Another "where to meet" at CDG question
 

I've been to Paris numerous times, but I've always landed and departed from Terminal 2, and the group was never more than 4. This trip it is a larger group of 9, with 2 of the group on a different flight than the other 7. So from what I can tell, United arrivals are at T1 (specific flight number lands at T1 gate 45 regularly) at 9:30am. Our group of 7 will arrive via Air Canada at Terminal 2A at 9:45. We have to meet up and get to St. Lazare to catch a train to Caen.

don't think it is likely to get there by the 12:08 departure (preferred), but the 1:43 is easy to make, albeit arrives late in the day. My question is how would you recommend meeting the two groups to catch the train? The difficulty is the group of two do not speak french nor have they been to Europe so they may be a little leery of taking a cab directly to St. Lazare. The other group with me has one person who can communicate in French (moi) and four of the group just got passports, so moving this group around isn't feasible. The second option, and likely more palatable for us would be to get the group of 2 to T2 to meet with the larger group and we could then take two separate cabs (5 in one and 4 in another) to get to St. Lazare. I assume the CDGVal is simple enough transport between the two terminals, but does it go from arrivals to arrivals or will it take them to departures? Any recommendations would be helpful.

If we werent arriving within 15 minutes of each other, and my desire to make the 12:08, I would simply travel to T1 and get them, then bring them back to the rest of the group.

FYI - ALL passengers will be with one Carry-on bag each only.

No, you don't have to meet at CdG.

The two groups can travel individually to Gare St-Lazare and meet on the quai for your train. All of you will have reserved seats on the train, bought as far in advance as possible.Your tickets will indicate the train number and the final destination of the train as well as your stop. Departure points are listed on the station's big information board about 20 minutes before departure. Here are some photos of St-Lazare:
https://parisbytrain.com/gare-saint-...n-photo-guide/

If you are worried about the planes being delayed, you can buy your train tickets at the station but they will cost substantially more. There will be a ticket office where you can meet. Or, if one plane is delayed, you can meet at your hotel after the journey. With a group this size, togetherness is not everything.

For everything about rail travel, www.seat61.com

For CdG: PARIS CHARLES de GAULLE (CDG) AIRPORT France

At the airport, the groups independently can take taxis to the train. 50 euros per. Be sure to go to the official taxi stand where the experienced drivers can take care of the non-French-speakers. Give the cold shoulder to any tout trying to sell you a ride awyi from the official queue.

This is not the cheapest solution but the most comfortable given the obstacles in your original posts.

I totally agree -- meet at the station -- not at CDG.

Another vote for meeting at Gare St-Lazare.
This is more of a probability expected value question. You flights basically arrive at the same time if they are on time. If you use CDGval, you chew up time getting to the CDGval station, traveling between them, then then meet after getting off the train.This would add 20-30min of overhead time. If both of the group took taxi, you could be heading towards the Gare St-Lazare at least that many minutes sooner. The taxi to Gare St-Lazare is fixed 50EU up to 4 people. There is a surcharge for more people. https://www.parisaeroport.fr/en/pass...paris-cdg-taxi Taxis come in sedan as well as a van capable of carrying more than 4 people.

If it seems heartless not to meet these babes in the woods at CDG, just one of you should go and meet them to take a taxi to Saint Lazare. The others should go ahead in another taxi (or non polluting public transportation -- RER B to Gare du Nord with a connection there to the RER E straight to Gare Saint Lazare in one stop) and wait for you. The meeting point would be the sign with the platform number when the platform is announced 20 minutes before departure.

>>If we werent arriving within 15 minutes of each other,<<

There is absolutely no guarantee you will arrive w/i 15 minutes of each other. One or both flights could land early (often happens on west to east flights) or hours apart if one or both is delayed.

Yes, flights from the Americas often arrive quite earlier than the official schedule. Part of the reason is that the schedules are padded generously to avoid having to pay the EU indemnities to passengers for late flights. (If you ever arrive on a late flight, do not expect the airline to tell you spontaneously that they are supposed to indemnify you -- it is one of their best kept secrets.)

This frankly sounds like a logistical nightmare with a potential for things to go wrong... from people getting lost (CDG is confusing), to being delayed by long lines at immigration, to getting confused at the train station, to taxis getting delayed in the heavy morning traffic into Paris, not to mention delayed flights.

I'd at least price out hiring a coach large enough to drive the 9 travelers directly from CDG to Caen. It could leave directly from the airport once you're all assembled, and you'd arrive together in Caen in less than 3 hours.

You might contact [email protected] to ask for a quote, and compare to the cost for taxis + 9 train tickets.