Best transport tickets for our trip?

Hi,

I am planning my first trip to Paris in Nov and would like some advice on which tickets to get.

We arrive at CDG very early Fri morning and leave Sun lunch time. We are planning on taking the Mainline to Paris (I think its called REN) and back again on the Sunday morning. Then while in Paris we are planning to use the Metro to get around (Im from London so I%26#39;m used to the tube).

I know that you can buy a 3 day pass that covers all zones, but is that the most sensible/ cheapest option for us? and can I buy these tickets in advance as I speak no french :-(

Thanks in advance for your help.

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The 3-day, 5-zone Paris Visite pass is 40.50€ but more expensive than you need to pay.

The RER ticket is 8.50€ each way, then a %26#39;carnet%26#39; (set of 10) single metro tickets could be shared until used up, buy another one if need be. So at most for Friday-Sunday, you might spend:

17€ per person for RER r/t

11.6€ for a carnet (or repeat for 2nd carnet) to be shared

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if you are centrally located, you will probably do most of your travel by foot -- Paris is really best enjoyed walking around -- you can get a carnet of 10 tickets for those occasional long trips e.g. if you decide to head out to Montmartre. When we stay in the central ring of Arrondisement (1-7) even for a week we don%26#39;t bother getting the weekly pass because everything is so pleasantly walkable. If you were staying out on the fringes, then passes make more sense. e.g. when we have apartments in the 18th or 20th we get weekly passes.

For a weekend, individual tickets will see you through and if you need one or two more than the carnet -- you can buy individual tickets from machines

Also -- on the trip in and the trip back out to the airport, you can use your 8.50 RER airport ticket on the metro to get to the RER -- as long as it was one through trip the RER ticket transfers you to the metro you need to get to your hotel or from hotel back to the RER

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As noted, the 3-consecutive-day PARIS VISITE Zone 1-6 transportation pass would cover ALL of your public transportation needs--RER %26#39;B%26#39; transfers to and from CDG plus all public transport in and around Paris during your 3 day visit...but a 39,70€ per person...it%26#39;s porobably more than you need to spend.

RATP--Ticket %26amp; Transportation Pass Info--

ratp.info/informer/titres_de_transport.php

The RER %26#39;B%26#39; ligne train plus onward Métro (included in fare) to your destination in Paris is the cheapest mode of CDG-Paris transfer--8,50€...but depending on your final destination within Paris, it may not serve as well as other public transportation airport transfer alternatives--ROISSYBUS (to place de la Opéra...9,10€) or #2 %26amp; #4 Les CARS AIR FRANCE coach routes (24€ %26amp; 27€ round-trip).

ROISSYBUS Info--

www.ratp.info/orienter/aeroport_roissybus.php

Les CARS AIR FRANCE Coach Info--

http://tinyurl.com/yj6nmk5

For the remainder of your public transportation requirements within Paris...then simply sharing CARNET (packets of 10 reduced priced Tickets...11,60€) as necessary will probably suit your purpose just fine.

As an alternative to CARNET, for %26#39;hop-on/hop-off%26#39; convenience to all public transport within Paris, there is also the one-calendar-day MOBILIS Zone 1-2 transportation pass (specifically excludes modes of airport transfer).

As noted, Paris is a fairly compact city and walking from place to place is often preferable to riding. Paris is a city that begs to be walked about....but given vageries of weather, you will find that you %26#39;..walk..%26#39;%26#39; more when the weather is fair...and %26#39;..ride..%26#39; more when the weather is foul. So in fair weather, the CARNET will probably be the better %26#39;deal%26#39; and in fould weather, the MOBILIS may be the more convenient %26#39;deal%26#39;.

RATP--Ticket %26amp; Transportation Pass Info--

ratp.info/informer/titres_de_transport.php

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Don%26#39;t worry about not speaking French. The ticket sellers at the RER station at CDG speak English, and metro stations have machines that well tickets in many languages including English.

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As others have said, not speaking French is not going to be an issue... but if you want to get your tickets before going to France the official UK reseller is HelloParis (helloparis.co.uk/1-paris-transport-tickets.h…). You%26#39;ll pay a little extra for the service but you may think it%26#39;s worth it for the convenience.

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Thanks for all the advice.

I booked my tickets through Hello Paris yesterday, so that should save us some time sitting at the train station trying to figure things out.

We got a 2 day zone 1-3 pass, and return tickets from CDG to Paris (any metro). As we have to be in CDG by 11.30 on the sun morning we wont be doing any site seeing so there was no need for a third day.

Thanks.