robjame

I have read the posts but have difficulty telling if they were written by back packers or by folks my age. We are arriving on a Sunday but would we be absolutely nuts to try to get to our hotel this way? Yes we will have luggage - this is a month long trip. We have heard that taxi line-ups can be daunting. We won't be returning to CDG from Paris so the shuttle would be one way only but is it still the smartest move?

ira

Hi rob,

Until we got to Social Security age, that's how we did it.

Now that we are rich, we take a shuttle from the airport.

www.parishuttle.com or www.beeshuttle.com are about 18E pp.

elaine

Hi
I'm guessing that for a month-long trip you'll each have more than a 20" wheely suitcase? Taxi lineups aren't so bad and you will have considerably more convenience and expense. Some people like the shuttles, others complain about the trip taking longer because other people get dropped off at their hotels first. You could also
take the Air France bus to Invalides and take a taxi from there. The Paris airports website has all the details.

Robert2533

Age is irrelevant to the question. It all comes down to how you feel about carrying your own luggage after a long trip. As already suggested, if you're planning of packing more then one carry-on and a smaller checked bag, then I'd opt for the taxi to the hotel. You'll save yourself a lot of possible aggravation even though the Paris Shuttle, the Air France Bus or the RER are all fine. We've used them all, but then we always pack light, even when we're going for a month or longer.

RonZ

On the day we surpassed ira in wealth, the shuttle was scrapped in favor of a taxi. As noted above, the line moves right along.

iloveparis

Just a note:
The Air France bus from CDG goes to Montparnasse or to the Champs Elysees area.
The Orly Air France bus goes to Invalides.
I'd opt fot the shuttle or a taxi with a lot of luggage.

TopMan

Take a taxi if you really think you are that old and decrepit at "fifty-something"....stop feeling sorry for yourself.

marcy_

Robjame,
We are 50-something and always take the metro to our hotel from CDG.

It really all depends have much luggage you have. It's very doable with a rolling carry-on and a small tote bag each, but with much more than that I would take a cab.

You'd have to be able to walk a few blocks and handle your bags on escalators or a flight of stairs or two.

If that will be difficult, do yourself a favor and take a taxi.

elaine

Ignore this last crank, decrepit has nothing to do with it, just stamina, and decision-making about how to spend energy and money. One way to think about this is to amortize the cost of the taxi over the whole month of your trip, it adds much less than 2 euro per day.

suze

It's nothing to do with your age, it has to do with how much luggage you'll be moving about with you. Personally I would catch a taxi or shuttle from the airport to my hotel, and pinch pennies somewhere else.

Flyboy

I agree with elaine. I often take the RER in from CDG, but the "month long trip" part of the post is what tells me that I would be taking a taxi and it has nothing to do with age. I don't know who said the taxi lines can be daunting, but that has never been my experience. On the contrary, it is fast and it is simple. The savings from taking a shuttle are not very significant and it's just another thing to screw around with that you don't need.

Christina

I'm fifty-something but don't think that is the issue here. It has nothing to do with that age, but probably disposible income and what you want to spend on getting to your hotel, vs. time tradeoffs. I think a lot of people who take public transportation value saving a few euro over their time and trouble doing that. That's mainly what it is. I value my time a lot, and just have no interest in taking public transportation to my hotel from the airport, unless it is fairly easy and convenient.

Going to Hotel Monge from CDG by public transportation is NOT simple, I'd feel differently if it were. You haven't asked about routes and transfers, etc., so much so I guess you know what this involves?

As for taxi lineups, that's a bunch of nonsense about that being some big issue. The last time I arrived, I actually did have to wait for a taxi at CDG -- that was the first time I've even had a wait. The wait was perhaps 10 minutes. Going by public transportation is clearly going to waste more time than that just getting to the RER station at the airport, waiting for a train, the transfers and perhaps more waiting, getting to the hotel from the Monge metro stop, etc.

This is just a money vs. time/trouble issue and everyone values that differently. There seem to be at least two of you -- assuming that, you may save about 30 euro (over the two of you) by doing it by public transportation vs. a taxi, or 15 euro per person. Is that important enough to you to do it? I think shuttles are around 17 euro per person(not sure on the lastest, I don't take them), so in that case you'll save around 8 euro per person.

The Hotel Monge is about 2-3 blocks from the metro stop.

lekker

We also stayed at Hotel Monge, and if money is the issue, I would vote for the shuttle - it is convenient and no driver ever complaint about our luggage. If you are really in a hurry, time might be a factor - I usually enjoy it to drop other people at their Hotel's and have a nice drive through Paris - it is always within a few blocks from your hotel, or on the way from the airport to the hotel.

We always make use of the shuttle and never experienced any problems - and it is nice to be dropped off and picked up at your hotel! If you do not mind the extra euros, take a Taxi. But I would not advise the Metro - too much moving up and down stairs with your luggage.

Enjoy Hotel Monge!

Gretchen

Taxi "lineups" might be 3 minutes. Do yourself a favor and take a cab.

StCirq

I'm fifty-something and in great shape, and I stopped using the RER/métro to get into Paris more than 10 years ago. There's nothing I hate more after an all-night flight than to jostle my way into Paris on a crowded RER car feeling clammy and exhausted, then hike up a few escalators and down a half-dozen corridors, then up some stairs and down a few city blocks, arriving at my hotel looking like a bag lady.
Do yourself a favor and take a taxi. I've never waited more than five minutes for one.

jd_dallas

We're 50-somethings and have used the RER and Metro to the area where your hotel is located several times in the past 4 years (but we do pack pretty light). We found it a little confusing the first time but manageable. With regard to saving time, doesn't the time needed using the shuttle or a cab vary a lot on traffic? Is it always faster?

It's really just a matter of personal preference, I think, so do what you're most comfortable doing.

Vincent

I think Christina is spot on. Let's do a little maths exercise : take 30 euros (your saving by taking metro vs taxi, and I would even say less : 2 RER tickets are 15 euros, and the taxi on a Sunday 40), divide it by your overall one month long in France stay (including two plane tickets of course): if it's above 0.1 %, I'll pay you a bottle of champagne ! You're on vacation, for Christ's sake !

Robespierre

I like walking, so I'd probably take RER B to Luxembourg and walk the kilometer to the Monge, dragging my wheelie. To me, getting on and off trains isn't an inconvenience - it's just part of the trip. If you have too much luggage to hike from the train station, a taxi will get you there in two minutes.

It's not completely a money thing - we could afford to hire a limo if we wanted to. But we didn't get that way by spending frivolously, either.

I turned sixty-two in July.

WillTravel

I'm not fifty-something, but I typically do take public transport after landing at a European airport. (I took the Air France bus when I went to Paris, because it was so convenient for where I was going.) By taking public transport, I don't have any anxiety about a creeping taxi meter. I don't have to worry about phoning a shuttle bus driver. These are not very significant concerns, but problems do arise with both of these occasionally, as you can tell by posts on this and other boards.

By taking public transit, I feel more "in charge" of the situation. It's psychological, but I don't feel dependent on a cab or shuttle driver and I feel more confident. I plunge in right away into understanding how the country works. And I save some money. Forty Euros here, five Euros here, and before you know it you have the money for the next airfare.

Nonetheless, I wouldn't take public transit in Paris, or anywhere else really, if you have more than one 22" suitcase and one tote per person.

SuzieC

I am 50-something and I vote with WillTravel above - I like the comfort and, to me, the convenience of the Roissy or AirFrance (I take AirFrance myself) bus to the City - THEN a cab.
Easy for me.. I get to "see things" on the way.
My 2-cents worth, I never saw any daunting cab lines either.