Omprakash_6

Thanks Seamus and Sarastro, but I need to purchase the pass on Thursday for that week itself, is that possible as I will be in Paris from Thursday to Sunday, Paris visit pass is costly so am planning for Navigo.

MaineGG

You might consider using Mobilis tickets that give you one day's unlimited travel for €6,60. No photo needed.

Info (in French only) here:

http://www.ratp.fr/fr/ratp/c_21148/mobilis/

imaginaryjazz

In September 2012, we were able to renew our Navigo Decouverte cards fairly late on a Thursday evening for the remainder of that week. We did not have change at the time and did not have time to search for a machine which took bills so we went to a window. When I explained that we wanted the passes for that week, the lady made very sure that I actually meant for the remainder of that evening, Friday,Saturday, and Sunday. She wanted to be very certain that I understood that they would only be good for three days and a few hours before she would agree to recharge them.
Ms. ImaginaryJazz

d_claude_bear

The Transilien website indicates that the next week's Navigo Decouverte pass (for use starting Monday) may be purchased starting on Friday. That certainly suggests that passes purchased on Thursday will be for the remainder of that week, through Sunday.

Seamus

Omprakash_6 - looks like you will be OK, though you may need to reassure the agent from whom you are buying the pass that you really do want it for the current week and are aware of the validity period. If you already have the card the pass will cost 19.80€. If you do not already have the card you will need to buy one at a cost of 5€ for a total of 24.80€. The card is reusabel for ten yers so you can loafd passes on If you will need to buy the card, it's a good idea to take the required photo with you as there are not working photo machines at all stations.

BTW if you think that you will use 10 or fewer trips during your stay you could you could also just buy a carnet of ten individual tickets for 13.30€

IIRC, back when the Carte Orange was still in use there was a one day gap between the end of pass sale for current week and when start of sale for the next week. That is not currently mentioned on either RATP or transilien sites.

MrNuke

Seamus,

That is correct. The paper Carte Orange used to be sold through Wednesday for that week, not sold at all on Thursday, and starting Friday you could purchase for the following week. ND is sold through Thursday for use that week and starting on Friday for use the next week.

Christina

If you don't think you will be using the Navigo pass in the future, or aren't sure (ie, if you don't go to Paris a lot or don't know when you might again), there isn't any fiscal reason to buy it for only 3 days if you don't already have one, it would make more sense to buy a carnet or even 3 daily Mobilis passes would be cheaper, and that doesn't even consider the possible cost of an ID photo. Not clear if you would be using it on Sunday if you are leaving, but even then, I might buy a couple Mobilis for the days I thought I'd travel a lot and then a carnet. If you had to pay for an ID photo at 5 euro or so, even buying 4 Mobilis (which I'm sure wouldn't be necessary if you leaving on Sunday) would be cheaper than the Navigo by a bit.

Omprakash_6

Thanks, I think its good to take Navigo as I need to travel from Zone 1 - 5 for 3 days so mobilis will be little costly.

d_claude_bear

We have used public transit extensively when in Paris, and in addition to the cost savings the convenience of the Navigo is worth something.

bpk165

You do not need a photo now for the Navigo Decouver Pass. We just got back from Paris and my wife and I purchased the decouvert passes for the week, and we were not required to put our photos on them

d_claude_bear

We're you told no photo was required? Or did the agent forget to require it? There is nothing on the RATP web sites to suggest the photo requirement has been changed.

Seamus

bpk - sorry but that is incorrect. Some agents will just hand you the packet and expect you to assemble it yourself, but that does not mean the photo is not required. The agent who sold you the pass may have neglected to point it out to you or you did not see or understand that part of the instructions, but a photo is most definitely required on the ID card that accompanies the Navigo Decouverte. The electronic pass would still work, but if you are stopped by the RATP police ticket checkers you'd have some explaining to do and/or a fine to pay.

<<<i>vous devez inscrire vous-même votre nom et votre prénom sur la carte nominative cartonnée et y coller votre photo avant toute utilisation.</i>>> = <b>you must write your last and first name on the cardboard ID card and affix your photo to it before use</b>. Source: http://www.navigo.fr/le-choix-entre-...ecouverte.html

Christina

The photo is required, this is the problem with a lot of tourists who don't know what they are doing and can't read French. It's always been a problem, same as with the Carte Orange, and a lot of RATP clerks just don't act like babysitters and presume you can follow directions--you ask for it and they just give it to you to assemble yourself, of course, that's what you are supposed to do. I imagine they get tired of having to train tourists, and a lot of them are not fluent in English, of course, they are metro clerks, this isn't a high-level job.

