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  • Eurostar luggage question
  • NZCol
    Full Member

    Just working out some options having discovered Lufthansa and Swiss both want $1800US PER PERSON for our bikes , yep you heard me right, the flights cost $3200NZ (about 2400US) but to carry a bike case they charge 250US per sector.

    Anyhoo we can get LHR reasonably easily. Have to get to Paris really so wondered about Eurostar with 2 people, 2 rucksacks and two Serfas hard bike cases. Anyone know if they have issues with luggage, i mean they are about the size of a large suitcase…

    superdan
    Full Member

    we went out to the alps with Eurostar in the summer for some riding. Getting out was fine, the bike bags went through the xray machine and we were given some help getting them on the train.

    On the way back we ended up in Paris, tried to check in and a very grumpy french lady demanded that we pay 50 euros per bag, or we would not be allowed to travel. Luckily two of our group speak very good french, and were able to argue the toss about it. We missed our train, paid 20 euros each, we told we would have help loading them on the next one, got none, wrote to Eurostar when we got home, got a full refund and the offer of half-price tickets.

    The moral is this: phone them, check the _current_ rulings on bike bags (the french and english versions of the websites for Eurostar were contradictory when we travelled), get the name of the person you speak to, and ask them to email you the information, print the email, carry it with you.

    Once in Paris we didnt have any trouble with putting bike bags in Taxis

    pjt201
    Free Member

    the official rule is that bikes have to be in bags to be carried for free and those bags should be no larger than 85cm on the largest size. In practice as long as a bike is in a bag/box you can take it on with you for free. I've not done it myself but there's a good thread on lfgss about it.

    The other option is to take the bike assembled and pay for freight of it which is £20 but is not guaranteed to go on the same train as you.

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    Mackem
    Full Member

    The bikes go separately in a freight van. You are normally expected to give them the bikes a day before you travel. This is if you take the bikes built up, if they are in a box, dont tell them, dont pay extra and just turn up, ive seen people take their entire worldly goods on the Eurostar.

    NZCol
    Full Member

    Sweet nice one. They are in plastic hard cases that are rectangular with wheels on the ends. Just looks like a big suitcase really and in most cases nobody knows they are bikes. Except fckn SwissAir and Lufthansa the thieving robbing … don;t start me. Its nuts so we'll fly AirNZ to LHR because bikes are free basically and then go back via SF with Virgin as they are free too. Not a major one and a bit more excitement than planned but we'll maybe have a night or two in Paris and chillax 😉 Thanks for the replys.

    rOcKeTdOg
    Full Member

    of course it's pot luck that Eurostar will be running (bitter, me? 5 week wait until they look at refund claim supposedly)

    olaf_hansen
    Free Member

    If anyone's interested, I've taken the road and mountain bike countless times of Eurostar and TGV. Ride to station, wheels off, throw it all in a couple of bins bags, and no-one's complained. The Eurostar staff have been more curious about how light the frame is than anything else!

Viewing 7 posts - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)

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