CDG questions
 

We are a family of 3 .Two will arrive at 6:30 am at terminal 2E and I will arrive 2 hours later same terminal.
Can anyone suggest the best place for early arrivals to wait in terminal for me ?One will be a child and probably tired?

Also car service recommendations would be appreciated.

Thank you to all of you that are taking time to reply to our questions .

There is a children's play area and an internet cafe in 2E, so maybe they can find a fun way to goof off for 2 hours.

http://paris-cdg.worldairportguides....facilities.php

But I think you should agree to a plan that if your partner and child arrive and can tell by reading the info inside the terminal that your flight will not arrive on time, they should feel free to go on to the hotel without you.

I would not book a taxi service but just use the taxi queues. At that hour of the morning, if you all arrive on time and head into Paris, your group still may not be able to get into your hotel room that early, so be prepared to leave luggage at the desk and find something enjoyable to do for the morning, even if it is raining.

I would not ask someone with a very tired child to wait 2 hours at the airport for me to arrive. They should take a taxi to your hotel where they could at least leave their luggage and maybe their room would be ready by the time they arrived.

As for a meeting place, there is really nothing on the Arrival level. I would take the escalator to the Departures Level and wait probably at the food court (with le Petit Gourmet, Fusion Wok, Meza Lisa, and Piatto del Gusto) near the Duty Free shop.

You should have a backup plan at which time either party proceeds to the hotel without the other and wait for updates about the delayed arrival.

I would only recommend a taxi for travel into Paris with a child and luggage, particularly if this is your first time in Paris. Do not accept offers from clandestine drivers soliciting from within the terminals. Proceed to the taxi queue which is near Sortie 11 on the Arrival Level. Have the destination address written on a piece of paper to give to the drive to preclude confusion. The fare should be around 50€ to 55€; taxi drivers are generally not tipped unless he helps with your luggage and then just a few euros.

If the children's play area is located in the departures area, you will not have access to it as an arriving passenger. There is really no waiting area for arriving passengers before passport control and baggage claim.

Yes, Patty is right. I forgot about that.

Agree that those arriving first must pick up their luggage right away or risk it disappearing. If it were me I would tell them to go ahead and meet them at the hotel.

If you don;t want to do that they should head for a hotel at the airport so they relax in the lobby and have something to eat - not stand around an airport lobby for hours.

There is a Sheraton, a more hospitable place than the airport lobby. However, even if you have worked out waiting at the airport, if you are heading to Paris, all of you will be at hotel before 11am with a possibility of not being able to check-in with a tired child. This can be an issue irrespective of finding a place to meet.

Even when I am by myself, I avoid this kind of early morning arrival. If I have to, I press on after landing to the furthest possible destination as a starting point so that I can sit in a comfortable air conditioned train seat and be at the destination when I can check-in.

The last time I landed in Nice, I got to the Nice hotel at noon and the room was not ready until 3pm. I had to walk around in heat wave with the same clothes I traveled the last 16 hours in zombie state. I would not want to do this with a small child.

So it is possible to go from arrivals back up to departures to restauarants and shops.
Is there a lounge somewhere on arrivals or pre security departures even if we have to pay to wait.
She is not a baby or toddler but still might be a long wait.Like you suggested a back up plan might be in order.
Either way we cannot get into the apartment we rented that early.

Sounds to me like the Sheraton lobby might be the most comfortable.

Another plan would be to take a taxi to the railway station nearest your apartment rental and put the luggage there and then go do something enjoyable in Paris.

http://www.seat61.com/luggage-locker...ckers_in_Paris

Ideally, if all are on time, this is not a huge amount of time. They are arriving EARLY in the morning. First people will take an hour to get luggage, go to the rest room, etc. By that time the arrival time of the second flight will be posted probably. The knowledge of the ETA will give some confidence that everyone can meet and go together--and give the child something to count on.

All who say--have a backup plan firmly in place with the two parties--are ON TARGET. If the plane is X hours late, go to the hotel and wait. Even if the room isn't available, leave the luggage and get some breakfast nearby. The hotel will know you are there for the second person to check--if this happens.

I would agree with going to the Sheraton hotel lobby and waiting is the Plan A. There is no reason to go on immediately to the Paris hotel, or most especially to try to sightsee before meeting!!

BUT DO just use the taxi queue as your transportation to Paris.

Our family members (all adults) arrived at several different times, and one couple were 4+ hours late because of mechanical problems. We didn't have telephone contact--and hadn't really made secondary plans, except for the hotel address. It was a stressful several hours.

Thanks everyone for suggestions
We have decided to watch board and If delay then go into Pris and arrange to meet up later at apt rental
.I think we have decided to take carry on only as we will have washer/ dryer .This way nobody has to lug big suitcases around.
Somebody we know suggested getting a day room for a few hours at Hotel.Does anybody know if Sheraton does this.Also does CDG have day rooms like some airports you can rent mini room for naps?

2E does have "cinemas" that you can use to watch movies, etc in 2E. Travel Channel had a thing about them in an article some time back.

It is true that you won't be able to check into your hotel that early, anyway, of course. But you could leave your bags and go do something in the city, like eat, I guess.

I don't really know if hotels want airline passengers in transit to just camp out in their lobby for hours, but if it's big enough, I guess you won't be noticed.

Several hotels have day room rates at or near CDG, but they aren't going to be cheap for those better hotels. They are at least 200 euro at the Sheraton, for example, and you can't use one until 9 am. http://www.sheratonparisairport.com/forms/day-room-cdg

The Hilton has them but it's a shuttle bus away.

The Novotel has them from 8 am for 95 euro. It's near terminal 3 and there is a shuttle, also.

Here's some good info on CDG, like children's areas
http://www.sleepinginairports.net/europe/paris.htm

Thank you for the website and info on 2e.that looks like a good area to wait.Maybe young one can at least relax or watch movies there

>>It is true that you won't be able to check into your hotel that early, anyway, of course. But you could leave your bags and go do something in the city, like eat,<<

The OP is staying in an apartment -- it is very likely they cannot get in or leave their bags before the pre-arranged arrival/check in time.

I would normally say meet at the hotel in Paris . . . but since you aren't staying in a hotel, the Sheraton lobby at CDG is the easiest. If one plane is severely delayed, and your check in/key exchange time is approaching, then go into Paris an wait at the flat. You can't really go out and sightsee til everyone is assembled since it is a flat and likely no front desk to leave a key.

Get an international texting plan for your phone so you can communicate with the other person.