Instead of travelling to London by plane, consider travelling by train. The duration of the flight itself might be shorter, but add up the travel time to the airport, waiting time at the airport and also the travel time from your London airport to central London.
Just a few examples: the direct train from Paris Gare du Nord takes only 2h15 to London. From Brussels it’s about 2 hours to London.
When you travel to London by train you arrive at London St Pancras International train station. That is right in central London and next to King’s Cross station where you can take a tube to your hotel. On my page Public transport in London you find more information on travelling by tube.
Advantages of travelling by train rather than plane
- Can be much cheaper than travelling by plane because you don’t pay extra for checked in luggage.
- You can travel with more luggage than by plane and no restrictions on liquids.
- You have a comfortable seat with plenty of leg space.
- You can use your electrical devices during the entire trip.
- You arrive directly in central London.
Disadvantages of travelling to London by train
- The journey to your international departure station can take a while if you don’t live near Amsterdam, Brussels or Paris.
- You need to be at your Eurostar departure station at least 30 minutes before departure.
Train from the Netherlands
Travelling by train from the Netherlands to London? Then you will have to take a Eurostar train that departs from Brussel-Zuid in Belgium (Brussels South, Bruxelles Midi). From there the train goes directly to central London.
So how do you get from the Netherlands to Brussel-Zuid? There are two ways:
- By Thalys high speed train. The Thalys high speed trains depart from these Dutch train stations: Amsterdam, Schiphol, Rotterdam and Utrecht.
- By regular intercity train.
With your Eurostar ticket you can travel from any Dutch city to Brussel-Zuid.
Plan your trip to one of the Thalys departure stations mentioned above, or to Brussel-Zuid by regular intercity train on the website of the Dutch Railways (Nederlandse Spoorwegen, NS).
Book your train tickets from the Netherlands to London on the NS Hispeed website or on the Eurostar website.
Train from Belgium or France
Travelling from/via Belgium or France? Then book your tickets through the Eurostar website. Direct trains to London depart from a number of Belgian and French cities as Brussels, Lille and Paris.
Train from other European countries
This is a useful website for planning your train journey from any European city to London: the Train Line Europe. No matter what country you travel from, you will always have to take the Eurostar in Belgium or France as that is (for the moment) the only train line that goes from mainland Europe through the tunnel to the UK.