Train from CDG- timing?
 

I land at CDG at 10:50 am on July 6th. Is 12:15 to early to commit to a train to Bordeaux?

From where is your flight coming? For a flight in the Schengen zone, it would be all right.

If you must go through immigration, it is almost certainly not possible.

I wouldn´t schedule that no matter from where the flight came. There is a huge difference between being scheduled to land at 10h50 and actually landing at 10h50. 1+25 is just not sufficient time to be sure of successfully making that connection on any consistent basis.

1:25 isn't a lot of time, less if you have checked bags.

I flew into CDG and took the train from there to Strasbourg a few years ago. I was lucky in that I landed early enough in the morning that we may have been the first flight before a bunch of them, and it took all of 7 minutes to get from the plane past immigration and past baggage claim (I had no checked bags), but you can't count on that every time. I think I had slightly more time than 1:25 but not much, and I made it just fine. Of course, had the wait at immigration been an hour, it would have been much tighter, though I still would have made it

What's your risk? Having to pay full fare for the next train and assuming it isn't completely booked. If you are willing to take that risk, then go for it - I have taken such risks numerous times connecting at airports like that and so far been lucky and never missed a connection. (Trip delay insurance may also cover the cost of taking the next train, if you carry such insurance.)

We're flying from SFO to CDG today and then a TGV to Lyon. I like the 3 1/2 hrs I have between landing & train departure. We land at terminal 1 & the TGV departs from terminal 2 - so that's some added transit time. We have checked bags. I have been monitoring our specific flight for the past 10 days, and it has been arriving anywhere from 3 mins early to 40 mins late. July 6 is near peak travel - so planes will be full.

I hate stress - and 1 hr 25 mins would make me tremendously stressed.

Stu Dudley

Thanks so much for the input. Flying in from Atlanta, so yes I will have to deal with immigration.

Discounted tickets not being changeable nor refundable I believe means you have to build in a lot of fudge factor time - stu has it about right-if have time to kill CDG has lots of eateries, shops, etc.

Book at www.voyages-sncf.com (you probably know this but for others) -French railways but often flummoxed initial users - www.thetrainline.eu similar fares but works easier for foreigners. check www.seat61.com for expert advice on discounted tickets (sometimes first class may be a tad more than the cheapest 2nd cl so check both) -for general info on trains www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com.

Last two times my son landed in Paris - last two years there were long LONG lines at passport control with only a few of dozens of booths open for some reason.

I land at CDG at 10:50 am on July 6th. Is 12:15 to early to commit to a train to Bordeaux?>

When are the subsequent trains?

Well since the next direct CDG -Bordeaux train seems to be around 4pm you may want to book a train from Montparnasse and take a taxi or RER/metro there?

Yes, it's too early. You need to give yourself 3 hours from touchdown time to boarding the train.

I've done this very same trip close to 200 times and do have a realistic sense of what's in store for you. If you end up hanging around the train station for a bit, have a coffee or a glass of wine and chill.

April 26 it took us about 1-1/2 hours to get through passport control -- I imagine it could be much longer with heavier summer travel. We were connecting with the Lyon train with unchangeable, unrefundable PREM fare tickets so to allow enough time for the connection we had built in about 4 hours time -- we had time to spare, but we didn't regret it, given it could have taken much longer, as we also saw passengers from our plane quite a lot farther back in the line than we were.

Booked the train at 3:15. Among other details remaining, I need to figure out where to stay in Paris for my last night.....way too many options!

Well, what's ypur budget and what kind of neighborhood do you enjoy? We've become real fans of the 11ème, but it's probably not everyone's cup of tea.

Willing to splurge since it is for my 50th. I like casual and hip- not stodgy. Prefer modern over antique.

vanne: <i>April 26 it took us about 1-1/2 hours to get through passport control -- I imagine it could be much longer with heavier summer travel.</i>

One thing I've learned about arrival/departure from CDG is that the waits seem to depend on how busy the airport is when you happen to pass through it, not just on the season. A few weeks ago, worried about horror stories of long lines at passport control and security to fly out. I arrived at CDG three hours early...only to find no lines and no delays. It took me only an hour to get from the hotel shuttle to sitting at my gate, and that included stopping to change my flight (because it had been delayed five hours) and having to take a connecting train within the airport to my gate. But the woman who sat next to me on my plane arrived less than hour after I did, and she had to navigate long lines and was nervous about catching her flight. I suspect a number of flights were departing about the same time, causing a glut of passengers arriving near the same time.

Of course, it's hard to predict whether you'll arrive or depart at a busy time, but I don't you can judge how busy the airport is at a particular time of year based on a few anecdotes. Clearly, my seatmate on the plane and I had opposite experiences even though we arrived at the same airport less than an hour apart.

Andrew - you're right it's hard to predict -- that's why we decided to book our train with more time than we thought we needed to avoid a problem that would have required us to lose the money we paid for the PREM tickets and have to buy full fare tickets to get to Lyon.

As travelers, we all have our own comfort level with risk. It's more important to understand all of the parameters - how long it takes to get off the plane, walk to the TGV station, etc. - than trying to agree with someone else about their comfort level of risk vs. yours.

As a solo traveler without checked luggage, I tend to risk shorter connections in cases like this and so far have been successful. And sometimes my risk is more than the cost of buying full-fare train tickets on the next train. On the upside, if I arrive on time to make a quick connection, I get to my destination a few hours earlier instead of sitting around a train station or an airport for a few hours, trying to stay awake when I'm jetlagged.

That's the truth as I do not always give myself 3 hours at CDG and have never missed a train. It really depends on the tradeoffs. I'm willing to risk having to buy a fullfare ticket if things don't go as planned rather than getting a somewhat cheaper rate and knowing I'll have to wait there for hours, which I hate. Where I go, the nonrefundable versus full fares are never more than maybe a 50 euro difference and usually less. I just value my time a lot whereas other people would rather save a little money and being sure they could make a nonrefundable cheaper fare.

Looking at fares on that route on July 6th, the direct at 12:15 is 89 euro (and that isn't the cheapest fare which isn't available, but you won't get a refund if you try to change it AFTER departure), but fullfare is 98 euro. So you aren't saving much anyway but risking you can't get a refund. In that case, I'd just buy the fullfare ticket at 98 euro so I know I have a ticket and seat at 12:15, and if I miss it, I could change it at the airport and you'd have plenty of time to do that, also. I just don't see having to lock in that 89 euro fare since it doesn't save you much, but if a 9 euro difference is worth you not wanting to risk it, you do what you have to do. And that is second class, not sure about first.

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It will be a splurge, but you can get amenities:

Upgrade at time of booking, subject to availability
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Looks amazing, but at $665 for the cheapest room (paying up front with no refund), it is a bit steep....