Beware RyanAir. Don’t get me wrong, I was very grateful to have purchased a one way ticket from Dublin to Paris for a mere 26.99 euro [aprx. 32.57 USD], but then comes the extra fees:
- 2.00 euro passenger fee for EU 261 Levy
- 6.00 euro passenger fee for web check-in [they stick you with a 65 euro fee if you print out your boarding pass at the airport check-in…yikes]
- 35.00 euro passenger fee for 1st checked bag
- 40.00 euro passeger fee for 2nd checked bag
Grand total for travel: 109.99 euro [132.68 USD]
For traveling 728 kilometers [452 miles] I am still confident I got a great price, not to mention I was green with envy for EU and UK citizens who have the ability to jump flights on RyanAir for weekend excursions all over Europe and the UK. However, what I found to be somewhat bothersome about RyanAir is their push to sell more through out the entire process. While booking tickets online the site is full of advertisements, pushes to buy travelers insurance and suitcases as you navigate the booking prompts, reserved seating fees, priority boarding fees, and so on. Then, during their flights they push travelers to purchase lottery tickets, travel items, and any food or drink on board [including water]. Overall though, I can’t complain and feel the pushiness from the company to purchase their products helps keep the overall cost of the flights down, for which I am grateful.
After landing at Paris Beauvais Tille Airport, I had to take a bus to downtown Paris, about 88.5 km, or 55 miles. The bus was a smooth and easy ride, conveniently available as soon as I set foot outside of the airport. Once arriving in downtown Paris, and getting over my initial awe-struck moments during my first glimpses of the city, I shared a cab with a couple from Italy to my hotel. Word to the wise, taxis in Paris are expensive! For our short ten minute drive I paid the driver 14 euro [the meter was reading that 24 euro was due when the driver dropped me off, but the Italian couple still had a bit of a ride ahead of them]. And at that moment I was grateful we had shared the cab fare and realized why once the group had gotten off the bus they set out for the Paris Metro and public bus transport.
Paris bus routes
I did most of my transportation around Paris by foot, after all, I do love finding those unpublicized, lesser-known shops and cafes. At the end of my second day in Paris I was able to figure out the bus system, with a little help from a very sweet Parisian women. We were both trying to get to the same area, but because it was after 23:00 [11PM] the bus we needed had stopped running. Though I’ve never taken a single course in French I’m happy to say all those years of Latin finally paid off as I was successfully able to interpret the bus schedule by month and day of the week. The bus system in Paris is very nice and very efficient. Another perk? It only costs 1.90 euro for a bus pass that will work for 90 minutes after purchase. Though I never took the metro system I’ve heard only wonderful things about it. [I preferred the bus, so as not to miss the fabulous views of this stunning city.]
All in all I found Paris a relatively easy city to navigate and was quite impressed with their entire transit system, but like I said earlier, I highly recommend travel by foot and avoiding taxis unless you’re really in a hurry or are transporting a lot of things. Even during rush hour, when I had to leave to get to the train station to catch my train from Paris to London, the bus was still a very efficient and easy ride. It was also nice that most riders weren’t bothered that I was taking up extra room on the bus with my luggage.
The only off-putting event that happened was when I was about halfway to the Paris Nord train station and the bus driver pulled over and told everyone to get out mid-route because, “my shift is over, goodbye.” I couldn’t help but laugh at the situation, luckily it all worked out in my favor because the bus I was on would take me to the Paris Gare de l’est [east train station] and require I walk an extra 10-15 minutes to the north train station, but the bus stop we were dropped off at had a bus going directly to the north station, no extra walking with my luggage required.
