Banff

Details:
One week in France: 3 nights in the Mont St Michele/Dinan area and three nights in Paris.
Options:
1) Pick up rental car at CDG upon arrival and drive straight to Mont St Michele for 3 nights and then
A) drop rental car off back at CDG and then go into Paris? or
B) drop rental car off at the city center of Paris?
Then 2 nights in Paris and 1 at a hotel near CDG or 3 nights in Paris since the return flight is at 130 pm?

2) Take the train into Paris for 2 nights and then pick up a rental car in the city center of Paris, returning it to CDG three days later?

Comments suggestions for the easiest itinerary?
Thank you

MichGuy

Your option #2 sounds better to me. We did something similar a couple of years ago: Flew to CDG, took the train into Paris, spent a week there, picked up a car at the train station, toured in the south, and finally spent one night near CDG and used the car to get to the airport the next day.

A couple of things -
I think it's easier to drive out of a new city than to drive in to one and try to find your destination.
Driving in a different environment after an overnight flight can be hard. It would be about 4 hours to Mont Ste. M. after leaving the airport.
We had a hard time finding the car drop off at CDG; give yourself an extra 20 minutes.
You can help the process by booking a hotel in the right location. Trains from CDG go to the Gare du Nord in the 10th arr. If you stay in the 9th or 10th you can take a taxi or the Metro from the station to your hotel.
The 9th and the 10th are close to central Paris by Metro.
We rented our car (Hertz) at the Gare du Nord and didn't have any problems at all. Might have missed the airport fee as well, don't remember.

Last comment: Is this your first trip to France? Any chance you can spend more time in Paris?

Kathie

I vote for option 1, which gives you more time in Paris. I would probably drop off the rental car at CDG.

I would suggest you consolidate all of your Paris time, and stay in one place. I can think of no reason to stay out by the airport your last night. You'll lose time in Paris and the hotels at the airport could be at any airport - nothing distinctive about them.

Your plan 2 would give you just one full day in Paris.

thursdaysd

If you are coming off a Transatlantic flight, forget option 1. It is dangerous to drive with jet lag, for you and everyone else on the road.

Banff

Been to Paris before but only Paris.
Kathie, You said you would probably drop off the car at CDG but the only issue with that would be 1) no need for a car in paris 2) outrageous parking prices in the city.
Mich guy - i hear what you are saying about it being easier to drive out of the city rather than driving in - good point. Leaning toward option 1 but that is a valid point to take into consideration.

Banff

Michguy - as i said, you made a great point about driving out rather than driving into the city. THe reason why I am still leaning toward option 1 over 2 is because 1 would allow me to maximize my time in Paris. You see, if I stay in Paris at the beginning of my trip then I have to stay near the airport my last night before flying home. But if I stay in Paris at the end of the trip then I can stay in the city and just take the train into the airport the next day.

Sarastro

If your are arriving CDG after an all night transatlantic flight, your #1 option would be very dangerous as fatigue is the primary cause of accidents on French highways. Just because you are on vacation does not mean you´re immune from being hurt in a car accident.

If you wanted to go to Normandy upon arrival, take a taxi (50€) from the airport to Gare St Lazar and take the train to Normandy and rent a car there. Returning, drop the car off in Paris at Gare Montparnasse which is easy to find and is very simple to reach from A13 (the autoroute from Normandy) via the périphérique. Europcar, Sixt, or Citer do not charge for dropoff in France at a location different from pick up. Hertz and Avis will which is why I would avoid them.

If you go into Paris first, when you leave for Normandy, pickup a rental car from an in-town rental office, not a train station or airport. You´ll save the 45€ location surcharge. Staying in the 6th, 7th, 14th, or 15th, arrondissements will allow you to pickup a car near your hotel and proceed south to the périphérique and easily continue to A13 and to Normandy.

A 13h30 CDG departure is rather late in the day and I would stay the last night somewhere east of Pontoise, on A 15, which would keep you within an easy drive, probably about an hour or so, from CDG.

Banff

Sarastro, thanks for the advice. Yes, 130 is a late depature which is why i felt like i could get one extra night in paris

StuDudley

I would do what Sarstro advised - with one change:

- Arrive at CDG and take a taxi to the Montparnasse station, and then take one one the many TGV trains to Rennes. Two hr trip. We find train rides after flights to be very relaxing. Book early to get discounted first class tickets.

- Rent a car in Rennes & drive 50 mins to Dinan.

- Return to Rennes, return the car, visit (one of my "top 5" large cities in France), and then take the TGV back to Paris.

- Taxi or train to CDG for your flight home.

This year we stayed one night at the Aiglon hotel near the Montparnasse station. It was quite nice.

