Eurostar Snap: How It Saved Me £179 on a Trip to Paris

I was planning a short work trip to Paris to film some content and since I’d be travelling from London I looked up the price of the Eurostar. The cheapest standard ticket I could find on the date I needed was £204.

I nearly booked a flight instead, since they were around £50. But after adding on the time and money of getting to and from the airport both in London and in Paris I went back to look at ways I could potentially get my Eurostar tickets cheaper.

That’s when I found Eurostar Snap selling tickets from London to Paris on the exact same date for £60 instead of £204.

What is Eurostar Snap?

Eurostar Snap is a website run by Eurostar that sells Standard class tickets at a discounted rate. Instead of picking a specific train, you choose a time window of either am or pm. Eurostar then confirms your exact departure at least 48 hours before you travel.

This allows Eurostar to sell seats on low capacity trains that would otherwise go unsold.

In return, you get a significant discount off the cheapest standard fare available that day. But you give up control of your exact departure time. Everything else is identical to a standard booking.

How Much Can You Save?

How much you can save with Eurostar Snap varies. However, during my research I was typically seeing discounts of between 50% and 70%.

For example, the Eurostar website was showing prices of between £204 and £264 on the morning of the day I wanted to travel. But Eurostar Snap was selling a morning ticket for just £70.

Since Eurostar Snap is also available on the return I looked at Paris back to London. Prices this time were between £85 and £135.50 for a standard ticket.

However, the Eurostar Snap ticket for a train in those same times was just £40.

So booking on Eurostar Snap would save me between £45 and £95.50.

Predicting Which Train You’ll Get

You don’t find out which train you’re going to be on until 48 hours prior. However, since you can only book a maximum of 14 days in advance, you can also make a pretty good prediction as to which train you’ll be on before you even get the notification.

I predicted which train I would be on for both legs of my journey, and my prediction was right both times. However, this is not without risks. Personally, I would not be making any serious travel plans on your prediction.

Since Eurostar fills Snap seats on trains with low occupancy and works on a dynamic pricing model for standard Eurostar tickets, you can see which trains have the most availability based on their price on the main Eurostar site. Low price means low demand, which means available seats.

The London to Paris AM window had six available trains and the cheapest standard fare five days prior to travel was on the 06:01 and so I figured that would be my train, and when the formal notification came through 48 hours before travelling, it was.

I applied the same logic to my return. I chose the PM window from Paris to London which had eight trains available. The cheapest being the 14:35, which again, was the train that I was assigned 48 hours prior to travel.

Which Routes Are Available?

Eurostar Snap currently runs on these routes, all bookable in both directions:

• London ↔ Paris
• London ↔ Brussels
• London ↔ Amsterdam
• London ↔ Rotterdam
• London ↔ Lille
• Paris ↔ Brussels
• Paris ↔ Amsterdam
• Paris ↔ Rotterdam
• Paris ↔ Cologne

However, not every date on every route will have Snap fares available.

How to Book Eurostar Snap

Snap fares are only available at snap.eurostar.com. They don’t show up in the main Eurostar search. Head there directly, choose your route, date and time window, and pay.

A few things to know before you book:

• On London routes Snap availability shows up to 14 days before travel
• On all other routes, Snap availability shows up to 12 days before travel
• You can book as late as midnight the day before you travel
• Your confirmed departure is emailed at least 48 hours before departure
• You can book for up to 4 passengers aged 16 and over in one transaction
• E-vouchers are accepted. Discount codes are not
• Payment by debit/credit card, Google Pay, or PayPal

