LONDON to PARIS: Flixbus & Le Shuttle Eurotunnel from Victoria Coach Station to Paris Bercy

It's cheaper than flying and using Eurostar, but is using Flixbus and Le Shuttle more fun? Definitely. Enjoy this coach ride from London Victoria to Paris Bercy, via Folkestone and Calais.
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*** TIMESTAMPS:
00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:55 Depart London Victoria
00:02:54 Camberwell Green
00:03:00 Peckham
00:03:29 Folkestone
00:05:21 Eurotunnel Le Shuttle
00:05:21 Northern France
00:10:09 Arrive Paris Bercy

[@drankfrebin]

I can guarantee the bus driver isn't paid anywhere near enough for his knowledge, language and driving skills. He's basically doing 3 jobs simultaneously

[@ianhjan]

To be a driver for Flixbus not only do you need to be bilingual, you also need to be a seriously good driver to maneuver the coach on and off the train.

[@GoogleGebruiker]

That was impressive

[@littlebigman6957]

It's easy when done every day. .I've done it many times with longer coaches than this. You just have to get straight and away yo go. Easy peasy

[@SquirrelKnight50]

It's easy, focus on the back and then the front.

[@littlebigman6957]

@@SquirrelKnight50 the passengers get a bit wary when you drive off the loading ramp and then square up to drive down. I've heard a few sets of teeth rattling in the back from the old dears on the coa. Ha ha

[@littlebigman6957]

On another note the last time I was on the train ,which was a few years ago. The coach in front of me ( a 15 metre double decker) went down the train too fast and the doors moved with the draught an took 12 windows out. We lost about 1 1/2 hours that day. The this I was in a 15 metre plaxton interdecker I was a bit wary I can tell you. Ha ha.

[@howardscott1556]

I did that journey in the late 80s. Coach to Dover, hovercraft to Calais as a foot passenger then on to a different bus for the journey to Paris. A bus ticket that included a flight on a hovercraft, now that is different!

[@jonhartley]

Would love to see a train or airplane wait for three missing passengers! As an ex coach driver - it's nae a bus! - taking a coach on the hovercraft was just as challenging, but if you get the angles right the back generally follows the front!

[@roytabberer7427]

Brilliant & fascinating vlog as normal. Years ago when I was driving coaches for a living I had an elderly passenger most disgruntled as we went through the Channel Tunnel, she could not see any fish through the windows of the train.

[@thomasnobrega7517]

😂😂

[@littlebigman5791]

That's an old joke. I used to ask the school kids I was driving to look for the fish.

[@gerardohanlon6025]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@steve-marsh]

Such a fascinating video, cheers Scott! And that manoeuvre to get onboard the train, bravo!

[@lilianamariamaiola3376]

I took that coach from London to Paris in 2019 and it was a very good experience indeed

[@richiesquest3283]

This is one level up from cycling.

[@jjbrien1]

National Express and Irelands Bus Eireann have reintroduced the London/Birmingham to Dublin bus service. Might be another one for you to try sometime. Great video as always.

[@s125ish]

Flixbus are launching Manchester to Paris this week too

[@Turbo2640]

Loved it! Thank you.

[@paulmark63]

As always. Great video. Paul

[@ancupola1994]

Thank you so much for sharing

[@MrBCFC7]

Great stuff Scott please never stop 👍

[@theoasisvlogs5954]

Keep up the amazing work and vidoes. Love transport

[@Mwah5800]

Thank you for this! Very helpful!

[@dizwell]

Just did the Flixbus to and from Bruges. One word of warning, provided by the driver: if any one of your fellow passengers has a problem with their passport, the entire bus waits until it is sorted. The driver on our tunnel return leg mentioned that he'd once been held up for seven hours because one passenger had a passport issue. Hearing that made me wonder about ever taking the bus again... But it was such a pleasant journey, with none of the stress of airports etc, and at such low cost, that I will probably risk it again 😁 You do definitely need to not care how long the journey takes, though, or what time you'll arrive.

[@christophernoble6810]

In the case of flights there is the extra cost of getting into Paris which the other methods don’t have. Thanks Scott for this extra video, much appreciated.

[@MrJckDoo]

Drove that trip many times heading to Paris and France in general. (Driving Coaches). I also used Newhaven-Dieppe, Waymouth-Cherbourg and Dover Dunkirk.

