YawningDodo
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 16, 2014
I know transportation from the airport to DLP is a common topic that's been rehashed and rehashed, but none of the threads I was able to find on a search of recent pages covered exactly what I'm worried about.
I booked my flights a few months ago but did not book ground transportation at that time, and I'm glad I didn't because my flight itinerary has been changed twice since then. I was originally going to land in CDG midday on a Monday, but flight schedules changed and I now expect to arrive at 5:45 pm. I'm very leery of booking any kind of ground transportation ahead of time both because I'm concerned the airlines might change my flights yet again and because I've been on enough delayed flights not to trust that they'll actually get me there when they say they will. While it would be nice to have a quicker trip to DLP, I'm not terribly picky since what's an extra hour after two days of traveling? I'm also planning to pack very lightly and have only a carry-on bag, so I'm not worried about my ability to deal with my own luggage if I take the train. Lower price would be nice, but I can absorb the cost of a higher ticket so I'm not going to worry about it too much.
The options, as I see them:
1. The Magic Shuttle. Advantage: takes me right to the door of my hotel. Disadvantage: When playing around with their booking form, it tells me that any arrival after 7:00 PM is outside their operating hours. While I should be there a little over an hour ahead of that cutoff, I'm leery for the reasons listed above. Can I buy a ticket on the spot from the bus driver if I get there early enough to take the shuttle? Does it cost more to do that than to book it in advance?
2. The express train (I'm sorry, I've forgotten its proper name). Advantage: It's only a ten minute ride. Disadvantage: It may or may not run at a convenient time for my needs, and I've read that the ticket prices can skyrocket if you wait to buy it when you get to CDG. Again, though, I'm even more reluctant to book this one in advance because it has even less flexibility than the shuttle if my flight is delayed (plus I wouldn't be certain how long it will take me to navigate the airport and board the train, since I haven't been through CDG in a decade and barely remember anything about it).
3. The RER. Advantage: My understanding (correct me if I'm wrong!) is that the Metro runs until midnight, so I wouldn't be concerned about missing its operating hours and booking in advance is a complete non-concern. Also, it's cheap. I've traveled enough on urban underground trains to feel comfortable navigating it, and I remember from my brief visit to Paris in college that the Paris Metro was not difficult to use. Disadvantage: It'll take a long time. I know that I'll have to get one train from CDG to the city center, then transfer onto another to get to DLP. Also, I'll be carrying my luggage that whole way, though it'll just be a single backpack.
4. Taxi or shuttle. Advantage: I can presumably get a ride straight to where I need to go. Disadvantage: My impression is that this is a pricey option for a solo traveler, so it feels like a waste. Also, it feels logistically difficult, but that may be because my one memory of riding in a taxi in Paris involved us and our driver being completely unable to communicate with each other and culminated in said driver taking us the wrong way up a one way street. Did not enjoy. And, too, I just don't like taxis in general.
Thoughts? I'll be honest, my first inclination was to take the RER and live with the long transit time, and part of me is still inclined to just be bullheaded about it and stick with that plan despite knowing it's one of the most time-consuming ways to get where I'm going (it was originally more attractive when I thought I'd arrive early enough in the day to step out of the train station and at least get lunch somewhere; now I think I'll want to just get to the hotel and go to bed early since I'll have had a long journey without much sleep). If you were in a situation where you planned to wait until you arrived to buy your ground transportation ticket, what would be your first choice? What would be your contingency?
I booked my flights a few months ago but did not book ground transportation at that time, and I'm glad I didn't because my flight itinerary has been changed twice since then. I was originally going to land in CDG midday on a Monday, but flight schedules changed and I now expect to arrive at 5:45 pm. I'm very leery of booking any kind of ground transportation ahead of time both because I'm concerned the airlines might change my flights yet again and because I've been on enough delayed flights not to trust that they'll actually get me there when they say they will. While it would be nice to have a quicker trip to DLP, I'm not terribly picky since what's an extra hour after two days of traveling? I'm also planning to pack very lightly and have only a carry-on bag, so I'm not worried about my ability to deal with my own luggage if I take the train. Lower price would be nice, but I can absorb the cost of a higher ticket so I'm not going to worry about it too much.
The options, as I see them:
1. The Magic Shuttle. Advantage: takes me right to the door of my hotel. Disadvantage: When playing around with their booking form, it tells me that any arrival after 7:00 PM is outside their operating hours. While I should be there a little over an hour ahead of that cutoff, I'm leery for the reasons listed above. Can I buy a ticket on the spot from the bus driver if I get there early enough to take the shuttle? Does it cost more to do that than to book it in advance?
2. The express train (I'm sorry, I've forgotten its proper name). Advantage: It's only a ten minute ride. Disadvantage: It may or may not run at a convenient time for my needs, and I've read that the ticket prices can skyrocket if you wait to buy it when you get to CDG. Again, though, I'm even more reluctant to book this one in advance because it has even less flexibility than the shuttle if my flight is delayed (plus I wouldn't be certain how long it will take me to navigate the airport and board the train, since I haven't been through CDG in a decade and barely remember anything about it).
3. The RER. Advantage: My understanding (correct me if I'm wrong!) is that the Metro runs until midnight, so I wouldn't be concerned about missing its operating hours and booking in advance is a complete non-concern. Also, it's cheap. I've traveled enough on urban underground trains to feel comfortable navigating it, and I remember from my brief visit to Paris in college that the Paris Metro was not difficult to use. Disadvantage: It'll take a long time. I know that I'll have to get one train from CDG to the city center, then transfer onto another to get to DLP. Also, I'll be carrying my luggage that whole way, though it'll just be a single backpack.
4. Taxi or shuttle. Advantage: I can presumably get a ride straight to where I need to go. Disadvantage: My impression is that this is a pricey option for a solo traveler, so it feels like a waste. Also, it feels logistically difficult, but that may be because my one memory of riding in a taxi in Paris involved us and our driver being completely unable to communicate with each other and culminated in said driver taking us the wrong way up a one way street. Did not enjoy. And, too, I just don't like taxis in general.
Thoughts? I'll be honest, my first inclination was to take the RER and live with the long transit time, and part of me is still inclined to just be bullheaded about it and stick with that plan despite knowing it's one of the most time-consuming ways to get where I'm going (it was originally more attractive when I thought I'd arrive early enough in the day to step out of the train station and at least get lunch somewhere; now I think I'll want to just get to the hotel and go to bed early since I'll have had a long journey without much sleep). If you were in a situation where you planned to wait until you arrived to buy your ground transportation ticket, what would be your first choice? What would be your contingency?