Restrictions You Need to Know

• Non-refundable, non-changeable, non-transferable: Once booked, that’s it. You can’t amend, cancel or give it to someone else. Miss your assigned train and you lose your money.
• No same-day returns: You can book two separate Snap tickets on the same day, but I wouldn’t recommend it for leisure. You could end up with just a couple of hours in Paris. Pay the premium, pick your trains.
• Age limit: Children under 16 need a standard Eurostar ticket. Infants under 4 travel free on an adult’s lap. Maximum one infant per adult.
• No bikes: Bicycles aren’t permitted on Snap bookings.
• No seat selection: Eurostar assigns your seat. If you’re travelling as a group, you may not be seated together.
• No Club Eurostar flexibility perks: You can’t hop on an earlier or later train, and the class upgrade benefit doesn’t apply to Snap tickets.
• Prices vary by day: Mid-week is consistently cheaper. Fridays, Sunday afternoons, and school holiday periods push Snap prices up.

What you do get is the standard luggage allowance; two pieces of luggage plus one piece of hand luggage, no weight limit, suitcases no wider than 85cm. Same as any other Eurostar ticket.

Tips for Getting the Best Snap Price

Book early. Snap opens 14 days before travel on London routes (12 days on others) and the cheapest fares go first. The later you leave it, the fewer options you have, though you can book up to midnight the day before if you need to.

Travel Tuesday to Thursday. Mid-week Snap fares are almost always cheaper. From the date bar on my own search, Monday was £80, Tuesday £60 and Wednesday £70 for London to Paris. Fridays and Sundays are where prices climb.

Check both time windows: On Tuesday 24 March, the afternoon London to Paris window (£60) was cheaper than the morning (£70). That’s the opposite of what you might assume. Always compare both before you commit.

Don’t plan anything time-sensitive on travel day. If you need to be somewhere at a specific time, Snap isn’t the right product. If you can genuinely work with either a morning or afternoon departure, the saving is hard to argue with.

Check a few dates if you can. Prices shift noticeably from day to day. A quick look across the week can sometimes turn up a significantly cheaper option without much extra effort.

Is Eurostar Snap Worth It?

If you are flexible on when you travel and you’re happy to be sat apart from your friends and family, then Eurostar Snap is absolutely worth it. I saved £179 on my return journey.

However, if you have fixed plans then it’s worth paying the premium to know exactly which train you’ll be on.

Eurostar Snap FAQs

When do I find out my exact train time? At least 48 hours before your travel date. Eurostar emails your departure time, carriage and seat number.

What time windows are available? Morning and afternoon. From London, the split is at 13:00. From Paris and all other stations, it’s at 14:00. Exact start and end times vary by route and date.

What’s the age limit for Snap? 16 and over. Children under 16 need a standard Eurostar ticket. Infants under 4 travel free on an adult’s lap, maximum one infant per adult.

What’s the luggage allowance? Same as a standard Eurostar ticket. Two pieces of luggage and one piece of hand luggage. No weight limit. Suitcases no wider than 85cm.

Can I choose my seat? No. Seats are assigned by Eurostar. Travelling as a group, you may not be seated together.

Can I change or cancel a Snap fare? No. Snap tickets are non-refundable, non-changeable and non-transferable. Missing your assigned train means losing your ticket.

What if my Eurostar is delayed or cancelled? Standard Eurostar terms apply. If your train is delayed by 60 minutes or more, you’re entitled to compensation. If it’s cancelled, you can travel on the next available service or claim a refund.

Can I book a same-day return on Snap? No. Each direction must be booked separately, and same-day returns aren’t available on Snap.

Do I earn Club Eurostar points? Yes. You earn points and bonus points on Snap bookings and can also spend points on Snap. Lounge access and priority ticket gates still apply if your membership tier allows. The standard flexibility perks for Avantage, Carte Blanche and Étoile members don’t apply, and class upgrades can’t be used with Snap tickets.

How far ahead can I book? Up to 14 days before travel on London routes, up to 12 days on all other routes. You can book as late as midnight the day before.

Can I use a discount code? No. Discount codes aren’t accepted on Snap. E-vouchers can be used.

Is the journey any different to a standard Eurostar? No. Same train, same onboard experience, reserved seat. There’s nothing second-class about it.