beachgirl86

DH and I are leaving from Boston on Air France on the night of the 5th. We will be flying into London (through Paris) and then flying home directly from Paris. 4 nights in London and 6 nights in Paris, going in between on the Eurostar. It's my 3rd time to Paris and 1st to London, and DH's 1st time to both cities.

We only have about an hour layover in CDG before hopping the next plane to London. I always hear nightmare stories about CDG -- will we be in trouble with only an hour in between flights? (Both are on Air France.)

Also, I know no one can ever predict what will happen with luggage, but would you check yours, or try to do carry on? I am SO paranoid about lost luggage?

Will there be taxis readily available when we get to Heathrow to take us to our hotel? Also, will there be taxis to take us to our hotel in Paris when we get off the Eurostar? About how much should I budget for this?

We are staying at Victoria Park Plaza in London, and the Hilton Paris in the 7th Arr. in Paris. Both were good deals on Hotwire.

Thanks so much for your help in advance

nbujic

If you miss your flight to London, Air France will put you on the next flight. As far as luggage , I would carry with me as much as you can.

jody

Taxis will be readily available at Heathrow , but I wouldn't take one of them. I'd take the Heathrow Express to Paddington and then a taxi to the hotel. It isn't even too late to order a shuttle pickup. Myself, I prefer the EXP and a taxi. I know someone will come on and tell you to take the tube, but that is not for me. I don't like lugging luggage no matter how little I have!

AF might check your bags thru to London, but with only an hour, I'd at least try to do carryon. CDG AF takes you from the plane to a bus to the terminal and it can take quite awhile to get there. You may not make your scheduled flight but AF will get you to London eventually.

Taxis are readily available at Gare de Nord on your return to Paris. I don't think we've ever paid much more than 10=15 Euro from Gare de Nord to the 6th.

Wekiva

If you haven't flown Air France before they are very serious about their carry on luggage size limit (even when flying from the States). The one I use as a carry on in the States was not even close to being small enough. Just be sure you understand their carry on size limitation before finalizing that decision...or you may be in for a suprise.

beachgirl86

Thanks for all your replies!

Yikes -- is there a chance Air France would NOT check my luggage all the way to London? That would be a huge problem if we decided to check luggage.

janisj

You do not want a taxi at LHR, nor do you want the Heathrow Express train. The train only gets you to Paddington Station and then you'd have to take a taxi anyway to your hotel which is near Victoria Station. Plus there would be a lot of schlepping of luggage on a long walk to the HEX station from arrivals, and from the HEX platform to the taxi rank.

I would get a car service from LHR like justairport.com. It will cost a lot less than a taxi. I started a thread earlier asking whether the new security measures are messing up car services but apparently they are opperating pretty much as normal.

Air France will check your bags through - but they might be delayed at CDG so you might not get them until a later flight (but you might be on the later flight yourselves )

in Paris - I'd just take a taxi from Nord. The metro works great - but Nord to the Hilton in a taxi certainly won't break the budget.

beachgirl86

Janis: Thanks for the great tips. I will check them out. Why wouldn't we want a taxi from LHR? Too expensive?

AisleSeat

On your luggage worries. Obviously it is a good idea to have a toothbrush and a change of underwear in your carry-on.

I also heard someone talking about putting a change or two of your clothes in you husband's suitcase and the other way around just in case one of them is delayed. You can swap back when you get there... or when your bag gets there.

nbujic

"is there a chance Air France would NOT check my luggage all the way to London?"

they will check you luggage to London, but with a short time between flights it might arrive in London later than you do.
again, take as much in a carry on as you can!

beachgirl86

AisleSeat: Great tip on swapping clothes in the luggage -- thanks!

janisj

beachgirl: A taxi will cost about £50 plus tip, or maybe more depending on the traffic

Just Airports will take exactly the same length of time - and will cost about £27-£32 plus tip depending on luggage/how big a car you'd need

Dejais

Beachgirl...Just wanted to let you know I did a similar trip last year. Cab to London from Heathrow was 50GBP and totally worth the expense when our car service did not show up. However, I think janisj is correct when she tells you to reserve car service. You will save money.

I did want to let you know that hubby and I stayed at the Hilton on our first trip to Paris and the hotel is WONDERFUL. Great location for a first time visit especially if you get a room with a view of the Eiffel Tower. I kept going out on the balcony and saying "Look, honey, look! The Eiffel is twinkling!" Or "Look, it's so beautiful!"

Finally DH said, "Oh, for goodness sakes, it's always going to be there EVERY time you go out on the balcony. I do not need to look again!"

Enjoy your trip!

suze

I do check one smallish rolling suitcase, but pack my carry-on with the thought that I could live out of it for a day or two, if it comes to that. Partial change of clothes, eye glasses, sun glasses, prescription meds, allowable toiletries, paperwork, money and cards, passport... the things you really couldn't do without.

I can't pack quite light enough to go carry-on only.

Brockbank

DH and I did about the same trip in April. When we arrived in Paris on the Eurostar, the taxi line was unbelievably long, probably about a two hour wait. We had a Paris map which showed taxi stands, so we walked one block and picked up a taxi. It took us about 10 minutes to walk and there was no wait for a taxi.

beachgirl86

janis: That link you gave me for the airport service isn't working. Do you have another?

Dejais: I'm glad you have a good Hilton experience! It wasn't my first choice, but it was a steal on Hotwire, so we went with it. It makes me very happy to know that you had a good time there. I just love Paris, and being next to the Eiffel Tower will be so beautiful.

Suze: I think I'll do what you suggest with my checked/carry-on, too. Thanks!

Carrybean

http://www.justairports.com/ Make sure you pay in cash. It's a lot cheaper.

Carrybean

Also, if it takes longer than usual to get through Immigration, you might have to pay £5 more. They charged my niece that much extra but it's still way cheaper than a taxi.

Don't worry if your plane is late, though. They monitor what time the plane arrives & will only charge more if it takes you an excessive amount of time to get through Immigration. Usually the baggage will be waiting for you.

janisj

oops - sorry. left off the "s" . . . .

but you have the correct url now . . . . .

kate12

We arrived at Heathrow a couple of weeks ago in the evening and there were NO taxis
available. The line up to wait was very long and it took us well over an hour to get one. I would order a car ahead or take public transportation.

tamarackidaho

Note on lost luggage that maybe everyone already knows:

Put something with your name, phone and itinerary inside the bag, so if all the ID gets ripped off, the airline can find you. Recently w/ all the family had 5 pieces of luggage with ALL the tags torn off, but they found us through a letter that I'd stuck in one of the suitcases on my way to airport.