Bruge to Charles de Gaulle Airport on Day of Flight - Reasonable?

Well one time I was on the Thalys from Amsterdam to Paris (that is the train from Brussels to Paris -- we picked those folks up on the way). Just outside Rotterdam someone suicided on the tracks. The train came in 5 hours late and lots of people missed flights out of CDG that day. (probably got compensated, we got our ticket price back BUT don't know if they paid for missed flights).

I always plan to be in the town of departure the night before a high stakes flight.

The train itinerary reflects a 2 hour 45 minute trip time, as does Google Maps to drive there.

Looking at google maps this is what is displayed for Bruges to CDG driving time
" 2 hr 30 min to 3 hr 40 min" I chose a weekday with a 1PM departure from Bruges

If you are in the US and didn't adjust for the departure time you may have gotten an unrealistic 'middle of the night' drive time.
If you choose to drive a rental, you need to factor in pick up time, refueling and turn in time plus a stiff one way fee. A rental car should be the LAST option to consider.

So I'm either very early or have a choice to arrive at 14:53, 16:44 or 17:54.

I would choose nothing later than the 16:44 arrival, if I were commuting the day of the flight.

Train companies only have the responsibility to get you from A to B. They’re not responsible for you making it to C by other means of transportation. So if some major train delay, caused by an accident or strikes or whatever, causes you to miss your flight, you’re on your own. By law, train companies aren’t liable to pay for missed flights, hotel bookings, theater tickets etc etc.

So I guess, the real question here is how much risk you’re willing to take. I personally would want to be in Paris the day before my flight. In your case with your flight departing so late in the evening, I might be comfortable arriving in Paris early in the morning, but not later than that. But I’m not you, you might be more of a risk taker than I.
Also, why aren’t you flying out of Brussels?

So here’s how to judge your risk factor. If your train is delayed, are you willing to walk up to your airline and buy a new ticket to your next destination at whatever the current going rate is? You can go online and look to see what it cost to buy a ticket today or tomorrow to get an idea what that might be. You’re worst that you have to spend the night in Paris and take the next flight to Iceland could be at your expense the airline will not have to do anything if you miss the plane.

If the answer that is no then add more time. Personally for me you’re cutting it too close. That last train gets you there about 90 minutes before your flight. A small delay means you will be missing your plans. And you need to account for what time your airline says you have to be there. Not what time the plane departs. Additionally, you’ve got at least two connections. that’s two more opportunities for things to go wrong.

I want four hours at a minimum and probably if this is my flight back to the United States, I want to be in the departure city the day before, and I do this constantly. Just next month I’m flying to London immediately going someplace else and then returning to Lund to fly home. (And before 43 people tell me about open jaw tickets and how I booked it all wrong. Trust me I didn’t. I saved a fortune doing it this way )

Month of the year (and day of the week) is a big omission from your OP. From May to September, it's reasonable to assume that every Icelandic Air flight will be sold out.

I also had the experience (London- Brussels Eurostar) of an 8- hour delay, due to a rail fatality if some kind, on the French section of the trip. It was a crowded and stressful 8 hours, although I was very lucky that NMBS held the last train to Antwerp, around 1 AM.

The area from Bruges to Brussels is the most developed and prosperous part of Belgium. Auto traffic can be just like NY or California. Can you drive a Standard shift if your reserved model fails to appear? I recommend having 2 chip cards to make sure you can succeed at an unattended gas station.

You must be at the check in counter 3 hours before the flight.

As a Brit I do not leave the Country without travel insurance, and travel insurance which covers for delays caused by connecting transport.

Thus any of those trains would suit me, although I would probably opt for the 1453 arrival. Even the 1754 arrival gives a good comfort factor for a 3 hour check in. If there was a major rail delay the insurer pays for the new flight.

To me to have a late evening flight but to be told to leave the previous day is total absurdity. What are you going to do all day, if you follow that advice? If you go into Paris for the day you could still be in the same position if there was some terrorist act or fire or other major event which closed all routes back to the airport.

If you drove there could be a major RTA or other incident (like a weather event) which closes the road. I'm sure that happens at home, why wouldn't it happen in Europe (or anywhere else)?

I'm sorry but insurance is part of the overall cost of the vacation, and should be within your vacation budget.

janettravels44 – I didn’t classify it as high stakes flight until Tim provided some context about the full flights to Iceland at the time of year! Didn’t think about that!

joe32F – thank you SO much – I failed to consider the time difference, your input is helpful! More buffer needed!

Dutch_traveler – I’d tell you, but TLDR ;) suffice it to say that’s just where it is at and I’m working with it. I think the recent “Mistakes Were Made” post that could be filled with just my planning mistakes on this one trip to date. I’m learning a lot and still have 3 months before I depart!

Carol – I distinctly remember your advice and that is what I’m using as a basis. I'm weighing the value of the time in Bruges with our dear Austrian friends and the risks we’re taking to spend as much time with them as possible compared to having to get a later flight, or stay overnight in Paris. I value your judgement on the 4 hours minimum; in line with joe32F's comments about driving time estimates.

Tim – Touche! We are flying out July 12th – so appreciate your insight there on how difficult it will be to get on another flight. Also good intel on the Belgium to Paris driving corridor. We're ok on standard (manual) transmission (in fact purposely chose manual for our Iceland portion because its cheaper and I like manual!).

isn31c – This is brilliant advice, I hadn’t thought about the travel insurance aspect. Although I can usually make lemonade out of lemons, we’ll already have been in Paris for 7 days prior to our time in Belgium, so adding another day in Paris just for “what ifs” is to me, absurd also, hence my post.

ALL – THANK YOU!! Your posts have helped me consider more factors. I think travel insurance seems the way to address this risk, without sacrificing irreplaceable time with friends.

Not sure if I’ll go with the 16:44 arrival or 14:53. Both have a 10 minute transfer time and required reservations on the TGV Inoui. I think the deciding factor may be when/where we’ll eat!