Europe Travel Hack: Fly To London To Reach France, Belgium, And The Netherlands For Less

Fly To London And Take The Eurostar To Save $$$ When Taking The Family To Europe. (Plus You Can Skip The Red-eye Flights. It’s A Win-Win!)

Flying to Europe from the U.S. is a fantastic way to spend a family vacation- it’s just that the price of the flights there might make you ponder which one of your kids would best squeeze into a carry-on bag.

Do you go for the cheap flight that arrives at 5am and has 6 connections? Or do you spend the extra $200 and have only 1 layover? What is doable for one person can be unfeasible once you add in a spouse and a couple of kids.

London, however, is relatively easy (and usually less expensive) to get to on a day flight from the States, skipping the required overnight and multiple connections that many mainland Europe cities require. You can usually get to London direct or with one US connection, even if you are flying out of a small city like we usually do.

And fortunately, it’s fairly easy to simply hop back on a plane at Heathrow the next morning to reach your final destination, well -rested and with a head start on jet lag.

For even more fun, we like to take the Eurostar directly to Paris, Lille, Amsterdam, Brussels, Marseilles, Lyon, or Aime la Plagne. From there you can connect to anywhere else in Europe.

The Eurostar has good prices, generous luggage allowances, and drops you in the center of town, all the reasons we love to travel this way. Plus, I would rather watch the scenery from a train window than deal with airport security any day of the week.

We don’t always fly to London first if we are going to Europe but we do use this travel hack if ticket prices to the city we want to go to seem expensive. It has saved us considerable time and money on several European vacations, especially as we are often flying as a family of 6.

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Reasons Why You Would Choose To Fly To London If You Are Vacationing In Europe

It is often cheaper

I don’t know why London for the past couple of years has been so cheap but it often comes up as hundreds of dollars less for a flight to Heathrow than to Paris or Amsterdam, even for flights with a similar number of connections.

While for one person that might not move the needle, when you are talking about buying tickets for 4 or 5 people in a family, that can quickly add up to a really big price savings. More than enough to cover the cost of a hotel in London for the night.

You can get a day flight to London– No red eyes!

Flying with kids has taught me that day flights are worth the extra money if you can swing it. (Day flight meaning you get there the same day you started, usually late at night in London but still the same day.)

Getting to a hotel for the night with the kids, taking a quick shower, and getting a decent night’s sleep is like adding a whole extra day of vacation for me.

Unfortunately, flying from many places in the States means multiple connections as well as an overnight flight to get to mainland Europe. And you tend to arrive super early in the morning when most cafes/shops/museums not even open yet. And you definitely can’t check into your hotel for hours.

Bleary-eyed and time-confused, you have to figure out how to store luggage and what you can sightsee on little to no sleep. Red- eyes are called that for a reason. I have done them for years but if I can avoid an overnight flight by pivoting a little with my plans, then I am here for it.

Flying to London first also helps with jet lag

To catch a daytime London flight, you are probably leaving early in the morning from many places in the USA. And by the time you get to London, clear customs, and all that, you are ready to go to bed after a long day of travel, even if the time change means it is still afternoon at home for you.

So you go to bed at a normal time for London, ready to wake up at a normal time for London. You are already ahead of the jet lag game on the first day and without all the bleary-eyed hassle of a red eye.

3 Steps To This Europe Travel Hack

There are 3 basic steps to this travel hack:

1. Take a day flight into London, generally arriving late at night but same day.
2. Spend the night at one of the many hotels by Heathrow Airport
3. Continue to mainland Europe the next day on the Eurostar from St. Pancras Station in central London. (You can also fly back out of Heathrow but I really love taking the train.)

Because Heathrow is 45 min from central London, we stay at one of the many hotels right by the airport when we arrive. They are much cheaper than the hotels in central London as well.

Then we wake up in the morning, get a good breakfast, and hop on the tube to St. Pancras/ Kings Cross Station to catch a Eurostar train across to mainland Europe. There are tube stations in Heathrow for the Elizabeth and Piccadilly lines as well as a station for the Piccadilly line just outside Heathrow.

