Rome Toolkit 
Paris Toolkit Bus services between London and the rest of Europe
Cheap bus services to Paris, Amsterdam, Dublin etc from the major bus companies
The cheapest option travelling between London and many near European cities, notably Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Dublin is by scheduled coach. Once you go further afield in Europe low cost budget airlines like easyJet and Ryanair are often cheaper, especially if you book well in advance.
The dominant coach carrier in terms of choice of destinations from London and frequencies is FlixBus (which took over Eurolines in 2019).
FlixBus is a German company that offers low-cost intercity bus services in Europe, North America, South America and Asia. They aquired the previous giant Eurolines in 2019.
The main competitor to FlixBus is BlaBlaCar Bus, the origin of its name coming from the fact that it was originally first and foremost a carpooling platform. Founded in France, it offers an extensive French network between all the major towns and cities, with many more (400 in fact) throughout Europe.
In the UK, the National Express is the dominant UK scheduled coach operator.
FlixBus say they offer a user-friendly booking system, an extensive route network, and greener buses.
The other main competitor Megabus, has also now been taken over by FlixBus, but they still operate a service outside Europe in the UK, Canada and America.
In London, the European terminus for both FlixBus and BlaBlaCar Bus is Victoria Coach Station, London's only major coach station that is also the London base for National Express services.
Victoria coach station Europe service FlixBus BlaBlaCar Bus Alternatives to coach
Victoria coach station
Victoria Coach Station is just a like a busy regional airport. Coaches leave every couple of minutes, there are airport style departure screens and departure gates where you board the coach. There is a full list of facilities including a useful left luggage office.
There is a full list of facilities including a useful left luggage office, foreign exchange etc.
The dominant national operators at Victoria, National Express and Megabus have a stranglehold on UK inter city services. You can interconnect between UK and European services under one roof.
Victoria Coach Station is quite central, 5 minutes' walk from Buckingham Palace and Victoria Railway and London Underground Station.
Victoria is also a major London hotel district with accommodation options for all sectors of the market.
Find out more about Victoria:
Paris, Brussels & Amsterdam Services + Rest of Europe
Paris
The single most popular European coach route by far is London - Paris. Normally coach is by far the cheapest way to travel between the two cities. However, the Eurostar trains are the dominant way to travel between London and Paris, the high frequencies and speed of Eurostar being more attractive despite the much higher fares.
Some coach services use the ferry across the English Channel, some use the tunnel. The fastest schedules are around 7.5 hours compared to 2 hours of the Eurostar trains. There are both daytime and overnight schedules year round.
Daily service to Brussels & Amsterdam
FlixBus operate several daily services to these cities. The services to Brussels are slightly quicker than to Paris and Amsterdam is about 10.5 hours. Both services also stop at Antwerp and Rotterdam.
Services to rest of Europe
The FlixBus service extends on paper to most major cities in Europe. However few use the service. For example the service to Rome takes 30 hours with two changes of bus at Paris and Milan and is probably no cheaper than flying with a low cost budget airline in just over 2 hours.
FlixBus - the greener option
Flixbus are a young company that has grown rapidly and has established Europe's largest intercity bus network in the shortest amount of time.
In context, against other companies, they can offer routes to some 3000 + destinations, 40 countries.
Having taken over Eurolines in 2019, they have really made their mark not on just European intercity travel, but all over the world.
FlixBus have used technological advancements to differentiate themselves by offering e-ticketing, a booking app, free Wi-Fi on board and GPS live tracking. They also offer "smart network planning" as well as dynamic price management, to provide customers customers with the best offers.
They work differently from traditional bus companies; making partnerships with small and medium-sized enterprises. Regional bus partners are often family-owned companies with decades of experience, and are responsible for our green FlixBus fleet.
Their green buses are a way of trying to show their environmental credentials and sustainable approach to their business.
Started in Germany, they now cover a myriad of routes across Europe and offer cheap prices, but specialise in cross border services in the UK rather than town to town transport options.
BOOK FLIXBUS TICKETS
Cheapest prices from London to Paris
• Large bus network • Comfortable buses with toilets • Free Wi-Fi • Snacks for sale onboard • Carbon efficient coaches
BlaBlaCar Bus
BlaBlaCar Bus offer affordable long-distance bus journeys to more than 400 destinations in ten European countries.
BlaBlaCar Bus (originally Ouibus) began in France so their major network connects major French cities including Lyon, Montpellier, Dijon or Grenoble. They also serve many routes in Europe, including Germany and the Benelux.
Trainline is the official partner of BlaBlaCar Bus and you can book tickets easily through the Trainline website below.
BOOK BLA BLA BUS TICKETS
Europe wide coverage
• More than 400 destinations in ten European countries • Comfortable air-conditioned buses • Free Wi-Fi with PLUS service • Comfort breaks offered on longer journeys
Alternatives to coach to Europe - take the train for comfort and speed
The overriding reason for choosing to travel by scheduled coach to Europe from London is price. For near Europe cities like Paris the price differential is substantial and the journey although much longer can still be done without overnight travel or sleeping on the bus.
Train Services including Eurostar
The most popular transport method in terms of numbers travelling to Paris and Brussels is the train. In the next few years direct services are being introduced to other near Europe destinations. Trains are of course much faster than coach enabling tourists to do day trips to Paris with a whole days sightseeing available for example.
The only reason not to take the train to Paris or Brussels and take the coach instead are the price of tickets. Ticket prices on Eurostar are dynamic and can look very expensive, especially if you purchase at short notice or are travelling when there is a popular event on in either city.
Eurostar fares
Eurostar is a reservations only service – you can book up to 4 months in advance. The further ahead that you book, the more likely you’ll be able to pick up the best fare. Non-flexible tickets (i.e. no exchanges or refunds allowed) are cheaper than tickets with fewer restrictions.
Eurostar fares are dynamic, there will be different fares for different schedules on the same day. Fares can be eye watering if you book late or are trying to travel when an event is on at your destination so do try and plan well ahead.
Full details of the service, an explanation of the classes of ticket and current fares for your dates can be found by clicking through on the Trainline banner link below.
TRAIN TICKETS
