Hi, i will be travelling from AMS to Gare Du Nord end Sept with my family. Will then proceed to CDG hotel to leave our bags and then travel back to Central Paris joining a hop in hop out tour. After dinner will proceed back to CDG airport hotel for our trip back home the following day. Appreciate your opinion on suitable travel pass. Thank you
1 answer
Hi there,
Definitely a Navigo Day Pass (1-5 zone, for immediate use) on a Navigo Easy card for each of you (unless you have children under 26 and are traveling on a weekend or French national holiday, I'll explain at end). Reason being that a round trip cost of CDG Airport tickets to/from CDG are 23.60€ and a Navigo Day Pass is 20.60€. And both fare types must be put onto Navigo Easy cards (extra 2€, unless you use your phones or Apple Wallet, then no cost) so that makes no difference to cost.
The only caveat is you must complete your journey back to CDG Airport by midnight if you're using the RER B train (i.e. arrive at Aeroport CDG 1 or Aeroport CDG 2 train station by midnight) for your Navigo Day Passes to work to open the exit gates upon your arrival. This is because the Day Pass ends its validity period at midnight, not 24 hours after your first validation of the fare. The latest RER B train from Chatelet les Halles station to Aeroport CDG 2 would depart at 23:11 and arrive at 23:49 (approximately, the trains are rarely exactly on time).
If you missed that train you can also use the Roissybus from Opéra to get to Aeroport CDG bus loop beside CDG Terminal 1. Your Navigo Day Pass would get you onto the bus up until 00:00 and there are no exit fare gates at the bus terminus at CDG. You aren't exactly in compliance after the clock strikes midnight, (as the pass validity ends at midnight) but there's no stops in between Paris & CDG for ticket controllers to board.
Finally, there are also two night buses N140 and N143 between Gare de l'Est and CDG which run until about 03:30 in the morning. Your Navigo Day Passes work for night buses until 05:59, after its expiry for all other transport, which ended at midnight.
If you happen to be doing this travel on a Saturday, a Sunday or a French national holiday, your kids under 26 can use a Navigo Youth Weekend Day Pass / Navigo Jeunes Week-end (1-5 zone). Exact same coverage as a Navigo Day Pass, just cheaper.