Sunday October 7th, 2018

I flew back to Seattle fairly easily on Tuesday.  For those leaving Paris and heading back to the USA, let me suggest a few tips for dealing with the notorious Aeroport Charles DeGaulle, CDG.  For those flying on Delta flights, Air France runs the ground operations of these flights which are considered Code Share.  You’ll want to have both your Delta confirmation number and your Air France one, if you can’t find the AF one, call Delta and they will provide it.  72 hours before the flight Air France takes control of the flight.  This means that it is almost impossible to get anything done during this time frame, so, if you want to upgrade a seat or change things, try to do it before the 72 hour window.  I once wasted the better part of a day trying to change seats.  You can’t call Air France on the phone, because it is the equivalent of a toll number, so your cell phone won’t work to call it and besides, they charge you a euro a minute to be on hold.  Going to the office of AF at Opera won’t work either, I tried this and the staff was unable to do a simple seat change, unable to print a boarding pass, completely useless.  So, check in on your phone and when you get to CDG, go straight to the automated kiosk.  Put your passport in and print out a boarding pass and you’ll be good to go.  If you can avoid checking a bag you’ll save yourself massive amounts of trouble, if you can’t, try to print the luggage tags at the kiosk otherwise you will be in the longest line you’ve every seen and will have a good chance of missing your flight, even if you are 3 hours early.  CDG generally only has a few people stamping passports for exiting the Schengen zone, worse on Sundays, so based on the last 3 trips, I would allow as much as 45 minutes for this step.  After that it will be a train to the correct terminal, you’ll need to know which one, and pay attention to the letter, 2E and 2F are completely different places.  Once you are through security and in the terminal, try to get yourself into the Air France lounge.  Various credit cards can do this, and I found my Alaska MVP Gold status does it for me.  (They almost always say no at first, then it takes them 10-15 minutes to figure it out)  The AF lounge has an excellent spread of food and lots of space.

A note on getting to CDG:  If you travel light and can negotiate some stairs with your bags, the RER is a reliable and cheap way to get to the airport.  If you have a Navigo Decouverte Transit pass (5Euros for the card, bring passport photo, available at any metro station, 23euros per week unlimited transit in Paris Monday-Sunday) the airport is included.  If you don’t, a ticket from anywhere in central Paris is about 11euros.  If you’d like to take a taxi, it’s a flat rate 55euros plus 7 euros if you call in advance to schedule.  You can also use Uber.  For solo travelers, the RER is by far the best deal and takes about 45 minutes to get to CDG on the B line.  It generally runs every 10 minutes, so no need to worry about a specific train.  Navigo Decouverte Pass

For an amusing essay on CDG
“CDG is France’s own Bermuda Triangle, where people and their luggage go quietly missing in huge quantities on a daily basis, only to emerge later, unable to explain what happened or where they have been.”- Alan Fox on CDG

Some general travel tips for those going to France:

Here are some things that I wouldn’t travel without,

Charcoal Capsules:  Great for when your stomach is upset or you may have food poisoning, these are really magic, don’t take your meds at the same time.  Charcoal Capsules

Silk Travel sack (I have a Sea to Summit)  Good when you are just given a bottom sheet and a duvet. Silk liner

Black electrical tape:  Wrap around a pill bottle, good for blocking those annoying LED pilot lights that are on almost everything and make it difficult to sleep.  Also bring some foam earplugs.

Flashlight:  Put this by your bed every night and use it whenever you get up during the night.  You don’t always remember where obstacles are in a strange room.  I use a Fenix LD10, no longer available but this is a close substitute.  Pick something that takes a normal AA or AAA battery.  Fenix LD12

Emergency Ponchos:  These can be bought for $2 and fit in a pocket, handy for those days when it may or may not rain.  Emergency Poncho

A packable day pack is extremely useful, my current favorite is:  Eddie Bauer packable daypack

Much smaller, but another don’t leave home without it is the Sea to Summit 20L which folds small enough to fit in your pocket:  Sea to Summit Ultrasil daypack

Pulsar Oral B electric Toothbrush:  Leave that 2 pound Sonicare, that you spent way too much money for, and that needs to be charged everyday at home and use one of these $7 disposable brushes.  Doesn’t need charging and only weighs a few ounces.  Pulsar Oral B Soft

Body Glide:  This is an antichafing product good for avoiding blisters, can also be used on any other areas that are chafing.  Body Glide

Sunscreen:  I like bullfrog clear SPF 50, but bring your favorite, also bring a Lip Sunscreen stick and a spare.  Bullfrog SPF50

Backup Phone battery:  This one is not very heavy and can easily charge an iphone  Anker Battery 6700mah

Plug adaptors:  Generally you won’t need a voltage converter, but you will need adaptors, put little address stickers on them and try not to leave them in recessed outlets, I use the Voltage Valet brand:  Voltage Valet B adaptor

If you really want American style coffee, you might take one of these, test it out at home first:  Sea to Summit folding coffee maker

And for you coffee fanatics, check out my page:  Coffee in Paris

For Paris, I highly recommend a map, much easier than the phone, although a combination of the two is helpful, try this plastic coated one:  Streetwise Paris Map

Pickpocket resistant clothes, these guys took forever to ship, but the quality is good: Clothing Arts

Bring a Ziplock bag with your favorite Antibiotic ointment, Hydrocortisone cream, allergy meds, Loperamide and other first aid items, it saves a lot of time if you have the essentials with you.

For questions around how to handle money and credit cards, I put up this page for people on the Camino, most of it applies:  Handling Money and Credit Cards

For a SIM card, you can buy this in advance, or find it in the RELAY stores at CDG.  Make sure your phone is unlocked and do not install until departure as 14 days starts counting when it hooks to a network.  It does allow tethering, is rechargeable (20 euros) and if you register, will stay active for 6 months after a charge.  Orange Holiday SIM

Here’s my “how to use a cellphone abroad” page, for Camino but same ideas:  Travel with Cell Phone

I have a list of general travel tips that’s worth a look and will give you some ideas:  Travel Tips

Travel Insurance, don’t leave home without it.  And NO, the one offered with your ticket is not adequate:  Travel Insurance  Hint:  Buy an annual plan if you travel often!