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We chose Barcelona; now some ?'s
Thank you all for your input last wk on cities to consider for a 5-day trip over Easter in Europe with my sister. We talked this wknd and decided on Barcelona (which H and I are thrilled about b/c that was our top choice).
However, now I have a few more questions I'd like your input on if you don't mind. 
I'm going to post them in two sep posts to try to keep things straight.
Question #1: We'll be traveling from Paris to Barcelona. We looked at doing an overnight train ride; it'd cost ~300E total via Rail Europe-World (eta:updated cost). We'd depart at ~8:305pm and arrive at ~8:00am next day.
The estimated total cost for flights, checking luggage and an extra night in Paris are ~360E. We're leaning towards flying so that we get another night in Paris (4 instead of 3). We'd depart at 11:45am and arrive at BCN at 1:20pm.
Any thoughts or insight on overnight train vs flying? Extra night in Paris (we'll be have been there 3 nights and pretty much 4 full days); or save the ~$70 and get more time in Barcelona (we'll be staying there 4 nights and 3.5 days; plus whatever time we get in on Friday; so another half to full day)
I'm also trying to figure out how long it takes to get from Notre-Dame area to Orly Airport. It looks like we can take the RER Blue to an end and catch a shuttle? Any idea how long this takes? Also, how much time should we give ourselves at the airport prior to a flight? We'll be foreigners checking luggage.
TIA
Re: We chose Barcelona; now some ?'s
IMO, the $70 difference is a no brainer - stay in Paris and enjoy it. If you split that $70 difference among the three of you, then you're looking at less than $25 per person. I'm not sure what the overnight train situation is that you're considering, but I've heard horror stories from people about overnight trains because they didn't sleep well, or couldn't sleep because they were worried about their luggage being stolen, etc.
I've never flown in or out of Orly, but I would budget 2 hours to be safe. The last thing you want is to be stressed out if you accidentally get on the wrong train, go to the wrong terminal, etc. I remember being at Charles de Gaulle in 2005 trying to find the Air France gates, which they had apparently closed and relocated - I was so stressed out running around the airport and no one was very helpful. I finally found the gate just in time to find out they'd closed my flight and they wouldn't let me on it, and that's the last time I ever didn't show up for an international flight 2 hours early. If you flight is at 11:45 AM, it isn't like it's going to really affect your day too much if you show up at 9:45 AM versus 10:15 AM or whatnot, and once on the plane you can nap for an hour during the flight. That's just my opinion, but I'd budget 2 hours and be fine with waiting so that I don't somehow miss my flight.
I'd fly. If you're flying Easy Jet (or Ryan Air) do mind the baggage restrictions (weight and size), they're hardcore about 'em
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Orly's actually closer in to the city than CDG and then train is pretty easy. That said, last time I did it (Sept '11), a cab from the Latin Quarter (not too far from ND) to Orly was approx 25 euro (2 pax), so depending on baggage, might be be worth it.
Inter-EU flights are pretty simple and Orly's pretty small. I'd say 60min is enough, 90 would def give you a cushion.
Thanks, you're both right; I think extra night in Paris is the way to go! And it sounds like we won't be too rushed in the morning. I'm surprised a taxi is so cheap to Orly. It doesn't seem much more than the train/shuttle would be?
We will flying Veuling Air (unfortunately Ryan and EasyJet don't have flights mid-day like we're hoping for); but it sounds like if we have an 11:45am flight; we should be fine leaving our apt at 9am; that gives us 2.75 hrs to get there; check in, etc.?
Blog Sale
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Just so you know, I was happy flying Vueling - definitely nicer than Ryan Air. We were able to choose seats when we checked in online. And they didn't give me any issue with baggage weight (I am always hovering right around 50 lbs) whereas when I flew with RyanAir I was flinging stuff out of my checked bag and into my one carry-on at the check-in desk...