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Roissy Bus or RER B to CDG Airport?

Hi all, Is Roissy Bus or RER B a better option to go to CDG airport for two people? Our flight leaves at 12:15pm on 11/7/12 (American Airline) and we plan to leave 6-7am in the morning because we need to do VAT return. We will be leaving from Rue Du Caire (75002). thanks!

Posted by
9110 posts

Price is about the same. Duration is about the same. With the bus in the mix you'll have one less line change, but the metro/rer changes using only rail are in easy stations. It might be a bit more of a hump with luggage gettin the bus at Opera. I'd call it a dead wash. I'd be idly curious as to what you're buying that the vat is so important.

Posted by
228 posts

Jenny,
We just returned from Paris yesterday and took the RER B from central Paris to CDG terminal 2, and we flew the exact same flight back too! TAKE THE ROISSY BUS OR A PRIVATE CAR. We took the RER at 9:30 and it took us until 11 am to get there due to multiple delays... and you're stuck on the RER. Think of this, the RER costs almost 10 euros/person and you lug your luggage... and those get really heavy really fast. Hop aboad the Roissy bus... no lugging you luggage... and the next stop, your terminal! Also, the VAT is so fast... it took us three minutes to do this and it's near the AA terminal... directly across from the Information booth, and the post-box is a few steps away from there. Don't get to the terminal too early... you'll be bored to death. Also, your purchase... if you can, you can check it as an additional piece of luggage for a mere $50. We bought $2K worth of copper pots/pans from E. Dehillerin and they wanted $400 to ship them. We had them box the pans up, checked them at the airport, and the next time we saw them was in the States!

Posted by
172 posts

Thanks for the suggestions. I heard there are often delays on the RER that's why I'm more leaning to the Roissy Bus. I think we might just walk to Opera from our apartment instead of dragging our luggage up and down in the metro station stairs (20 min walk according to google map). How is the traffic from Paris to CDG around 7am in the morning? Jenny

Posted by
172 posts

Thanks all, I'll keep my option open. If I decide to take RER B, would it be better to take it from Châtelet station (google map says it is about 13 min walk) instead of taking M4 then transfer at Gare du Nord station? I heard Châtelet is a big station, is it rather complicate to find my way inside? Where can I find the RER B delay schedule? Jenny

Posted by
8700 posts

According to viamichelin.com, Rue du Caire is about equi-distant from Reaumur-Sebastopol and Strasbourg - Saint-Denis, both of which are on Metro line 4 and are a lot closer than Chatelet.

Posted by
9110 posts

Rer/metro delays are planned well in advance and publicized - - they shouldn't be a surprise. Surface traffic can unpredictably snarl at any time, just like anywhere else. I drive a lot and know enough that I can wiggle around most anything, but I've still had times (even early in the morning) where it took me more than an hour to cover the ground that would normally have taken twenty minutes. If I had a choice and there were no previously announced delays on the rer lines, I'd use rail every time. The current weekend delays on the B line have been common knowledge for seven evers. I've forgotten when the construction is supposed to be finished.

Posted by
10633 posts

We know from experience that ground traffic into CDG can be extremely snarled early in the morning, to the tune of an hour delay. Rue du Caire is not far from the 4 metro line, which means your only change would be at Gare du Nord.

Posted by
9110 posts

http://parisbytrain.com/tag/rer-b-schedule/ has the general gist in a paragraph header 'WARNING' in red. This pretty much duplicates what's been in the news, with a thousand variations. Short-term notifications generally are posted in the vicinity of the ticket windows/machines. Poke your nose in a B line station the day before, see what you can hive out, then make your decision.

Posted by
172 posts

Thanks for the suggestion! Do I need a separate t+ ticket for the Metro and a separate RER ticket for taking RER B? Or can I buy the RER B ticket (9.25 Euro) at the closest metro station and take the metro then connect RER B? Just to keep my option open. -How is the surface road traffic from Paris to CDG around 7am in the morning on a weekday?

Posted by
10633 posts

You use the same ticket for the metro and RER B to get to CDG. You can buy it in advance at any ticket window and just keep it in your wallet until you need it. It looks the same as a regular metro ticket so keep it separated. Surface traffic on the freeway out there is dense but not jammed. It's when you hit the exit for the airport that it gets jammed. Thousands of people are funneled onto the same roads serving the terminals. Hundreds and hundreds of flights leave from this airport every morning. If you are early enough, like at 7 am for a noon flight, it won't matter if you sit in traffic on a bus. You'd still get there three hours ahead of time for your flight.