Or you can fly back out of Heathrow. There are cheap flights to just about anywhere in mainland Europe, just be careful about scheduling a flight on a different airline too early in the day in case something happens to your flight in the night before.

Whatever you choose, everybody is ready to start the next leg of the adventure well- rested after a good night’s sleep and much more in tune with the time change.

Where To Stay Near Heathrow Airport

Most of the accommodations line Bath Road just to the north of Heathrow, but there are also clusters of hotels around Terminal 5, Terminal 4, and Hatton Cross.

Heathrow subsidizes bus routes to many of the hotels along the roads marking the perimeter of Heathrow, making it a free trip most of the time. This handy website has an easy to read chart listing bus numbers and corresponding hotels.

Heathrow’s Central Bus Station is about a 10 minute walk from Terminals 2 and 3, located right above the Underground Station for Terminals 2 & 3. The way is well- signed. You can also catch a bus out front of Arrivals in Terminals 4 and 5.

It is possible to take the Underground from Heathrow (Central Station between Terminals 2 and 3 or the stations at Terminal 4 and 5) to the Hatton Cross Station and its nearby hotels, but for just a couple more minutes you can ride for free on the bus.

Or, if you can afford it, the easiest option is to stay at one of the hotels attached to Terminal 4. Keep in mind that it will cost you for that convenience however.

Our Recommendation

We like the Hilton Garden Inn London Heathrow because of its location by the Hatton Cross Underground station. It makes traveling into central London the next day much easier.

You can get a family room with 2 double beds for under $150 if your kids are under 12. The rooms are pretty small but doable, especially since you are only staying one night. They have connecting rooms as well, so it is a great option for larger families.

It takes about 15 min on bus 285 or 555 to get to the Hilton Garden Inn from the Central Bus Station at Heathrow and it is a free ride.

The biggest downside is that there is nothing nearby for breakfast, so this would be a time to use points or spend the cash to get the hotel’s buffet breakfast.

It is a good and extensive buffet that is worth the money. It kept us full for most of the day and we only had to use some granola bars to bridge the gap until an early dinner.

Other Hotel Options Near Heathrow

Many of the hotels along Bath Road are on the public bus routes but not near an Underground Station. If you are staying somewhere that is not next to an station, you will need to catch a bus back to Heathrow to take a train from one of the Underground Stations at the airport, located at Terminals 5, 4, and Central Station (between Terminals 2 & 3).

Some of these bus routes are free and some cost £1.50. Check with the front desk to make sure you know what bus number to take to get the free ones.

All The Ways To Get To St. Pancras Station (For The Eurostar) From Heathrow

Piccadilly Line – Use this if you are staying at a hotel near Hatton Cross Station

Walk to the Hatton Cross station from your hotel and wait for a train. One usually comes by every 5 minutes.

The Piccadilly Line runs through Heathrow and Hatton Cross on its way to Central London. Get on a train heading towards Cockfosters and it will take you straight to Kings Cross/St. Pancras stations, albeit in 51 minutes and with 20+ stops.

But the majority of the trip is above ground so the scenery is nice. And the price is pretty good, far cheaper than a taxi.

We didn’t have a problem getting the luggage on the Underground although we were traveling on a Saturday morning. I can imagine it is slightly more complicated on a weekday morning. But Heathrow is so far out of London that you can get your seats or carve out a space to stand with your luggage before it gets too crowded.

We had 7 people and 7 suitcases between us and did not have difficulties with escalators or room on the trains but we did have to put the luggage between our legs when sitting.

Tube tickets will run you just over £5-6 per person. Kids under 11 travel free with a paying adults. You can use contactless payments (credit cards, payment apps on your phone) at the turnstiles when you enter and exit the Underground and Transport London will determine your fare by how far you have traveled.

The Elizabeth Line

London’s newest line, the “Lizzy” as it is called by some locals is like a mix of Underground and commuter train. So it is more expensive than the Picadilly line into central London (about twice as much depending on exactly when you travel) but it is much faster (about half the time). And it is much more acessible as well so if people in your group don’t do well with steps, then the Elizabeth line might be worth extra money.

