6 July 2010.
Train times valid from 13 June to 11 December 2010.
London to Andorra La Vella
The little church of St Coloma, just outside Andorra
la Vella.
A
French count and a Spanish bishop disagreed over who should rule
a small rural enclave high up in the Pyrenees.
They decided to rule jointly, and the result was the
Principality of Andorra, the only country in the world whose official language
is Catalan. Today it's no longer
rural - its spectacular scenery is home to more ski resorts
and
duty-free perfumeries than you can shake a stick at.
But if
you look hard enough, the odd bit of historical interest
remains...
Andorra has no rail station or airport, but it's easy to get
there by Eurostar from London to Paris, overnight train from Paris to
l'Hospitalet près l'Andorre (the station just outside
Andorra) and then a bus ride across a spectacular mountain
pass into Andorra. It's cheap too: If you book online
in advance, London-Paris starts at just £69 return,
Paris-l'Hospitalet by overnight train costs just 20 euros
(£17) one-way in a reclining seat or 40 euros (£35) in a
couchette, then it's just 9.50 euros for the connecting bus to
Andorra. That's centre-to-centre.
Train times London ► Andorra
Travel from London to
Paris by Eurostar, leaving London St Pancras at
16:55 and arriving Paris Gare du Nord at 20:23.
Cross Paris by métro
to the Gare d'Austerlitz.
Travel from Paris to
l'Hospitalet près l'Andorre overnight by 'Lunéa' sleeper train,
leaving Paris (Gare d'Austerlitz) at 21:56 and arriving
at l'Hospitalet at 07:20. This train has 1st class
4-berth couchettes, 2nd class 6-berth couchettes and 2nd
class reclining seats. It does not run on 24 or 31
December.
A daily bus
service connects with the train, leaving L'Hospitalet
station forecourt at 07:35 for Pas de la Casa (arriving 08:15),
Soldeu (08:40), Encamp, and Andorra La Veilla, arriving 09:05.
It's a very scenic ride through the Pyrenees - try and get the front seats for the best
views. The bus is operated by La Hispano Andorrana
SL,
www.andorrabus.com. Subject to cancellation when
the mountain passes are blocked by snow!
Train times Andorra ► London
The
bus leaves Andorra La Vella at 17:00, Soldeu
at 17:35, Pas de la Casa at 18:15, arriving
at l'Hospitalet station forecourt at 19:30. In Andorra la Vella,
the bus does not leave from the bus station, but
from bus stop number 510 outside the
Poste Française (French post office). The bus will
be at this stop at about 16:50, then it will wait until 17:00, so get
there in good time. On arrival at l'Hospitalet,
the station ticket office, waiting room and toilets will
be open until the departure of the night express for
Paris, so you will have somewhere warm to wait...
The 'Lunéa' overnight train leaves
l'Hospitalet près l'Andorre at 20:49, arriving Paris Gare
d'Austerlitz at 07:27 next morning. It has 1st
class 4-berth couchettes, 2nd class 6-berth couchettes
and reclining seats. It does not run on 24 or 31
December.
A
Eurostar leaves Paris
(Gare du Nord)
at 09:13 and arrives London St Pancras at
10:36.
On
board the overnight train from Paris to
l'Hospitalet...
Couchettes are basic
bunks, each with a clean pillow and (on
French night trains) a special lightweight
sleeping-bag, a welcome change from the normal sheet
and blanket. 2nd class couchettes have 6 bunks
per compartment (upper, middle and lower on each
side of the compartment), 1st class couchettes have
4 bunks (upper and lower each side). There are washrooms and toilets
at the end of the corridor.
French Railways (SNCF)
have relaunched their overnight service as
'Lunéa', and each couchette passenger gets a
small bottle of mineral water, earplugs (if you
really feel you need them...), and tissues.
There's a security lock on the door which cannot be
opened from outside, and staff are on hand
if you need them. Only passengers with tickets
and reservations are allowed on board, and there are
minimal stops between midnight and 06:00 to ensure a
smooth journey through the night.
Men
and women share the same compartments in
couchettes, as you don't normally fully undress, but
on French night trains, women travelling alone can
ask for a place in a ladies-only
compartment.
The train also has reclining seats, but a couchette allows you to sleep
properly and is recommended.
Above right: The
night train between l'Hospitalet and Paris, seen
parked during the day at the end of the line at
Latour de Carol.
Far right: An air-conditioned French 2nd class
couchette compartment with 6-bunks, on the night
train from Paris to L'Hospitalet.
Near right: 1st class
couchettes have 4 berths and are carpeted and
generally more comfortable. 1st class
couchettes are wider and softer than the 2nd class
couchettes.
The bus ride from l'Hospitalet to
Andorra...
The bus ride
across the Pyrenean mountain passes into Andorra is
spectacular, although a new tunnel cuts off part of
the original road over the pass.
Get the front seats for the best
views...
www.andorrabus.com for bus times.
The best and cheapest way to buy tickets is online.