[@andyfreer1343]

Great video love it

[@nudgenudgewinkwink3212]

Another interesting vlog cheers scott.

[@daviebevan]

Nicely put together video. Very informative 🙏

[@paulmajor6517]

Dam good driver.

[@tstuart7333]

Excellent video, The coach look very nice as did the scenery. Boy you sure do get around. Hope you enjoyed Paris.

[@Midlandstransporthub]

Great video mate! I always used to do the eurotunnel with my dad, reminds me of my childhood. Can't wait to do the Eurostar in September

[@SchultzTelevision]

Great I must try that trip.

[@ChrisGullick]

The train bit is impressive. I've dont it a few times by coach. Something to note for any cross channel coach trips you make, after a certain point at night you cross by ferry and note Le Shuttle

[@tadzio7326]

Muchas gracias por el video. Saludos desde Peru.

[@mamisalumiere3389]

Nation Express my fav coach💕

[@rakeshtiwari8854]

Good news

[@AshtonArcher]

Nice guy rooting through the bins @11:00!

[@esmeralda73]

Thanks 🙏

[@brentsummers7377]

Great video thanks! The flight times for Air France & British Airways look impressive but there is a lot of extra time used up with security checks, boarding the plane, getting off the plane. Not to mention planes waiting to take off and land.

[@thefiestaguy8831]

You missed the obvious bit... getting to the airport and parking (or getting a taxi) and getting through it to check in & security.

[@victoriaaletaaustria2817]

Indeed. With those procedures, these add up to the time. Likewise, as in Japan, my former Japanese boss said that's the reason they prefer using the Shinkansen (bullet trains) instead of local flights, less airport procedures & fast.

[@RomaInvicta202]

I don't live in London - getting to Heathrow is about an hour, to Victoria about 2hrs; then checks in, security, nearly mandatory delay of a flight - at least 2 hrs, and I think I'm being optimistic here, flight itself, checks out in Paris and picking luggage another hour - 6 hrs for £370 or 8 hrs for £40 - tough question :D

[@luisstransport]

Great video

[@robbiephillipstravelsofple4790]

Thanks

[@lasoccer]

Nice💗

[@BearxyBubbles]

I went there and I think I saw u!!

[@christinehodge3608]

Good video, 😊

[@littlebigman5791]

I've done that journey many times.The tollbooths are called peages a e the coach has a tag on the wind screen that lifts the barriers otherwise you pay by cash or credit card.. Driving on to the train is very easy ,you just have to line up square on . Driving off is harder because you ha e less room and you have to watch your rear end.. I am now retired from coach driving and doing something completely different. But it's nice to watch these videos and reminisce.

[@mariadaconceicaodiasvieira4873]

I did one month ago, fantastic.

[@Bobrogers99]

Way better than flying! I noticed all those tractor-trailers waiting in their queue.

[@jamesdoyle8442]

Like your videos Scott 👍👍👍

[@baseballfan99]

Good job you are able to bypass the lorry stack. Although I have been on Eurostar I have never been on Le Shuttle except on the excellent Euro Truck 2 Sim game with Promods map Mod

[@lincolncityful1]

Good video Scott

[@davidw1518]

To be fair, I think that, in the price comparisons, you should have included easyJet (or even RyanAir - wash my mouth out with soap and water). For environmental reasons I would not choose to fly from London to Paris (unless to make a connecting flight for a longer-haul journey), but, since you consider the established national airlines, I think a no-frills airline would be a fairer comparison with going by coach. Also, when making comparisons, you should consider the journey time from city centre to city centre - including getting to the airport, getting through check-in and security, getting through passport control at the other end (remembering we are no longer in the EU), and getting from the destination airport to the city centre. Simply looking at the duration of the flight itself is not a meaningful comparison.

[@nilelg5]

Looks like a pleasant journey, I've taken the eurostar the last two times I've gone to Paris and I just love how quick it is. I think I'd take this if I could get a spot late at night and then sleep through the journey.

[@mypointofview1111]

I think the Eurostar would be economically viable if you book far enough in advance. That way you get the speed of your journey for an affordable price

[@alexmcwhirter6611]

@@mypointofview1111 True. You ought to try booking Eurostar in the first weeks of August. Its fares are so expensive and some trains are fully booked.

