CDG to Amboise
 

We are flying into CDG in May and want to go right down to Amboise for the first few days of our trip before returning to Paris to tour. We are thinking we would take a train from the airport straight to Loire Valley and then rent a car. Do we need to get advanced train tickets to Tours (or is there another city you would recommend we train to?) and if so what happens if we have a flight delay and can't make our train? Can we reschedule or do we just lose the money? Would we be better waiting and getting a ticket once we arrive and would there be a chance the train was already full? Also is there more than one train type that goes there? I read about TGV. Thanks for any and all help.

If there is a TGV between CDG and Tours, best to buy the tickets ahead of time to get a better price. Besides all TGV seats are reserved. If a delayed arrival is the airline's fault, you can request request a reimbursement for a missed train ticket, assuming that the train is to be boarded at the airport. That happened to us when our flight from Portugal arrived after our schedule train had departed. We were full reimbursed for the purchase of last minute tickets.

Thanks. That is super helpful!

Give yourself plenty of time for the transfer. The plane could be late, the lines for passport control could be long depending on how many jumbo jets arrived at approximately the same time, and you have to orient yourself to get to the train station in the airport.

You have to go to Tours to get to Amboise from CDG. Really St Pierre des Corps station which is just outsideTours.

Try looking at Rome2Rio for times of trains. Looks like a one-way from CDG to Amboise is about 50 to 75 euros. A return to paris proper should be slightly less.