Posted by
10213 posts

Sorry to contradict Ed, but while oftentimes delays or blockages on the RER are announced in advance, there are unfortunately frequent unannounced delays due to unforeseen circumstances. Let's just say I'm happy I do not rely on the RER for my daily commute, because the frequency with which I see a notice on the monitors in the stations that there is a slowdown on one of the RER lines -- well, it would make me crazy. It can be a good alternative for getting to the airport, but it's not always the fastest way via public transport.

Posted by
117 posts

I found it quite easy to use the RER trains this month while I was in Paris. I took the train from the airport to Gare de Nord then a taxi to my hotel. I did the same thing when I left, took a taxi to Gare de Nord then the train to the airport. I arrived on a Thursday at 10:am and left on a Sunday at 7:30am. All the escalators were working, did not have to lug my luggage up and down the stairs, there was an elevator I did use at one point. Neither of my trains were delayed in any way. Easy.

Posted by
172 posts

Hi all, We are flying out from CDG on 11/6. I think RER-B will be in construction until November 2012 and they will provide a direct bus service instead. If that's the case, will the Roissy bus be a better option? http://www.aeroportsdeparis.fr/ADP/en-GB/Passagers/Access-maps-car-parks/Paris-CDG/Access/public-transport/paris-cdg-rerb.htm Due to work, there will be no train between Charles De Gaulle Airport and Aulnay-sous-Bois on Monday to Friday from 23:05 to the last train, until november 2012. Trains will be replaced by a direct bus service. To CDG Airport : departs from Aulnay-sous-Bois station. To Paris : departs from Roissypôle - CDG Airport bus station. Allow an additional 15 to 20 minutes for the journey. thanks!
Jenny

Posted by
56 posts

We flew back home on Thursday, flight left CDG @ 11:30. We took a taxi from Rue Commerce Metro station in the 15th and cost was 50e. Roissy Bus will cost you 20e. Traffic was heavy but actually flowed ok. We do take the bus when we arrive, and then catch the metro the rest of the way. If your choice is to do the sea bag drag from Rue du Clair to Opera then I would opt for a taxi. The metro is pretty slow that early inthe morning but no way would I consider the metro in rush hour with luggage. http://www.taxisg7.com/taxis/commande-taxis?tg7=1e9bb6bb05cf5a716c75e34d834579caq This is a link to a taxi website that allows you to book online or call a number to have an English speaking dispatcher, we called the night before and they were waiting for us at 6:30 the next morning. I don't know how the American terminal is but in the US Air terminal once you go past security you have no options for food, coffee, anything. Probably more than you wanted to know but thought it could help. We also found on our two most recent trips that getting there early makes the checking a breeze at the ticket counter.
Bon Yoyage

Posted by
179 posts

Our flight is on a Monday moring at 10:15(really bad planning - no wonder the flight was cheap!) from CDG to Dublin. We were planning on the RER, but I guess we should rule that out. I would hate to spend so much on a taxi.
How about the Air France bus?

Posted by
112 posts

Take the Roissy Bus, they are doing track work on they weekends on the RER and we had to take a bus from the airport to another station. That was two weeks ago. Another time someone threw themselves on the train tracks committing suicide and it took HOURS to get to the airport.

Posted by
11507 posts

Nancy you are taking an inter europeon flight, not a transalantic flight, check in times are not as bad. I think you could easily leave by 7 am and be there in plenty of time. And Jenny, one poster claimed they whizzed through VAT, they were lucky, most people do not whiz through it and complain of very slow moving lines. btw, I understand there is the option of having it mailed to you ( faster time in line) or getting it there, from what I have constantly read getting it mailed can take many months. Just a thought, I would rather wait at airport for an hour doing that then wait months for collection. Finally if you bought enough stuff to do a VAT( min. 175 in one store) then I think you could afford a taxi. I would take a taxi. Traffic going out of Paris in morning won't be that bad, its coming in traffic thats heavier in am, plus their rush hour is a bit later as many places don't open till 9 or 10.

Posted by
179 posts

We are changing planes in Dublin then onto Boston. Does that matter?