Hi all

Can anyone tell me if traveling by eurostar (i am non EU) to an EU country from London kings cross needs me to arrivwe with plenty of time in hand for immighrations etc? is it like before a flight?

I leave for belgium tomorrow and the train is at 7, was planning to reach at 6.30, but should it be earlier?

thanks all!

Cheers

Hi, I would make it a bit earlier. The queues for check-in/ immigration / security are pretty short especially compared with airports but as they do the immigration bit before you get on the train rather than on arrival (if I remember correctly), then it might be wise to allow a bit more time. They start boarding the train 20 minutes before departure and depending on what carriage you're in it can be a good 5 minutes walk from the waiting area.
I presume you're going to Brussels Gare du Midi - watch your bags in and especially around that station. It's normally fine but not the nicest part of Brussels.

ta!

I agree with the previous reply. It's always better to leave half an hour for imm.check and for us the thing was they only let you board the train nearer the time it leaves, so be aware that the train is long and you might have to walk about 5-10 min to your carriage (as the previous poster said). we got into trouble as we got panicked and got into wrong one and got down again etc...
This is far better than the airport checks and even the journey is so pleasant, the food is a bit pricy so if you are really skint, a tea flask and sandwiches is a must to take in. The midi station in Brussels is not the best compared to UK.