Since the rail passes are no longer good for the Paris to Venice trains, has anyone taken a cheap flight out of Beauvais airport north of Paris? Pros? Cons?
The train to Beauvais from Paris Nord is just a little over an hour. Does it stop at the airport? How much time does it take to clear security? Thank you.
Beauvais airport doesn't have it's own station: there are bus services from the bus station or the railway station in central Beauvais to the airport (http://www.beauvais.fr/docs/transport/1108-horaires-2011-2012.pdf, then go to page 23). There are also direct bus services which are probably more convenient from Paris Porte Maillot (on the north-west edge of Paris between central Paris and la Defence, metro line 1 from central Paris): see http://www.aeroportbeauvais.com/bus.php?lang=eng. If you are flying from Beauvais you'll probably be with Ryanair: be warned that their fee structure is somewhat opaque, that you have to print your own boarding pass at home, and that their hand luggage size policy is very, very strict.
Thank you for the helpful information. I had seen the bus and was trying to save pennies as I am traveling with a small group of students. It does seem like a better option. We travel with small backpacks and a small day bag so I will double check about that.
Other airlines fly Paris-Venice with more convenient airports. Check out EasyJet at www.easyjet.com for one example.
If you do fly Ryan Air, their policy is one bag only for Carry-on, and they don't mean a day bag, plus a purse, etc. They mean one bag. It has to fit in their measuring rack and it has to be under 10 kg.
Barb,, look at Easyjet or Vueling( I have used Vueling it was great, and have Easyjet booked for this summer) ,, they use the better airports. I would really really hesitate to use Beauvais,,,its alot farther then an hour, its 90 kms away, on a bus, minimally an hour and half,, and some of the flight times suck,, leaving at 6 am,, you want to find a night bus,, good luck,, I would not fly out of Beauvais cause Ryanair might be 10 euros cheaper,since you will pay more then that( extra ) to get to airport.
Barb, go to Whichbudget.com and plug in your route. They will pull up most of the lo-cost carriers tht ply that route.