CDG to hotel for 75E-should I book?
 

Hello,
Hotel Verneuil has offered private car transportation from CDG to hotel for 75E? Can anyone tell me if this is a good deal? There would be someone waiting at the airport with our name on a sign.

We've managed in the past in Italy to just grab a taxi, give the address (in mangled italian, I'm sure), and get to the hotel. I do speak passable french (barely: studied in school many years ago), but I am sure that I could give a cab driver my address.

My question: is it difficult to get a cab at CDG, or is it a dangerous area? Does anyone know how much a cab would be?

I just hate to throw away money on services that I really don't need...thanks!

No.
Taxis are easy to get at CDG. Just go outside the terminal to the taxi line and get the next one in line. Don't accept a ride from taxi drivers approaching you inside.
The fare should be in the 40-55 Euro range.

Have your hotel name and address written down and show it to the driver. No problems at all.

Thanks, starrsville, that's what I thought! We'll be doing the taxi-more exciting to test my french anyway (good idea to write down the address, though)
:-]

For other choices, check out <b>http://67.72.88.51/cdg</b>

I speak about as much French as my son's dog, but the taxi drivers seem to know where I want to go. I do write it down, just in case there is any doubt.

75&euro; sounds like a case of legal robbery.

I would agree on the taxi price being in the 40-50 euro range including luggage. Unless you require that level of service, I think your money is being wasted. I don't think we have ever had to wait for an available taxi at CDG.

If you are able to find a website with a &quot;neat and tidy&quot; map, that might be helpful for your driver. If nothing less, include the arrondisement number with the street address. The last two digits of the zip are the arrondisement number.

One thing popped in my head...


Are you arriving at peak traffic time? Perhaps someone can give you an idea of what those rates would be. We normally arrive in the afternoon.

Thanks for the replies!
We'll arrive at 8:50, so by the time we get our bags, etc, I imagine we won't be catching a cab before 9:30.

Moldy, thanks for the tips on the address. Is Neat &amp; tidy a brand of maps?

No, &quot;neat and tidy&quot; is my own term. :)

I looked at the website for your hotel and it seems very cluttered to the eye of the person behind the wheel. I do see the merits of the map for planning your trip.

Just to echo moldy's excellent advice, it is a very good idea to know what arrondisement your hotel is in. We took a taxi at Gare de Lyon in May, gave the taxi driver the address of our hotel, and he immediately asked us what arrondisement it was in. We passed that test with flying colours, but then he asked us which major street it was connected to. That had us stumped, so the driver had to get out his A to Z and looked it up while he drove.

Paris, there's something about that city that I love ...

Anselm

I'm not following the conversation very well.

If you have the hotel name and address you should have no problems. Add major cross streets if you wish. Have it written down ready to show driver.

When you arrive at your hotel, pick up one of their business cards and keep it on you in case you want to take another taxi while in town.

I've always thought it interesting that in London (from Heathrow) you can easily get a private car service for about half the cost of a taxi. But in Paris, I have yet to hear of one that is less than a taxi at all. I'm not sure why that is. You'd think it could be a good business. But until one exists, I sure don't see any great advantage to a private car over just grabbing a taxi on your arrival.

No! That is a ripoff price and a good example of why hotels push private car services. I like the Verneuil but sure don't agree with this offer.

Thanks, all-

It's on my list to do: get clear map, write down concise directions, and hail a cab!

I've never had to wait more than a couple minutes at CDG getting a taxi.

As for Patrick's musings, I think the reason may be that the normal taxi fare from CDG to central Paris is much less than that from London airports, so there is much less margin to work with in lowering fares. Not sure about that, but my impression was that the taxi fare from Heathrow is much higher than from CDG to the city. I have paid only about 30-35 euro from CDG into the city by taxi, when I go to the northern part of the city, and I don't think that's possible from Heathrow.

I'm reminded of the time we arrived in Paris and got in a taxi. I gave him this printed clearly on a piece of paper:
&quot;Hotel Left Bank Saint Germain
9 rue de l'Ancienne Com&eacute;die&quot;

He spoke perfect English, but kept saying he needed the name of the hotel. I kept pointing to it on the slip. He kept saying &quot;there are many hotels on the Left Bank in Saint Germain.&quot; I kept saying &quot;that's the name of the hotel&quot;. It sounded like the &quot;Who's on First&quot; routine. Apparently he didn't recognize the name of that very short street. Finally I gave up and asked him if he knew where Le Precope restaurant was to which he said, &quot;of course!&quot;. &quot;Forget the hotel&quot;, I said. &quot;Just take us to that restaurant instead&quot;. When we got there, we got out of the taxi and walked next door to our hotel. Thank goodness I had been there before and knew to tell him about Le Precope or I think we'd still be sitting there in that taxi.

I make it a rule to never use a taxi unless I know the city well enough to give directions to the driver (or at least know where I am from moment to moment).

Otherwise, you will never know how much unnecessary mileage you're paying for.

I like trains.

LOL at Patrick's hotel &amp; restaurant story. :)

I could understand in a few cities, but I really feel sorry for anyone who every time he gets in a taxi in Paris would feel he was about to be taken.
Call me naive if you want, but I have a pretty strong belief that MOST Parisian taxi drivers are an honest lot.

Oh, I know Paris like the back of my hand. But how about Taipei, where half of the streets aren't even marked?