Good morning! This question is in two parts: We must use a British Airways airline ticket from BWI to Heathrow by March. We land at 8:30 a.m. We then want to go to Paris immediately (have reservations at hotel near Opera). We can get roundtrip tickets LHR to CDG for $236 on British Air or $146 on Air France. I assume the $ difference is worth it since I assume BA would check our bags through and also take care of us if we arrive late and miss a connection whereas Air France would have no such obligation?
Second part, we've never done Chunnel and my husband thinks it might be fun to do the London-Paris journey that way and never deal with CDG at all. Obviously it would involve schlepping bags on trains and I think maybe far more trouble than flying?
Any advice on what you would do? Thanks in advance. Fodor's people are so generous with their knowledge.

Since you are already AT the airport I would opt to fly from there to Paris.

There isn't all that much to "deal" with at CDG IMO especially when you arrive..you collect your bags you go through immigration while lying about having nothing to declare you get a taxi to that hotel near the Opera and you let your husband "schlep" all the bags which I assume is not new.

Definitely fly. The Eurostar is wonderful IF you are starting out from central London. But you aren't - you are starting from LHR. St Pancras station is all the way across on the other side of London from LHR. You would have either an hour long tube ride or a train/ and tube or taxi ride of about the same length. Either is a real hassle.

Now - IF you are returning to London later in the trip - sure take the Eurostar from Paris to London (but NOT on the day of your return flight - go to London at least a day before)

Re which flight to take -- since you are booking them as separate tickets - don't automatically assume BA will take care of you if you miss the connection. They might, but I wouldn't count on it. Can't you book the whole thing as one itinerary?

You do not want to have to take a train to London's Paddington station and then a taxi or the circle line to St. Pancras for the Eurostar -- that's a trip to and through half of central London just to hop on a three-hour train ride and the price of the train may be close to the AF ticket you can obtain.

I'd consider other options from CDG to Opera -- the cab will cost upwards of 60E ($90). The RER train B line will go to Chatelet Les Halles, and from there it's a short cab ride or a transfer to the RER A line and one stop to Opera.

http://www.ratp.info/orienter/f_plan...f=metro&fm=gif

Like the others, I suggest that you fly LHR-CDG and then take the Eurostar from Paris back to London.

The fares for one-way tickets on Air France are absurdly expensive, but you can get a one-way fare as low as 69 GBP on British Airways.

The Roissybus goes directly from CDG to Opera, and is nicely inexpensive

http://www.ratp.info/informer/anglai..._roissybus.php

I don't think the Chunnel makes sense at all unless you can change your Paris hotel reservation and do an overnight in London.

How many nights long is your trip?

Also, if you do fly LHR/CDG, I would go British Airways (and combine it onto your existing ticket) OR leave a big layover. Otherwise, if your flight into LHR arrives late, you are screwed.

This is an impossible question to answer.

Your husband thinks trains are "fun", which is nonsense. I assume he means he means that in your case a train's a novelty - and if that's true, the train's slightly more inconvenient than the plane, but how can we advise on whether the inconvenience is worth the new experience?

You think the idea's a nuisance. Well, sort of (you just get the tube from T5 to St Pancras. It's absurd to call that "a real hassle", and if trains are a novelty, how do you feel about real metro system? Hardly more hassle, IMHO, than changing airlines and terminals, and the security check you go through at St Pancras is a great deal LESS than the hassle of Heathrow security). The train option is a just BIT more inconvenient: previous advisors on this thread are simply being wooses

It comes down to how you value novelty against a bit more messing around. You would be being dishonest to claim the extra inconvenience is substantial. Personally, if my spouse had her heart set on this novelty experience, I'd put up with a bit more travelling.

It's certainly no more tedious or stressful than the bloody shops she routinely expects me to traipse round.

<<< since I assume BA would check our bags through and also take care of us if we arrive late and miss a connection whereas Air France would have no such obligation? >>>

There's no requirement for British Air (sic) to check your bags through or give you any help at all. Just like with airlines like American Air, if you buy separate tickets you run the risk of them not helping you

I agree - the tube journey to St Pancras isn't horrible if you are traveling light. It is long, but direct w/o changes. But if you have much luggage - which I suspect since you are checking bags, and are arriving on a weekday AM - it will be a hassle IMO.

You will get seats of course since you'd be boarding at the beginning of the line. You can get seats near the car doors where there is a bit of space to stand your bags. But you really can't leave them in the aisles and by about 1/3 of the way in, your train will be crammed, and half way in you'll be packed solid and you'll have a hard time w/ the bags.

I would not do the HEX/taxi or HEX/tube option because of the hassle (yep - that word again) at the Paddington end.

(now -- IF you arrive on a Sunday morning - forget ALL of the above. There won't be massive crowds on the tube and the hassle factor goes waaaay down

Your husband does know you won't see any Channel, White cliffs or other scenic bits - right?

We really have to stop the absurd assumption that people asking questions on this board have as little moral fibre as the regular respondents

I spent a quarter of a century getting off overnight flights at LHR and getting the tube to Kings Cross St Pancras. Even when budgets ran to a cab, or when status ran to a chauffeur, the tube was (and is) less trouble than a car in the morning.

It's not uncomfortable, it's not crowded, and you're going to have no problem with your bags. Put them where bags are supposed to go, then forget about them: people where you live may be so poor they steal 40 lb bags of used underwear on the off chance there might be something worthwhile inside. But here - even if they're used underwear fetishists - the run to the next tube exit would deter even the most ardent (and physically fit) member of the rubber mac brigade.

I really thought I was asking a very boring question but I was delighted with the interesting responses -- I laughed out loud a couple of times, and I do mean with, not at you. alanRow,bardo1, I will check with BA and see if they'll combine the ticket so we can check the bags thru. That would probably decide the question. janisj and TimS I do like the suggestion of returning to London by Chunnel and will heed the warning to do so day before flight. flanneruk, I wish you'd tell us what you really think. Remember also, that when we start out, some of the underwear might be new and that possibility could raise the risk of theft. janisj, you raise an interesting point -- will make sure DH's interest in the Chunnel isn't unrealistically romantic. Michel_Paris, thanks for site re Roissy bus. I will check on this. Again, thank you all for your insights.

Just wanted to say how pleased I am with British Aiways. Gentleman on the reservations number went into my record and recorded that our bags should be allowed to be checked thru from BWI to CDG even though there are two separate tickets. Still thinking of returning to London by Chunnel. We will also take advantage of the Roissy bus from CDG to Opera. Thanks again.