RER to CDG early A.M. - alone!
 

I have to meet my mother and sister at CDG early on a Saturday morning in a few weeks which means I would have to catch the RER around 5:30 in the morning alone. Would it be wiser for a single woman to take a taxi at that hour?

wondering... what happens when you meet them at the airport? that is, are you all coming back to Paris? by what transport mode? any reason they shouldn't take a taxi into Paris and meet you at hotel/apartment?

I haven't ridden the RER that early but also haven't heard any reason that it wouldn't be safe. You can reduce the number of stops by choosing the 'express' trains that are direct between G.du Nord / CDG.

I've taken the RER early had no problems, and I didn't feel uneasy. Obviously use common sense as you would early in the am in any large city. Enjoy Paris!

I would second Margo's statment about safety as a solo woman on the RER. If you can take an express all the better. Deborah

The RER going to the airport at 5:30 a.m. is full of airport workers. If you are not afraid of them at the airport, you should not be afraid of them on the RER.

The first non stop train of the day isn't until 9:30 a.m.

My husband and I have taken the RER that early and I would have been comfortable alone....until....we realized we were on the wrong train and ended up in a not-so-nice looking surburban area where we had to get off and go back into the city in order to get on the correct train.

So, my advice is to just be sure that you are on the correct train to CDG. I saw later on that we weren't the only ones to make the same mistake.

yes, definitely look before you leap ;;) that happened to my husband and me. I told him to hop on, he wanted to wait to double check, we didn't wait and of course it was the wrong train just another thing he can tease me about;;) Deborah

To avoid that mistake, be sure to watch the signage above the quai. The next train will only stop at the locations that are 'lit up' on the sign. The B-line has a 'split end' so some trains go to CDG but others go to a different endpoint.
It is helpful to go to www.ratp.fr and get the timetable .pdf file, found under "horaires". You can make a note which trains go to CDG, are express to CDG, or do not go to CDG.

Just so that nobody feels stupid, I will admit that I took the wrong train one time myself -- but it was because the signs were out of order at Gare du Nord and they were making contradictory announcements (not that any person who couldn't speak French would have known that). When I realized that I was on the wrong branch of the line and went back to Aulnay-sous-Bois to get in the right direction, I became totally confused in the underground connection passages and none of the signs made any sense. Naturally there was nobody to ask. I ended up exiting the station and buying a new ticket to CDG just to be able to get to the right platform as fast as possible. I could see that there were video screens over the entrance turnstiles that I couldn't see from the inside, and I was beginning to freak out in terms of check-in time and couldn't think straight anymore. It was right out of one of those nightmares about going to the airport for a major trip and realizing that you left your passport, ticket, baggage and/or children at home... So even though I have lived more than half of my life in Paris, it can happen to anyone!

Timetables here:

http://www.transilien.com/web/site/lang/en

Make sure you know which terminal to get off at. I was flying with BMI and the rest of family were flying with BA. I assumed it was the same terminal but luckily a fellow passenger on the RER overheard us and pointed out my error. I had then to take a bus as the train doesn't actually stop at the terminal. Otherwise felt perfectly safe.

I've taken the Roissybus from Opéra early in the morning a few times - it's usually really quick as there's little traffic. Comfier than the RER too, IMO. And less stressful for a lone woman (had a terrifying experience when travelling alone on the RER C once, that I wouldn't ever care to repeat).
The first Roissybus leaves at 5.45 am.

I decided to take a taxi because we will need a taxi back. If I take the Roissybus and it is even a teeny bit late my mother will freak out. Since I've been to Paris a lot and have taken the train to CDG in the middle of the day to meet people I've never gone first thing in the morning.

Oh, forgot to say thanks!

If you are taking a taxi out to the airport, I doubt you'd want to have the driver wait until you pick up your mother and sister. Baggage service at CDG is terribly slow ... they may not exit from the customs area until 30 or 40 minutes after the plane lands, maybe later ... and in the meantime the taxi meter will be running.

They got all the way to Europe and can't manage getting on the train to town?

How about meeting them at the nearest RER station to your hotel?

You will not be taking the same taxi back, so I don't understand your reasoning. The taxi drop off area and the taxi pick up area are not the same in any case.

Can your Mom & sister grab a cab at the airport and have it drop them off to meet you at a predetermined spot in Paris?

