My husband and I booked a trip to Paris through Costco and our package includes a transfer to our hotel (8th arr., near Champs-Elysees) via private car. We land around 8 am on a Tuesday. I looked at Google's traffic projections and it shows that the trip could take between 50 minutes to 1:40 depending on traffic, whereas we could get there by train in under an hour. Is it worth skipping the included transfer and just taking the train at that time of day? Thanks.
Posted by
Liverpool UK
440 posts
The traffic might be annoying but after a long flight the car will take you to your hotel door as the train will not then you have to find out which street your hotel is on and plan a route from the station. Take the car sit back relax.
Posted by
Paris
10205 posts
If you've already paid for the transfer as part of your package, go ahead and take the car. Yes it may take longer, but probably not once you count in the time to find the RER station at CDG, figure out how to buy tickets, transfer time to your local metro line(s), finding your hotel, etc.
Posted by
Florida (previously California)
3990 posts
The train will be crowded. It's really up to you if the hour that the train will save you is worth it. You'll have to manage your luggage on the train and be sure to secure your valuables and make at least one transfer from the RER to another train or bus to get to your accommodations. Plus, you will not have door to door service so you will probably have to walk some distance even if the stop is across the street from the mass transit stop to your hotel. If I had an included transfer that I had already paid for, saving an hour would not be worth it to me unless my time in Paris was extremely short but others may differ.
Posted by
Folsom
2734 posts
The time saved would be negligible. Relax in the car, snooze.
Posted by
Myrtle Beach, USA
12313 posts
I hate traffic, but at least you don't have to drive. At 8 am, I'd expect the trip to take closer to the 1:40. An RER takes 45 minutes to Gare Nord (there are other stops too) but the ultimate time depends on walking to the metro, any line connections and how far you will be from the nearest metro.
Will you have bags or just a carry on? With bags, not carrying them around is worth the extra time. I carry on only so rarely use a taxi in Paris.
Posted by
OP
6 posts
Snoozing is a great idea! I hadn't considered the exhaustion factor.
Posted by
Green Bay
21157 posts
If you land at 8 am, by the time you clear immigration and get your luggage, "rush hour" will be over. Then just normal heavy daytime traffic.
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
Does your package include a PRIVATE transfer or a SHARED transfer? If it's shared - that could be a problem. When you share a transfer you may theoretically be at the end of the line when the driver navigates to each hotel along the way. That could actually be rather miserable.
Posted by
OP
6 posts
It's private, so no worries there.