We need to be in airport by 13pm (our flight back to US at 15:40) on Monday June 25. How bad could be the traffic in France? Specially near airport area? Google map showing 2 hours drive. I know if I drive to LAX (Los Angeles Airport) I am giving extra 50% of "map time" :)
Any experience ?
No way!
When my in-laws lived in the Auxerre area, we counted 2.5 hours to the Porte d'Orleans, which is the furthest southern area of Paris. I've made this trip many times.
Since you need to be at the airport at 12:40 minimum, you should allow five hours to get there, return the car and be in line. Traffic will slow down or jam about 15k south of Paris, just before Orly. It could be stop-and-go until way on the other side of Paris, or it could flow but slowly. I have spent 2 hours going from Orly to CDG more than once.
Personally, I would be in the Paris area the night before, turn in my rental car and take a taxi or RER B to the airport leaving around 11:30 am. In fact, that's exactly what we did a couple of weeks ago for an afternoon flight.
Given you will need to fuel the car before turning it in and then get to the terminal, and the consensus for CDG is 3 hours MINIMUM for an international flight, if your wheels are not turning by 8AM, I am not betting in your favor to make your flight.
I do not have recent experience at CDG, however I prefer to stay near the airport on the night before departure, especially when the departure is as early as you have. Somehow the last few hours seem to "disappear" on the day of departure.
Thank you. Wow. Now I am thinking maybe We need to choose other city for one night stay-over from Antibes. Closer to airport?
First we wanted to buy air tickets, but all tickets earlier in the morning on Sunday (we are flying back to US on Monday afternoon). Train - very long not direct to airport drive and not cheap ( for 4 people we need to choose 1 class to be together). But go to Paris - too many iterations, after 16 days of travel, I think we will be a little tired.
I know driving in the car also no so easy, but 4 of us can drive and we can do stops every 2 hours. What you guys thinking? anybody had these experience? What I defiantly doesn't want to do - to be tired and to stuck in traffic in day of flying back, knowing to be on plain for 12 hours
Coming up from Antibes, yes, that's a good place to stop. Just be on the road by 8 am. in case you run into a bad traffic jam going around Paris on a weekday.
But many people do that drive in one day, so you should be able to drive on into Paris, turn in the car and spend the night, especially with multiple drivers. BUT, you are driving north on a Sunday, so there will be a bit of traffic until later in the evening. The good news is that the sun sets late on June 24th, so you can drive with daylight until about 10:30 pm.
Or you could stop in Dijon or Lyon, turn in the car and get a TGV train directly to the airport or to Paris. But I'd opt to keep driving and sleep in Paris.
2 years ago we caught an AM train from Lyon that went straight to Charles deGaulle. The train takes 2 hours. This is technically risky, but in our case we made our afternoon flight with hours to spare even though there was a rail strike going on.
Plus, Lyon beats the pants off of Auxerre (based on visits to both cites).
Other possibility: Fly from Nice.
Thank you very much, I'll take your advice and we will drive strait to any hotel near airport. I check the calendar June 25 - is not a strike day. I hope it will be less traffic. If we'll have time we will return a car if not we can do it in the morning.
If I already started this post , can you suggest us couple of 1-2 hours stops (not a big and busy cities) on our roads from Antibes to CDG ? I can check the maps - but it not the same if people visited. Maybe small village(s) and restaurant and short sightseeing walk near river or lake(20-30 minutes ). 3-4 stops will be nice
Thank you very very much!
Some ideas:
All of these towns will pull you off the autoroute, making your stops about an hour instead of 20 minutes.
Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume (about 2 hours from Antibes) or Aix-en-Provence, a small city
Vienne, before Lyon, a small city with Roman origins.
Auxerre!! likewise, a small city or Noyers before Auxerre, very small, almost a village.
Other: Dinner at a rest stop on the autoroute.
Pack a picnic to eat at a rest stop.
Frankly, there's a lot to see and do at these French rest stops--just people watching, eating, even shopping.
I believe Auxerre would be a charming place to make an en route stop. There are a couple of excellent restaurants and I enjoy looking at the canal boats parked in the basin.
You should be able to make CDG in 2½ hours but I would add an extra 30 minutes just to be sure (you´re not going to be driving anywhere near Porte d´Orléans). Take A6 to A5 to A104 and orbit well to the east of Paris. There is a place on the autoroute, just a few miles from CDG, to refuel at Mitry-Mory. Exit A104 at N2, proceed north and connect to D212 entering CDG from the east, not from A1 on the west.
Take a look on a map and you´ll see how easy this is. It avoids a lot of traffic. Taking a train to CDG to catch a transatlantic flight for me would be risky business.
