mari5

I've asked before, but questions seem to get buried so fast on this forum.
There are two shuttle vans to get from Charles De Gaulle into Paris......
one is PARIS SHUTTLE, the other one is
AIRPORT CONNECTION. They sound about the same, but do you have a preference as to reliability ? (from personal experience) THANKS!!!

ira

Hi mari,

If you click on your name all of your past posts will come up.

We used www.beeshuttle.com and were pleased with the service.

gracieb

I think I'm in the minority on this board, but I equate time on a vacation with money. I don't like spending my first two hours in Paris sitting on a shuttle bus dropping folks off at varied hotels. I consider the taxi fare money well spent. On my trip I heard varied stories of how long it took people to get to their hotel via shuttle or metro, etc. In that amount of time, we'd already checked into the hotel, had lunch at Cafe Bonaparte and were standing in front of Notre Dame.

My travel companion recently commented that my willingness to take a taxi was one of the best parts of the trip. If I'm hot, tired or rushed, I get a cab. Other than to and from airports, I don't think we spent more than 100 Euros but the savings in stress level was immeasuable.

palette

Used PariShuttle several times and always pleased with the service. I count the drive into (and possibly around) Paris as part of my intro to the city again; we have never minded dropping others off at their hotels and if there are three of you, the van is most likely all yours anyway.

Patrick

Gee, if there are three of you the taxi will probably be just as cheap!

I agree with gracieb -- just take a taxi. Of course, if you are traveling alone then the savings for a shuttle may be worth it, but two and it starts dwindling down the savings. Three and forget the idea of a shuttle.
I'm also always amused at people who say they want local currency ahead of time because the last thing they want to do on arrival is look for an ATM. But then some of these same people turn around and book a shuttle so the first thing they have to do is hunt up a phone (more difficult than an ATM usually) and call the shuttle and wait for it to come pick them up. I'd much prefer to walk out, get a taxi immediately and be on my way. But to each his own.

But gracieb, I can't imagine what you mean by 100 euro for a taxi. I can't imagine it being over 50 to 60 at the tops!

gracieb

The taxi from CDG was 50 Euros.

What I was saying was..."other than taxis to and from airports", we spent less than 100 Euros on taxis on the trip and it was money well spent. I've never read the details about metro passes and carte passes because I know myself well enough...if I want to get somewhere and don't want to walk, I'll get a cab.

mari5

Thanks, Mari5 here.......We ARE planning to taxi to CDG at the end of our stay to make sure of timing etc...and will let the hotel desk find us a good one. We took Airport Connection IN to Paris a few years ago and it was OK, but we did have to wait... one came along, not for us,but driver said to just 'get in".
Just a variety, I guess, ...the price isn't actually that much different than a taxi. We are TWO people..about 38 euro vs. 50 for a taxi, IF that's what a taxi is now?(then again it might be 70 euro, but we'll settle BEFORE the ride!!!) but the 38 vs. 50 is certainly not worth worrying about. Still might try the Paris Shuttle this time into the city, taxi on the return. (and WE STILL get lots of euro from our bank BEFORE leaving the States!..just like it that way...to EACH HIS OWN!!!!!right?

gracieb

In May the fare from CDG to the Latin Qtr was 50 Euros. We talked to other tourists that spent 2 to 3 hours getting to their hotels. I intercepted a poor, weary pair on the sidewalk my first afternoon in Paris and yes, they were looking for our hotel. Mother and daughter were dragging their rolling suitcases with assorted other stuff and looked like they were on the verge of tears. They'd taken the metro and had gotten confused and were starting their vacaton lost and stressed - vs. enjoying the views of a new city and being dropped on the hotel doorstep.

I don't think I'll understand why anyone would choose to save about 20 Euros and lose an hour or two they could be spending in a sidewalk cafe or strolling along the Seine or a multitude of other things.

Does anyone remember the guy who only wanted hotels near the airport and gare so he didn't have to deal with shuttles or taxi fares? How short-sighted! But, different strokes for different folks.