Seamus

I have been buying and using the ND pass since its inception (and the Carte Orange before that) and have encountered every level of agent assistance from just passing over the prepackaged kits to lending a scissors to cut photos to size to this month's experience at La Tour Mauborg station where the agent actually took the photo we had and laminated the <i>carte nominative</i> and assembled the pass for my niece.

In defense of visitors who may not be familiar with the ND and associated procedures, the RATP site is clearly structured to direct tourists to the more expensive Paris Visite. Likewise, most of the third party sites (e.g., conciergerie dot com, parispass dot com, parismetro dot com) push the Paris Visite and don't even mention the ND.

d_claude_bear

Seamus--We got the same "let me do them for you" assistance several years ago at the very busy CDG guichet when we bought RER tickets and our FIRST Navigos.

harvmatic

Sorry for the delay in replying. My husband and I used the Navigo very successfully in Paris this year. We took along our own pictures and purchased the more expensive ticket at Chatelet. The lady in the ticket booth was wonderful and we used the pass for trips to Disney, Versailles, several trips to and from the airport and Pere Lachaise. We also used it in the subway and on the buses. It was wonderful to just be able to be able to swipe it and go. Thanks to all who recommended it.

harvmatic

Sorry for the delay in replying. My husband and I used the Navigo very successfully in Paris this year. We took along our own pictures and purchased the more expensive ticket at Chatelet. The lady in the ticket booth was wonderful and we used the pass for trips to Disney, Versailles, several trips to and from the airport and Pere Lachaise. We also used it in the subway and on the buses. It was wonderful to just be able to be able to swipe it and go. Thanks to all who recommended it.

Dion_Warr

We (my wife and I) also successfully used Navigo Découvert (ND) very recently. Thanks to research to this forum and others, I was able to convince her that we should use this option rather than Paris Visite or other options, e.g., taxis. Given our prior inexperience in using ND and ignorance of location of hotel to Metro and accessibility concerns, my wife did want to take a taxi from CDG to the hotel, which cost approx. 35€ with luggage and rider tariffs. So, for just over that amount each (total 39.40€ incl. 5€ "kit" fee) we had access to all areas of the city and suburbs all week (Mon.-Sun.). A round trip to Versailles and one trip to the airport is nearly equal to the difference between a Zone 1-2 pass and a 1-5 pass, and avoiding the sometimes epic Paris traffic snarls can make the perceived delays in traveling via mass transit well worth paying a premium and possibly sitting in a cab in traffic to get to the same place in nearly the same time.

The last route we took on our NDs was to CDG, which was fine, except that if one is contemplating a weekly pass, likely the amount of luggage that you are carrying will create some hardships navigating the stairs. It is the Metro - crowds of people running on and off trains are unlikely to give quarter to someone carrying luggage, even if you're lugging 50# suitcases in each hand, other than their own self-preservation, and a stranger offering to help you with your luggage may have other motives besides just being nice.

If one is looking to stay multiple weeks, it may behoove you to schedule suburban trips during the same week if possible, so that you would only recharge your card for multiple zones only when necessary, and just keep a Zone 1-2 pass on weeks that you plan to stay within the Île de Paris. Alternately, if one is planning to stay fairly close to their lodgings most of the time, you might not need a weekly pass at all. For touring all around the vicinity, we found that the ND could not be beat insofar as convenience (wave a card, pass right through), accessibility (bus, Metro, and RER) and cost (20-30% savings for our purposes vs. Paris Visite).

P.S. Other than travel forums, I have yet to find an English-language site (official or third-party) which promotes the ND. All of them refer to the Paris Visite and/or Mobilis. Thanks to sites like Fodor's and a serviceable knowledge of written French, I was able to discern the accessibility and process. We bought ours at the airport, ask for the Navigo Découvert kit, bring a picture (suggested cutout 1" wide by 1 13/16" tall - 25mm x 30 mm) to stick on the card, write your name legibly in CAPS where provided, and charge the card for the week that you need it (they can do it right there if that suits your needs).

maitaitom

What is the correct pronunciation of Navigo Decouverte? I like to get off to a nice start. Thanks.

DebitNM

Nav - e - go [rhymes with "have e go"]

de-ku- vɛʀt