Tahiti Dreams
In only my wildest dreams did I think I would go to Tahiti. You see pictures of French Polynesia in magazines and travel brochures. The luminescent turquoise waters stretching for miles in front of thatch roof bungalows and grand volcanic peaks are a thing of dreams.
Travel from airport:
We arrived in Tahiti at 5am and were greeted with leis by Marama tours ( I suggest using the in airport ATM because they are few and far between on the island.) From there we boarded a ferry to Moorea. We were then picked up by Moorea Mahana tours and driven to our hotel.
Transport:
Taxis are expensive but most restaurants and resorts offer transport.
Walking:
We were able to walk to Snack Mahanna and a near by village but otherwise things are pretty sparsely populated on Moorea.
Language:
The official language is French, but most people also spoke English and Spanish.
Food:
The food of this region is primarily tropical seafood with a strong French influence. Meal times are similar to that in the US, but note as the island just got electricity in 1980 they still don’t stay open very late. We recommend Snack Mahanna and the Mayflower restaurant. We do not recommend the Yellow lizard. Tipping: Not expected anywhere
Narrative:
Previously, I had considered Tahiti too expensive for us at this time. Due to the Zika virus I was looking for places that were not hot spots. This lead me to look in the areas surrounding Australia and Asia. In my search I went to the south pacific site on Travelzoo. Surprisingly, there were multiple affordable offers. I began corresponding with the different travel agencies.
After several emails, Tahiti.com came up with the best deal. Candice our travel agent helped us find an overwater bungalow on the island of Moorea that fit into our under 5,000 budget. Using a travel agent was different for me and at times frustrating. Looking back now, I am not sure if it is possible to arrange travel in French Polynesia without one. Arranging transfers from the airport, ferry rides would have been very difficult for first time travelers to the area.
We still had to arrange our own flight to LAX (also known as one of the worst airports ever.) Upon disembarking our flight there, we quickly learned we had to actually exit the airport and walk over 3 terminals inorder to check in for our Air Tahiti flight. Luckily I had given us a 4-hour layover to complete the security theatre.
The Air Tahiti airplane was full of bright tropical colors and although we were just in coach we were supplied with pillows, a decent blanket, ear phones, eye mask, and socks. After 8 hours, we arrived in Tahiti at 5 am. We were greeted at the airport by a tropical band and with leis from our driver, Angeel.
On the drive to the ferry from the airport, Angeel told us about Albert Tours and encouraged us to use them and mention her name as they would give us a 20% discount. This later became our go to agency for tours and rentals. She also suggested pearl shops and warned us that a certificate is required to bring them back to the states (glad we didn’t just start picking up clams and looking for one.) Once at the ferry we loaded our bags on the cart and walked to the market Angeel had pointed out. In the market, we scored great deals on mangos, bananas, rambutans, and croissants. These later would compose many of our meals as meals in the restaurants were very expensive. If breakfast was not included with our resort we would have spent 48 USD a piece each day.
Upon getting off the ferry, we were surprised by seeing our name on a marker board held by our driver (oh my aren’t we fancy.) One thing we love to do when traveling is ask the taxi drivers what restaurants or sites they recommend. Their recommendations are always way better than review sites simply because they live there. More on her suggestions later.
We arrived at our hotel, the intercontinental resort, by 830 am and although we were not able to check into our room they gave us a key to a transit room which included a restroom and a shower (genius why don’t more resorts have these.)
After getting settled, we ventured out towards the first recommendation our driver made, Snack Mahanna. Luckily for us this restaurant was only two kilometers from our hotel and a quarter of the price of the hotels restaurant. Upon entering we are escorted to the back. The restaurant was set under an enormous tree that provides cover for most of the tables. We were encouraged to sit at one of the dock tables. While we waited for our meals, we watched several fish and stingrays swim by us. Our order included a delicious sesame crusted Tuna and fried mahi mahi covered with coconut milk.
The next day we went with Albert Tours on a trip which included swimming with sharks and rays, a picnic on the beach, and snorkeling. It was a great excursion and we were surprised to learn how close the shark and ray ally our hotel was (a fact that we would later use to paddle board out and spend more time with the creatures.)
For our anniversary we booked a reservation at the Mayflower restaurant which was another suggestion made by our driver. It was amazing. We had steamed shrimp dumplings with a ginger cream sauce, veal sweet breads, and a spicy crusted tuna steak. With our meal and a bottle of wine we ended up spending 100 USD which we later learned was not a bad price for dinner on the island.
A couple days later we went on a Super Mario tour where we hopped in the back of a truck with a couple from southern France and another couple from Italy. Our driver, Mario, drove us up some crazy steep and scary roads to awesome views of the island. Mario reviewed with us the topography of the island. He stated that because the island has sunk down they have the beautiful coral reef lagoon and volcanic mountains. He showed us how the actuall island of Tahiti lacked this aspect because it is such a young island. Next he took us to Pineapple plantations, old temples, and a black sand beach.
