How to take a thrilling high speed rail journey from London to Biarritz

Travelling via Paris is the best option for making the London to Biarritz journey by train - there are no direct trains from Lille to Biarritz.

The variations in the end-to-end journey times are due to the differences in the periods of time between the arrival of a Eurostar in Paris and the departure of a TGV train on to Biarritz.

At St Pancras:

Eurostar is currently suggesting that Standard Class And Standard Premier ticket holders should be at the Eurostar departure area in St Pancras International 90 mins before departure; and that Business Premier ticket holders should be there 45-60mins prior to departure.

The departure gates will close 30 mins prior to departure for Standard Class And Standard Premier ticket holders; and 15 mins prior to departure for Business Premier ticket holders.

Our guide to taking a Eurostar from London is here.

Note that London is in a different time zone to mainland Europe, it is one hour behind; hence what can seem like a discrepancy between the journey time and the interval between the departure and arrival times.

Departing from the Gare Montparnasse

The Eurostar will arrive in Paris at the Gare Du Nord, but the train on to Biarritz will depart from the Gare Montparnasse

This guide explains how to make the transfer between the two stations on the Paris Metro.
What's good to know is that the journey from stepping off the Eurostar to being on the concourse at Montparnasse will typically take around 40 -45mins - but it is not step-free.

The end-to-end journey time of around 8hr 15 mins allows around 1hr 45 min to make the transfer.

The easier public transport alternative is to take bus line/route 91
Though you will need to allow at least an hour to make the journey - the end-to-end journeys with a total time of around 8hr 45mins allow 2hr 15min between arrival and departure from Paris.

Boarding

Two TGV trains will be usually be joined together for the part of the journey between Paris and Bordeaux, the coach number on your ticket will for a coach in the part of the train heading to Biarritz.
So don't be surprised to see a train, heading to a destination other than Hendaye/Irun and calling at Biarritz, departing at the same time AND from the same voie/platform/track as your train.
This will be the destination of the other TGV train that will be attached to the train heading to Hendaye/Irun - for the journey between Paris and Bordeaux.

Book Early And Save: Yes

Online bookings open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date
This booking period tends to be shorter when looking up journeys between mid August and mid October.

Seat reservations are automatically included when booking tickets for both trains.

Your ticket will not include the RER train across Paris from the Gare Du Nord to the Gare Montparnasse.

The additional journey option:

When looking up the journey there can be an option with two changes of train instead of one.
This will involve making an additional transfer at Dax into a TER train on to Biarritz, but the connecting time between these trains will be less than 15mins.
If the TGV is delayed you can hop on a subsequent TER service, but it won't be departing until an hour later.

Eurostar train's general ticket terms:

The only ticket type are the Flexible tickets, but it is the class of service you opt to travel by, which impacts on the terms and conditions of travel.

*Exchanges

Book to travel in Standard and Standard Premier class:
The booked date and time can be exchanged to a different departure to the same destination up to one hour* before departure time.

• If the cost of your new ticket is more than the cost of your original ticket, you will be required to pay the difference;
• If the cost of your new ticket is less than the cost of your original ticket, you will not receive a refund of the difference.

Book to travel in Premier class:
The booked date and time can be exchanged to a different departure up until the end of the previous day, without having to pay any price differences on any other charges.

The Eurostar ticket terms summary is here

Refunds

Book to travel in Standard and Standard Premier class:

• Up to seven days or more before the date of departure you will need to pay a fee of £25 per person for a one-way / single ticket and £50 per person for a two-way / return ticket - So you will only receive any sum you paid in excess of these sums.
• Less than seven days before the date of departure, tickets are non-refundable - Also applies if you exchanged a ticket to an alternative departure, under seven days ahead.

Book to travel in Premier class:
Up until the end of the day before departure date, tickets can be refunded at no additional cost

Seat Reservations on the Eurostar

Reservations are mandatory so seats are assigned when booking - But after a booking has been completed, you use the ‘Manage Your Booking’ facility, which can be easily found on the Eurostar website and select specific seats within the travel class you have chosen.

You will need to enter a Booking Reference number - but other booking agents such as Trainline, Rail Europe, SNCF Connect, B-Europe and NS International, will also include this number on the communication sent to you.

General ticket terms for TGV InOui trains

The terms on SNCF Connect state:
'Tickets can only be exchanged (adjustment to the current fare) and refunded prior to departure: 40% of the price 6 days prior to departure (€15 max fee). From 30 minutes prior to departure, tickets can be exchanged up to two times (for the same day and the same journey), and are non-refundable after the first exchange'.
Which could be clearer, but it seems as though the three key things to be aware of are:

1. Exchanges and refunds are free up to 7 days before departure.
2. If you are travelling on a TGV InOui train and want to amend your booking in the 6 days before departure, you must pay an amendment fee of €19 per person per person for an exchange or a refund.
3. In the 30 minutes before departure, refunds cannot be requested and exchanges are only allowed for the same journey later that day. The same amendment fees apply to the exchange.

Making the connection in Paris:

There is relatively new E.U. legislation which protects travellers against financial loss in the event of missed connections due to train delays, but it only applies to 'through tickets'.
The Eurostar terms and conditions specifically state that when booking journeys which combine Eurostar + Eurostar Thalys trains 'through tickets' will be issued.
'However, 'for all other journeys that combine a Eurostar Service and a service provided by another carrier (such as the TGV on from Paris) including when purchased in a single commercial transaction, those tickets will be separate contracts and issues regarding delays, missed connections, cancellations, compensation, and the management of aftersales will be handled accordingly'.

But SNCF, which operates the train on to Biarritz, has signed up to Agreement on Journey Continuation (AJC) policy for when a traveller holds separate transport 'contracts' for an end-to-end journey involving more than one train.
So this agreement applies both when 'a bundle' of tickets / contracts is issued as the result of a single transaction - and if travellers have bought several different tickets for their journey, even from different sales channels/ticket providers.
As long as the passenger had planned enough connecting time to change trains (called “reasonable connecting time”), the AJC will apply.

So in usual* circumstances, if a delay to a Eurostar has caused a booked connection on to Biarritz to be missed, replacement tickets/reservations should be issued at the Gare Montparnasse.
*= But that new E.U legislation specifically states that in exceptional circumstances, the train operators do not need to issue replacement tickets - and the terms and conditions on the SNCF Connect website reiterate this.
These exceptional circumstances specifically stated in Regulation (EU) 2021/782 of the European Parliament include:

• extraordinary circumstances not connected with the operation of the railway, such as extreme weather conditions, major natural disasters or major public health crises...
• ...the behaviour of a third party... such as persons on the track, cable theft, on-board emergencies, law enforcement activities or sabotage.

Using Rail Passes on Eurostar:

Rail pass users can now pay reservation fees to travel on Eurostar trains, in a similar manner to other international European high speed trains.

The new rail pass reservation fees are similar to the cheapest single journey ticket prices, but as those cheapest tickets can sell out quickly, it's likely that the rail pass reservation fees will save money.

You can purchase these online with no booking fees on B-Europe
Booking in advance is recommended as it's not unknown for rail pass reservations on specifc Eurostar services to sell weeks in advance, there is evidently limited availability per departure.

If you are a UK resident, your rail pass + reservation is only valid if you take a train from the UK on the first day that your pass is valid for and return to the UK on the final day that you will be using a pass.