On my recent trip to Paris, I flew into Charles De Gaulle Airport. This is usual for anyone that is coming Internationally, especially on long haul flights, as I was. When I flew out a few days later though, I chose to take a budget flight onwards to Bulgaria, only to find out it departed not from Charles de Gaulle, but from Beauvais Airport. Immediately I was forced to begin researching how to get from Paris to Beauvais Airport, because I had no idea!
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This is an issue that besets many travelers, and something that the majority, myself included, would not know about until it happens. The other little piece of information that tends to get lost, is that Beauvais Airport is about 80 kilometers out of Paris, and not easy to get to! Now, why the French would put an airport for their Capital City SO FAR out of the city, with stuff all way of getting to it, I have no idea. I can only assume it was for a reason. This is just one of the issues that surrounds Paris as a tourism destination!
Knowing the reason still would not make it any easier to reach, so in this article I am going to explore the best options for getting from Paris to Beauvais Airport (and vice versa). Because if you want to depart Paris on a budget flight, you are going to NEED to know!
SPOILER ALERT – If you are in a hurry and want to know the cheapest way (by far!) to get from Paris to Beauvais, it is via the ridesharing app, BlaBlaCar. Check the Menu below and click on the heading for BlaBlaCar and it will jump you right to the details you need.
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Paris to Beauvais Airport Shuttle
The first, and up until recently, most popular, way to get from Paris to Beauvais Airport is via the Airport Shuttle. This makes sense, and was actually the way that I was going to get there myself, until I discovered other options.
The Paris to Beauvais Shuttle is, basically, a shuttle/bus service that runs regularly between Paris and Beauvais Airport. The price, by Western European standards, is quite good. But still not the best.
At time of writing, the shuttle cost €16.90 for an adult one way fare. A child will cost you €9.90.
Now, once you are past the pain point of the price for the Paris to Beauvais Shuttle, there is the question of where you can actually catch it from. This is where you might come unstuck, and certainly for myself, made the shuttle seem a lot less attractive option.
The shuttle runs from Paris Porte Maillot, which is a pretty major location on Metro Line 1. That is quite handy if you are staying nearby, or at least on that metro line. The problems that may arise for you are if you are on the other side of Paris, or like me, would have to catch the RER and then change onto Metro Line 1.
This doesn’t sound too bad in theory. When I personally began to factor in the time though, I started to break out into cold sweats!
My RyanAir Flight was at 0930am. To catch the Paris to Beauvais Shuttle, they recommend you arrive at Porte Maillot at least 3 hours prior to your flight. Then add in the 20 minutes on the Metro, the 25 minutes on the RER, factor in some time for changeovers between trains etc, and I was looking at a VERY early start in the morning. Plus, that €16.90 shuttle price just went up with the price of the Metro and the RER lumped on top of it.
The Paris to Beauvais Shuttle is a GOOD option if it is handy for you. In many circumstances it may be the ONLY option.
Check them out on their website, including details and prices at THIS link.
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Taxi or Uber
Talk about cold sweats, you will be mopping the sweat from the brow if you are left with no other option than to take taxi or Uber from Paris to Beauvais. The price just may end up being MORE than your budget flight, so you may as well just pay the extra and fly from Charles de Gaulle!
Taxi can be anywhere up to €200 just to get you to the airport. I’m not joking! It may even be more, depending where you are located in Paris and on the time of day.
Uber is not much better. I was staying not far from Charles de Gaulle, so at least (sort of) on the right side of the city, and Uber still quoted me over €100.
No thanks, but good luck if you can afford it. Once again, if you can, you probably wouldn’t be flying a budget airline. Unless of course you can share the price with a couple of friends.
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Welcome Pickups
Another option is a pickup service, which is basically a private transfer. The best of them is Welcome Pickups, and is definitely the one I would recommend.
These come at quite a premium price though, and will set you back not much less than the Taxi. For example, I just did a random quote with Welcome Pickups from Paris to Beauvais Airport at 6am, and it came in at €160.
This seems steep, but take into account that it’s a door to door service, is better than Taxi and Uber, reliable, and can once again be split between a few of you if it suits your situation.
You can check out Welcome Pickups at THIS link.
Train
Train is a last resort option, to be honest. It costs about as much as the Shuttle anyway, and the nearest train station to Beauvais Airport is 6 kilometers away. So if you travel from Paris to Beauvais by train, you will STILL need to catch a local bus or taxi to actually get to the airport.
No thanks.
BlaBlaCar
Now, we get to BlaBlaCar. Never heard of it? Not many people outside of France actually have!
I hadn’t heard of it either, before I was in Lyon earlier in the year and needed to get to Annecy. The trains and buses were not cheap, and were all around the same price. I was then told about BlaBlaCar, and ended up doing the trip for about one third of the price!
Basically, BlaBlaCar is a ridesharing app. To be more precise, it’s probably more a car POOLING app. Drivers that are doing a trip anywhere can put that trip into the app, and people like yourself can book a pickup. All you have to pay is your share of the fuel, which is minimal to say the least.
When I traveled from Paris to Beauvais, I thought my only option was with the Shuttle, and I would have ended up paying around €30 by the time I took the RER, the Metro and then the Shuttle. With BlaBlaCar, I paid €7.50!
To use BlaBlaCar, simply install the app on your phone and create a profile. It will want to confirm your ID (I used my passport) email address and phone number. You will also want a clear profile photo. Remember, this is a car pooling app and it’s all about trust.
Once you set yourself up, type in your desired trip, in this case, Paris to Beauvais Airport, set the date and voila! You should get a list of results.
Try to find one that offers a pickup somewhere near to where you need it. Some will pick you up in the center of Paris, but in my experience they can be very flexible. The drivers WANT your business, after all. It saves them a part of the cost of their trip.
When it comes to using BlaBlaCar, you will find a lot of trips on offer from airports. People will hire cars, or drive their own to the airport every day. They are always looking to cut down on their costs in some way or other, and this app is a perfect start.
ONE TIP – When you install the app, say NO to giving your current location. It will then allow you to set your location manually, which you should set to your home country. Why? Because if you set location to Paris, it will make the language of the app in French, and you can’t change it! Set it to England or USA or Australia, and you will get your app in English.
Summary
There are several ways to get from Paris to Beauvais Airport. While Shuttle can be the most direct and recommended, the cheapest and often times best option is to use BlaBlaCar. Give it a try next time you are in Paris!
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