Help Needed for Getting to CDG Early Easter Sunday
 

Hi, I just bought my tickets yesterday, and I'll fly out of CDG to AMS on April 16. The flight leaves at 7:20. Since I missed an early Air France flight in 2003 for Berlin and paid a $300 penalty, I'm not taking my chances this time (especially when I'm flying out Easter Sunday). So I'm doing my homework now.

What is the "best," fool-proof way?

I'm thinking of using RER-B. I've not booked my hotel yet -- assuming that I can stay at Tiquetonne again, I usually take the line 4 to Gare du Nord and switch. But it looks like the first train arrives at Gare du Nord a little too late. I think I should walk to Les Halles and catch the train from there.

1. I checked the schedules at ratp.fr and the times from Chatelet are 5:26, 5:41, 5:44 for dimanches (Sundays) et jours feries (holidays). Does this look right?

2. My flight is AF 1240. I looked at the CDG website and it looks like the scheduled departure terminal is 2F. Does this look right?

What is the walking time between the train station and 2F? I think that it's best to walk. In my experience the bus always seems to go on a circuitous route.

3. Is there another method that you would suggest? Like prearranging a shuttle in advance? Can I do this in the US? Somehow calls with a French phone card always cost more than I expect. Do you think this is better?

4. If I take the RER or choose the shuttle and there're unforseen circumstances (train breaks down, strike, shuttle fails to arrive, etc.), can I reasonably expect to find a cab at that time of day? It's Easter Sunday....

How much would this be roughly? I assume there'll be a morning surcharge (+ holiday surcharge?).

5. What is the last checkin time for a flight for Amsterdam? My guess would be 30 minutes. I'll call Air France and check.

Thanks!

The "best, foul proof way" is to SIMPLY stay at a hotel very close to CDG and forget all this planning/strategy. I was actually getting a headache reading all your strategies. Have a nice trip!!! Mike

Nah. I'm supposed to see a performance of Goetterdaemerung the night before. As you probably know it's a very long opera. The performance starts at 5:30, but I'd not be surprised if it runs until 11 pm or so.

I'm thinking of seeing just the final act, but we'll see. Still it seems a bit of a hike to head to CDG right after. (I'll only be in Paris for one day.)

By the way it just occurred to me the backup is a train to Amsterdam -- which is not much more expensive than a taxi ride to CDG....

I guess I should call AF and ask what happens to my AMS to JFK flight if I didn't make the CDG to AMS flight.

When I think about it this way I don't think that I should take a cab to CDG. Seems very silly.

I don't know the walking time from the RER station to Terminal 2F. However, my quick check of ratp.fr and adp.fr shows that you have reported the RER departures from Chatelet Les Halles and your departure terminal at CDG correctly.

Thanks Tim. It's good to have another set of eyes. I'll obviously check again when my departure date is closer.

Once bitten (by AF), twice shy, as they say.

I would allow about 15 minutes walking time from RER to check-in counter. Thats a safe estimate and assumes that you have to go to the opposite end of the terminal from the RER which is the worst case scenario. You can probably do it in more like 5 to 10 mins.

I looked at the map online, and 2E and 2F are the ones that are the furthest away, I think. 2E was the one that collapsed in 2004.

I don't know. I can't stand the bus at CDG. And I should only have a carry-on. So walking should be fine.

I had an early morning BA flight at CDG (7:05) and we used a shuttle (prearranged online from US), which picked us up at our apartment in the 7th at about 4:45. We got to the airport at 5:20, then waited in line (with a few other folks) for the airport personnel to open up, which they didn't do until after 6:00 a.m.

A pre-arranged shuttle is about as foolproof as any other option you could choose, but, other than getting a place at the front of the line, you don't need to get to CDG much before 6:00 because they simply will not be ready to deal with passengers before then.

Which shuttle service did you use, tmk? Did you reconfirm when you were in Paris? And what was the cost (if you remember?)

Thanks.

ttt for more ideas.

Thanks.

Try this: http://www.airport-connection.com/services.html

Forgot the rest of your questions: I did reconfirm when I got to Paris, but they had the information in their computer, so I'm fairly certain the pickup would have come off without a hitch regardless. We had five in our party, so we chose the private van service, which shows a rate of 105 (I think that was the rate when I was there in '04 as well). If you are traveling by yourself, you can probably opt for the shuttle service (27 euros) and feel pretty confident that they won't be making many other stops if they pick you up around 5 or 5:15. Their hours of operation are 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. so an early start is no problem for these guys.

Thanks very much. I'll take a look at the webpage you provided.