Overall I am so grateful we got to go to French Polynesia and even more grateful that we booked on Moorea instead of one of the smaller islands like Bora Bora which is just resorts with little native culture. Tahiti is a magical place.
Travel from airport:
We arrived in Tahiti at 5am and were greeted with leis by Marama tours ( I suggest using the in airport ATM because they are few and far between on the island.) From there we boarded a ferry to Moorea. We were then picked up by Moorea Mahana tours and driven to our hotel.
Transport:
Taxis are expensive but most restaurants and resorts offer transport.
Walking:
We were able to walk to Snack Mahanna and a near by village but otherwise things are pretty sparsely populated on Moorea.
Language:
The official language is French, but most people also spoke English and Spanish.
Food:
The food of this region is primarily tropical seafood with a strong French influence. Meal times are similar to that in the US, but note as the island just got electricity in 1980 they still don’t stay open very late. We recommend Snack Mahanna and the Mayflower restaurant. We do not recommend the Yellow lizard. Tipping: Not expected anywhere
Narrative:
Previously, I had considered Tahiti too expensive for us at this time. Due to the Zika virus I was looking for places that were not hot spots. This lead me to look in the areas surrounding Australia and Asia. In my search I went to the south pacific site on Travelzoo. Surprisingly, there were multiple affordable offers. I began corresponding with the different travel agencies.
After several emails, Tahiti.com came up with the best deal. Candice our travel agent helped us find an overwater bungalow on the island of Moorea that fit into our under 5,000 budget. Using a travel agent was different for me and at times frustrating. Looking back now, I am not sure if it is possible to arrange travel in French Polynesia without one. Arranging transfers from the airport, ferry rides would have been very difficult for first time travelers to the area.
We still had to arrange our own flight to LAX (also known as one of the worst airports ever.) Upon disembarking our flight there, we quickly learned we had to actually exit the airport and walk over 3 terminals inorder to check in for our Air Tahiti flight. Luckily I had given us a 4-hour layover to complete the security theatre.
The Air Tahiti airplane was full of bright tropical colors and although we were just in coach we were supplied with pillows, a decent blanket, ear phones, eye mask, and socks. After 8 hours, we arrived in Tahiti at 5 am. We were greeted at the airport by a tropical band and with leis from our driver, Angeel.
On the drive to the ferry from the airport, Angeel told us about Albert Tours and encouraged us to use them and mention her name as they would give us a 20% discount. This later became our go to agency for tours and rentals. She also suggested pearl shops and warned us that a certificate is required to bring them back to the states (glad we didn’t just start picking up clams and looking for one.) Once at the ferry we loaded our bags on the cart and walked to the market Angeel had pointed out. In the market, we scored great deals on mangos, bananas, rambutans, and croissants. These later would compose many of our meals as meals in the restaurants were very expensive. If breakfast was not included with our resort we would have spent 48 USD a piece each day.
Upon getting off the ferry, we were surprised by seeing our name on a marker board held by our driver (oh my aren’t we fancy.) One thing we love to do when traveling is ask the taxi drivers what restaurants or sites they recommend. Their recommendations are always way better than review sites simply because they live there. More on her suggestions later.
We arrived at our hotel, the intercontinental resort, by 830 am and although we were not able to check into our room they gave us a key to a transit room which included a restroom and a shower (genius why don’t more resorts have these.)
After getting settled, we ventured out towards the first recommendation our driver made, Snack Mahanna. Luckily for us this restaurant was only two kilometers from our hotel and a quarter of the price of the hotels restaurant. Upon entering we are escorted to the back. The restaurant was set under an enormous tree that provides cover for most of the tables. We were encouraged to sit at one of the dock tables. While we waited for our meals, we watched several fish and stingrays swim by us. Our order included a delicious sesame crusted Tuna and fried mahi mahi covered with coconut milk.
The next day we went with Albert Tours on a trip which included swimming with sharks and rays, a picnic on the beach, and snorkeling. It was a great excursion and we were surprised to learn how close the shark and ray ally our hotel was (a fact that we would later use to paddle board out and spend more time with the creatures.)
For our anniversary we booked a reservation at the Mayflower restaurant which was another suggestion made by our driver. It was amazing. We had steamed shrimp dumplings with a ginger cream sauce, veal sweet breads, and a spicy crusted tuna steak. With our meal and a bottle of wine we ended up spending 100 USD which we later learned was not a bad price for dinner on the island.
A couple days later we went on a Super Mario tour where we hopped in the back of a truck with a couple from southern France and another couple from Italy. Our driver, Mario, drove us up some crazy steep and scary roads to awesome views of the island. Mario reviewed with us the topography of the island. He stated that because the island has sunk down they have the beautiful coral reef lagoon and volcanic mountains. He showed us how the actuall island of Tahiti lacked this aspect because it is such a young island. Next he took us to Pineapple plantations, old temples, and a black sand beach.
Overall I am so grateful we got to go to French Polynesia and even more grateful that we booked on Moorea instead of one of the smaller islands like Bora Bora which is just resorts with little native culture. Tahiti is a magical place.