How do Eurostar group bookings work?
- Last reviewed
- 5 min read
- For universities, schools, sports teams, production crews, event organisers, corporate groups
The short answer
Eurostar treats 10 or more paying passengers on a direct service as a group. Groups of 10 to 20 can book online or ask for a quote, and groups of more than 20 receive an emailed quote and complete the booking with Eurostar's Groups Team. Seats are not secured until those booking steps are done. Payment dates, deposits and name deadlines are set in the terms Eurostar sends with your quote, so that document is what counts.
Key takeaways
- Group fares need 10 or more paying passengers and apply only on direct Eurostar services with no connecting train.
- If the group falls below 10, the booking can no longer be kept as a group reservation.
- Eurostar's own page lists free date or time changes up to 31 days before departure and a sliding refund scale for the whole journey.
- Deposit, balance and name deadlines are not published on Eurostar's page. They arrive with your quote, so ask for them before you commit.
- French border checks and EES registration happen at St Pancras before departure, so build check-in time into the plan.
What counts as a Eurostar group booking?
Eurostar's group page says a group booking needs 10 or more paying passengers. Group rates (it advertises savings of up to 10%) appear when you search a direct route with 10 or more passengers. Group fares are only available on direct services. A group of more than nine on an indirect route has to be split across several bookings.
Everyone in the group must travel together on both the outbound and return journeys. If cancellations take you below 10, the booking can no longer be held as a group reservation, so the fare basis may change.
Eurostar also offers group dining through its Groups Team and the option to hire your own coach, with optional branding on trains to and from London.
How do you book a group on Eurostar?
| Group size | How it works |
|---|---|
| 10 to 20 people | Search for trains and check out online to secure seats, or request a quote and confirm with the Groups Team |
| More than 20 people | Search, select trains and enter an email address. A quote arrives straight away. Follow the steps in the email to complete the booking with the Groups Team |
For larger groups the quote does not hold seats. Seats are secured only when you complete the booking steps in the email. Contact details for the Groups Team, including a UK number open Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 18:00 GMT, are on Eurostar's group page.
Send the Groups Team your preferred trains, a fallback time, the number of adults and children, and any wheelchair or mobility needs. Ask them to confirm in writing what the quote includes before you pay anything.
What are the change and refund rules?
Eurostar's group page sets out these conditions for group tickets. They can differ from the terms on your emailed quote, so check both.
| Action | Rule |
|---|---|
| Change date or time | Free for one leg or the whole trip up to 31 days before departure. You can upgrade class. You cannot change destination |
| Price difference on a change | If the new fare costs more, you pay the difference. If it costs less, the difference is not refunded |
| Cancel up to 31 days before departure | 80% refund of the whole journey |
| Cancel 30 to 9 days before departure | 50% refund |
| Cancel 8 days or less before departure | No refund |
Refunds apply to the whole journey. Legs cannot be cancelled separately. Rail Europe, an agent that sells Eurostar group tickets, publishes trade terms showing a 20% non-refundable deposit due within 21 days of booking, a balance due 35 days before departure and a charge of 20 euros per person to change a name once seats are on hold. Those figures come from an agent, not Eurostar, and use 35 days where Eurostar's page uses 31. Treat Eurostar's emailed group terms as the final word.
What happens at the border for a group?
For Eurostar from London, French border checks take place at St Pancras before you board. gov.uk says any EES checks are completed at the border before you leave the UK, and that Eurostar may use self-service pre-registration kiosks before the ticket gates. First-time EES registration takes longer than a passport stamp, and a group crosses for the first time together. Our EES and ETIAS guide explains who needs to register and how children under 12 are treated.
- Ask Eurostar for the check-in time that applies to your group, rather than using the standard time for individual tickets.
- Hand out passports in queue order and brief everyone on the kiosk step.
- Count the group at every stage: kiosk, passport control, security and the train.
- Check the passport rules for every traveller before you book. See the passport and visa checklist.
Is Eurostar the right choice compared with a coach?
Rail removes driver hours limits and road delays from the plan, and a direct train takes the group city centre to city centre. Costs, luggage handling and the number of changes to reach your final destination decide the comparison. For a school trip, see coach or flight for a school trip to Europe. For other European routes, see rail travel in Europe for groups.
How Roamly can help
Roamly Travel plans routes and ground logistics for groups, including rail legs, borders and onward transfers, and can compare rail, coach and air options for a given itinerary. See our logistics service, cost options with the group travel calculator, or contact us.
Sources
- Eurostar: Group travel and booking
- Eurostar: Group booking
- Rail Europe trade help: Groups conditions (agent terms)
- gov.uk: EU Entry/Exit System
General guidance only, checked against the sources above on 30 October 2026. Entry rules, airline policies and official advice change, so confirm the current position with the linked source before you travel.