Best way to get to CDG for a Saturday morning departure
 

We have a 7:30am flight from CDG to AMS on a Saturday morning. I'm assuming we should leave the hotel around 5:30am. Will taxis be readily available at that hour? Is there a surcharge imposed on taxi rates at that time of day or are the rates the same 24 hours a day? Our hotel is near Place Vendome. I see that beeshuttle.com has a private transfer rate of 62 euros (service starts at 5:00am). How does that compare to the cost of a taxi? Any other suggestions for us (keeping in mind that we'll have 2 large suitcases)? Thanks.

Last month we paid about 60 Euros for a taxi from St-Germain to CDG; that was for two of us and our luggage and included the taxi's charge for coming to our hotel for the pick-up.

The best thing to do is have your hotel order a taxi for you the night before you leave--that way you won't have to worry about finding one in the early morning. Traffic should be moving very well at that time, especially on a Saturday.

same thing happened to me. My hotel had a sort of deal with a cab driver.. I think it was one of the hostess's uncles... and he was there for me before dawn...but there was no surcharge...traffic moved well but it still cost me 55"es... with the tip.

My wife and I and our granddaughter just returned from Paris on Monday. I arranged via email for Paris Shuttle to pick us up when we arrive and then called them sometime before we left and they picked us up at hotel (at 7AM) and took us to CDG. Cost 32 euros per person for both. Check them out on line.

Thanks, SuzieC and Underhill.

oberost,
I looked at the parishuttle.com site and couldn't figure out if they operate at that hour. I also noticed that their site mentions "pick up must be 3 hours before departure" and I didn't really want to leave quite that early! Maybe I'll email them and see what the situation is.

I believe there is a surcharge if you catch your taxi before 7 am (there is a night rate and a day rate). That's what the taxi driver explained to me anyway. Depending on where your hotel is, there could be a taxi stand nearby. My hotel was near Place de la République and there are always taxis waiting there. Your hotel will definitely be able to help you with this.

The shuttle services often pick up passengers from various hotels; so the extra time is needed. Also, these days it's wise to allow a minimum of 3 hours to get through the lines at CDG; your schedule would mean only 1-1/2 hours tops, not nearly enough.

Underhill,
3 hours even for an intra-European flight? Are you refering to the security lines or check in? I'll have access to the business class check-in counter. If I take a taxi or private transfer, I was planning to leave at 5:30am. Do you think this is not sufficient? How long does it take to get to CDG from central Paris at that hour on a Saturday?

How about staying at a hotel near the airport? You could go in to Paris the night before for a last dinner. you could sleep in.

I never allow less than 2.5 hours at CDG - the place is always jam-packed and the lines long.

Saturday traffic will be slow, and if you leave when you should leave (more like 4:30 or 5:00 than 5:30), it should take you about 35-45 minutes and cost about 40 € - that's assuming no accidents, strikes, etc.

You cannot hail a cab on the street in Paris; you must go to a taxi stand. There is probably one near the Place Vendôme, but I wouldn't count on their being taxis waiting there that early on a Satuday morning.

I always have my hotel call me a Taxi Bleu the night before. It costs a few euros to have them come to the hotel to pick me up, but they are always extremely punctual, helpful, and pleasant. Whether or not there's a surcharge for pickups before 7 a.m., I don't know.

OK, it sounds like pre-arranging is the way to go. I think I'll nix the idea of a shuttle too since I wouldn't want extra stops along the way, particularly at that hour.

jay,
I thought about staying at the airport but I didn't want to hassle of changing hotels.

Patty,

Since you'll be in business class, you can probably squeak by with getting to CDG 2 hours in advance--but don't risk anything less. Even though you'll get checked in fairly quickly, the security lines can be very long and very slow.