Ryanair

Rynair flies from Beauvais. Which is not really Paris.
shuttle bus is EUR 13,00. Every service leaves Paris 3h before each flight departure.

this included taxes and fees.

Ryanair has a lot of fantasy if it comes to extra fees. Fees for check-in, checked baggage, credit card booking etc. etc.

yeah, ryanair normally serves airports quite far away from the city the mention as destination. If you dont book the mentioned extras and are willing to invest the extra time, it will be that cheap...

depending on what is your limiting ressource: time or money ??

I use Ryanair when the airport they use (at least at one end) suits me better. Yes these airports may be in the middle of nowhere, but if you are going to "nowhere", this is handy :)

But yes, you have to double check everything, be sure they are not charging you any extra you don't need, and add the cost of transport to these airports (Baeuvais and Campino in this case). Usually, not worth it. Especially when there are other "low-cost" companies (Vueling, Easyjet....) that are more clear in their price policies and that use the "real" Rome and Paris airports

I think that it is because they do not deal with travel agencies therefore do not have to pay them commission. It is all done by the internet or telephone. Recently, less than two weeks ago even I was trying to get a flight from the South of Spain to Paris or the area of Normandy, and it was almost impossible using either of these methods, either the site not working or getting a recording then being cut off. So after arriving in Granada I went to the airport and they told me that they did not have a flight going that route although I had seen it on their website and even told them this but they still said they did not have it. I just sent them a letter about this today including a print out of a page showing the flight in question.

You pay at lot of extras (luggage etc.) - you do not see the final price (incl. credit card "fees" etc. until last page).
It is a discount airline following those special rules for this type of travelling - Like you book from A to B change plane then continue from B to C. all on Ryanair.
Plane A to B is delayed or cancelled. You are then to late for B to C. It is all "your fault", they do not get you to C, they do not refund the B-C ticket and you are in a far-away airport having to figure out how to get to C at whatever it may cost.

Thehe are MANY discount airlines in Europe not only Ryanair. Many others are slightly more pleasant in their rules. Find them at www.Whichbudget.com or www.harefares.com When there is a discount airline on a route the regular airlines will often offer some seats at very low fares, too. - and there you get the "will bring you to your final destination if booked as one ticket"-guarantee.

BTW Ryanair choses far-away airports not only for low landing fees, but they are even sometimes supported by the airport owners in order to bring SOME traffic into an airport close to being shut down.
Safety education of staff has been shown (alright years ago) to be close to non-existing - airsafety contol of staff by the Irish gov. seems to be/(have been?) close to non-existing. But they have had no accidents until now AFAIK.
And finally - soem seats are NOT sold cheaply - those that are left if you miss one flight are have to take the next! And a lot of the seats are sold at "medium prices" (100-*150€) that you can get equally cheap on any airline if booking early.

Wow! How long has harefares.com been around? I tried which budget to find some flights this summer. It worked, but I had to click through airport after airport and they still didn't have lots of those airlines.

I had a question also: Does anyone know where I could find a good list of private residences in E. Europe (Lativia, Estonia, etc.)? I won't go before this summer, but would like something with pictures and a way to contact the owners. Thanks! --J

Well there was one RyanAir flight that went to Beauvais which I know is a smaller airport near Paris. On the North side, a little to the West I think. However I cannot find out if it has rail service, if not directly to the terminal the town would be good as well. If so then it might have been better for going to St. Malo in Normandy.

Thanks everyone for the replies. Seems like it is still a good bargain if you have some patience and are traveling light. Like i mentioned in original post i been doing this research for a friend. He has decided to go from amsterdam to paris, and then to barcelona. He will then return to amsterdam for his flight out. He is going for 2 weeks, so he would prolly like to keep travel times down to a minimum. Anyone with some suggestions on how he should travel between these cities. Thalys rail seems like a quick way to get between amsterdam and paris. Im not sure its the cheapest thou

So Rome doesn't come into it. The train from central+ Amsterdam to the +centre of Paris takes just over 4 hours. Can you think of a way of doing that journey by air, city centre to city centre, in less time than that?