[@alanshelly7068]

Cool video buddy from Alan Shelley in Lowestoft UK 🇬🇧

[@mikestravelshow]

You need to start rating these travel journeys for comfort, money & customer service.

[@joebloggs4369]

The Magic Bus used to go from London to Istanbul via Athens. You can recreate it today with a London to Sofia with Eurolines + Sofia to Istanbul local operators. Recreate that old hippie trail of the 70s and 80s.

[@bigmick3978]

great content scott absolute bargain price from uk to paris i dont know how british airways havent gone bust

[@alexmcwhirter6611]

A savvy traveller would opt for EZY (yes it continues to fly from the London area to CDG).

[@ludwig327]

Have you ever done the isle of man steam packet ferry? Think you'd enjoy that mate. Be a nice trip for you. Takes about 2 hrs 45 minutes to get to Douglas from Liverpool. Few mountains to climb too when you get there. Great videos mate.

[@danearl8607]

Loooks good Scott if you have the inclination. Thanks for the extra video. Times must be hard in Paris taking food from bins.

[@davehedgehog4391]

That all looks pretty civilised. Quite a long journey but the various stops probably break it up a bit.

[@CristianTituRaicu]

Hi from Netherlands 🍻.

[@Titus_Phook]

Thanks for sharing this with your subscribers, can you one day try the London to Swansea Flixbus route

[@IslandGirlKelly]

This sounds fun, but that coach better have air con that is blasting at maximum. It is boiling today. 🥂

[@AvaT42]

🍁Well, if i get to England next year I am going to Europe on Flixibus!! It seems the easiest and cheapest way to go! This bus driver was so polite and pleasant.

[@stangiles2001]

Grand

[@imsbvs]

I've taken the tunnel a few times over the past 2 years, for me as a person who was (is) more COVID vulnerable being able to remain in my car was a big plus. The French do love their motorway tolls, the cost quickly mounts up, driving is not a cheap way to get about. I have relatives in France and they swear by the bus network, including this bus to / from London, it's good and cheap! However, the journey time is so long, makes me think of the phrase "slow coach" ... I'd rather drive myself anytime. (And with a faster speed limit in France than the UK as well as generally less busy roads it is possible to make good progress too).

[@alexmcwhirter6611]

Hello Scott, FYI this morning MyLondon reports that Flixbus is starting a new route from Manchester to Paris in a couple of days. There will be two stops in London (but not in Central London).

[@alanwilson32]

I'm off to Brussels next month but my return flight has been cancelled so booked the eurostar £60:Brussels to London Happy with that

[@TheHandsomeman]

Id want the front seats in that!

[@danielpeti3885]

how many times I had a bite and a coffee at the same Starbucks looking at the buses 🙂

[@ScranMan-oi8qg]

I travelled from London Victoria to Copenhagen via Amsterdam, Bremen, Hamburg once or twice I seen you in Lidl in Paisley a couple of weeks ago

[@TheArmouredArmadillo]

I baulked at those eurostar prices, then if came to me that that was two weeks before the trip lol Our train to Amsterdam in standard Premier is just under £200 1 way. Anyway, love going on Le shuttle, certainly unique

[@bob23301]

£40 all thexway, and yhat was a good seat you got right behind the driver, made the video way more enjoyable to see the actual drive from the drivers view.

[@ThibaultLapers]

Hey the driver is VICTOR CAB !

[@IainG81]

May God have mercy on all souls that travel through Paris Coach Station.

[@markmcniven2625]

In 2000 I went from Kilmarnock to Disneyland Paris by Coach via the ferry, it took about 20 hours.

[@garymcpheat1139]

Great vid again Scott. What was the music in the vid?

[@charlotteforsyth438]

Eyyyyy i saw that obsact bus going past the coach taking us to the station back to station to get eurostar back

[@pbsteamatspeed7683]

What time did you leave Victoria, Scott? This looks a leisurely way to start a holiday. Is Bercy bus station near Bercy station (walkable with luggage?). Thanks for another great video

[@jamesdoyle8442]

👍👍👍

[@andrewwaller5913]

Last month I flew Easyjet from Luton to Paris CDG for £80 return, 55 min flight. No queues really either. Around 3hrs total UK to France🇫🇷

[@alexmcwhirter6611]

Indeed. I was surprised Scott never referred to EZY ex-LTN. Although EZY's fares are now much higher than what you paid (as we are running into peak season) but still EZY is so much cheaper. Just now I checked LTN-CDG o/w for July 23 and the lowest fare was £165. For July 25 it was £97. (July 24 flights full).

