Sure I'm cheap...So you get what you pay for which is...Not....Much (Paris Beauvais Tillé Airport (BVA))

Member Name: i_heart_elo

Product:	Paris Beauvais Tillé Airport (BVA)
Date:	21/02/09 (164 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap.....ummm Cheap......and oh yeah....Cheap

Disadvantages: Far away from ANYWHERE including Paris, Not very organized, Hard to navigate "from/to"

It appears that a few people on here are already familiar with this tiny little airport in the middle of "nowhere" France. I'm not surprized either, that it's only been given an average rating of 3 stars.

In my opinion this so called "airport" deserves maybe 2.5 stars. Why? It's hard to explain. Is there anything really wrong with the airport itself? No, it's your typical small airport for cheap flights. There are definate reasons though, why this isn't worth the trip.

***** I'm near Paris.....pysche!*****

This airport is called "Paris Beauvais" , which is just a ridiculous statement. If 2 or so hrs way from Paris is called "in Paris", then I guess Birmingham airport should be renamed "Birmingham, London Airport".

What i'm getting at is that this place obviously isn't a 'backup" airport to Charles De Gaulle or Orly, which are the two closest to Paris. In terms of miles, it's only around 60 miles away from the pariphery of Paris itself. The problem with the Beauvais airport is the crazy amount of traffic you have to get through.

I've flown into this airport three times now. Each time I think "ok it HAS to be better now...traffic can't ALWAYS be bad". That was wishful thinking on my part. I went during the week , on the weekend, at night, during the day , and in the morning. Every single time it took me 2 hours (usually more) to get into La Defense (where I was living at in Paris) .

The other little tidbit about the area around Beauvais is that if you are without an amaz-za-zing GPS system, you might be screwed. I thought the roundabouts in the UK were a little confusing at times. The roundabouts in Beauvais are tortureous. I can speak French somehwhat fluently, (which helps) , yet it is impossible for anyone to understand the signs on the roundabouts no matter what language you speak. The first time I drove from Beauvais to La Defense, I had a TomTom, and still got lost on THREE roundabouts, which caused me to take over 3 hrs to get home.

Ok granted, if you are;

A.) A Speed Demon Rally Car Racer
B.) The most gifted navigator in the universe
C.) Can speak French and are familiar driving with the entire Country

Then ok you MIGHT be able to make Paris in a little over an hour. Still, in my opinion, if your flying into an airport to get to a particular city, you shouldn't have to drive more than 30 minutes to get into the outskirts of that city.

*****I'm in France, I have to have some fun Touristy Jaunts, right!??*****

If you look at a map of Beauvais it really isn't surrounded by all that much. You have Breteuil which, is "ok" as far as seeing a pretty Chateau etc... Other than that, it's just flat farm land until you reach Paris. So if your planning on flying into this airport, you really do not have a lot of places nearby to "stop over" in.

Your not close enough to the coast to take a trip there.
Your not close enough to the border to go to Belguim.
Your not close enough to any great Chateau's.
Your not close enough to any notable wine country area.

It's just he most awkwardly placed airport i've been privy too in the uncoolest area probably in the entire country of France. ( Um, I take that back , Calais is officially the "uncoolest" ).

***** So my outside isn't that great, oh wait, my inside isn't either*****

The airport is slightly nicer than your typical *small city* Ryanir'esque one. There is a cheapo cafe on the far end where the arrivals come in at , and you can get a Pain Chocolat avec une cafe' pour trois euro's! yay! (Which that IS really cheap for an airport....usually an Expresso alone will cost you around 3 euros or more) .

So, the cafe has to be the highlight of the airport. Yet, it really isn't. Sure you get a cheap chocolate pastry and expresso, but you have to wait a good 30 minutes in line just to get it. Then, once you get it, all the tables and chairs are taken, so you have to look for another place to sit. Only there is NOTHING available in the rest of the airport, so you have to go outside. I guess in the summer that wouldn't be a problem, but in the dead of winter, the last thing you want to do is eat and drink outside in the cold.

Last but not least, the actually queue's and check in areas for the various cheapo airlines, are bizarre. There are no rhyme or reason to them. They don't have a proper wrap around type system they just line up in a straight line wherever people decide too. This means, that if you have 50 people in line waiting to check in, and your near the back, your going to be pushed all the way to the doors then wrapped around towards the cafe. During all the mayhem, you'll have several people cut in line but not really on purpose. It's simply because it's hard to see where lines start and stop. Believe me, I know i'm not explaining it properly but, it's F***'ed. (Pardon my French=).

*****If I'm THIS bad why give me any stars at all??*****

The only reason is this.....it's cheap.

Straight up cheap.

I flew in from the Midlands airport to Beauvais for 5 pounds. Each way. That's total. So for 10 pounds round trip from the Midlands near B'ham to Beauvais *nearish* Paris. That's pretty rockin' awesome. You can afford to take a train, bus, or rent a car if you've only paid that much to fly.

So, with all the bad points there is that upside that many of you might think will outweigh the bad. The only thing I'll leave you with, is that I was able to get a flight from England to De Gaulle, for only 40 Pounds total roundtrip in January, AND it was on British Airways. That means I didn't have to worry about packing only ONE bag that weighs 15kilos MAX with a carry on of 10 kilos MAX (like you do on Ryanair and many other cheapy airlines). I also got free snacks and drinks (another thing you do NOT get on the budget lines). Then I was able to catch a bus from CDG airport to La Defense for only 5 euros that took 30 minutes.

Flying into CDG was a 10x's better experience than flying into Beauvais for just slightly more money.

*In a "nutshell" Conclusion*

Unless your on an EXTREMELY tight budget, I wouldn't suggest using this airport. =)

Summary: Unless your on a tight budget, I wouldn't suggest using this airport to get to Paris