Help understanding trains

Try this website. I see a train leaving at 11:22 from Austerlitz station, getting to Amboise at 13:38 with one change at Orleans with a 10 minute connection. It's not a TGV train, is that important? Is there some reason you want to (or have to) leave from the Roissy airport?

Forget RometoRio or Google Maps when searching train schedules. No experience traveler uses that when looking for accuracy.

Ouisncf has the most accurate info for train travel in France as they own the trains.

I would not buy CDG to Amboise on March 8 in advance. If the plane is late you could miss the train at 11:20.
Moreover, you have more and better options from central Paris Gare de Austerlitz to Amboise than trying to get there from the airport.

But I would buy March 11 in advance since you have a set time that you want to leave Amboise.
And this requires a connection to a TGV train; with TGV trains the prices go up

Thanks for the advise! No, sorry for any confusion - I'm not opposed to any kind of train.

I found it... now questioning if it's worth the effort... and I am still concerned about committing to train reservations in advance of getting to the station - do we really need to do them?

We arrive at CGD at around 7:30 am on Sunday morning. I am not sure how long it will take to get through customs - but should we just get ourselves over to Terminal 2 (I think we'll arrive in T1) to board that 11:20am train, which will get us to St Pierre Des Corps where we'll have to sit for an hour, and then take another train one stop over to Amboise - arriving at 2:23pm.

OR tell me if I'm crazy to try to do this - there are more trains, but they leave from Gare D'Austerlitz... they will get us to our location earlier (If we make it through customs quickly) and we won't sit a station away for an hour. I would have to get from CGD to Gare D'Austerlitz around 10 am, so we can take the Terr to Orleans from 11:22 to 12:32, with only a 10 minute wait before continuing to Amboise and arrive at 1:38pm.... I looked on the metro site, and it would take a lot of connections or walking with luggage - am I crazy to try to get across Paris from CDG to Gare D'Austerlitz in less than an hour? Again, I wouldn't want to bet on this, so I would hate to make a reservation I can't keep.

And then we'll have our return to Paris - plenty of trains to take from Amboise back to Gare D'Austerlitz - can we stay flexible on that day, depending on how much we decide to do in Amboise, or do we need to make those pesky reservations in advance?

Thanks again all!!

Depends on what side of 7.30 you arrive.
You don't need to get to Austerlitz Station more than 15 minutes before departure, so you actually have a fair amount of time. A typical guideline is to allow 4 hrs from CDG arrival to downtown Paris train departure : if you're really arriving at 7.30 you're just a hair under that with an 11.22 train.
I'd do it.
Plus you don't need to book the Austerlitz-Amboise train in advance. If you have a smartphone with data you can book it through the oui SNCF app upon arrival. Or directly at the Austerlitz station ticket machines if not.
Ticketing rules recently changed but I still think trains don't sell out; I'm seeing tons of 21,50 euro tickets for tonight and tomorrow

Thanks for letting me know I don't need a reservation in advance. It is certainly less expensive to travel from Gare L'Austerlitz ($36 for the two of us) instead of $95 from CDG... but what will it cost to get from CDG to Gare L'Austerlitz? Is that just a metro day pass to pay for?

On www.ratp.fr

The best option I get (if I'm out of the airport by 10) is B Train (is the RER shuttle I mention below) from Aeroport CDG 1 Vers Massy-Palaiseau at 10:09 for 3 stations/34 minutes to Saint-Michel Notre-Dame, waiting two minutes??

to train (or is this a metro) C from Saint-Michel Notre-Dame at 10:47 Vers Juvisy-sur-Orge to Gare d'Austerlitz at 10:52
OR
to Bus?? 63 from Cluny vers gare de lyon 7 stops/9 minutes from 10:49 to Gare-DAusterlitz Cour Sein at 10:58...
Did I read that right (train/metro/bus)? How much will that cost? Are they individual tickets or a pass all the way through or day pass on the metro?

I am assuming the vers gare de lyon etc saying to catch the bus in that direction as that's the end stop?

I also saw several shuttles on the site that take you from CDG to different locations within Paris. I think the RER B is the same one above, which means that I know how much it costs - $10.50 per head. Does that let me onto the metro or bus to complete the trip above?

Thanks again all - I think I'm catching on!!

Java du,

If you do not mind schlepping on the metro, just buy a one-way ticket into Paris on the RER. A ticket is about 10 euros and is good on the metro too for the duration of your trip. just step out of the RER train, you will be in the metro station.

Not sure what is wrong with the direct TGV, though. It gets you there an hour sooner.

TER and TGV train tickest are NOT RER tickets and are NOT good on the metro for the duration of the trip.

The carnet of 10 metro tickets is good if you will use them.

This probably won't win me any friends...

Your life wil be far easier if you don't buy into the RS Amboise myth. Amboise is a small country town wih limited services (of all kinds), so you will be restricted to travelling everywhere by the infrequent bus or train services.

I would instead plan to stay in Tours, and book the direct train from the airport to Saint Pierre des Corps at 11.20.

"Not sure what is wrong with the direct TGV, though. It gets you there an hour sooner."

If I wait in the tgv, I will leave Paris an hour later and I sit for an hour waiting on a connection, so I get there an hour later. If I take the other trains, although slower, they leave sooner and go direct without connecting and backtracking... But I will have to get through Paris to catch them.

Ease vs time, and that it's a deciding factor, but also a price difference of about $50.

I appreciate the other comment about Tours and the RS myth... My friends think i am crazy to be going to this region over Bordeaux.. So I am open to other ideas.. Though my lodging reservation is already set for Amboise so I would have to act sucky to change it, and thigh faster, the trains might be less convenient to get down there on day 1.

We’ve been looking at that 11:20 TGV from CDG also, and will probably chance it...but if we miss it, it seemed that there were TGV trains almost hourly from Montparnasse to St Pierre des Corps. Don’t know how they coincide with trains to Amboise, but could be an option for you.