Transportation from DeGaulle Airport to Left Bank
 

What are the options for traveling from DeGaulle to Left Bank hotel? There will be four of us. Will a taxi accomodate 4 plus baggage and what is the fare? Are there services similar to Super Shuttle that will take one door to door? Is there an 800 or US number for such services, and what is the fare per person? What is the cost of public transportation (bus or metro) and what part of town are you dropped off in? Thanks for the help from 4 first-time visitors.

Here's a few options --
Metro -- about $7-8
Air France Bus to Montparnasse Tower--about $12
Taxi -- about $40-50
Shuttle Van Service -- not sure, prob about $35

Taxis may not take 4 people, altho I think there
are some using vans/station wagons who might --
this is probably your best bet.
Don't even think of the metro with a lot of luggage.
You'll need to take a taxi from Montparnasse tower
to your hotel which will be about another $10 cab
fare, which is why for 4 people you might as well
take a cab from the airport rather than the bus.
You can get info on the shuttle van service here on
Fodors or at www.paris-anglo.com (under services).

If you can't work out the shuttle & can't get a cab
for 4 people, I'd suggest sending 3 people with all
or most of the luggage in a cab to hotel, and having
one person (w/o much or any luggage) who is good
with directions take the metro for $7 to the hotel.

Christina is absolutely right. Do NOT TAKE THE METRO WITH LOTS OF LUGGAGE OR EVEN WITH ONE HEAVY PIECE. Please see my comments under <Fastest and Easiest Travel from Airport to Paris> French and Italian transit systems make ZERO provisions for people with heavy packages, old people and handicapped people. There are almost no ramps, no elevators, escalators that are out of order (more than likely the one going up), and, of course, no employees to assist those in need. Just ask an old person or someone in a wheel chair if this is not true. Or ask a parent over there what it's like to maneuver a child in a stroller through the metro. It can be a nightmare. I happened to meet an Italian attorney specializing in consumer law. He told me that the laws to create access for the old and the infirm in Italy have been in development since 1949!! Hope you have a great trip. Just don't break a leg.

Oops, for some reason the transmision erased part of my message that said: see my comments under Fastest and Easiest way to get from Airport to Paris, higher up in the list of topics.

I vote for using the Air France bus from the airport. It is comfortable, roomy and relaxing! Taking a cab to your final destination is easy-lots of taxis waiting at the "bus stops" - plus the taxi drivers are worse, well almost as bad as NYC drivers!! Have a good trip

I would agree with the previous poster re the
Air France bus if you were only one person.
However, with 3+ people you will actually pay more
to do the AF bus/taxi combo than if you take a cab
directly from CDG to your hotel (at 2 people you'd
about break even). To me, there is no point to
this--you'll waste more time, have to drag your
luggage about one block from the bus stop to the
taxi stand (I know this part of Paris well), then
find the cabs & communicate with each driver, etc.
I travel to Paris alone fairly frequently and just
this summer decided to can the whole bus/taxi bit
even when going alone to Montparnasse. My hotel
was only about 5 blocks from Montparnasse tower
so I knew I'd get into an argument about trying to
get a cab to go such a short distance, but it was
too far for me to want to lug by myself. I finally
asked myself why I was fooling around with this
to save about $20, so I just took a cab directly to
my hotel in Montparnasse which cost about $42 (vs.
about $22 for the bus/taxi combo). I saved at
least an hour in time, plus my energy and minus
any aggravation. It was worth every penny.