Airport advice needed & Itinerary

[steve_woodward]

First my Itinerary

Wed 30th August arrive Paris (CDG) (Terminal 1) 19:25
Wed 30th - Sun 3 Sep (4 nights) Holiday Inn AT DISNEYLAND RESORT PARIS
Sun 3 Sep 2006 Tue 5 Sep (2 Nights) Disney's Sequoia Lodge
Tue 5th September depart Paris (CDG) (Terminal 1) 10:00

The general plan is to spend the first 3 days (Thur,Fri,Sat) exploring Paris using the 3 day Paris Visite pass and spending the evenings in and around the Disney Village.

On the Sunday morning we leave the Holiday Inn and check into the Sequoia Lodge and head off to the Studios for the day leaving the Monday for the Disneyland Park (Fantasyland breakfast booked).

So my main question is what will be the best way to get from the Airport to the Holiday Inn when we arrive and more importantly what is the best way to make sure that we get to the airport for our relatively early flight?

If I have read the VEA timetable correctly we are too late for the last bus when we arrive so perhaps the TGV is the best option? Returning to the Airport the VEA leaves at 8.00am how long does this take? Would a private shuttle be the best option for ensuring we get there at the right time?

Help with this and any other advice gratefully received.

 

[Cyrano]

Given both your late arrival and early departure perhaps a private shuttle might be your best option

 

[tinkerbell36]

I would say avoid taxis as they are very, very expensive, an arranged shuttle might be your best port of call.

Can I just ask how you booked your Fantasyland breakfast in advance? We are off next week and I would like to see if there are any available

 

[nifferwilko]

Returning to the Airport the VEA leaves at 8.00am how long does this take?

I think the VEA shuttle takes 45 minutes approx, but obviously you'll need to allow for traffic at that time in the morning. I don't think you'll be able to catch the VEA shuttle to be at the airport in time for checkin for your flight. I've looked into getting to the airport at that sort of time for december and there are three options -
- A private shuttle - plus point is obviously it's catered to you so it's straightforward and gets you where you want to go. Negative is that it's more costly (around 80 euros each way) but depending how many are in your party it can work out around the same as the VEA (as thats around 14 euros pp each way)
- The TGV - plus point is that its very quick and only takes 10 minutes. The timetables have to correspond with your flights though or else you can wait a long time for the train. Also you have to get your luggage on and off the train (which for some people they see that as an issue, I don't mind too much) Coming back there is a train at 8:25 ish which will get you to CDG for around 8:30 ish. See www.sncf.fr for timetables (it can be viewed in english)
- The RER - takes the longest and will be busy early in the morning with all the people going to work. But it will be fairly straightforward for you if you've been using the metro for the three days you'll be in paris.

Hopefully this was some use. I haven't decided which one I'm going to do yet until I've experimented with the RER in october. So I don't have a decision as to which is best. But if you have 4 people in your group then the private shuttle does work out quite cost effective.

 

[steve_woodward]

Can I just ask how you booked your Fantasyland breakfast in advance? We are off next week and I would like to see if there are any available

Unfortunately you can't do this over the phone as they need it in writing but I just sent a fax to them requesting it and a few days later they sent an email confirming the booking modification.

 

[steve_woodward]

Looks like a private shuttle may be the best option then but I'll also check out the TGV and see what the price differences are and see if it worth it. There are only 3 of us going so it might be quite a bit cheaper.

There seem to be quite a few private shuttle companies can anyone recommend any one in particular?

 

[tinkerbell36]

Ah that's fine I have a fax at my work Do you know the number - is it done by which hotel you are staying at?

Cheers Steve

 

[tinkerbell36]

Also Steve I meant to say - I would def check TGV times and prices first but I can't give too much info on this as I have never used it, but if it is only 3 people then the shuttle would maybe be a more expensive option?

 

[steve_woodward]

Ah that's fine I have a fax at my work Do you know the number - is it done by which hotel you are staying at?

Cheers Steve

I can't remember the fax number but I just phoned the UK reservations helpline (08702 42 60 83) and they told me their fax number.

 

[steve_woodward]

I've just checked out the TGV and it costs 36.50 euros each way for all of us. The only problem seems to be that the last one is 20.43 which probably dosen't leave us enough time to get to the station! There is another later train but it isn't a TGV and you can't but advance tickets.

 

[steve_woodward]

Does anyone have any experience of Car hire from CDG airport?

I've just done some checking up and it seems that a private shuttle would be 80 euros each way but I can hire a small car for 175 euros! I'd still use the trains to get around paris but a car might be useful for visits to the hypermarket.

 

[Michael623]

I rented a car at Hertz(CDG) and it was fairly painless.

 

[NMM]

Hi Steve

If you're still interested in a private taxi I can recommend the one we used last year. We booked with rstransports and the return cost for 1-4 people is E140 (VEA bus costs E16 per adult, E13 per child both ways). The driver was waiting in arrivals for us and we were at the hotel in less than 30 minutes. The whole thing was seamless and pleasant. You don't even have to give a credit card number, just pay cash to the driver on both legs of the trip. Hope this is of some use.

Enjoy!

 

[steve_woodward]

Thanks

In the end we decided to rent a car as it was only a little more expensive than a private shuttle. It also means that we are able to pop to Val d'Europe whenever we want with little fuss.

Steve