Getting around in Europe

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Lt. Staplic
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Getting around in Europe

Post by Lt. Staplic »

So in August a friend and I will be attending a little program in Germany as part of my research, but I'm going to be taking a few days before that to do some traveling. The goal, ambitious as it is, is to hit:

Dublin, Ireland
Stapleford, England
London, England
Paris, France
Frankfurt, Germany

The school is just outside of Frankfurt so that's where we want to be toward the end. I know that there are trains, that can take me London -> Paris -> Frankfurt, so my question for the English Members is the best way to get from Dublin to Stapleford and then from Stapleford to London. (Also if you have other suggestions over Eurostar/TGV/ICE for the other legs I am certainly open to suggestions)

Thanks
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Graham Kennedy
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Re: Getting around in Europe

Post by Graham Kennedy »

Best way from Stapleford to London is to drive. The M1 Motorway runs right past stapleford and would take you right to London (incidentally passing about 15 miles from my house along the way). It would be about a two and a half hour drive.

However, since I assume you won't have a car...

The best way is probably via train. You can use this journey planner.

The nearest station to Stapleford is Long Eaton. I did a sample trip for you on Monday August 15th from Long Eaton to London Euston, departing 10:30am, and it reckoned it would take 1hr 50min and cost about £28.50. Looks to be a straight shot, no changes along the way.

Getting to Long Eaton from Stapleford is either a bus route or a taxi ride. It's about 4.6 miles. Expect to pay around £10 for a taxi journey, probably about a quarter of that by bus.

Hope that's helpful.
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IanKennedy
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Re: Getting around in Europe

Post by IanKennedy »

Dublin to Stapleford is likely pretty straight forward. East Midlands Airport is just south of there and there's likely to be flights between the two. Flights on a basic Ryanair flight start at about €29 one way. I would warn you, however, that Ryanair is a very basic airline. They charge extra for just about every conceivable thing, like luggage, choosing a seat, early boarding etc. There's been talk about charging for use of the toilet in flight and breathing but they haven't quite gone that far yet. There are likely other airlines that will also do that route. It's worth checking on something like Expedia for Dublin -> East Midlands flight.

Once in London you are able to get to Paris in a number of ways. Frequent flights are an option, but, likely the best route is via Eurostar. Eurostar is a fast train service from London to Paris (or Brussels). One way London -> Paris starts at £29. You only need turn up about 1 hour early to check-in and go through security. It's then about 2 hours to Paris on the train via the Channel Tunnel. It's a pretty good service and well worth the money. I've used it quite a few times and it's certainly a lot less hassle than airlines.

Paris -> Frankfurt is likely best via another train. Europe has fast clean trains that regular and easy. That trip, one way, is about 4 hours and costs about £100. If the duration puts you off then a flight will likely be about the same cost and probably faster. Direct from Paris -> Frankfurt via plain is about £129 and takes about 1h 15m. Add checkin time and they're pretty comparable.

Don't be put off by trains in Europe they're not the thing they are in the US of A. ;)

Booking early will often get you a discount, both on planes and trains - less so on automobiles ;)
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Re: Getting around in Europe

Post by IanKennedy »

A song written about Ryanair:

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