Stu Dudley

Banff

Stu,
No if, ands or buts, this plan is preferable to driving but my question is whether it is realistic or no for someone on a budget?
What is your ballpark estimate for transportation costs according to your plan? I currently have a car rental from cdg to montparnasse for $108.
THanks - Banff

Sarastro

Stu is correct. I was thinking about a closer destination than Normandy when I suggested St Lazare. Take a taxi to Gare Montparnasse (55€) and the train to Rennes. The taxi is not much more than the bus to Montparnasse and it is a lot faster. The new TGV to St Malo may be operational soon if not by now and that too would be a good location from which to start your visit.

There are a lot of great hotels around Montparnasse which itself is a wonderful location from which to visit Paris. I particularly like those along rue Delhambre in the 14th.

Banff

That $108 transports 3 people from cdg to normandy/brittany and back over four days.

Banff

I'm taking a wild guess but assuming that the taxi's, trains and rental cars on the suggested itinerary is going to run about $400-600 for three people compared to $200 for car rental, gas and train to the airport?

Now can you see why people always ask me how I travel the world on a teachers salary? I didn't wake up one morning and decide to go to Paris, I simply let the rock bottom clearance prices tell me where I'm going. And as you know, Paris is dirt cheap right now. HOnestly, I've already booked my airfare from the states for three, hotels and car (although the hotels and car can be changed) for a total of $2140 for three people for one week.

StuDudley

Discount TGV fares one-way are anywhere from 10E to 35E in February - depending on the specific train you take. 20E seems to be the most prevalent. 24E for first class. Learn about the "tricks" in securing discount fares.

Remember:
- If you drive both ways or maybe even one-way, you will probably save 1 day of car rental by taking the train.

- www.viamichelin.com estimates the driving cost to be 60E each way for tolls & fuel (not car rental cost).

- There will be an added fee for picking up the car at the Rennes train station. It is included in your $108 too.


Stu Dudley

Banff

Ok, so how do I go about finding the "discount fares" ... is there a specific site?

Sarastro

There is a lot of experience on Fodor´s but I should like to hear from anyone who has rented a car from CDG for 3 days and ended up paying only $108 or anything near that. There will be a 45€ location surcharge, road tax, additional driver fees (if applicable), environmental fees (if you rent an automatic) and a host of other potential charges which typically are not included in quotes and which are payable only a drop off. I should expect that you will pay close to double the $108 quote exclusive of fuel and tolls.

Regardless of money spent or saved, attempting a 3 to 4 hour drive after an all night transatlantic flight, on new roads, and in an unfamiliar car is extremely dangerous, both for you as well as for other drivers on the highway.

For 3 people, you can save 25€ by taking the RER/métro to Montparnasse (10€ each) rather than paying 55€ for a taxi. You can obtain a relatively good idea about fuel and toll charges by submitting your planned route to either of these on line resources:

www.mappy.com
www.viamichelin.com

StuDudley

Correction - your $108 probably does not include the CDG fee - maybe $60. You will also have some "other" costs added on too.

>>>compared to $200 for car rental, gas and train to the airport?<<

No way!!!

- car rental cost - $200 with everything included
- tolls, gas to get to & from Dinan $150
- gas while sightseeing near Dinan $80 for 4 days

Total. $430 without train to the airport

Stu Dudley

StuDudley

We rent at least 2 cars each year from Kemwel (broker) and it is usually a Europecar car (company in France which owns/supplies the car). All the costs Sarastro mentioned were "added on" to our basic rental cost on the final invoice from Europcar (not Kemwel).

Securing discount tickets:
- determine fares using the French train site
http://www.voyages-sncf.com/billet-train

- Purchase tickets on the more user friendly site
https://www.trainline.eu/

- Discount fares & other fares usually first appear 3 months ahead of your travel date. So if you travel on July 10, purchase your fares at 3:05 PM US Pacific Time on April 9 - which is 12:05 am April 10 in France.

I wrote "usually" because last year, summer fares had a "special" and were released earlier than the 3 month window. I bought my ticket from Annecy to Paris about 4 months in advance. Also, when I was researching estimated costs for you, I checked fares for Feb 24. I noticed that some discount fares were "sold out" - so I checked Feb 28 and there were lower fares available (beyond the 3 month window).

You'll have to "play around" with the SNCF site.

Before you purchase tickets, call your CC company & tell them to expect a charge in Euros - so that they don't automatically reject it.

Stu Dudley

Banff

Looking at my contract and it says Price includes: Unlimited mileage, airport/rail surcharge, Licenses and fees, VAT.

And Europcar touts on their website having "no hidden charges".

Thank you for the sites .... I will definitely check out the tolls and gas estimates.

I have had absolutely no luck figuring out costs for the train to Rennes???

Banff

Ah, our trip is four months out which may be why I can't find prices right now for the trains.