transportation from the Paris airport to our airbnb

I can't add any suggestions about a pick up service, but I would suggest you watch one of the You Tube videos about options getting from CDG airport to Paris. If you are arriving in Orly I am sure there are videos about that, too. I like the videos that Les Frenchies produce.

Passport Control can be under 30 minutes or over an hour, I have had both happen to me.

You can always take an official taxi, set price rate between Right or Left Bank. The standard vehicle can take 4 folks plus luggage, you can also ask for a van taxi when approaching the front of the official taxi line. The plus over a bus or RER train is the taxi takes you directly to your lodging. Of course, you all will be a caravan heading into the city.

I'm sure someone will add the current pricing between the Left & Right Banks.

In 2014 I did use this shuttle service, https://paris-shuttle.com/en/

Hope all goes well.

Taking the bus with 13 people and luggage is not realistic. This would be a public bus, not a private one, and the line would depend on where your Airbnb is. Still, this would be my last choice.

Taxis will fit 4 (maybe 5) max plus luggage. Each taxi will be a fixed rate (about 65€). This might be cheaper than the shuttle you had planned. Print out the address of the place, split your group up into 3-4 groups. Give the address printout to someone in each group. Go to the official taxi line at the airport. Do not accept any other offers of taxis - they are scams. Hand the address printout to the taxi driver, and your group will all meet at the airBnB.

Or you could take the RER (train), but without knowing where your apartment is, we can’t direct you. The price would probably be about the same as taking 4 taxis. Taxis will be much easier.

Taxis! Perpetual departures. Cost-wise probably a wash compared to renting a bus. Official line easy to find, safe and trouble free.

In some of Kathryn's previous posts she has mentioned that her group includes an infant and a toddler.

The bus your friend is probably talking about is the Roissybus which takes you to the Paris Opera area.

https://easycdg.com/roissybus-paris-cdg-de-gaulle-airport/

I would not try to use the bus or RER to get from the airport to the city with a large group including kiddos, in August when it may be hot.

suntransfers.com is a service that has had positive comments on this site. No personal experience.

Looks like you would need 2 vans totaling around $300 for door to door service, to somewhere in 'Paris".

A 1030 pick up does not seem like a long wait. By the time you clear the logistical processing, collect bags, have a potty stop, you might have time for a quick but unrushed snack.

If Pam is correct about your group composition, any kind of public transport seems a miserable choice and with the number of cabs your group would need, a meet n greet shuttle service probably is not any meaningful higher cost than several cabs.

Landing at 8:10, then deplaning, immigration, and baggage claim could take awhile. Your group will move as fast as its slowest member, i.e. the person whose bag is the last to appear on the carousel. Two hours and 20 minutes should be enough time to get through all that and get to your shuttle, maybe a little more than you need, but added stress on arrival morning is what you don't need. I think 10:30 is a good pickup time, maybe on the conservative side but that's OK. Take a coffee break, freshen up, and find the shuttle.

If your group is 13, or anything like that, then a private shuttle makes more sense than public transportation or a bunch of taxis. It might help to know where your airbnb is.

large taxis take 7 although there will be luggage in laps with that many -- it is 62 to the left bank plus an additional 12 for the 3 extra passengers. Of you could take 3 cabs. The dispatcher can call up large/van cabs for you. You may7 need to wait a bit.

It took us 2 hours fro landing to the cab line in April but that was longer than usual. You won't have too long a wait for that shuttle if you go that way. but taxis are an option.

From deplaning to exiting the customs door, 2 hours is a good estimate. By the time you assembled 13 people, 10h30 is probably a reasonable pickup time, assuming your CDG arrival is on time.

Taxis can take up to 7 passengers with a reasonable amount of luggage, probably one each. Rue des Vinaigriers is just in front of Gare de l´Est, on the Right Bank. The fixed taxi fare will be 55€ plus 4.50€ each for the 5th, 6th, and 7th passenger or 68.50€. Drivers are not tipped.

You could take the 350 bus, connect to the 38 bus which would pass by your airbnb. Alternatively, the 351 bus, connecting to the 56 bus. Either option requires one ticket t+ at 2.10€ pp. I do not recommend either of these options if you have luggage.

Should we (can we?) set up taxi pickups ahead of time?

Can we?

Yes, https://www.g7.fr/en/discover-our-services/taxi-roissy-cdg-charles-de-gaulle-airport

Should we?

There is a lot to consider. Do you really know that your inbound aircraft will be on time? Do you know how long you will be in passport control? Are you sure no one will be delayed with a luggage concern (there are 13 people)? Do you want to pay wait charges of up to 38€ per hour if you do not show on time?

