyleelephant]

Certainly wouldn't advise you book with speedferries!

[kit80]

Email

[SplatSpeed]

ok here is a little trick i do

book a 48 hour ticket with euro tunnel

book 12:40 am sat to sunday night

you are allowed on the tunnel 2 hours before

there is usually a 22:20 on a friday night

as soon as this goes of the screen in the booths in calais you can get through on your ticket

you can race through and get on the 22:20 train

wait in the dog quarentine area and park till you can race through

a sesoned expert!

[shirt]

SplatSpeed said:

nifty trick

does that allow me to come back on the 22:00 crossing back on a sunday? how much is the cheapest of cheap tickets with a car? a motorbike might be a better option?

have found advance flights from london city to lux. for £115 return which is looking good for the hassle saved but requires booking 2mths in advance. i need a ryanair or easyjet, or captain slow's cessna!


and yes she is worth it!

[SplatSpeed]

shirt said:

SplatSpeed said:

nifty trick

does that allow me to come back on the 22:00 crossing back on a sunday? how much is the cheapest of cheap tickets with a car? a motorbike might be a better option?

have found advance flights from london city to lux. for £115 return which is looking good for the hassle saved but requires booking 2mths in advance. i need a ryanair or easyjet, or captain slow's cessna!


and yes she is worth it!

you can get it for 44 pounds in a car

pm if you need any serious details how to cheat the system

[shirt]

PM sent!

any frequent flyers about? how much are hovercrafts?

[bored-of-coding]

no hovercrafts to France any more .. I used to Ryanair it to Nantes / Poitiers a lot, but by the time you've included travel to / from airports, parking etc it's quicker and way more convenient to drive - and normally cheaper

Edited by bored-of-coding on Monday 24th November 16:19

[jamiebae]

Norfolk Line from Dunkerque to Dover is cheapest, usually £40 or so if booked in advance but you've got fuel and tolls to pay for too and it will take bloody ages door to door.

[shirt]

i meant to buy my own hovercraft!

[bored-of-coding]

I was going to send you a link to a hovercraft for sale, but I thought I wouldn't be facetious ..!

[sniff diesel]

Be prepared for some hassle from Customs if you're going through the tunnel regularly.

[V8mate]

You could start your own airline flying Metz-Nancy to London-City