You will have to change trains though as the Elizabeth line does not go to Kings Cross/ St Pancras station. Change at Farringdon to catch an Underground train one stop to Kings Cross/ St Pancras.

Tickets will run you about £13 per person on the Elizabeth line. Kids under 11 travel free with a paying adult.

Airport Express Train- if you want the absolute fastest route

It is possible to take the Airport Express to Paddington Station in Central London and it’s not as expensive as you might think if you buy your tickets online at least 90 days in advance, But it is really expensive if you are buying tickets for same-day travel- £25 or more per person. Kids 15 and under are free though with a paying adult.

The benefit to the Airport Express being faster travel into Central London and lots more space on the trains. But you must still hop on the Underground to get to Kings Cross/St. Pancras because it only takes you as far as Paddington Station.

The Airport Express might shave 10- 15 minutes total off the trip versus taking the Underground the whole way. But it isn’t that much faster than the Elizabeth line despite being almost twice the price. We recommend skipping the Airport Express and either taking the less expensive Elizabeth line if you are interested in faster or taking the Piccadilly line the whole way for the cheapest way into London.

Buses

You can take a bus into London but it is not recommended as there are several changes required and the combined trip will take you somewhere between 1.5- 2 hours.

Taxis/ Rideshares

It is also possible to take a taxi from Heathrow to St. Pancras but this is only really an option for people who got in early on Amazon stock, as the price is usually somewhere between £70- £120.

Plus with London traffic, a taxi or Uber ride could take you anywhere between 1-2 hours so not any faster than the Underground for a heck of a lot more money.

Taking the Eurostar to Mainland Europe

When you get off the Underground at Kings Cross/ St. Pancras, walk up top and admire the view of St. Pancras, an older, Victorian station.

If you have a moment, stop at the famous Platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross (the Harry Potter fans in the family will be thrilled). You can ogle the people willing to wait in line for an hour or more just to take their picture with a wand and a luggage trolley disappearing into a brick wall.

You’ll find many cafes and convenience stores in and around these two stations. You can grab breakfast if you didn’t eat at your hotel, or buy some sweeties for the train. We are partial to Smarties and Crunchies and a bacon roll to go. Healthy eating, I know.

Once you enter St. Pancras, follow the signs for Eurostar and be prepared to pass through immigration/customs and airport-like security before you get to the waiting area. It is kind of a pain but it does mean that you can easily exit the train at your destination without further hassles because you have already done immigration.

The waiting area is not my favorite as it can be crowded and there is not enough seating if several trains are leaving close together. Do your best to carve out a space, even on the floor if you have to. You won’t be the only ones. The bathrooms are nice though and there is free WiFi.

When boarding is announced for your train, everyone will make a mad rush for the escalators leading to the platforms. If being on the train first matters to you, then find seats or stand near the doors to the escalators while you wait.

But since your ticket comes with assigned seats on the train and there is usually lots of luggage space on these trains, it is not imperative that you be first to board.

If you are a novice to train travel, find your seat by looking for the coach or car number on your ticket first. It will tell you in which train car your seat is located. Then just look for the corresponding number outside the doors to the car when you board.

There is nothing worse than getting all settled in your seats, only to have to then pack up everything and move because you are in Seat 42 in Car #4 instead of Seat 42 in Car #5. Pay attention.

The Eurostar seats are nice, roomy, have free WiFi, and the trip is quite enjoyable. You’ll also find a dining car but you’ll probably want to stay away from its hefty prices.

Most of the trip is above ground as it only takes about 25 minutes to cross under the English Channel at 160 km/h. The kids get a kick out of thinking how much water they are going under.

Buying Tickets for the Eurostar

Book tickets ahead of time on Eurostar’s website. You have to book for a specific train and it costs money to change your ticket so be sure to allow yourself plenty of time to get to St. Pancras station in the morning.