Before I committed to a specific pickup time, I would want to know what happens if I am late.

Oh, yes… good point! Is there typically an abundance of taxis available (especially the larger ones) that we’ll be able to hail when we’re all gathered and ready?

At any given time, there are 50+ taxis waiting in the holding area to be sent to the terminal pickup areas. Just tell the agent at the loading area what you need. Be sure to only use the official taxi queues, just follow the signs to taxis.

The people managing the perpetual, long line of official taxis have seen you/your group before, many times over. They will fit you all in appropriate cabs that will take you to your AirBnb no problem. It's easy.

Make sure each group can show the driver the address, on paper or on a phone.

Here's a video that clearly walks you through CDG international arrival to the official taxi cue:

https://youtu.be/7FWfz1FP7RE

Thanks everyone! It looks like the consensus is that taxis are the best option./most affordable for our large group. Agree? 😊

When we were at CDG in June there were footprints on the floor that directed you to the official taxi rank. Don’t get scooped up by anyone else, no matter how well they’re dressed or how official they look.

break into a group of 6 and a group of 7 and ask the dispatcher for a big cab. You can hold up fingers to let him know; he should be able to call up van cabs. If you have lots of big bags, you may want to take 3 cabs.

So... if we were to take the Paris Metro, how far would we have to walk to get to our airbnb (63 rue des Vinaigriers)? (Just checking, as our son
found this route to our airbnb from the airport.)

Take Paris metro train B (blue) to Gare du Nord.
Transfer to Orange Line to Gare de l'Est.
Walk to airbnb.

Kathryn, just go to Google maps and get walking directions from Gare de l'Est to 63 rue des Vinaigriers. That will give you a good approximation, although if you do have a baby and toddler and 13 people all together, I would definitely tack on more time.

FWIW, I just did that it it looks like it's a 6 minute walk (not accounting for what I mentioned above).

Kathryn, politely, forget about the Metro. Take taxis to and from the airport. Trust the many people telling you this.

I just returned from a wonderful trip to France with my sister and two nieces (11 and 15). Our group was one-third the size of yours, and there was no way in hell I was going to navigate bags and people on the Metro and RER with three other people. I've been going to France for 30 years, know the train systems very well, don't overpack, and it's not worth it unless I'm by myself.
--The combined train fare per person from CDG into Paris is like 11/12 euros. Four people in a cab, and you're only paying a bit more.
--Some of you, if not all, will be exhausted. And you've never been to Paris. You really want to find out where the bus is?
--Going up and down Metro stairs with suitcases sucks. It sucked when I was in my 20s, but I didn't have much money. Now that I am (ahem) not in my 20s, it really sucks.

I could go on. But please, for your sanity and your group's well-being, takes taxis.

Mardee is correct, but why use the RER? You won't be saving time most likely, most likely will take longer with the switch. And you won't be saving money - full taxis are about a wash.

It's kind of fun to immediately immerse yourself into the big city metro system, but then again, you're tired, jet lagged, disoriented, and hauling a lot of stuff and a lot of people. There's not a chance that you will be sized up by pickpockets; it's basically a 100% guarantee that that minimum they will be eyes on your group. And then you walk. It's nice to be close to the train station, but the area that you are in is a bustling busy mix of people. Out of everywhere in Paris it for some reason feels the most middle class NYC to me, the types of people, the types of storefronts, the way the traffic moves, etc.

I've traveled a lot, and live in a city with most of the typical stuff you need to keep your head up for in a city. The RER/Metro into Paris is completely doable, all will survive just fine and get to the destination. It would be a little adventure.

But if I was making this choice, I would just use airport taxis. Once you get dropped off right in front of your place, you can go right in, wash faces, choose rooms, change clothes maybe, and then head out to the market to pick up some cold drinks and snacks without having to drag along neither very tired people, nor a bunch of luggage.

Well, you could split up. Some of the adults could take the RER combo and the grandparents, the infant and the toddler (and assuming they will have car seats along?) and their paraphernalia and maybe a parent apiece can take a cab in to town from the airport.

That's a good idea, Pam - that would lower the cost and it will definitely be easier to find cabs/shuttles for a smaller group.

The RER B/métro is 11.45€ per person, or more than the price of 6 in a taxi (68.70€ vs a taxi at 64€). 7 in a taxi is significantly cheaper than 7 tickets for the RER B (80.15€ vs a taxi at 68.50€).

Remember, taxi drivers are not tipped.