UK residents can buy tickets for both Eurostar and the Paris-l'Hospitalet
overnight train at
www.raileurope.co.uk.
There's no booking fee, and tickets can be sent to any UK
address (£1.95 fee) or collected at St Pancras on departure
(free of charge).
There's a 2% credit card fee, so use a debit card if you
can. Only UK-issued credit cards are accepted.
Reservations open 90 days before departure, you can't book before
reservations open!
To see the cheap fares, treat London to l'Hospitalet as two
separate journeys, one from London to Paris, the other
Paris to l'Hospitalet.
Go to
www.raileurope.co.uk,
and first book the train from Paris to L'Hospitalet and back.
Enter 'Paris' and 'l'Hospitalet pres l'Andorre'
and your dates of travel.
Make sure you book a couchette, not just a seat. Add
it to your basket.
When you've booked the Paris-l'Hospitalet train, click 'CONTINUE
SHOPPING' and book the Eurostar from London to Paris and back
as a separate journey. Use the Eurostar times on this
page as a guide, but feel free to choose an earlier Eurostar
from London, or a later Eurostar returning from Paris, if
these have cheaper seats available or if you'd like to stop
off in Paris. Don't forget that on your return
journey, your departure date from Paris to London will be
the day after your departure date from l'Hospitalet to Paris!
For a one-way trip, remember that on Eurostar it may be
cheaper to book a return ticket and throw away the return
half.
Advice on one-way Eurostar fares.
Tickets are sent from a UK office and normally arrive through the post in a couple of
days.
There is no need to pre-book the
bus from
l'Hospitalet to Andorra. Just turn up, hop on and buy your
ticket on the bus from the driver. You can check bus times at
www.andorrabus.com.
You
can buy tickets from any UK European rail booking agency, including
Rail
Europe on 0844 848 5 848 (lines open
09:00-21:00 Monday to Friday, 09:00-18:00 Saturdays, £8 booking fee applies) or Ffestiniog
Travel on 01766 772050 (8% booking fee applies). Rail
Europe have a travel centre for personal callers at 1 Regent Street, London SW1Y 4XT, open 10:00-18:00 Mon-Fri, 10:00-17:00
Saturdays. For
more information about how to buy European train tickets,
see the London to Europe general
information page.
Residents of any country may use voyages-sncf.com, leaving
'France' selected to pick up tickets in Paris or selecting
another European country (including the UK) to have tickets
posted to any European address.
The French Railways website has exactly the same fares as
www.raileurope.co.uk,
though you may get a slightly better exchange rate paying in
euros if you don't mind using a French website.
There's no credit card fee and no postage fee.
Reservations open 90 days before departure. You cannot
book before bookings open!
Go to
www.voyages-sncf.com. The 'English' button is a UK flag at
the bottom. Clicking it now sends you to their UK
mini-site,
www.tgv-europe.com. The UK version of tgv-europe.com
will send tickets to any UK address or will allow ticket
collection at any main French station (if your journey
starts in France, obviously). To have tickets sent to
addresses in other European countries, change the mini-site
to the appropriate country by clicking the flag and country
name at the bottom of the page.
If and when an advanced booking form appears, look for the
drop-down country list and change it to 'Great Britain'.
Tickets can now be sent to any UK address or picked up at
any main station in France. Selecting other countries
will switch you to the relevant mini-site, allowing ticket
despatch to other European countries. If you're from
overseas, stick with the UK site and select ticket
collection at the station at the end of the booking.
To see the cheap fares, treat London to l'Hospitalet as two
separate journeys, one London to Paris, the other Paris
to l'Hospitalet.
First, book the train from Paris to l'Hospitalet and back.
Enter 'Paris', 'l'Hospitalet' and your date of travel.
It helps to tick the 'direct services only' box to make sure
it only comes up with the direct train. When the
results appear, click on any price then click on 'choisir ma
place' to switch from
seats to couchettes.
Then click 'add another ticket' and book the Eurostar from
London to Paris and back as a separate journey. Use
the Eurostar times on this page as a guide, but feel free to
choose an earlier Eurostar from London, or a later Eurostar
returning from Paris, if these have cheaper seats available
than the recommended Eurostar connection, or if you want to
stop off. Don't forget that on your return journey,
your departure date from Paris to London will be the day
after your departure date from l'Hospitalet to Paris! For a
one-way trip, remember that on Eurostar it is usually
cheaper to book a return ticket and throw away the return
half.
Tickets are sent from France but normally arrive at UK addresses within a couple of
days.
There is no need to pre-book the
bus from
l'Hospitalet to Andorra. Just turn up, hop on and buy your
ticket on the bus from the driver. You can check bus times at
www.andorrabus.com.
Moving on from Andorra...
Andorra to Barcelona...
If
you are heading on to Spain, the bus connections back
to l'Hospitalet do not work well with
the local railway to Barcelona. However, there are regular
buses between Andorra and Barcelona taking about 4 hours,
see
www.autocarsnadal.com.
