My stepson will be arriving at CDG on a 6:30 AM flight from Malaysia, and wants to take an airport shuttle to our apartment in the 16th.

Will he need a reservation, or can he walk up to a transportation counter?

He speaks no French at all, so a service with bi-lingual drivers would be ideal.

Can some of you recommend your favorite shuttle service, and tell me where he can find them?
Thanks in advance, Barb

Instead of all the hassle of taking a shuttle, your stepson should take a taxi. It's so simple: just go through the exit doors once he's out of the Arrivals hall. But he should not accept any offers from those aggressive independent drivers waiting just outside the Arrivals hall for unsuspecting passengers. Those are not the legitimate taxi drivers.

Shuttle users?

As I understand it he must make a reservation and then call the shuttle when he arrives and go out and meet it somewhere.

http://www.parishuttle.com/
E-mail: [email protected]
There is also an online form you can fill out to reserve.
You should reserve in advance, call upon arrival, then pick up your bags (to give them time to get to the Terminal). They will tell your son on the phone where to meet them - it is a door or "porte" number, well-marked as you are exiting the terminal. They will come to either terminal. My experience has been that the telephone agent is multi-lingual, and the drivers can at least 'get by'.
If you son has a map of the location and the address, the driver should have no trouble getting him there.

Barb,
Another vote for Parishuttle. To reiterate what Travelnut has told you, upon arrival your son just needs to pick up a public phone near baggage claim, call the toll free number provided on the email confirmation (no coins, no phone card required) and an agent speaking very good English will tell him to which door downstairs to proceed.

In our experience (4 trips now), the shuttle has been there waiting for us and the driver conversant in English. On our Jan. trip, we shared the van with only 1 other couple; on the previous trip we were the only passengers.
We pre pay by credit card. If you prefer to deal with the manager directly, email [email protected]

I think for a single person, a shuttle makes sense if cost is any issue; also, you can't do anything much at that hour anyway, so a little extra time doesn't matter so much. I just wanted to say that I believe you must make a reservation for all shuttle services at CDG. IN some countries and airports, you can just walk up, but in others you have to reserve. I think that's a matter of regulation related to competition with the taxi industry. It's the same way where I live in Wash DC.