Whether to pre-purchase train tickets CDG to Lyon

Noon is too soon after a 10:00 a.m. arrival. I am leery of a plane arriving late or a slow trip through immigration/customs. Are you planning on the TGV from the airport to Lyon? That is a nice 2 hour train ride. It is always better to buy your TGV tickets early if you can because the ticket prices go up as the travel day gets closer. Just don't book a ride too close to flight arrival time. If you walk up to purchase for the same day you will pay the highest price. (I may be overly cautious, but a 3 hour gap is even too close for me, but then I am the sort who always arrives early, wherever I go.)

Hi Globetrotter,

I'm waiting for April 11th tix for the same route to become available.

My flight lands at ~2:00pm Paris time. I'm opting for 6:00pm over 3:00pm tickets since even 'tho I'm in the section closest to the cockpit, I'll still have to de-plane, go through passport control, do the new EES thing, and still get to the station.

My .02

-- Mike Beebe

I'd compare the current (non-refundable) ticket price for your arrival date to the full fare (price for traveling today). How large is the difference? If it's not a great deal of money, I might judge it not worth the risk to buy in advance. The risk is not only financial (if plane is canceled or extremely late, your ticket could be worthless). If your flight is early and everything goes swimmingly, will you be happy hanging around until your prebooked train departs 3 hours (or whatever) later?

Yes, buy your tickets in advance. That route from the airport fills up. If you are going to be late or early you can exchange your tickets for earlier or later departures using the app if seats are available. It costs 19 euros and any difference in price for the change. I did exactly that 3 days ago, opting for a train 2 hours later.
In our situation, the one direct train to our city from CDG was full, while the others had one or two changes, so we took a taxi to the Gare de Lyon area, went to a restaurant we like to eat and relax across the street from the station. Then we had an easy ride home to our city.

I did this just over a year ago. As has already been mentioned, you save alot of money by booking your train tickets in advance. In this case, we landed at CDG at 7:05 am and our train was departing at 8:55 am for Lyon. Obviously, this was a very tight connection given all the things that might not go according to plan - a late arrival, a long wait at customs, etc - but the price was so low (I think maybe 19 euros -it was a Ouigo train) that I couldn't resist. I knew it was a gamble, but it was a risk I was willing to take, given the price and the fact that I hate killing hours before a train when I am jet-lagged. I figured that if we missed the train, we would just either pay full price for a subsequent departure from CDG or do as Elizabeth had done (I can't remember if the conditions of our tickets allowed for an exchange, but if so, her advice is excellent as always) - get ourselves into Paris and depart from Gare de Lyon on any of the many trains going to Lyon that day.

As it was, we had plenty of time, even grabbing a coffee and something to eat before boarding the train. I was very glad I had taken a chance but there were no guarantees and it could have easily gone the other way. So, it depends on your level of tolerance for risk and losing a bit of money, potentially.

OUIGO has a choice to resell your ticket but not to refund it. IDK about exchanging for a different OUIGO train. OUIGO is a different system and ticket from regular TGV service with different comfort and rules.

Thanks so much everyone for your advice! Our tickets haven't opened up yet but I'll be safe and purchase something after 1 pm to be safe. I knew this was the place to post!!!