There are trains from Latour de Carol to Barcelona, see
www.renfe.es
(the Barcelona-Latour de Carol route is classed as a
Barcelona suburban service, so ignore the main journey
planner, leave the site in Spanish mode, and look for the
'Cercianas' link below the main enquiry form on their home
page. Select the Barcelona suburban area).
Engineering work affecting this line is planned to last
until end of 2008. There is a replacement bus service
between Puigcerdá and Ribes de Freser.
Andorra to Perpignan: 'Le petit
train jaune...'
If you don't mind paying for a taxi between Andorra and Latour de Carol (the
bus service was withdrawn in 2005), the scenic narrow gauge 'petit train jaune' runs
from Latour de Carol through the Pyrenees twice-daily in winter, much more
frequently in summer, connecting with a standard gauge
service at Villefranche at the eastern end of the line into Perpignan.
This makes for a very scenic and interesting alternative
route into/out of Andorra. The 'petit train jaune' is
run by the French national train operator SNCF, so train times,
fares and online ticketing for the petit train jaune can all be done through the SNCF
website,
www.voyages-sncf.com. For info of the Petit Train
Jaune, see
www.trainstouristiques-ter.com/train_jaune.htm.
For train times between London and Perpignan, see the
London to France page.
Right: The Petit Train Jaune from Perpignan/Villefranche
to Latour de Carol...
The Thomas Cook European Timetable
The
Thomas Cook European timetable
has train & ferry times for every country in Europe plus currency
& climate
information. Published since 1873, it costs £13.99.
It's essential for any serious traveller
and an inspiration for armchair travellers. Still
not convinced you need one? More information
on what the Thomas Cook Timetable contains. You can
buy the latest monthly edition online at
www.thomascooktimetables.com with worldwide delivery or
buy it in person from any UK branch of Thomas Cook (ask at the
bureau de change), or from W H Smiths in Victoria or Kings
Cross stations in London.
Or
buy the twice-yearly independent traveller's edition with
laminated cover from Amazon.co.uk:
Summer 2010 edition (June to December 2010)
The Thomas Cook Rail Map of
Europe is the best and most comprehensive
map of train routes right across Europe, from Portugal in the
west to Istanbul, Moscow & Ukraine in the east, from Finland
in the north to Sicily & Crete in the south. High speed
&
scenic routes are highlighted. Highly recommended!
Buy online
at
www.amazon.co.uk
(worldwide delivery).
See an extract from
the map.
Travel insurance & health card...
Get travel insurance..
Never travel without insurance from a
reliable travel insurer, with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover. It should also cover loss of
cash (up to a limit) and belongings, and cancellation. An annual
multi-trip policy is usually cheaper than several single-trip
policies even for just 2 or 3 trips
a year (I have an annual policy myself). Here are some suggested insurers.
Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy through these
links.
If you live in the UK, get quotes from
Columbus Direct or
Go Travel Insurance, or go to
Confused.com to run a price comparison on a whole range of
travel insurance providers for your dates of travel, seeing
their policy's features at a glance.
Don't expect travel insurance to bail you out of every missed
connection, but European international rail conditions of
carriage (known as the 'CIV') contain consumer protection
provisions that entitle you to travel forward by the next
available train if you miss a connection because of a delay to
the first train, irrespective of who operates which train, and
even if your ticket is in theory train-specific and
non-changeable.
Feedback from using
insurance for rail & ferry travel is always welcome.
If you're a
UK citizen travelling in Europe, you should apply for a free
European Health Insurance Card, which entitles you to free or
reduced rate health care if you become ill or get injured in
many European countries, under a reciprocal arrangement with
the NHS. This replaced the old E111 forms
as from January 2006. The EHIC card is available from
www.ehic.org.uk. It doesn't remove the need for
travel insurance, though.
Get a pre-paid euro currency MasterCard from Caxton FX...
You can save money on ATM charges and exchange rates using a
Caxton FX euro currency MasterCard, or indeed the
multi-currency 'Global Traveller' MasterCard.
Find out about these cards & sign up here.
Get an international SIM card...
Mobile phones can cost a fortune to use abroad, and if you're
not careful you can return home to find some huge bills
waiting for you. I've known people run up over £1,000 in
data charges just by leaving their iPhone connected during a
simple trip to Europe. However, if you
buy a global SIM card for your mobile phone from a company
such as
www.Go-Sim.com you can slash the cost by up to 85% and
limit any damage to the amount you have pre-paid. Go-Sim
cuts call costs in 175 countries worldwide,
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when you get home. It also allows cheap data access for laptops
& PDAs. A Go-Sim account and any credit on it doesn't
expire if it's not used between trips, unlike some
others, so a Go-Sim phone number becomes your 'global phone
number' for life.
The train also has reclining seats, but a couchette allows you to sleep
properly and is recommended.
If you live in the UK, get quotes from
If you live in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or the
EU, see
If you live in the USA or Canada, see
