grace_taylor18

I will be flying into Charles de Gaulle Airport on Oct. 1 around 6:30 AM. I am planning to head directly from the airport to Amsterdam for a couple days, out of the Gare du Nord Station. The train times I am looking at are around 10:25 AM or 12:25 PM. Ideally, I would like to get on the 10:25 AM train, however, will this be enough time to land, go through customs and travel to the train station to make the train? If the flight landed on time this would leave an approximate 4-hour window.

Would this be enough time?
Also, what would be the best way to travel from Charles de Gaulle Airport to Paris Gare du Nord? Either public transportation or taxi?

Andrew

Take the RER (local train) from CDG to Gare du Nord directly. I forget how long the RER ride is - 45 minutes to an hour? Check the RER schedules yourself. Trains are frequent.

You should also check to make sure there isn't a train directly from the CDG airport train station to Amsterdam. I'd check the German train website (good for most of Europe), www.bahn.com just to see.

Immigration is what takes the time - you may have to queue up to get through. "Customs" is what comes after that (after you pick up checked luggage) but usually you just walk through without stopping, unless you have lots of valuable stuff to declare (most people probably don't).

Immigration can be slow at CDG but not always. On my last arrival last April, it took me seven minutes to get from the the gate where my plane arrived through immigration and past baggage claim. I'd probably figure an hour + RER travel time + expect your flight might be late. Give yourself some extra time.

manouche

If you have checked luggage, you'll have to wait to collect it before proceeding through Passport Control - and this can take a long time. Depending on the number of flights arriving when yours does, the lines for Passport Control can be very long. We've never made it out of CDG with checked luggage in less than 90 minutes.

A taxi would cost about 50 EU and should get to Gare du Nord in approximately 45 mins. If you have luggage, this would be the simplest way to go. I suggest allowing one hour of travel time to get to Gare du Nord, no matter which method you choose.

There's always the possibility that your plane won't be on time. If you would have to pay a penalty to change your ticket for the earlier train, I wouldn't risk it, and would recommend going on the later train.

I believe there is a train from CDG to Amsterdam, but you must change in Brussels.

Southam

As the SNCF site shows, you can go from CdG to Amsterdam with at least one transfer, Lille or Brussels. The price is stiff, well over 100 euros. Going into Paris Nord for a direct train is more awkward and won't save much cash. http://en.voyages-sncf.com/en/
If you haven't purchased your air tickets yet, why not fly right into Amsterdam, a major international gateway? The price difference might be minimal, especially considering the cost in time and money of the train from Paris.
I agree with the other posters that CdG is unpredictable. Another factor is that the ride from where the plane sets down to inside terminal gate can last anywhere from 15 minutes to half an hour. Amsterdam is easier.

kerouac

10:25 will be fine. Travel time on the RER to Gare du Nord is just 30 minutes, and there are trains about every 8 minutes for 10 euros.

apersuader65

I agree with Kerouac. In my three trips into CDG, the longest I've actually been in CDG was the last time, which involved carry-on only and taxi. That was because I had to walk a pretty good distance to the first ATM for Euros. You are relatively safe with a 4 hour window from arrival to departure at GduN. Things can arise, but even a 6 hour window could be closed with problems.

I'm sure it has happened, but I've never heard of an instance of it taking 2+ hours to get out of CDG. Assuming it took you 3 hours, you'd still have time to catch an RER to GduN with plenty of time. Arriving that early likely means no express trains, but 30 minute ride (unless you're loaded with luggage, and if so that's another story) is easy.

Christina

I would never take a taxi if I were going to Gare du Nord when the RER goes right there.

I've never taken 2 hours to get out of CDG, but I suppose it could happen if there were some reason the immigration lines just took really long, like 45 min to an hour, and if you had to take the bus to get from your plane to the terminal (I think that's when they land in 2E?).

I've spent just as much time on other stuff as immigration, at CDG, though. Including just getting off the plane and that bus from the tarmack.

nytraveler

Four hours will should be fine unless your plane is VERY late.

We have had a couple of bad experiences at CDG - sometimes taking almost an hour to get through Immigration. Once they seemed to have only 3 agents on duty and a bunch of US planes so the non-EU line was horrendous. Another time a plane from Africa landed right before ours and it was taking a very long time for passengers from that plane - with many taken aside to other rooms for more processing. Finally they opened up separate Immigration lines for the planes coming in from the US (2 landed right after us).

Also if several planes land at once it can take a while for the luggage to get to the carousels.

But even our worst experience was about 2 1/4 hours from landing out to the street.