Advice for student re-routed to CDG for London, pls
 

Any advice for my nephew on first trip to London on getting from CDG to London, Camden Town area?

He was originally scheduled Sunday evening 29 Dec for DL 3338 CVG-JFK to connect with rest of students on a JFK-LHR flight. Because DL 3338 was running 2 hrs late, originating who knows where...... he was switched to the CVG-CDG non-stop (DL 228), with a 2-hour layover, then an Air France flight CDG-LHR.

So, a few questions while this college sophomore is snoozing (hopefully) his way across the Atlantic.....

Is there a better airport for him to use to fly into London from CDG? .....can I talk DL into a flight to a close-in London airport from CDG?

After landing at LHR, what might be the "easiest" way for him to the StayClub, number 34 Chalk Farm Rd, NW1 8AJ?.....yes, it's just a 5-min walk from Camden Town tube station, and, yes, the StayClub website has very clear directions for underground lines...........but I'm coddling a suburban-sheltered disoriented frat boy with no public transit experience.......would express train from Heathrow to Paddington, then taxi to Camden/Chalk Farm Rd be "easiest" or just silly-expensive?

.....any why didn't Delta re-route him CVG-DTW-LHR for the late evening flight? The CVG-DTW shuttle would have left at a time similar to his original CVG-JFK connector.......argghhhh...kid's parents didn't call me until it was too late for the DTW connection.....but with enough time to see there were still $99 upgrades to Econo-Comfort for CVG-CDG, which seemed to comfort the parents, also.....

thanks to all for advice..... he lands at CDG by 8am Paris time, or 2am USA Eastern time...... best wishes for new year!

How much luggage does he have? Is he reasonably physically fit to handle the bags he brought?

If he checked a bag, it will go to LHR so he should follow that plan. In fact, the odds would be very slim of being rerouted at CDG onto an AF flight--if there are any--to LCY instead of LHR, especially with no status and given that AF does ground handling for DL at CDG. He apparently accepted the rebooking through JFK and CDG to LHR, which was his original destination.

IMO he should grow up and take the tube to his destination, which has apparently given him directions and is close to a station. A college kid should be able to figure out the best route with transfers. Many people in London speak English/American so he can ask for directions easily. Of course, a really pampered kid would take a black cab directly from the airport, especially if helicopter parents don't care about the money.

Does he have British money or a plan to get some at the airport upon arrival?

LHR is pretty well connected to London.
Cheapest and simplest way for him would be to hop un the underground at the terminal and change from Piccadilly (blue) to Northern (black) line at Leicester Square.
This would be a few pounds vs. several 10's by Heathrow Express + taxi.

If he is going to stay in London, he'd better buy a Oyster card at the first undeground station which will make his travelling by tube/bus easier and cheaper throughout the stay.

He doesn't need to fly. He can take the Eurostar train through the channel tunnel to London St. Pancras station. He can either get on a TGV train at the CDG train station northbound headed for Lille, and change on to the Eurostar at Lille, or he would take a RER commuter train southbound for 25 minutes, get off at Gare du Nord, and catch the Eurostar there (there are non-stop trains to London that take only 2 hours 15 minutes).

When he gets to London St. Pancras, he would be no more than 1.5-2 miles from Camden Town. He can either take London buses or the underground there. I attach a link to a map on the Transport for London site that shows bus connections in and out of Camden Town. Looks like Bus 46 goes direct from St. Pancras to Camden Town.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/gettingaro...ntown-2041.pdf

Hope this helps.

On said JFK LHR flight now...

Upon arrival at LHR and clearing immigration, he should take the Piccadilly Line (Tube) to Kings Cross and transfer there to the Northern Line to Camden Town.

It's an easy transfer.

They've already routed him to LHR. Eurostar would require going IN to Paris and then back out.

Also STP is adjacent to Kings Cross. Taking the Northern Line to the desires station is likely easiest. Especially with baggage.

Skipping the CDG-LHR leg of his rebooked ticket would cause the remainder of the ticket and reservation to be cancelled. He should not do this.

King's X is a big station; always found it a little confusing with the various platforms to different directions.
Leicester Square it is only Piccadilly and Northern lines, plus he gets to go by Mornington Crescent, the only tube station to have its own thread on FT.

The train Paris-London is an original idea. Along that line, he could go to Amsterdam by train, spend some time there and then take the ferry to Harwich. I'm sure every suburban frat boy would love Amsterdam. Even in winter.

....and then he can swim home after his ticket is cancelled for skipping a segment.

