Metro question

How are you arriving and departing? Plane or train or both?

I think you mean Navigo Pass. It's good from Monday to Sunday I believe. I usually use bus or metro twice or less per day. I figured it would take 17 trips on the Navigo for it to pay for itself. So, the carnet is the best deal for me. If I have tickets left over, I save them for my next trip to Paris. When I have had a pass I've tended to hop on and off buses more freely. You might get a pass for the first Mon-Sun you are there then buy a carnet of ten tickets to cover the last few days. If you take the RER from the airport to Paris when you arrive, that one ticket can be used in the metro to get you to your hotel. So you may not be using public transportation more that first day. Paris is so walkable that often walking works better than public transit anyway.

Hi Karen,

I have used the Paris Navajo when I was in Paris for one week during the summer. Because I had unlimited access with the Pass, I didn't need to plan each day to be in certain sections of Paris. I could jump from the Luxembourg Garden over to La Defense and on to Champ Elysees, for instance.

But, typically we just purchase the Carnet of Metro tickets and use 3-4 each per day. I kept one ticket for my next trip! : )

Navigo Découverte Card - 21.25€ (plus 5€ for card) - Valid from Mon to Sun in Paris Zones 1 and 2
Carnet of 10 rides - 14.10€

I would suggest you get a card for the first week Tue to Sun, remembering you need a photo too.
Schedule your train trips out of Paris for the Mon/Tue/Wed of the 2nd week, and buy a carnet for your rides hotel to station etc.

I personally find I make an average of 3 trips per day - one from hotel to my morning start point, a connecting one in the middle of the day, and a return one when coming home. Evening forays are then additional, so a Navigo Découverte Card starts to become better value. Remember validity is Monday to Sunday, not 7 days from when purchased or first used.

I'm flying in/out of CDG. I didn't catch that the Navajo Pass covered the RER train into Paris, so thanks for that information. I found the website on the pass, and see that the train to Versailles is included also. So I think the Navajo Pass for week one will more than pay for itself. Then I can decide if I refill the pass for the last three days or the carnet packs, knowing I'll be taking the train back to CDG,

thanks for the advice!

I wonder if Navigo to Navajo is an iPad autocorrect?

The information on the Navigo Decouverte here is obsolete. The 1-2 zone Navigo D no longer exists and has been replaced by a charge that includes all 5 zones for the price of the 1-2 zone card. The Navigo D (the one available to tourists) is now about 21 Euro (plus the 5 Euro card which is refillable for 10 years) a week and covers the entire Ile de France. This means you will pay nothing more to go to Versailles or Fountainebleau or Disney or anywhere else in zones 1 through 5 of the Ile de France. It is by far the best deal for the trip. If you don't plan to use it much the second week, then getting a carnet that week might make sense. If you use the train to and from the airport, it will absolutely be the best deal financially as well as be convenient. Here are some examples of recent day trips we have done with ours: https://janettravels.wordpress.com/category/day-trips-from-paris/ It is definitely the way to go any trip that will involve day trips from Paris.

Even better Janet if it now includes zones 1 to 5.
http://www.ratp.fr/en/ratp/c_21137/forfaits-navigo-mois-et-semaine/

This link is quite detailed ... http://parisbytrain.com/paris-metro-tickets-what-to-buy/

I believe the correct name for the Pass you're referring to is Navigo Découverte, as shown here.....

http://parisbytrain.com/paris-train-metro-week-pass-navigo-decouverte/

If you walk up to a ticket window and ask to buy a "Navajo" pass, you may get some strange looks and no pass.

Thanks janettravels44. The more recent deal on the Navigos sounds perfect. I will be in Paris next year and won't hesitate to top up my pass. I can do this at the airport RER station? Right away it saves a bunch.

My wife and I were in Paris the first week in sept . Bought the navigo pass for the week we were there .it works fantastic. Good for zones 1-5 . Just scan it as you get on the buses , going through into the subways , and good for the train and bus to chateau fountainbleau. We went to Amsterdam for the weekend then back to Paris for the second week and recharged the cards when we arrived back in Paris . Well worth it

As a tourist you will probably get what you want if you ask for a Navigo but technically that is the product only available to locals which is also registered, can be automatically refilled and such. The Navigo Decouverte involves no registration and is available to anyone although it was designed for locals who didn't want their details registered. There is the occasionally jerk clerk who will deny the 'Navigo' pretending to misunderstand that what you want is the ND. Great product and super convenient and unlike the little tickets it doesn't get demagnetized. (if your tickets gets demagnetized they will replace it but if you are mid trip and it happens you may get tagged for not having a valid ticket. I have a coat with magnetic pockets and it took me awhile to realize why my tickets get not working)

Yes, I since found the web site and see that the Navago (spelling correctly now) Decouverte is "legal" for residents and non residents and printed that page (in french) in case I run into issues - translated as "the Pass Navago Decouverte is open to all travelers, residents of Ile-de France, etc."
The below web site appears to be up to date and informative for others.

Paris by train

Please confirm that the pass can be purchased at CDG. Assuming there is a ticket window near the train station at the airport. I've been able to print id photos to bring with me.

Getting close. N-A-V-I-G-O.
Anyway, there is a large bank of ticket windows at the CDG train station. Just get in line and wait for a window to free up. Some windows even have signs "English spoken", but even if they don't, just show them the paper and your 1" by 1 1/4" passport-type photo and they will understand what you want.

If you ask for the Navigo Decouverte you are not going to have any 'push back' from clerks and it has been years since I heard of them balking at the 'Navigo' by pretending to misunderstand what you want. It is really simple, you just go buy the thing at an RER window have them charge it and pay for it and they will probably hand you the kit which you will then assemble and off you go. If there is no line and the clerk is bored they might assemble it for you.

I brought a 1 1/4 x 1" photo with me and bought the pass, attached my photo, wrote my name, and inserted into a plastic holder. Very easy, no line at CDG ticket window. By tomorrow I will have broken even. RER train to Paris (10€) 2 bus rides and 1 metro. (1.8€ x 3) with 4 four more days and trip to Versailles on Sunday. I think I'll renew for Monday - Thursday next since the return trip to CDG would cost 10€ anyway.