Travel from Paris to Edinburgh

We flew Easy Jet from Edinburgh to Paris in 2010 - you might check if that flight is still available. It was about $25 each for the checked bags.

You can book a direct train to Edinburgh unless you mean a non-stop or no change. Then you can not. You at a map. Edinburgh is a long ways but almost due north of Paris and a little to the west. Take the Eurostar to London, switch stations and take the train from London to Edinburgh. I would view that as direct as you are going to get.

Thank you both for the information. What I saw on the web sites on the planes indicated much higher and complicated baggage rules and rates on different airlines. Maybe I need to talk directly to a reservation clerk.
Regarding the train, I understand having to change trains in London, but was unable to find a single site to book the entire trip. Does one need to separately book the two different train rides on different sites? Also, it appears I cannot reserve a train more than about 60 days in advance.

If you go to some place like Rail Europe, they will book everything for you - with the appropriate fees, etc. But it is easy to do yourself. Just book Eurostar to London and from London on. You would have two tickets. With both Eurostar and British rail, the earlier you book the cheaper it is.

Book the train from Paris to London at www.eurostar.com and from London to Edinburgh at www.eastcoast.co.uk. The Eurostar will arrive in London at Saint Pancras station, and you then need to follow the signs to Kings Cross station to take the train to Edinburgh (literally just the opposite side of the road). Do be aware that if you book one of the very cheap tickets available from Kings Cross to Edinburgh you will be strictly tied to that individual train, so leave plenty of time in case the Eurostar is delayed. However, I personally think that the differences in time/convenience/price are such that I would fly unless you have real phobia/environmentalist reasons for preferring the train.

While I love trains, in this case I suggest that you fly on a budget airline. Both easyJet and Flybe have direct flights from CDG to Edinburgh. Ryanair usually has the cheapest fares, but Beauvais is a 90-minute bus ride from Paris. All budget airlines have luggage number, size, and weight limits. If you exceed them, the fees can be fairly high. Be sure to observe the strict check-in deadlines. If you don't have a boarding pass in hand when the deadline arrives, your ticket will be worthless. However, if you decide to take the train, follow Philip's booking instructions. To get the lowest fares, book your Eurostar tickets up to 120 days in advance and your London-Edinburgh tickets up to 12 weeks in advance. I'll re-emphasize what Philip said about allowing some extra connection time. A discount fare ticket will be worthless if you miss the train. Last-minute London-Edinburgh tickets are pricey.

Excellent information and I thank you all very much. I suspect we will probably fly, but we will each have one large check in bag and a medium carry on, so we will have to carefully review the baggage requirements and costs when ticketing. Part of my confusion on the baggage is that on one website it claimed that some of the cheap airlines allowed a free checked bag (hard to believe), and on another it stated 25 Euro for up to 20KG, and then huge costs if it exceeded 20KG by even a little, so need to get to the bottom of that.

Don't forget that time is money when deciding your mode of travel! It may be cheaper to check an extra bag to avoid going over 20kg/44lbs per bag - just bring a flat, lightweight bag in the bottom of your suitcase for the overflow. Or, wear it ;-)