I suspect that the parents have sent him to Europe with a group of students so that he's not traveling alone and perhaps has some adult supervision. He could also skip London and just go into some of the infamous red light areas of Paris to learn about France, although Amsterdam does have the "advantages" of drugs and hookers sitting in the windows.

It is a world of opportunities out there and, after all, frat boys are adults themselves.
The only thing he must be really careful is never, never ever go to this Slovakian Hostel. Young suburban americans are highly sought after over there.

Frat boys? Adults? Never!

Thanks to all for the swift and wise counsel, as always.

......yeah, there are no CDG-LCY flights (they're from Orly on 50-seat Fokker props), so no shortcut via air

......many of the CDG-LCY 1 stops are on KLM via AMS, so if KLM offers free stop-overs, maybe a day or 2 in AMS, as suggested, would be instructive and make a good "What I did on my way to London" paper for his class.....but need to check the strict "Code of Conduct" which students and parents signed....see if the fine print says it starts only when student reaches London

......I like the Chunnel train idea, especially with the connection at Lille meaning no back-tracking into Paris.....doubly good if flying weather was bad and you were just tired of being on planes......and much better sleeping/eating on train to get over jet lag.

........thanks to FTers for the fine-grained info on London train stations and underground......

.....Yes, a reasonably well-educated suburban frat boy should be able to read tube signs in London.......but I'm also trying to calm parents.....the agent at passport control at CDG will be happy to talk on kid's cell phone for a few minutes to tell the parents the kid is OK, right?

.....if kid told DL he preferred the train, I'm sure DL would be happy to drop the high-fare CDG-LHR segment without cancelling return.....but not sure if he has checked luggage....don't most students just take a backpack, iPad, and parent's platinum card, buying clothes at H&M and M&S to save on DL's luggage fees?

Anyway, unless there's a Nanny-by-the-hour service at Heathrow, it seems the express train to Paddington, then black cab to Camden may be a reasonable balance of adventure and cost...he's got L50 in his pocket because old fogies like me insist.......thanks again to all!

Does US-CDG-LHR require clearing customs in CDG?

I am going to try to be even-tempered and respectful here, but I might lose it...

Holy smokes, you and the kid's parents are doing him a terrible disservice babying him this way. He is (almost?) 20 years old. He is traveling to first world countries. The national language at his destination is English. He has ATM cards and credit cards. Yet, you all are treating him like an unaccompanied minor who has unexpectedly been dropped in West Africa without money, language skills, or a phone.

Let the kid fend for himself. It will be a learning experience. He will grow.

If you all continue to baby him this way, he is just a few short years from being one of those kids in an entry-level professional job whose mommy and daddy insist on speaking with his boss after his first disappointing performance review.

I sincerely urge you all to let him spread his wings on this one. Happy to continue the conversation with all three of you by email if you'd like further thoughts (and horror stories of how similarly coddled kids end up). I am in Bhutan and so my day is just beginning (though I'll be off the grid for the next 7 hours or so --- mom and dad are ok with that:))

Edited to add: My first trip to Europe without mommy and daddy was at 22, with 3 of my fraternity brothers from suburban upbringings. ~15 years later, we are well-adjusted adults. All married. 3 children among us. All well-paid self-supporting professionals, homeowners. Even a MD. Let him free.

....Well, um, ahhhhh.....you make fine points, and of course I've been exaggerating a bit.....still, here's my thinking:

He signed-up to be part of a school group, so didn't do any of the travel planning himself, or looked much at maps of London, probably.....so he is "on his own" unexpectedly......even if he is in the First World of cell phones and credit cards and a Starbucks or McD's within a few blocks.

Your experience of traveling together with friends was a great example.....you likely researched and talked a lot about travel plans together in advance of the trip, so had some readiness for alternatives in case of travel disruptions.

.....and I'm over-reacting since I'm disgruntled that neither the kid or parents called me, the oh-so-well-traveled uncle, when original mis-connect developed, so I might have arranged the CVG-DTW-LHR routing on DL, rather than DL's choice of CVG-CDG-LHR. It's when family is traveling, with or without you, that you want the usual airline hassles (which we are used to managing) to disappear.

Parents were calmed about the ease of a Heathrow Express-to-Paddington-then-just a-3-mile-cab-ride to his school's hotel. They will text him when he lands at CDG. Was it too much for me to pass along that the Heathrow Express is running only every 30 mins on Monday, so go ahead and jump on the train and pay the extra L5 for on-board ticket, rather than wait in line to buy a ticket but miss a train?

thanks again to all!