[@superted6960]

I just checked a one way ticket from Luton next week. Just shy of £100. That's the way I'd go

[@andrewwaller5913]

@@alexmcwhirter6611 Indeed, I booked several weeks in advance. Eurostar seems expensive to me, the plane does 400mph+, a bus or train will never do that. OK you have airport waits but I found it fine.

[@alexmcwhirter6611]

@@andrewwaller5913 I agree. What's needed is a budget Eurostar train... something like SNCF's Ouigo TGV. Problem is that's unlikely to happen as long as Eurostar retains its monopoly.

[@TheGreatLordDufus]

Obviously it depends when you look (and where you look from, I'm outside Europe so may well see different prices), but I'm seeing BA tomorrow Heathrow to Charles de Gaulle at just over 100 pounds. Double that on other days, but still well under the quoted prices.

[@theunholyprince8682]

Scott. Just out of interest, were you paid by Flixbus again to do this trip? As it would certainly explain a few things if this was the case such as the lack of information on How Busy The Coach Was, How The Journey itself was bar the checks that had to be made. It's these videos where the information would be most useful particularly when we'd like to compare in terms of convenience, cost, time of travel journeys, just all these things whether using Trains, Planes or Coaches etc.. Keep up the content though! Would appreciate more Impartial views regardless of the types of videos you upload though.

[@timbounds7190]

I saw another vid where someone took Flixbus from Bercy to London via the Ferry - looked like the journey from hell! I know its cheap, but I haven't got enough patience for all the messing around. There again, I remember when you could get to Paris on the Eurostar for £50.....

[@xr6lad]

I thought it was this guy. That’s why I’m confused. Because he made the comment when at the Paris bus terminal how bad the terminal was. And I’ll sure he made a comment about Flixbus in that video as he saw one

[@xr6lad]

Actually it was him. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mWW3on-BnJumocU

[@fastandfurious3173]

£78 return - not bad at all..

[@kevanhubbard9673]

Flixbus seem to have taken over Eurolines which use to operate most cross border European buses and even did one out of Europe to Morocco as I recall.I don't think that they went into Asia but they might have had something to Ankara?

[@shane6626]

Can you do the Bus Eireann Expressway from Dublin to London? It only relaunched last week.

[@martindavis6115]

Thanks for taking the time to upload this. I did this route in the opposite direction in February 2020 (the day after Brexit) and sat in the very front row. I looked at the Flixbus website recently and all the international journeys to Paris were stated as using the ferry. Was your journey billed as such or did you know in advance it would be the tunnel?

[@empressdoinalot]

Oh gosh, my grandparents use to do day trips to Calais when I was younger. They were popular with theirfriends and our family. And we did the hovercraft once, and my grandparents vowed never again cause it was such a disgusting ride.

[@blankpage555]

I used to use FlyBMI in the early 2000s it was like 20 Pounds altogether, away from the 80 Pounds of Eurostar WITH 1 free sausage roll

[@johndawson2373]

Hi Scott . Last weekend the coach to Germany was delayed over 15 hours . I wasn't on it but I did feel for them . The poor people were getting Little to no information.

[@crrntvntsnthnlnftnsscmmnty]

This is definitely the risk with the coach. Coming back from Brussels on flixbus once we got stuck near Calais for several hours when a lorry overturned.

[@alexmcwhirter6611]

Thanks for another interesting video today Scott. I agree Eurostar is so expensive right now. Standard class is (currently) either fully booked or expensive. The market is crying out for a "lite" Eurostar similar to SNCF's Ouigo. A no frills Eurostar would lessen the need for cut-price bus services which, with all the stops, are a palaver. In 2018 Get Link (the new name for Eurotunnel) said it hoped there would be a budget Eurostar train at some stage ... after all the more trains which use HS1 and the Tunnel the greater the income from toll fees.

[@grahamsmith9541]

In March 2022 Getlink proposed buying trains. To lease out to Eurostar competitors. But haven't heard anything about that since.

[@alexmcwhirter6611]

@@grahamsmith9541 Thanks. I had forgotten this. At the time it was thought this proposal might be a way of helping Renfe secure Paris-London traffic rights so allowing it to break Eurostar's monopoly.