Flyboy

gracieb, you have my vote. I've never understood the attraction of the shuttle services from CDG. I've used taxis, the RER and the Air France bus, but the idea of needing to meet up with and quite possibly waiting around for a specific vehicle and driver? No thanks.

alg

We took a taxi from CDG on a Saturday in July to the 6th...the cost was less than 40 euros.

purplefreak

Not sure about the shuttles, that seemed like a pain so we avoided it. We also decided to skimp on the cab. We took the RER-B line (train) instead, which connects with the metro. This did not take long at all - it was fast and cheap. Only thing, we had to carry our bags around with us but we are young. If you are old or out of shape maybe just take a cab!

Travelnut

The Air France bus then a taxi sounds like a reasonably easy/inexpensive combination, but might not be any cheaper than the shuttle. We used Parishuttle a couple of times ($18pp), prearranged via website (but not prepaid). Called after the bags just in case, although that does mean waiting (hubby had golf club case, which doesn't come out on the luggage carousel). Figured out that you make the free phone call at a payphone in the terminal by pressing a button labeled "sans carte", otherwise call wouldn't complete. Shuttle showed up in about 15 minutes. We usually paid in cash at the dropoff. Didn't really mind the meander thru Paris, if other passengers were dropped off first.

We've been arriving by train the last couple of times, so been using the Metro.

mari5

I think this is so funny and interesting, and shows how very misguided and "out of the loop' people can be. My question was about the two shuttles, nothing else. I think the "bottom" of the transportation method getting into Paris is the train (RER)(very impractical with luggage)...then comes the Air France bus which stops a couple of places and then involves taking a taxi to hotel. '
Then comes the DOOR TO DOOR Shuttle vans,(choice of 2),,right to the hotel as a taxi would,with perhaps one stop before to let others out at their hotel, OR perhaps the first stop to YOUR hotel...
THEN the best would be a taxi....which we will do on the return to CDG. Of course these are in assending price.

Thanks to those who said they had a good experience with Paris Shuttle.

WillTravel

The Air France bus stops at most once before its final destination. It's great if your hotel is nearby, and there's no need to prebook, or to call anyone, or to wait for them to pick you up, and it only costs about 11 Euros, depending which route you take.

gracieb

Preference noted, Mari5. Won't happen again.

uhoh_busted

We always take a taxi from the airport to our hotel (don't like to waste the time) but last trip we used ParisShuttle to go to the airport before our flight home and it worked out wonderfully. We enjoyed seeing where the other folks had stayed and got a mini tour of some Paris streets we'd never seen before (only 3 trips so far)

Travelnut

" how very misguided and out of the loop people can be "

Ooh, excuse us for discussing all the alternatives, <i>including</i> answering your question. Heaven forbid there should be <i>too</i> much information for other readers.

ira

&gt;...There are two shuttle vans ...&lt;

&gt;..&quot; how very misguided and out of the loop people can be &quot;..&lt;

Yup. There are many more.

newesttraveler

Forgive me for going slightly off topic mari5, I realize your original question was specifically about shuttle services, but I find it curious that in the discussions of options, no one has mentioned a private car service.

When I was planning my trip to Rome last year, many of the posters on this board were recommending limoservicerome. We took that advice and the service was great. We were met by the driver as soon as we cleared customs and wisked straight to our hotel in a beautiful Mercedes van. There were four of us and I believe the price was about the same as it would have been if we had taken the train and then a taxi to our hotel.

So to all the Paris experts I ask: Do similar services exist in Paris, and are they a reasonable alternative for a family of four? I am planning a trip to Paris for March of 2005, so this is not just an idle question.

Thanks!

Patrick

newesttraveler, to answer your question -- NO! It seems to be the consensus here over and over again that totally unlike London where the car services abound, and other cities as well, plain old taxis are invariably cheaper and just as efficient in Paris as any car services. I once had the business card of a private taxi owner who took us to CDG once and I passed his email on for a couple of others -- he worked just like a car service you could prebook, but at the standard taxi rates. But unfortunately his email no longer seems to work, so maybe he's moved on to other things.