We found travel on the RER between the airport and the city quite easy to negotiate. We also used cabs a few times while there, and found them to be quite honest-but the advice about having a printed map is great. It's not as much a trust factor, but a communication factor. Carrying the big suitcases for my wife and I, I found out the hard way that the metro in Paris is not the friendliest for those not travelling lightly-but I got a great shoulder workout! Direct cab is also not a bad idea-there are better ways and safer ways to save a few euro....