A 2.5 hour trip to Paris Gare du Nord from London will cost about $80-120 for an adult and under $100 for a youth (under 12). Price depends on the times, with the morning trains usually the most expensive. Kids under 4 travel free. The farther out you book, the better the price is so book your Eurostar tickets as soon as you can.

A 4 hour trip to Amsterdam from London will probably cost you under $150 for an adult or around $100 for a kid under 12.

We usually just go for the Standard ticket which means the seats are a little less plush and you have to buy your own food. Each of the 3 ticket classes gets 2 pieces of luggage plus a carry- on. The more expensive classes get you food onboard or access to pre- boarding lounges, plus nicer seats. *Kid Tickets come with an allowance for 1 piece of luggage plus a carry-on.

Try for the 4 seats around a table when booking and opt for forward- facing if you can. See the seating charts on the website to help you.

Arrive At Your Destination

Hallelujah- you’ve arrived at your dream city in Europe well rested and ready to go. Hop off the train and enjoy being in the center of town and not having to go through customs or wait for luggage pick- up because, hey, you’ve already done all of that! You are ready to hit the ground running.

Check into your hotel or connect to another train to get to your final destination and have a wonderful vacation! Don’t forget to look for the special deals you can get in some destination cities with your Eurostar ticket, like 2 for 1 Museum Entry.

A Real-life Example Of How This Worked For Us On A Big Family Trip

The first time we used this hack, friends couldn’t believe we going to fly to London when our trip was planned for the battlefields of World War One in northern France. We were using Lille as a base and we had a family group of 7 (3 adults, 4 kids).

Here’s How It Broke Down

We flew into London and out of Lyon from Knoxville, Tennessee. The flights were $800 per person for a total of $5600. Both sets of flights were day flights, which worked out fantastic.

We got up very early for our departure from the States but arrived in London at 845pm with only one connection.

On the way back home, we flew out of Lyon at 10am, had 2 connections, and were back in Tennessee by 7pm. It was worth going a little out of our way for the flights alone, without even considering how much cheaper they were.

Overnight at the Hilton Garden Inn Heathrow- $220 for 2 rooms

Underground tickets from Hatton Cross into St. Pancras/Kings Cross station- £3.10 X 4 tickets with contactless payment, one £3 youth single ticket purchased from the machine, and two kids that traveled free since they were under 12. (I don’t think they do the option of a single youth ticket anymore or any tickets bought from the machine– you are either a free kid or an adult ticket if you are using the contactless payment.) Converted in dollars, our Underground tickets (at the time we bought them) worked out to about $20.

Eurostar tickets from St. Pancras to Lille were $77 for everyone 12 and older, and $66 for the kids under 12. For our family, that worked out to 4 X $77 and 3 X $66 = $506.

TGV tickets to Lyon from Lille were 90 euros for everyone 12 and over, and 50 euros for kids under 12. For us that works out to 90 euros X 4 tickets and 3 tickets X 50 euros for a total of $573.

3 rooms at a hotel near the airport in Lyon was 187 euros total or $210 US.

Add everything up, convert it all into dollars, and we get a total of $7129 for getting us from Tennessee to France and back.

To Compare, If We Had Flown Directly To Paris And Then Taken the Train to Lille Which Would Be The Most Direct Route

• Roundtrip flights from Knoxville, Tennessee to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris for 7 people- $ 1500 per person for a total of $10,500.
• Train roundtrip between Lille and Charles de Gaulle airport at about $50 a person
• Total of $10,850

So you can see we saved $3000 by being flexible on the flights, plus we got great day flights that really minimized jet lag. And we got to enjoy seeing a little bit of London and Lyon, two terrific destinations in their own right. We also love train travel as a relaxing way to see the country.

Taking trains between the two destinations was not difficult either, as we left our hotel by Heathrow at 9am after a huge breakfast, and we were in our rental car heading out of Lille, France to the WW1 memorials before 2pm.

Taking a train from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris to Lille takes about an hour anyway and while driving a car is faster, you will spend a considerable amount of money on tolls.

The TGV from Lille to Lyon takes about 3 hours and there are multiple trains a day.