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

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; so when looking at a timetable the journey will look as though it's an hour longer.

The current timetable comprises departures from St. Panrcras International at:

• 06:16 on Monday to Friday
• 08:16 daily - (only Sat /Sun from June 15th)
• 11:04 daily
• 18:04 not Saturday

If the timings of these direct trains don't suit, you can travel on one of the (usually) much more frequent alternative journey options which involve changing trains in Bruxelles/Brussels.

Final Destination: Amsterdam Centraal/CS

All trains also call at: Bruxelles-Midi/Brussel-Zuid

These trains do not call at Ebbsfleet International or Ashford International.
These trains also don't call at Antwerpen-Centraal or Schiphol Airport

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: up to 330 days ahead of the travel date.

Flexible tickets

On Eurostar trains to and from London, 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.
  *Note that on you day of departure, if your journey to St Pancras is being compromised and you know that you won't make the booked train in time more than an hour ahead - Taking time out to access the service you booked with and making an exchange, will be a cheaper option than having to re-book.

Book to travel in Premier class:
The booked date and time can be exchanged to a different departure up until the end of the day before the departure date, 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 the departure date, tickets can be refunded at no additional cost.

The Eurostar ticket terms summary is here

Seat Reservations

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.

As the fabulous Seat 61 explains here in detail (scroll down to 'Choosing A Seat') some seats on Eurostar services are better than others.

You don't need to have booked the ticket with Eurostar
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.

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 with Rail Europe - see this guide on how to do this.
Booking in advance is recommended as it's not unknown for rail pass reservations on Eurostar services to sell out days or weeks in advance, there is evidently limited availability per departure.

Or you can obtain a rail pass reservations without paying a booking fee at Eurostar stations.
However, if you want to do this on the day of travel be prepared to be flexible re: the train you will take.

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.

On the current, temporarily reduced timetable, if you will be travelling on Mondays to Saturdays, taking the direct trains, which call in Bruxelles) is the most viable option for making the rail journey from London to Rotterdam.

Only two other trains from London to Bruxelles are currently available.
The train which departs London at 08:55 does not have a good connection into a Thalys train on to Rotterdam.
Instead it has a 40 min connection into a non-high speed IC train on to Rotterdam that is sue to arrive there at less than 35 mins before the direct train

The Eurostar which departs London at 18:04 only has a good connection into a Thalys train on Sundays, when a 30 min connection is available into the 21:52 Thalys departure on to Rotterdam

Book Early And Save: Yes

Bookings Open: 120 days ahead of the travel date

Eurostar sell tickets for journeys at the cheapest possible for the complete London to Rotterdam high speed train journey; the Eurostar from London to Bruxelles Midi/Zuid AND the Thalys train on to Rotterdam.

A big plus of booking the Eurostar direct on Eurostar.com is that you can access a 'Manage Your Booking' facility - which enables you to change the seat that you will have been initially assigned when making a booking.

In the unlikely event of missing the booked connection in Bruxelles/Brussels, due to a late arriving Eurostar, tickets can be transferred free of charge to a subsequent Thalys departure at the SNCB International Ticket Office in Bruxelles-Midi station.