[@alang5764]

The main purpose of SNCF Ouigo is to pre-empt any competition from the likes of Flixbus, if anyone tried to run a low cost service through the tunnel they would find SNCF controlled E* suddenly finding some sets to run their own low cost operation appearing before the competition started.

[@alexmcwhirter6611]

@@alang5764 Indeed. E* still has a small number of its original Alstom sets which could be used for a budget service.

[@gymnasiast90]

I’m a bit surprised by that, tbh. When I went to London in 2018, I could book journeys from anywhere in The Netherlands for as low as €49 if I booked well enough in advance. Has the price risen so dramatically or are we looking at last-minute fares?

[@UserUCKANAOD8SlYguEhbCkUdlMQ]

Something I am interested in, what is the fascination in using the centre door when it's not needed. Seen this a few times such as at Victoria. Just seems daft, the front doors are much easier to get in/out of the vehicle, why not use that instead?

[@terraferme2590]

Hi, Scott. My question is about transfer between flexibus I. London from Leicester to Paris. It is the same bus station or need to go some where else I. London?

[@jambosikk]

would have liked more information on whether the bus was busy, was it comfortable, space, luggage capacity etc? also information on timings, how long was each segment of the journey?

[@leongraham1009]

I was thinking the same thing, like to know the experience

[@elganthomas]

Give it a go yourself then

[@jambosikk]

@@elganthomas dumb comment

[@xr6lad]

@@elganthomas then why post reviews……if it’s not really a review

[@flitsertheo]

Luggage is never a problem on a bus. Underneath are large storage spaces where you can leave whatever you want.

[@aston-s]

You forget one possible option, easyJet fly from Luton and Gatwick, I've done that for under £100 return on two occasions

[@andrewwaller5913]

Yes I paid £80 return, 55 min flight, easy.

[@flitsertheo]

It seems to me the customs checks were pretty "light", I didn't see any luggage taken out of the bus for inspection.

[@essess733]

Hi was there any covid pass or pcr checks at all?

[@BIGV710]

try getting on euro tunnel with a 44 ton truck at 60ft

[@Guilsfield_Cricket]

I have German Schengan visa.. Can i use it to go to Paris?

[@pasitpoomchusri6604]

so, which way is better? tunnel or ferry?

[@sausagembape677]

I swear I watched you on a bus on the ferry before...

[@xr6lad]

Ditto. Said the same above. Paris to London via bus then onto ferry. He said the Paris bus terminal was dodgy and horrible. I’m totally confused. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mWW3on-BnJumocU

[@hufjournallife7218]

Can go rome from Paris and other day go Barcelona by bus ?

[@paulhoughton5266]

Nice film, what was the time centre of London to centre of Paris? be interesting to see how that stacks up with an airline option, probably not a lot in it. As airlines reduce flights due staffing issues they are charging a fortune to fly on the aircraft they are operating and they try to blame it on fuel when it is profiteering

[@alexmcwhirter6611]

Airlines like AF/BA operate London-Paris *mainly* for the benefit of connecting travellers. Also for those who may live or work near LHR or CDG. I mean if you live in Reading or Swindon, for example, E* is not convenient.

[@blankpage555]

How long are you staying on the continent?

[@MylesHSG]

It's criminal that Eurostar have a monopoly on the passenger trains. I'd love if there was a low price option, less of a plush interior, pay for extra baggage etc.

[@xr6lad]

That’s up to the owner of the tunnel. They are the ones that paid billions to build it.

[@alexmcwhirter6611]

Agree. Getlink (Eurotunnel) wants E* to have competition. Getlink wants to buy a fleet of new trains (which would comply with Tunnel regulations) and then lease them to a new operator. The boss of Getlink has stated publicy that Eurostar is a good company but it would benefit from competition.

[@lja8187]

Did you get your own seat?

[@seraphiccandy21]

That flight ticket price seems a bit off. I just searched and found one with easyjet from London Gatwick to Charles de Gaulle for 36 euro. Even if you pay 20-30 quid for a bus out to Gatwick and calculate in the extra hour commute, its still going to get you there faster and cheaper then most other options.

[@charlesjay8818]

how about ryan air and easy jet???? im sure you could have got a price for them, easyjet goes to orly

[@BIGV710]

try getting a 44ton truck on eurotunnel