French Polynesia - Tahiti, Moorea, Huahine, Bora Bora

alwayssideways

Hi all,
Just back from 2 weeks in the above. Absolutley fantastic trip and I'll be glad to answer any questions anyone might have. I will write a review in the coming days here but for now here is a video I made of the trip. For anyone that is considering going, my advice...do it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p64jCexclBo&t=42s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p64jCexclBo

pjproby

I would love to do this and had been considering a cruise from the US to NZ or Aus but I am not really that keen on cruises. Did you do a tour or DIY? Can you advise re your itinerary and cost? I am semi-retired and could go for longer if its worth it. Any advice would be very welcome

alwayssideways

It was a DIY trip. It was all last minute as we were in New Zealand and found some really cheap flights so decided to make the most of it while being over that side of the world. Below is an itinerary and guide to costs excluding the international flights as going to New Zealand first would not be the most direct or cheapest. I think the best way would be via LA from home.


Domestic flights €390 Per Person (Air Tahiti Standard price for domestic flights within the Society Islands. It allows to visit any of the islands in the area in any order, the only rule is you can't book the same flight twice.)

5 nights in Moorea staying at Moorea Beach Lodge - €960 including breakfast

Scooter rental - 3 days - €125 - Fuel cost of €10 max

Lagoonarium - Natural lagoon to swim with sharks and stingrays. We drove our Scooter and paid directly which cost €30 pp as oppossed to €60pp if you book through a hotel which would include pickup and drop off.

Scuba diving ( We did 2 days scuba diving with Topdive - 1 day in Moorea and 1 in Bora Bora. Bought as a single package at approx €300 per person)

2 nights in Huahine staying at the Royal Huahine (Overwater bungalow) - €550 - including breakfast

• Day boat trip around the island including lunch on a motu (little island on the outer reef), pearl farm visit, shark swimming  €75 pp  http://huahine-nautique.com/tour4.html

       
3 nights in Bora Bora staying at the Temuata village €433. Cheap and cheerful in Bora Bora as we had heard it was very expensive for food etc. and all of the days were planned with diving and snorkeling and other activities so all we wanted was a place to rest our heads and a good base to explore from.

• 1 day scuba diving
• 1 day boat trip around the island - lunch on private island - shark and stingray swimming €80 pp (Never gets old!)
• 1 day relaxing and exploring in the a rental car./scooter thing (See video!)

2 nights in Tahiti (our flight times in and out were late at night and early in the morning so we stayed at the Tahiti airport motel) - €192

On average an evening meal for 2 would cost €50. We generally had a huge breakfast and then something small to keep us going until dinner.

That comes to roughly €4700 before international flights.

alwayssideways

1 day scuba diving1 day boat trip around the island - lunch on private island - shark and stingray swimming €80 pp (Never gets old!)
• 1 day relaxing and exploring in the a rental car./scooter thing (See video!)

2 nights in Tahiti (our flight times in and out were late at night and early in the morning so we stayed at the Tahiti airport motel) - €192

On average an evening meal for 2 would cost €50. We generally had a huge breakfast and then something small to keep us going until dinner.

That comes to roughly €4700 before international flights.

alwayssideways

Sorry for the 3 replies, I had a nicely formatted message but I had to break it up to get it all to fit. Thanks boards
Overall, yes it is expensive, but it is so beautiful. Everywhere you look is stunning. If I was doing it all again tomorrow I wouldn't Scuba dive which would save 600, although the diving is good the snorkelling is much better, most of the action happens in water on a couple of metres deep - best corals and most sharks. To be honest some of the dives got boring. 
And I would also stay longer in Huahine, I absolutley loved the place.

Doltanian

Great video and very useful information, I'm considering Tahiti as a potential honeymoon destination maybe next year if my bae will accept a proposal later this year. Other areas I'm considering are Fiji, South Africa, Namibia Indonesia's more remote islands or Chile.

Psychologeeee

Looks absolutely beautiful! Is that price per person?