Germersheim to Liverpool via Brussels and Paris

[Merseysider]

My placement in Germany will be ending on 30/03/16, so I will need to travel back to England. I hold a BC25. Using DB's booking engine, I can see that €64 singles are available for Germersheim - London a few days prior (booking opens for my date in a week or two). This is via Brussels and it is possible to include a stopover, eg of 48 hours.

But it won't give a fare for Germersheim-London via Paris. So the €64 single plus 2x Thalys €29 singles (Brussels-Paris and back during the stopover) appears to be the only option; so €122 plus whatever it costs to get from London to Liverpool, around €150 total.

I also noticed that DB is offering €39 singles from Germersheim to Paris, for my date (30/03/16). But it won't give a fare via Brussels, and I'd then need a separate Eurostar fare to London anyway (£40 on 30/03/16), and then a ticket to Liverpool.

Is there a cheaper way to visit both Brussels and Paris on the way back? I don't mind using alternative methods of transport for part of the journey. Thanks in advance

 

[30907]

The DB Europa-Spezial doesn't work well with the SNCF/Thalys/Eurostar ticketing philosophy. As a result ES Frankreich is only available to places where direct trains run from Germany (ie via Forbach or Kehl), while Thalys tickets aren't available to off-network destinations.

The London Spezial is such good value (even though I can't instantly find €59 fares now, they were still there last week!) that any split ticketing route will almost certainly be dearer.

You'll have to check it out, but I suspect there will be little to choose between your first suggestion and doing Germersheim-Paris-Brussels-Liverpool.

You could also do Germersheim-Brussels-Paris-Liverpool. However it is not unknown for a ES Belgien to be more expensive than a LS! More to the point, the cheapest Eurostar fares from Paris tend to sell out quicker than those from Brussels, and it's the Easter holidays...

BTW if you DO opt for the London Spezial, you should be able to put in Bruxelles-Nord AND Midi for stopovers, and get 4 days' worth of stopover.

I've no idea about buses, except to say that there's a direct Saarbrücken-Luxembourg route if you want an alternative route; however it doesn't solve the Paris and Brussels problem.

 

[DEE-DE]

DB can sell you Germersheim-Paris-London. I enquired in April for a similiar journey and was quoted €80 exactly for 25 and under. This was made up of a €39 Fare to Paris and a €41 junior fare Paris to London. Any ticket office should be able to this. Or you can search for the connection online and do the enquiry where you get a quote but will have to pay for delivery. Or you can phone them up and book it where you also get the option of collecting your tickets from a machine (think it was 20ct per call from German landlines).
Note that Eurostar have since increased their cheapest fares, but I would just enquire with DB to see what you'd have to pay.
And you'll have to buy London to Liverpool separately. DB are only able to issue Britrail and Interrail passes. This is because since Sunday ATOC has withdrawn from from the international ticketing system. DB should however still be able to issue reservations should you need them.
Also DB can issue anything I can think of in France. It should be no problem whatsoever for them to issue Paris to Brussels TGV tickets or Intercité or local. For non-global fares use this http://jizdenka.idos.cz/it.aspx and remember to apply you Railplus Bahncard discount at the bottom. Global fares can be recognised in the journey planner by the marker special fare applies. However SNCF might be cheaper for what you need.

 

[Merseysider]

Thanks for both responses!

I've since stumbled upon Megabus (which I would normally avoid, and certainly wouldn't consider for the through journey) offering £3.00 singles between Brussels and Paris. But the journey is five hours

BTW if you DO opt for the London Spezial, you should be able to put in Bruxelles-Nord AND Midi for stopovers, and get 4 days' worth of stopover.

Cheers for the tip looks like I may need the full four days if I opt for the coach between Brussels and Paris...

Note that Eurostar have since increased their cheapest fares, but I would just enquire with DB to see what you'd have to pay.

Yes, before I look at booking anything I'll do this. It appears DB have also increased the price of their lowest-tier Germersheim-London Spezial tickets, from €54 to €64, with €54 tickets now only available from German locations closer to Brussels such as Cologne. Rather annoying but still excellent value.