London-Geneva Tickets - How to get cheapest tickets?

[Hejaz]

Hi folks,

I was looking for tickets in September from St. Pancras to Geneva Cornavin from eurostar.com (which gives a London-Paris ticket via Eurostar and Paris-Geneva ticket via TGV Lyria) and was shocked at (a) the lack of availability and (b) how expensive the tickets were this far in advance (I know they can go for sub-£100 in standard by checking further ahead).

Assuming I was making this return journey every few months, I wondered if anyone had any tips for how to get the cheapest tickets i.e. if it's as simple as the tickets get released 12 weeks in advance so you need to book then, etc.

Thanks for your time.

 

[rvdborgt]

Compare with what the SNCF website offers. And compare with tickets to/from Bellegarde plus a regional ticket for the rest to Geneva. SNCF regard international passengers as cash cows.
For more detailed advice, a travel date would be useful.

 

[nwales58]

Also, do you want to get there fast or cheaply?

Paris-Geneve is around Eur49 booked a couple of months ahead, the last evening one is even cheaper. Add the cheapest Eurostar you can find and allow a lot of slack in Paris and it's sub-GBP 100.

Closer to the time a 4 day Interrail plus supplements probably comes in around GBP 350 return until Eurostar quotas run out, anything from a few days to a week or so ahead.

 

[AlastairFraser]

If you also consider Ouigo high speed trains from the Lille area (including Tourcoing) to Lyon after Eurostar to Lille, that might be a cheaper option.

For some dates in Sept, Ouigo is only 16 Euro basic price for Tourcoing to Lyon (Tourcoing is 26 mins away on the Metro direct from Lille Europe, fare around 2 Euro), or another option of 19 Euro basic price from Lille Flandres (5-10 min walk from Lille Europe) to Lyon.

The TER Lyon to Geneva seems to be around 34.10 Euro in Sept, so cheap Eurostar to Lille + Ouigo + TER to Geneva might be a smart way to keep costs reasonably low.

 

[Gordon]

I always book Eurostar and TGV Lyria separately, as far in advance as possible.