train from CDG to Colmar

I haven't done this, exactly, but I think it is a very reasonable connection unless you have mobility issues or travel with a ton of stuff. You could look at an advanced ticket purchase, which might save you some money.

Lin,
We caught the TGV train right from CDG airport, and with your 3 hour wait, you'll spend half of that time waiting in the train station seats. Absolutely buy the tickets online in advance! You print them off on your computer and put them with your itenerary/tickets and the conductor scans them after you're on board. Words of first-hand advice : 1. do not waste your $$ on first class tickets... the seats are almost exactly the same as 2nd class... it's not swiss-air 2. just like the plane, you must sit only on your assigned seat in your assigned car. to do this, when you're waiting for the train to arrive, align yourself on the platform to get aboard the correct car, you'll see signs telling you where to stand. The train stops for only minutes. Get aboard the right car and find your seat, if there's someone else sitting in it, politley kick them out and stand your ground until they get up and move... it's your seat and if you sit in someone else's... even if half the car is empty, they will kick you out too, 3. stash your luggage where you can see it.

The disadvantage of buying discount rail tickets in advance is that they are strictly limited to a single train. If your flight is delayed and you miss the train you booked on you will be required to buy a new ticket at full fare.

Odds are this works fine. If you are thinking of purchasing discount tickets you can definitely save some money, but then you're on the hook for full fare should you miss the train. My personal approach is that planes get you where you're supposed to go on the day of the flight, but not necessarily at the time you expect. On my last 3 trips to Europe from the West Coast, 2 of them had delays of 2+ hours. The most recent one, we are at the gate, they give the doors closing announcement, then the pilot comes on. We're going to wait for a passenger that missed the boarding calls, consequently we will miss our takeoff slot and have to wait about 2 hours to depart. And that's good news, he adds. Because the passenger had checked luggage, and without the passenger on board they'd have to empty the luggage hold to get her luggage out. Which would take even longer. If I was in your place I'd probably pay up for the full-fare train ticket in case the plane is delayed. But what I'd be more likely to do is spend the day in Paris. As planned, by the time you get into Colmar, find your hotel from the train station, drop your bags, etc. the tourist day is going to be just about over; it will be about 4:30pm or later. Your plane landed at 10am and then you spent the rest of the day, tired from the flight, just getting to Colmar, with a lot of boring waiting. If you stay in Paris 1 nite then around 11am you could have bags dropped at a Paris hotel, go out for lunch and an afternoon sightseeing and getting over a bit of jetlag, then a bistro dinner and catch the first train you want in the a.m. This also absorbs any delay in arrival in Paris. Buy the discount train tix, the savings might pay for much of the hotel.

Thank you so much for all of your advice. Sometimes travel gets so overwhelming...or perhaps it is just the planning that gets overwhelming. I guess I just needed to know that if the flight is basically on time, that I will be able to find and get to the train station in time. Fingers crossed it all goes to plan.

Its only overwhelming when you try to do everything with the "optimal" solution. I do like John's suggestion of spending the night in Paris. You should be able to get a good price on the TGV to Colmar from Gare de L'Est. Its a hair less than 3 hours. There are 3 directs a day, 10:55, 12:55, &18:55 and advance fares are as low as 25 Eu.

And if you are willing to get up earlier there are weekday trains with 1 change that leave around 7:30am and 8:30am according to the SNCF website. A train without any changes is very convenient and is your fastest option, but the ones with a single connection only take 30-45 minutes more and get you there earlier. After a few trips, I've found I prefer trying to travel between cities in Europe either first thing in the morning or later in the day. Leaving early usually means I can be out and about at my destination around noon, so a good part of the day continues the vacation. Or if I go late in the day, say leave around 4-5pm, I have much of the day before I depart to explore the city, then arrive at my destination in time to check in and go get dinner. For me, a few hours of travel that spans the middle of the day leaves me feeling like it consumes the whole day. There's not much I can do in the morning with many sights not opening until 9am or 10am but me needing to head to the train or airport not long after. And arriving mid-afternoon doesn't leave a lot of time before sights close around 5-6pm. This is of course a highly personal opinion, but since this is an advice forum I figured I'd pass it along.

Thank you for the suggestion. Normally I too prefer to get up early and take a very early train. Unfortunately, in this case, we have a set time frame since 9:45am is the time our international flight gets in. We are still hoping to go to Colmar from CDG on the day of our arrival rather than going into Paris overnight since we are coming back at the end of our trip for an extended stay in Paris. I do realize we will miss most of our first day in France getting through the airport, waiting for trains and being on the train, however, we will stick to this plan in order to keep to our scheduled tour of France. Thanks to everyone for the input.