Paris to London by private car — through the Eurotunnel

Nobody books this because it is fast. The Eurostar does St Pancras to Gare du Nord in two hours twenty and it will always win on time. People book a private car to London for four reasons: too much luggage for a train, a group where the per-seat fares add up, an address that is nowhere near a London terminus, or a dog.

The route runs up the A1 to Calais, the vehicle boards the Eurotunnel Le Shuttle for a thirty-five-minute crossing, and then it is the M20 into London. Door to door is around seven and a half hours including the crossing and one break. The shuttle ticket is inside the fixed price.

Distance

460 km + shuttle

Drive time

7 h 30 door to door

Day length

One way

From

€1,750

Border formalities since Brexit

This is now the part that needs planning rather than the driving. Passengers travelling to the United Kingdom go through both French exit and UK entry checks at Coquelles before boarding, so passports must be in the vehicle and valid. Non-UK, non-EU nationals may need an ETA or a visa; that is your responsibility, not ours, but we will remind you when you book.

For the return leg into France, the same checks happen at Folkestone. In practice the process adds forty-five minutes to an hour to the journey, and that time is already inside the quoted duration.

Travelling with a dog

The Eurotunnel is the only crossing where pets stay in the vehicle with you, which is why it is the route used by almost everyone moving an animal between France and the UK. The animal needs a microchip, a rabies vaccination, an animal health certificate and, entering the UK, tapeworm treatment administered by a vet between 24 and 120 hours before arrival. Tell us at the time of booking, not the week before: pet spaces on the shuttle are limited and the paperwork has fixed timing.

The honest comparison with the Eurostar

Two people with hand luggage going centre to centre should take the train. Five people with eight cases going to an address in Surrey should take the car. A family moving house, a film crew with equipment, someone with mobility difficulties who does not want two station transfers, someone with a dog — those are the bookings we take, and they are the ones where seven and a half hours in one vehicle beats two hours twenty plus everything at either end.

What makes this journey different

• Eurotunnel Le Shuttle crossing included in the quoted price
• You stay with the vehicle and your luggage for the whole journey
• Pet transport possible under the DEFRA scheme, with notice
• Door to door, including addresses far from St Pancras
• Also runs London to Paris, and to Disneyland, Reims or Normandy

How the day runs

1. 06:00Pick-up in Paris

   Your hotel, home or airport terminal.

2. 09:15Coquelles, Calais

   French exit and UK entry checks, then the vehicle boards Le Shuttle.

3. 10:30Folkestone

   Thirty-five minutes under the Channel, and you have not left the car.

4. 13:30London

   Dropped at your address, or continued to anywhere in the UK.

What the price includes

• The whole vehicle, not a seat: four people pay what one person pays.
• All motorway tolls and fuel, on both legs of the journey.
• Your driver’s waiting time at every stop, with no meter running.
• Parking charges at the sites you visit.
• Baby, child and booster seats, fitted free on request.
• Flight tracking and free waiting time if your plane lands late.
• Bottled water, phone chargers and Wi-Fi on board.
• A written invoice, issued by a licensed French VTC operator.

Frequently asked questions

Other journeys out of Paris