Cdg to bayeux via train

hey hey
more time, why in such a hurry? its vacation, enjoy
aloha

You should plan 4 hours from landing to train departure at Gare Saint Lazare, plus maybe 20 minutes for the pharmacy pass thing (that bit might be wrong, haven't done it personally). Take a taxi from CDG to Saint Lazare for peace of mind, the cost for 2 people is €53 so less than €30 more than by public transport.
If it all goes smoothly, you might have time to spare at the station, but there are plenty of cafes to pass the time.

You say "Late May": does it include 26-29 May? That's a major holiday weekend in France, you should secure accommodation early if you haven't done so.

I agree with four hours to be safe. Honestly, you'll likely take less time than that, but why stress? Worst case, you get there early, and there are places to eat at the station, and a couple of cafés right across the street in the neighborhood. If you don't have much luggage and are alone or only two people. skip the taxi and take the RoissyBus. It leaves regularly right outside of arrivals at CDG, and drops you right next to the Opera Garnier—a 7-minute walk to Gare Saint-Lazare. Last I knew it was €12/pp. Either way, don't waste time, frustration and views on the RER/Metro.

The info you are providing is super helpful. I have never been to France so know nothing about the train system. I was thinking I could get off the plane, go through the immigration stuff and go to the train station right at the airport. It sounds like I need to rethink. We have a Bed and breakfast in Bayeux already reserved and they indicate that we need to be checked in by 8 pm. The train schedule that I saw gets us in Bayeux at 7:30pm. Maybe I am making it a bigger deal than it needs to be.

Standard advice, still valuable: To deal with French railroads, and many others, go to www.seat61.com

You will be going from CdG airport on a commuter train into the city, connecting to the Metro subway at Paris Nord station to SNCF station St. Lazare for regional train to Bayeux. The regional commuter services are run by RATP; here is a link to its web search showing your route:
https://www.ratp.fr/en/itineraires/A%C3%A9roport%20Charles%20de%20Gaulle%201_%2093290%20Tremblay-en-France%26Saint-Lazare_%2075008%20Paris
Buy your RATP ticket at the airport through to St. Lazare. You will need it to change at Paris Nord station for the connection to St. Lazare so do not throw it away. The Metro station is adjacent to the SNCF train station going west.
It will be cheaper to buy your ticket to Bayeux well in advance but that requires guessing about how long it will take to commute from the airport. Remember, too, if you have just had a red-eye flight across the Atlantic, you will be handling this travel while urgently needing sleep. It will be less complicated but more expensive to take a taxi.

Now that I know you have never visited France before, I have to strongly recommend you take either a taxi or the RoissyBus to get to Gare Saint Lazare. There isn't a simple system to take on train/metro/whatever from CDG to the train station. People who have done this several times before make it seem simple, but for a newcomer it isn't. If you haven't done this before (or even if you have), dealing with multiple train connections, and metros is not recommended. Trust me, it will be enough overload to take one single form of transportation from the airport to the train station, and then find your way to your train (and get on the right one).

ANother vote for a taxi --- only 53 Euro for up to 4 people, 4 Euro each for additional up to 7.

You need to get your pass sanitarie so you need to factor in that time as well.

Thanks for all the great tips. We will take the taxi from cdg to gare Saint Lazare. Seems much more manageable. Are taxis easy to locate or do you reserve one in advance? All the tips are very helpful.

Taxis are easy to locate, but DO NOT accept a ride form anyone that approaches you in the airport. ONLY go to the official taxi line outside of arrivals to avoid being scammed. It moves along very quickly and is easy to do. Don't let anyone in the airport tell you otherwise.

Thanks farmerphil. I saw somewhere that a car service would meet you displaying a sign with your name. Seemed excessive and expensive. Is that a good route to avoid scams or just a waste of money?

Just a waste of money, IMO. There are obvious "Taxis" signs all over, just follow them.

You can avoid the hassle of taxi into Paris by taking TGV train from CDG direct to LeMans where you transfer to TER train to Caen then local train to Bayeux. I am taking the opposite route in June the day before flying home. Avoids station transfer in Paris.

The opposite route works well, but starting from CDG, you cannot be certain of your arrival time, and there are few trains to Le Mans and even fewer connections to Caen, so you need a bit of luck to make it work. Going to Paris first is less hassle, in my opinion.

We gave ourselves 4 hours from touchdown to train departure from Gare St Lazare via taxi (completely worth the very reasonable cost!) and had enough time to eat at a cafe across the street from the train station. Reminder: be sure you composter votre billet (stamp/validate your ticket) if you have a paper one before you get on the train. There are little kiosks as you head to your track. Your ticket isn’t valid unless you do.

We walked from the Bayeux train station to our B&B when we went. We used the cathedral as our guide & we’re where we needed to be in about 15 minutes (other side of the historic center).

Have a great trip!

Thanks Lisa. We will do the taxi as I think we will be very tired after a long flight. I thought I would print my train tickets at home if possible. Can they be validated if I print them here or do I have to get one from the ticket machine ?. I already purchased them.

Following as we are doing same plan in April. Did you find out about printed ticket and if it had to be validated? Would appreciate any information. We were unaware of validation on a train from Rome to the airport and had to pay a fine. Live and learn as mom used to say.

Joann, according to everything I have read, if you print tickets at home they do not need to be validated. One less thing to worry about.

Thank you and good to know. A five week holiday will have its ups and downs. The first part with jet lag will be best if all details are in order. Happy travels.