Changing Airports in Paris
 

I will be flying into Degaulle & flying out of Orly to Perpignon, France. I have 2 1/2 hours between flights which I thought was enough time but now I'm worried. I suppose I won't be able to check my luggage through to my final destination & when will I have to go through customs? Does Air France have a shuttle between airports & how often does it leave? Thanks for any help.

Air France Coach (Le Cars Air France), route #3, every 30 minutes, trip time ~50 minutes.

You go through customs when you arrive at CDG, and you need to pick up luggage.

Whether you make it or not probably will depend on whether you don't need to wait for that bus, or you have to wait half an hour for it.

Hi Linda-

I assume you mean you are flying into Charles de Gaulle and not Degaulle.

No, your luggage will NOT be checked through, and you will have to go through immigration & customs (and claim your luggage) when you arrive at CDG.

Air France does have AF coaches that go between the 2 airports, and according to AF's website, the trip takes 50mins (2x/hr), and costs €15,50.

Assuming your plane arrives on time, it'll still take you at least 1 hr to clear immigration, claim your luggage, and go through customs. If you happen to catch the AF coach as it is leaving, and the trip takes 50mins, that will get you to Orly with 40mins left before your next flight.

The bottom line, NO, i don't think you have enough time to catch your second flight.

Oh, and about the Air France Coach... We took one on another route (#4) about 3 weeks ago from CDG. It was pretty full that day (Thursday, 1pm), and passengers bought tickets when getting on. Well, think about this - 50 people - a lot of them didn't know about the fare, spoke no French (and driver speaks nothing but French).

Anyways, we got on at one of the earlier stops on its way out (Terminal 2A/2C), and it took almost 30 minutes just for picking up all the passengers at all the terminals, and actually left the airport.

So, keep that in mind.

An alternative would be taking the RER-B line all the way from CDG to Anthony, and then connect to Orly on the Orlyval train. It takes about 30 minutes from Paris center to Orly, so expect total time of 75minutes.

Another alternative suggested by the www.ratp.fr site is to also take the RER, but get off at Denfert-Rochereau, and then transfer to the Orlybus. Again, about 75 minutes.

But like yk says, you probably won't make it...

I think you WILL make it, but only if you have your wits about you and move fast. When you get off the plane, MOVE!! If the people mover is jammed, be assertive and just keep saying " excusez-moi" to people who are standing to the left, and pass them. Go immediately to Gate 34 and buy a ticket for the AF shuttle. This all presumes you are flying into Aerogare #1. You could also go right to Gate 20 and spring for a taxi, which would be faster and more costly than the shuttle. I made it into Paris yesterday in under a half-hour after landing - you should be able to make this.

linda-

I assume StCirq did not have checked luggage, just carry-on. You might want to consider that if you are not going to change your latter flight. Also, for your 1st flight, see if you can get a seat as close to the front as possible (assuming you're flying economy). If you get a seat in row 25 instead of row 50, you'll save yourself a good 15mins in deplaning.

>..I made it into Paris yesterday in under a half-hour after landing - you should be able to make this.<

StCirq, are you recommending the same driver?

For the sake of your peace of mind I would recommend taking a taxi. To me it would be worth it just to not have to worry so much about missing your flight. I have had a similar experience to StCirq with a super-speedy taxi ride between CDG and Orly.

Also, it would help a lot if you could just take carry-ons and not check any luggage.

When flying into France you need to keep in mind the ever-present possibility of a strike--by air-traffic controllers, pilots, baggage workers, etc. Or slow-downs. If any of those occur, you would have a major problem getting to Orly in time for your flight. Is your flight to Perpignan on Air France? Several times we've gotten to Orly far enough in advance of our flight (the luck of the traffic draw) that AF just put us on an earlier flight. So try to get a later flight and hope for the best--much better than missing your flight.

As a matter of curiosity, is there an autoroute between CDG and Orly that does not involve going through Paris and is thus faster for a taxi?

If you can avoid checking luggage, do so. Take Gangsta Jacques from CDG to Orly - he'll get you there in plenty of time, no problem. Seriously, take a taxi to Orly and don't sweat it. If you tell your taxi driver the time of your plane's departure, he'll see you are there in plenty of time. Hold onto your hat!

From CDG to Orly, both the Air France Coach or a taxi should be taking A3 and then A86 on the Eastern outskirt of Paris. They will not go "through" Paris.

I would take a taxi. But remember it will cost about $60.
And St. Cirq is correct, hold on to your hat.
We missed the last bus of the night and the taxi was the only recourse for my husband and myself. But it was worth the $28 (including tip). We went from point A to B very quickly.

Thanks for ALL of your suggestions and thoughts. I think for peace of mind as Marcy suggested, I will take a Taxi. I like yk's idea of trying to get a seat closer to the front of the plane, also. Thanks again!

I realize Linda's trip was last April, but I want to leave this advice for anyone who might be here because of the thread title:

When I ABSOLUTELY MUST get from one place to another (such as Heathrow to The City) I avoid ground transport. There are way too may things that frequently slow down or stop vehicular traffic. With a timetable like Linda's, even a 20-minute delay would be prohibitive.

If I had 2.5 hours to get through customs & immigration, then from CDG to ORY, I would definitely take the RER (regional train) straight to Antony, then the Orlyval shuttle to the airport, as rkkwan suggested. The enroute time is about 1:10, and the trains from CDG and buses from Antony leave every few minutes all day. Even then (accounting for passport control at CDG and security at ORY, 2h30 would be a close-run thing.)

<i>p.s.</i> There is no iron-clad guarantee that the RATP will get you there on schedule, but I think their overall odds are better than Les Cars Air France or taxi.