Looks like I can't buy either of these online ahead of our trip as downloads require an Android phone. Looking for Zones 1-5 for the week starting Monday through Sunday. Was hoping to avoid a likely long-line at CDG RATP Sales office. Would also rather avoid the photo/ hassle of the Decouverte vs. the simplicity of the Easy. Conflicting opinions on whether the Easy is allowed for tourists...any thoughts appreciated.
Posted by
Chicago
8069 posts
They are two different products. You cannot put a weekly pass on a Navigo Easy card. You cannot load individual metro tickets on a Navigo Decouverte -- which takes day, week and month passes.
If you don't have an ND already and you want to use it to come into Paris from CDG then you'll have to deal with the line to acquire one. Once you have one, you can just recharge it on machines for 10 years. Bring photos with you. I have just printed on them on my home computer to postage stamp size and have done this for several relatives. The weekly pass you can put on an ND is for all 5 zones. You cannot buy a pass that includes Paris that does not include all 5.
It is an extraordinarily practical product -- all your transport in the Ile de France is covered with one card loaded with the pass.
Navigo Easies are a device to hold metro tickets; you get a significant discount if you load them 10 at a time. You can load a day pass as well but not RER tickets (e.g. for Versailles or Disneyland) nor can you load weekly passes.
Posted by
Vancouver, BC
517 posts
Navigo Decouverte weekly pass will likely be more cost effective if using most of the week. Yes you can get a Navigo Easy pass as a tourist; you can load individual t+ tickets for central Paris and one day passes for zones 1-5 on it (ie CDG to central Paris). If you are taking transit from CDG you would have to decide on getting in line for either card depending on length of line up which seems to vary as per reports from others. The Paris By Train website offers additional, more detailed info on the logistics of purchasing and using passes. You can bring a small photo from home to avoid the Photo Booth step.
Posted by
Lubbock, TX
403 posts
I got the Decouverte Pass last summer at the CDG sales office. The lines were very short, and I saved time by going to CVS before leaving home and getting a passport photo so I wouldn't have to get one there. I would highly recommend it for the ease of using it for the whole week.
Posted by
Upstate NY, USA
825 posts
I always get the ND pass because it is incredibly easy and there's no hassle of whether I bought the right ticket for the right zone, etc.
Posted by
OP
Little Rhody
3 posts
Thank you all for clarifying. Will bring 1.2" tall x 1" wide photos with us. Black and White OK? (iphone/ home laser printer)