I asked about ME taking the RER early in the morning, not about my mother and sister needing to find transportation. And no, I am not going to have the taxi wait.

My mother is 76 years old, has never flown out of the US, has never visited me in the 8 years that I have lived over here and I am going to meet them at the airport. If you want to have your 76 year old mother not be greeted when she arrives, fine, but that is not what I asked.

You go girl!

Woody

WOW! Sorry to offend; I thought your Mom and your sister were traveling together and could share a cab to meet you, I never meant for your mother to fend for herself sorry that your took it that way.

Actually Margo you stated it quite nicely, not offensively at all. It was this sentence from someone else that hit a nerve.

"They got all the way to Europe and can't manage getting on the train to town?"

And in any case, from the time I posted my initial question until yesterday my sister was coming but now she can't because of a sick child so my mother will be alone which is why I reacted so strongly. Sorry.

I always look for the straight-line solution. It seemed to me that if your mother and sister succeeded in traversing the first 4,000-6,000 miles from North America to Paris, they shouldn't have any problem negotiating the last 25 - thereby finessing the requirement that you get to the airport in the early morning.

I was (I hoped) giving them credit for being more resolute and adaptable than you were.

My mother began Private Pilot training at 78, so maybe I operate on a different set of assumptions.

"maybe I operate on a different set of assumptions"

Now ain't that the truth!

I always pick up friends and relatives arriving at the airport, even renting a car to do so. Most people seem freaked out arriving at the airport of a major city without assistance. Unfortunately, I am almost never picked up by anyone and sometimes have my own freak-out moments. My first arrival in places like Havana or Hanoi had me inwardly shrieking "what the hell are you doing coming here?!?"

Hey wombat7 - will I see you at the <i>Mensa</i> AG in London this August?

A: Not if I see you first.

Well, I gotta say I am totally impressed with your mother, Robespierre! This will be my mother's 2nd flight in her entire life, so starting pilot lessons isn't on the agenda as far as I know. And I will meet her as she is totally devastated and traumatized by the sudden death of my father last year. They started &quot;dating&quot; when they were 12 so it's a whole new world to her and just the fact that she is coming over to see where her first born has lived for the past 8 years is enough for me to want to make it easy and comfortable for her.

And I am back to taking the RER in my head because I am from New England and we are frugal (read cheap).

I'm intrigued. How will she get from where she lives to CDG?

Just curious: why would someone who's lived in Europe for eight years have any questions about the safety of the trains? And ask them here?

she didn't actually say she lived in Paris, she just said &quot;over here&quot;.

.. I might add that women typically have a different mindset about 'safety' than men do, including my own husband.

I live in Switzerland and go to Paris about 2 or 3 times a year and normally stay with a childhood friend who lives there. This time another Bay Stater who lives in Paris and who I met in CH is going away on business and has offered us her apt for free. Since nobody has ever visited me (my husband's sister who was my friend on Nantucket comes just about annually and introduced us is the only one and one of my 3 brothers 5 years ago) I have never had occasion to be on the RER early in the morning. Hence my question (yes, Travelnut is correct - women have different worries about safety and being alone).

One of my 3 brothers (not the traveler) will bring my mother right to Logan Airport in Boston, check her in, walk her over to the security gate, stay with her until they throw away her water bottle and then she is on her own for the 500 feet or so to the gate.

I've been contributing to and asking questions here for about 5 months now. It's good, I enjoy it, have learned lots of good tips and it keeps me from shopping on eBay too much!

Beaupeep, not long after my father died, my mother came to visit me in Paris. I didn't go and meet her at the airport (due to work &quot;commitments&quot; which I probably could have got out of) and have regretted it ever since.
She called me, distraught and sobbing, from a roundabout near the Op&eacute;ra, unable to locate the bus stop or taxi rank that I'd described to her. It broke my heart. And she was much more experienced a traveller than Beaupeep's mother seems to be, she knew Paris quite well, and spoke decent French.

If I could do it again I'd take all week off work, and would wait all night at the airport if necessary.

I am taking a week off, no ten days, because my mother said that she wants to see where my husband and I live and work but all of the newness frightens her and wants me to take charge. So I will be there. On the RER, because I am cheap...carrying my trusty pink Swiss army knife.

You'll be fine. As has been pointed out, hundreds of airport workers will be in the train with you - many of them unaccompanied females.

Hope your sister's child has a speedy and complete recovery (bummer).