joanatravels

Hi all,

I'm starting to get worried about our travel plans for Christmas. I had booked a train ticket from Paris to Ghent through Thalys, but with the strike going on, it seems like it's going to get cancelled. What are our other options to get from Paris to Ghent? We already have an AirBnB booked there. Do you think this will be resolved by the 25th? Very concerned now. Thanks!

hetismij2

You need to keep an eye on the Thalys website. If you have given them your email they may also email you.
If your train is cancelled you will get a refund. You could consider renting a car of course, or check to see if the Flixbuses are running if you prefer not to drive.

BDKR

Book a bus ticket for 20 euros.

If your train is not cancelled throw away your bus ticket. You lost only 20 euros.

If your train is cancelled take the bus to Ghent in 5 hours. It's not as fast or comfy as a train, but it gets you there.

www.flixbus.com

kerouac

Most of the Thalys trains are running now.

hetismij2

Not so kerouac, I just looked. https://www.thalys.com/nl/en/info-se...time-situation

kerouac

So, 67% of the Thalys trains running is not "most" for you? I'll admit that it isn't as good as 90% of the Eurostars now running.

Christina

I think the bus backup plan is a good idea. Becauise right now there is a 2/3 chance you'll be fine, I guess, and it could get better by Chrtistmas (seems like unions don't strike during holidays to me). I was just watching the news last night on France 2 and those train stations were not looking very relaxing, that's for sure, with all the crowds. Nor were the bus stations like Flixbus, either, but I think it's a good idea since it isn't really that far.

joanatravels

Thank you all for your response. I am looking into the bus as the back up plan. I think I'll give it til next Friday. The roundtrip train tickets for me, my son and husband cost about 250 euros, so I'd rather wait for the cancellation since it's pretty pricey.

I am thinking of taking a taxi from CDG to our hotel in the Bastille area. I read that it's a fixed price of 50/55 Euros. If we book one in advance (is that an option?) will it still be the fixed price? Thank you!

kerouac

There is no reason to book a taxi in advance at CDG. There are hundreds of taxis waiting at the terminals.

joanatravels

Update: we made it to Paris! Thank you all for the advice. Everything went smoothly, and we ended up taking a taxi from CDG to Bastille without any problem. I was worried about the strike, but honestly? It hasn't affected our trip at all and we haven't seen any disruptive activities since arriving. I'm glad I didn't let the strike scare us away. I will update about our train to Ghent later!

Here are some photos from our walk around Bastille and Marais last night.



We rode the carousel for free and our son loved it!

menachem

Flixbus goes direct to Gent from Bercy. Takes a while, but it's a direct route.

joanatravels

Update: thank you all for your advice. I kept my eye on the Thalys website daily and fortunately for us, our train was not cancelled. We arrived at Gare du Nord 30 minutes early and we're glad we did since there was a good amount of people waiting to board our train. We got seats around a table with the three of us enjoying the whole section to ourselves.

Thanks again and merry christmas!

hetismij2

Happy Christmas! Glad you made it OK.

lavandula

Great that you made it!