train schedule for late April 2017 from CDG to Amboise, Loire

Not sure where you are looking but here is the French Rail site

Looks like the are no direct trains - there is a TGV part way and TER into Amboise.

You can check the current routes, but the actual schedules for next April aren't available yet - AFAIK. And tickets don't go on sale until 90 days in advance.

It looks like you can get a direct train from CDG to St. Pierre des Corps, with an easy transfer to a local train there.

I prefer using https://www.trainline.eu/search

Be sure to allow at least 3 hours to make your plane to train connection at CDG.

That is way too far into the future. Timetables change every year on the 2nd Sunday in December (11th December this year). French Railways SNCF times for dates after 11th December will be available from mid October. See here for more details: http://seat61.com/news.htm
And, as others say, bookings are only available 90 days in advance.
It is after to assume the service next year will be 95%+ the same as this year, so just to a search for a random date in October or November this year (same day of the week) to get an idea of what services are available. And do your search on the French Railways SNCF site ( http://www.sncf.com/en/passengers ), or the German Railways one ( https://www.bahn.de/p_en/view/index.shtml ), not a reseller in another continent who may only offer some trains.

For more stuff on trains in France, see here: http://seat61.com/France-trains.htm

We did this trip a couple of years ago. After clearing customs/collecting your luggage at the CDG airport, right there inside the airport you catch the TGV train down to Tours, France. Take a nap, it's about 2 hours. At the train station there is a car rental (1-800-fly Europe.com) right as you exit out of the main doors. After getting your car, drive along the Loire river up to Amboise. it is about a 30-45 minutes drive. This is how you get to Amboise from Paris. If you need the itty-gritty details, post me a question and we can text/talk about this... lot of advice as I would EASILY repeat this vacation again!

Thank you all for your suggestions. The best option seems to be to take Le Bus Direct to Montparnasse, where there are 8 trains a day to Amboise, or at least to St-Pierre-des-Corps.

In my opinion, the best option is to take the TGV from CDG to Tours. I've taken it - it works great.

The 2 Saturday options to Tours are either an 11 minute transfer time, or a 2 hour transfer time in Le Mans, and we'd still have to taxi to Amboise.

Not to quibble, but I'd be cautious about napping on the train, though you will be sorely tempted to succumb. Napping could prolong jet lag.

If you are talking about the 11 minute connection for the change from the 10:16 TGV from CDG to the TER to Amboise, St Pierre des Corps only has 2 platforms and 3 tracks. Likleyhood is that it will be a cross-platform connection, and if not, it is only 3 minutes at most to make the cross-over the other platform.

Hi sus, in September we traveled from Basel, Switzerland to Amboise, France by train. We arrived in Paris at Gare de Lyon and walked across the bridge to Gare Austerlitz. There was a direct train from Gare Austerlitz to Amboise. We booked with Rail Europe and paid a small fee for their service. I was only able to see a few trains on the Captaine and SNCF sites. Rail Europe gave me more options that better fit our timetable.

We spent five nights in Amboise and absolutely loved it. It was my third time in the town and I think there's something very special about it. Hope you enjoy your trip!

Thanks you Donna!
This looks promising, as LeBusDirect's first stop from CDG airport is Gare de Lyon (estimated at 50 min from airport), and a non-stop train, even if it's not a TGV is attractive!
thanks,
Susan

Keep in mind its about 1/2 mile walk (10 minutes) with your luggage to get from where Le Bus Direct drops you in front of Gare de Lyon to Gare d'Austerlitz. There is also the city bus No 91 from there to close to Austerlitz.

The direct train to Amboise is at 12:58, otherwise next one is at 17:37. And that is only Monday to Friday. Almost no direct service on the weekends.

Hi sus, I didn't think it was a big deal walking from Gare de Lyon to Gare Austerlitz (we each had a 21" roller and carry-on). The hardest part was trying to figure out how to get out of Gare de Lyon. We asked at the information desk and then walked around the train station for about 5 minutes trying to find the exit... There are cabs if you need one. We took the 17:37 train and arrived in Amboise at 19:18.

The train station in Amboise is about a 10 minute walk across two bridges to "downtown" Amboise. The station is very small. I didn't see any cabs but you could probably call one to pick you up. We were travelling on a Friday.

The trains from Basel to Amboise were great. Every one was on time and we didn't have any problems at all.

Thank you all for your advise.
You've helped us decide to change our apt reservation in the 5th so we can now move in the day we arrive in France. This gives us the freedom of the whole month to catch a train from Paris to Amboise with nothing more than our over-night bags. The prospect of changing trains and phoning for a taxi now becomes part of the adventure... :-)
Susan