Cheap Airfare from CDG to AMS

No discount airline flies that run because the high speed trains between those two cities have taken away most of their business.

Oh thanks for the info! Have you ever rode on the Thayls train? Have you traveled from CDG to AMS?

Would you recommend purchasing the the Benelux-France Pass? I'm going to be traveling throughout those two countries? Is it hard to get around in Amsterdam and Belgium?

I've taken the train from AMS to CDG and AMS to Paris Nord, and it's a nice ride....about 4 hours.
However, the Thalys doesn't stop at CDG. To catch it, you'll have to take the regional commuter train into Paris Nord and pick it up there.
The other option is to take one of the TGV trains that stops at CDG then links up with the Thalys (or a cheaper, but half an hour slower intercity train) in Brussels. Journey times for TGV-Thalys combo (including the wait at Brussels) and the prices are roughly the same, but avoids you schlepping all your luggage onto the RER for the ride into Paris.
Check out www.thalys.com and www.tgv-europe.com . For the latter, keep your country set to "Great Britain" to avoid being shunted over to RailEurope.

The pass probably isn't worth it. The train systems in both Belgium and the Netherlands are more like giant commuter rail systems....go to the train station, buy a ticket, and jump on. Distances, and times, aren't very long, and prices are very affordable.

Wow! Thanks for all the information. =)

So it'll still be cheaper even if I can get the youth price of $235?

How much is the rail system in Amsterdam and Belgium?

I want to go to other cities as well such as Delft and Haarlem

Amsterdam-Delft is about 11 Euro one way, and that's probably one of the longer journeys you'll take. At that price, you'll need to make eight round trips that long to make the pass break even. Amsterdam-Haarlem is about 4 Euro o/w...Amsterdam-Utrecht is about 7 Euro o/w....even Amsterdam-Groningen (about as far as you can go by train in the Netherlands) is only 16 Euro o/w. Same day returns are less expensive than two one-way fares....some times 40% less.

Kristen,

One comment regarding your question on the Railpass. For travel on the Thalys, TGV and other high speed trains, reservations are compulsory. These are NOT included with Railpasses, so must be purchased separately.

OTOH, with P-P tickets the reservation fees are included in the price. Reservations are generally not required on the slower regional trains.

Cheers!

Morning and early afternoon direct TGVs from CDG to Bruxelles-Midi depart at 07:47, 10:10, and 12:35. Then there is a gap until 16:03. If those departure times don't fit well with your flight's arrival time, then you'll need to do what others have said. Take the RER B from CDG to Gare du Nord in Paris and a Thalys train from there to Amsterdam.

Booking in advance online for either TGVs at www.tgv-europe.com or Thalys trains at www.thalys.com can get you very good discount fares, but those tickets are for a specific departure date and time. They are non-exchangeable and non-refundable so you have to allow plenty of time between your flight's scheduled arrival time and your train's scheduled departure time.

Norm's spot on - you'd be hard pressed to get enough use out of your pass to make it less expensive than just buying your tickets at the station. Public transportation in those two countries is so incredibly easy and inexpensive.

Wow! Thanks for all the information. This helped me out a lot.

What are some of the major cities I should visit in Belgium?