Public transportation: so confused!

If I may, I suggest taking a taxi to your hotel. For 55 Euros, you and your daughter and your luggage will be delivered curbside to your hotel. Once you check in, unwind, have a coffee and survey your surroundings, you can begin to orient yourselves to public transportation in the City of Light. Paris has excellent public transportation, but jet lagged first time visitors might want to consider the "easy way" first.

Navigo Decouverte only goes from Monday am to Sunday pm, so it is really not an option. If you want to use the RER B to get to Latin Quarter, just buy 10.30 EUR point to point tickets. For getting around on the Metro, you can buy a carnet of Metro tickets, which is a 10-pack of tickets you can use between the 2 of you. That will be 14.90 EUR. Versailles is 3.65 EUR each way. So if each person got a one-way airport ticket for 10.30, 2 Versailles tickets 7.30, and a carnet for 14.90, that totals out to 32.50 EUR per person. The 5-day all-zone Visite is 65.80 EUR per person, so you can see, you'll be paying double to go that way.

The advantage of getting a carnet is, as Sam mentioned, being able to share the tickets. You get 10 individual tickets, so you can divvy them up as you wish. And buying them in the metro stations is fairly simple, although don't wait until your train is pulling in to buy them. It does take a few minutes to figure out the vending machine.

There is no saving money be pre-ordering tickets for Parisian mass transit and it is so easy to do that you should do it in Paris. The weekly Navigo pass is not going to be your best bet. Nor is the Paris Visite pass your best option. IMO (agreeing with Sam), your best solution is to buy point to point tickets for Versailles and the 2-Euro Navigo and load it or get a carnet of regular tickets for your trips within Paris. As to getting from to Paris CDG, I would take a taxi but if you want to take the RER B, it will be easy enough to buy your ticket to Paris at CDG when you arrive. When I think about being concerned with futzing around at the airport while jet lagged, I think take a taxi. It's easy if you follow the signs and do not take a ride from anyone who approached you. At times and for some people, taking the RER B from the airport turns out to be penny wise and pound foolish.

Get a Navigo Easy for 2 Euro and load a carnet of 10 T+ tickets on it; you will each need one. If you run out with a couple of days to go, load another. If you need just a few tickets the last day or so, buy a physical carnet of tickets and split them. Make sure individual tickets are not exposed to magnets (purse clasps, magnetic pockets etc)

From the airport I would take a cab for 55; but you could each buy a ticket for 10.30 CDG Paris on the machines and get regular tickets at the same time .

Be pickpocket proof on all transport. I use a money belt from Airport to Hotel -- under the clothes. I then put them in the hotel safe at the hotel and carry only what I need in cross body purse or hidden inner pocket. You can buy travel clothing with hidden pockets. If you don't do that be sure all passports, ID and money are well secured and that you keep your hands on all small bags like computer bags and purses; grabbing larger luggage is rare, but you do want to keep it close.

The Paris Visit is never a good value and not at all in your case. The Navigo Decouverte doesn't fit your dates.

Be sure you hang onto your ticket until you. are out of the system if you use individual tickets as you can be checked at any time and the fee is 50 Euro on the spot if you cannot produce a valid ticket. The inspectors will have a machine that can read your Navigo Easy card if you are using that for having validated it on entry. (The stile gate doesn't open if you haven't done so -- it is a touch card ). We were there for 4 weeks without being checked once and then in the next 6 rides we were checked 5 times -- at 5 different stations.

Thank you all so much for your input. Much appreciated.

Looks like we’ll buy a Navigo card & load it with a carnet of tickets. Still mulling the taxi vs RER from the airport. I know it was a good idea when we landed in Rome, but was happy to have taken the train instead when arriving in Munich.

Thank you again.

Note that the Navigo card on which you load a carnet (and you each need a card) is the Navigo Easy. The ordinary tourist Navigo is the Navigo Decouverte and you can only load passes on that -- day, week or month. And the Navigo with no qualifier is a pass available only to locals. The ND requires a photo; the Easy does not. By naming the new product 'Navigo Easy' they have guaranteed a lot of confused tourists. It was a hilarious blunder that we will be hearing about in travel forums for years.

Take a taxi from the airport, since it seems to be your first visit and that's the easiest way.

Buy a carnet at the machine on your first trip into the Metro. There's machines or some "manned" booths.

Keep your used carnet ticket handy until you exit the Metro, in case they are checking to make sure everyone is paying.

Since one of us is usually on navigation (which metro, which direction), the other person keeps the unused tickets in special spot and doles them out as we head down into the Metro.